Chapter 23: Oceans Vibrant
"Welcome to Oceans Vibrant, a town celebrating the beauty of the Sea of a Thousand Currents!" Dremasul spread his arms wide with a smile as the three wildclaws stepped into the streets of the island city. It was alive with colour and dragons of all breeds and flights bustling around. The main street was a marketplace, lined with stalls selling all manner of goods and souvenirs.
"Is it always this busy?" Pyrite asked irritably as a group of young faes bumped into him and scattered.
"During the Wavecrest Saturnalia, yes." Dremasul said with a grin. "This year, the celebration seems even bigger than usual. Perhaps they wish to show that the apparent disappearance of the Tidelord hasn't dampened their spirits."
"It's the Wavecrest Saturnalia?" Plagueheart asked, shock rushing through her. She hadn't realized how much time had passed since she and Pennar had left Windkeep Tower. The thought of Pennar brought all her grief rushing back, and she tried to push it away. There was no use in falling apart. She had to be strong.
"I thought you kids deserved a bit of fun, after what we've been through." Dremasul explained. "Though, I suppose you two aren't really kids anymore."
It was true. Plagueheart had hardly realized it, but she had now reached her full size. Her muscles were lean and strong. Pyrite's face had lengthened since they met, and he had quite a striking jawline.
"I managed to get a good deal on giant sand dollars on the way over, so here, take a little pocket money, and go enjoy yourselves." He handed them each a leather pouch, and gave them a warning look. "Don't cause trouble. I don't want to hear you two got arrested. I'll meet you both back at the Hyaline Inn for dinner. We'll spend the night there tonight."
With an exchange of mischievous grins, Plagueheart and Pyrite ran off into the city.
Where to start? The stalls looked fascinating, and it had been a long time since Plagueheart had brushed wings with so many different dragons. In the past, the thought would have made her very uncomfortable, but there was something nice about being anonymous in the crowd. No one knew her, she could be an ordinary dragon celebrating an ordinary festival. She wanted to do everything. See everything. The world was open to her.
Pennar would have loved this. She couldn't stop the thought from entering her mind.
"So, you want to join the Darktouched Chimeras?" Pyrite asked, nudging her with a grin and sly glint in his blue eyes. His jewelry seemed extra vibrant here, setting him apart from the other dragons. Here, she could really believe him to be a master thief. Plagueheart's face split into a smile.
"A test is in order then." Pyrite explained. "It's really more protocol at this point. I'd let you in as it is, but the others, they won't truly accept you unless you're properly initiated."
"What do you want me to do?" Plagueheart asked, trembling slightly with anticipation. She couldn't stop looking at his his.
"Steal something, a small trinket from one of these stalls." Pyrite dared. "I need to know that you'd do anything to get what you want, at any cost."
"Consider it done." Plagueheart flexed her claws, ready for the challenge.
"Dremasul? No it can't be!" Dremasul spun around from the counter of the Hyaline Inn to see a familiar nocturne face.
Where did he know her from? She wasn't from Clan Yonder, but maybe... one of their allies? And her name... He swore it was on the edge of his mind...
"Nymph!" then nocturne said, seeing his puzzled expression. And everything came rushing back.
"Oh, of course!" Dremasul said. "How is the Clan of Resting Wings?" He didn't know Nymph too well, but they had met a few times when her clan met with Clan Yonder, back when he lived in wind...
"I don't live there anymore, I haven't for a long time. I live in wind now. How have you been?" Nymph asked, playing with a ruby ring on her finger.
"Alright." Dremasul said quickly, not wanting to go into things. "What are you doing in these parts?"
"I had business in the Sea of a Thousand Currents. And my boyfriend wanted to experience an
authentic Saturnalia." Nymph rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Don't know what's wrong with the festival put on back at Windkeep Tower, but I guess each festival is best celebrated within its own flight. He's looking at ships now, trying to get some new vessels for the port. I decided to go ahead and book us a place to stay for the night. What about you?"
"Just traveling." Dremasul explained. "We just left the plaguelands, and needed something to freshen us up. I'm travelling with two young wildclaws I met in plague."
"Have you been in touch with Amberlyn?" Nymph asked.
"Amberlyn?" Dremasul hadn't heard that name in a while. "She's alive? She survived the attack on Clan Yonder?" So it was true. He hadn't been the only one to escape the horrors that destroyed his old wind home. "Who else-"
"Sacredscream, Fenn and Elric were gone for a while, but they came back." Nymph went on. "Probably others, but they moved on to different clans and I don't think Fenn knows where."
So it was just Amberlyn. He had hoped- No, he had learned long ago that it didn't do well to dwell on hopes. Best to make do with what he had in reality. Amberlyn was far more than he had expected.
"Are you alright?" Nymph asked.
"Yeah, I just- I thought I was the only one." Dremasul said. "Where are they now?"
"Windkeep Tower! I live there as well. I could show you there if you like." Nymph offered.
"That would be great. We're going to wind next anyways. One of my companions, Plagueheart, has some news she needs to bring back to her birth clan." Dremasul explained. "Thank you very-" But he was interrupted by the sound of guards. "Oh dear, I best make sure that's not my wards... They have a bad habit of getting into trouble. I'll talk to you later." And with a swish, he raced out of the inn and out onto the street.
Through his charm and experience, Dremasul had been able to brush the whole incident off as a misunderstanding. Plagueheart had attempted to steal a large conch shell from a merchant, and had been caught before she could even run off with it.
"This is what I warned you about!" Dremasul scolded them. "What were you thinking?"
"It was just a bit of fun!" Plagueheart shot back defiantly. "You're not my dad, and I am a grown dragon! You can't tell me what to do!"
"I'm trying to keep you out of prison! Do you want to be kicked out of the city?" Dremasul sighed in exasperation. "Do you want to go back to prison?" He asked Pyrite.
"What do-" Plagueheart spun on Pyrite, but he interrupted.
"It's my fault. I dared her to." Pyrite said. "I'm sorry, it was just a bit of fun. Can we go and enjoy the rest of the Saturnalia now?"
"Fine, but next time, I'm not worming you out of the consequences." Dremasul conceded. It was true he was not their parent. He could hardly ground them or keep them from doing what they wanted.
Plagueheart woke up screaming. It was still dark, and moonlight streamed through her window. For a moment, she forgot where she was, in this strange bed with the smell of the sea in the air. It almost was as if she were home. In her own bed. But she wasn't. And Pennar was gone.
The door burst open, causing Plagueheart to shout again, but she soon realized it was only Pyrite, holding a candle.
"Honestly, it's just me! I heard you screaming..." He seemed a little sheepish. "Is everything alright?"
"Just a bad dream." Plagueheart muttered in embarrassment. Of all dragons, why did it have to be Pyrite who came to rescue? She had already proved she wasn't as tough as she wanted him to think she was. She had failed his test. She was tougher than this.
"About Pennar?" Pyrite asked. Plagueheart just nodded. "You know, I lost a brother too. Not in the same way you did. I abandoned him. I got scared, and I abandoned him, as soon as I was safe. You're braver than I am. If it was been Fire stuck with the Wyrmwound Plague, I probably would have left him to rot pretty quickly. Underneath it all, I'm nothing more than a coward. That's why I've been so uncomfortable around you. You're everything I'm not."
"You? But what about everything you did? Leader of the Darktouched Chimeras? Master thief? Stealer of lives?"Plagueheart reminded him. "You are no coward."
Pyrite laughed. "Yeah, I am. The Darktouched Chimeras doesn't exist. I made it up to sound impressive. I've never stolen anything in my life. I tried once. I wanted to join my older brother's gang, the Crystalplate Stingers. The test was the same one I gave you, and Fire did steal something, but we got caught. Or rather, I took it from him and got caught. I was thrown in prison. Aleksei came to rescue me, but he told me I had failed the test and that I should never return. I was scared, and wanted to prove myself to be tough. I was ashamed at my failure. That's why I never returned to Fire. Because I failed. I threw myself into the Scarred Wasteland to try to make myself tough, but I almost didn't make it. Dremasul found me and saved my life. I'm nothing like you. Everything I've tried I've failed, and it makes me so frustrated."
Plagueheart drank in his every word, stunned. The two of them really weren't all that different. Two young dragons who had never really felt like they deserved their place in the world, doing everything they could to make up for their past failures. As she tried to take all this in, something else occurred to her.
"Hold on, if the Darktouched Chimeras don't exist, then why set me that test?" She asked.
"I guess I wanted to bring you down to my level. Or I was too embarrassed to admit it was all a sham. I don't know. I don't tend to think through my decisions very thoroughly." Pyrite admitted, fiddling his hands, and not meeting Plagueheart's gaze. "I'm sorry."
"It's alright." Plagueheart's anger was gone. Finally, someone else who understood her.
"I guess I'll go back to my room." Pyrite said, turning to leave. "I'm not one for all this sentimental talk." His normal sharpness returned, though his eyes betrayed something more. "See you tomorrow."
"Wait." Plagueheart called out suddenly. "Could you stay in here? Not that I can't handle myself of course. It's just that it helps my nightmares not to be on my own."
"Fine." Pyrite smirked, and he crawled into bed next to her.
"You know, after we're done in wind, we should go looking for your brother." Plagueheart suggested. "You haven't truly lost him, not yet. Don't let him go because you're ashamed. Those kind of ties are too important to lose over something silly like this."
"Silly? What are you calling silly?" Pyrite shot back, but Plagueheart could tell there was a humor behind his sharpness. She was beginning to be able to read him better, now that she understood him. All that emotion, masked by anger and indifference. Two dragons, trying to find their place in the world. But tonight, it was only them. Raw and vulnerable in a way they had never been able to be with anyone else. Come morning, it would likely fade like dewdrops in the sunlight, but for now? For now it was everything either of them wanted.
I figured after so many emotional and intense updates, it was time for something a little more fun! It was also time to write a Wavecrest update! I had a lot of fun writing this update! Just one more chapter left for this arc, and I'll move onto something new!
I've decided that for now on, for my festival updates, the chapter is going to be named after one of the festival skins. I'll also use it to name other things within the update if need be (i.e. the Hyaline Inn).
Also, news: Pyrite and Plagueheart are on a nest! Not in the story, but I've decided I can't wait anymore and now that they are friends at the very least, I figure I can put them on. I won't hatch it until they are ready in lore, but I'm really excited for the next generation of my alphabet legacy challenge. I hope their shift in relationship this update doesn't seem to sudden. They spent a lot of time together in the Scarred Wasteland, both while and after Pennar got sick, and they are the sort of characters that would get on like a house on fire once they find something they both agree on, and a lot of Pyrite's irritation towards her before, as revealed, is due to his own insecurity and her truths making his truths seem too close for comfort.
