Soot

"Come on, Soot!" Griff urged, adjusting his goggles as he and Soot soared north, towards the Wyrm Wound. Soot was once flightless, a muscular disorder in his wings and shoulders ensuring that the muscles would never grow strong enough to hold him aloft. Sunlight reflected off the metal braces Griff had built for him - the only things keeping him in the air.

"I'm coming. Plaguebringer, Griff, you're fast!" Soot called, surging forward for a bit before settling back to his regular pace beside his friend. "So why are we going to the Wound again?"

Griff huffed, spitting a small glob of something blue to the side. "I told you, for the millionth time, Ruin told me about this massive deposit of radioactive metals I can use in my workshop. You're the only one I trust to help me carry some of it back to experiment on."

Soot sighed. "My wings will hold up, right? Last time we flew past the Blight Sanctum they malfunctioned."

"Pfft, that was last month, Soot. I rebuilt them so they'd last longer. Now quit complaining, please. We're coming up on it." He pointed ahead with one gloved talon as the spiked outline of Rotrock Rim came into view. Soot muttered an oath under his breath and hoped Griff was right about his wings holding up.

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Soot dug his claws into the ground beneath him and swallowed hard. The deposit was supposed to be at the very edge of this bubbling, noxious pool of pure radiation and disease. The Wyrm Wound. Griff landed beside him and thumped him on the back in what Soot assumed was supposed to be an encouraging manner.

"Chill out. I've been here before." He said, and Soot glared at him.
"Oh sure. And you came back with that blasted new virus that wiped out a quarter of our clan!"
"Fair enough." Griff admitted with a shrug. "Anyways, I see the metal." As he was speaking he leaned out over the bubbling pool and peered down. "See it?"

Soot leaned out as well, and he narrowed his four eyes. "I think so. Is it that green metal down there?" He let go of the ground with one talon and pointed. Suddenly his talons slid out from under him and he lurched forward, the added weight of the metal braces on his wings pulling him down. With a yelp he slid over the edge, scrabbling desperately for something, ANYTHING, to grab onto.

Griff swore profusely as he lunged forward for his friend, just missing him by mere inches. "FLY, SOOT, FLY!" he shouted, but even as he did so he could see the mechanical wings sparking as they came in contact with the fumes. There was nothing he could do but watch Soot plummet, his wings straining to move in the locked up and malfunctioning braces.

Soot closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see his friend's expression. He plunged into the bubbling mass of the Wyrm Wound, and he could feel the metal encasing his wings melt off. He didn't know where they went, but something was off. Something twisted in his gut and Soot curled up into a ball, wishing he had never left his nest back at the Abiding Boneyard. He shuddered as he felt his bones shifting, and there was a splitting sensation in his tail. Gasping in pain as he felt something bulge on his left shoulder, he felt the liquid slip into his mouth and down his throat. The bones in his face stretched outward and he could feel his crest folding and hardening, curling around the sides of his head. He could feel himself floating upwards and to the side, hopefully towards the shore. He would have moved, tried to swim to the surface, but he could feel his mind slipping towards unconsciousness...

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Griff soared over the Wyrm Wound, his heart pounding as he searched. Not for the metal, though. He had a hard time caring about that when the metal itself had cost him his best friend. No, he was searching for Soot. A glint of metal caught his eye, floating in the goop near the shore.
He dove down, then grabbed hold of it and dragged it ashore. It was Soot's wing brace... or, at least, one of them. Its straps and harness were melted and twisted, the joints fused together. He hung his head, despair sitting like a stone in the pit of his stomach and weighing his limbs down as if they were filled with lead.

Soot was gone.

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"Wake up. I can't move this body on my own, you know. GET UP!"
Soot squeezed his eyes shut even tighter, wishing that whoever was yelling at him would go away. He just didn't... want to move...
A sharp pain on his snout. His eyes flew open and he jerked his head back, snapping at his unseen attacker. His head felt heavier than usual, but he pushed himself into a sitting position and went to scratch at an itch on his neck.
"Nnngh... Leave me alone. I've got to find Griff..." Soot mumbled, then froze as his talon brushed against something soft. Fur.
"About that, wimp. I can't leave you alone. I'm stuck to ya. Oh, and your friend thinks we're dead, all boiled up in that soup."
Soot turned to look at the speaker, and his eyes went wide. A second head. He had two heads now.
"Yeah, get used to it." The head said, grinning. It had three eyes and a thick furry mane with light blue streaks. Soot gave the rest of himself a quick onceover, then lowered his head and sighed.
Monstrous. Two tails, two heads, tattered, ripped up wings... and the VEINS. Electric blue and raised slightly, they ran all along his body like pulsing worms. Okay, maybe not that bad, but still...
"By the Plaguebringer... I - I'm a monster!"
His other head spat to the side, then glared at him. "We're monstrous, true. Now deal with it you thickhead!" Soot glared back and hissed angrily.
"Now Rose will go for that spineless excuse for a dragon Nimbus for sure! Why did you have to be so clumsy!?"
"Me? CLUMSY!?" Soot's other head snapped, baring its teeth and fangs. "I didn't even EXIST 'til you fell in like a complete idiot! Honestly, I don't even know why Griff let you hang around him so much. Must've really dragged his reputation down."
"I tried to stop us - myself..." Soot mumbled, trying to bare his own teeth. It was a poor attempt.
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Mate: ThistleDawn
Notes: DO. NOT. BREED. WITH. ANY. OTHER. DRAGON. ThistleDawn is the only one for him, and him for her.

*insert song Happy Together by the Turtles*