dead end friends

a fated encounter

     It was a relatively average day for Wyx, a strange dragon-like creature. He'd spent most of it with his human companion Name, but eventually he got bored of her and wandered away from their home to get lost somewhere. Now, normally he gets back home at a pretty consistent time each day. This time, however, it was pretty late, and he still wasn't even on his way back. Too many things just caught his eye, and he kept wandering.
     As he crept across the wasteland in the light of the sunset on all fours, Wyx's mind ran.
     'No, I'm not going to go home and hurt the human,' he insisted to himself in his mind, only lowly grumbling aloud.
While he told himself he reason he wasn't going back was because he was too distracted, it was actually because he didn't want to hurt Name, and he was having thoughts that would lead him to do so if he got too close to her. So instead of just distancing slightly, Wyx decided to be nowhere near her. Still, he would never admit that to himself.
'I have no reason to do that! It's the same as when we met!' He quickly jumped over some building debris in his way. 'Though maybe I have more of a reason not to now... She does keep me entertained.' He'd never admit he enjoyed Name's company.
Wyx sat against the debris he'd jumped over, his legs out in front of him. He stretched, feeling his wings uncomfortably push against his coat. He fluttered them a bit, then stared absentmindedly at the tips of his oversized boots. Maybe he wouldn't go back tonight. ...No, he had to, or else he would worry Name. But at the same time, he didn't want to hurt her.
Of course, he was dragged out of his conflicting thoughts when his tail twitched. And just moments later, he heard an unfamiliar voice.
"So we finally meet, Third Vessel," it hissed. Wyx jumped and immediately stood once more, his tail up in the air in an aggressive manner. He looked in the direction the voice came from. From behind the wreck emerged a set of green horns and dark eyes. Quickly realizing it was another vessel, and remembering the encounter with his sister, Wyx's stance changed to one that was more submissive.
"Relax," a hiss of similar tone instructed, "I'm not trying to hurt you." The figure suddenly pounced forward in a dark blur, barely leaving time for the tiny dragon to react. "Surely you've realized I'm your sibling, yes?" Wyx felt the presence right beside him before it darted back to stand in front of him. The fuzzy tip of his sibling's incredibly long tail lightly whipped him in the face. "And you don't speak," they observed.
Wyx regained his bearings after the disorientingly swift movements and looked forward to see what this other vessel looked like.
His sibling, first and foremost, had long fangs and a snake-like tongue that slightly stuck out as they grinned. They had glasses, like Wyx did, but they didn't wear them right, and they had dark lenses. They also had some sort of black and white outfit that that he'd never seen before. Their dark hair was slightly longer than shoulder-length, and long strands of it covered parts of their face. Then, there was the long green tail and short, similarly colored horns that pointed back.

"I am the First Vessel, Whym," they introduced themselves. "So if anything, I should be submitting to you. It seems that human has made you soft, no? Or perhaps it was your encounter with our sister," they mused.
Wyx huffed. He wasn't going to say a word to this 'Whym.' ...Not that he'd say a word to anyone else either!
"Not one for conversation?" Whym teased him, showing off their prominent lisp. "You never even speak to that human of yours." They then chuckled. "Although, I think it's safer to say that you're hers! She treats you like a pet and you just let her?! That's gold!"
Wyx's stance immediately changed to a highly-aggressive one. He wasn't about to let this lesser sibling of his talk bad about Name. He snarled loudly and took a step closer to Whym. They're right, they should submit to him!!
"Woah now," they shouted. "I'm only outlining the absurdity of it! Think about it- you could kill her at any moment, yet you just don't." Their tail swept across the ground with force and knocked Wyx's arms out from under him. He fell onto his stomach and yelped. "And my guess is that you won't be hurting me. You can't bring yourself to, no matter what I do, as long as I don't hurt that human."
Wyx scrambled to his feet while fixing his glasses. This time he was just on two legs, and faced Whym at just about eye level. He glared at the vessel, his arms tense at his sides.
     "You should really keep your guard up better. I shouldn't have been able to knock you off your feet so easily," they stated mockingly. They didn't even have to say what they were thinking next, as Wyx knew full well that it was another jab at him for being friendly with Name. At that point, he'd had it, so he jumped forward, snarling. He grabbed Whym's shoulders, digging his claws into them, and he pushed them to the ground with his full weight.
     Whym seemed to see this coming, so they wrapped their arms tightly around Wyx's and then sunk their teeth into his left arm, through his sleeve, as the two tumbled. He yelped and tried to pull away, but he's being held close. Realizing he couldn't retreat, he instead leaned in and bit down near the right side of Whym's neck. They didn't seem too fazed.
     Although the green vessel was pressed under Wyx's full weight, it wasn't much, and it seemed like they had the upper hand. They pulled their fangs out of his flesh and tightened their hold on his arms to an uncomfortable degree. Wyx quickly pulled his head away, tearing skin and cloth with his teeth, and barked loudly. Whym held him in a way that stopped him from chomping on their neck again. He fluttered his wings helplessly, and they pushed against his coat.
     "Do you really wanna keep at this, brother?" Whym hissed, sticking their tongue out at Wyx, who was on top of them. The red vessel just growled lowly, squinting his eyes at the being under him.
     "Alright alright, I'll let go of you. Just don't try anything again. I'm much more willing to change forms than you are," they threaten, then loosening their grip on Wyx. He quickly pulls away, almost falling back with the force. He holds the arm they bit into to prevent himself from visibly wincing as he moves. How deep did their teeth go? Name would definitely have to take a look at it, but she'd ask so many questions...
     "Look," Whym began. "I'm just an observer. I'm not going to do anything unless I have to. Like just now, when you attacked me," they explained. "I was only defending myself."
     Wyx barked, clearly unhappy, in response. His tail swayed and he still looked aggravated. Whym only grinned.
     "Why don't you run on home now? You look hurt," they teased, pointing at the end of his left sleeve. Blood was dripping onto the ground. Wyx stared at them in the still-setting sun.
     He then huffed and turned away, sprinting off towards Name's home. Whym only watched with a smirk, ignoring the stinging from the bite near their neck and the claw marks on their shoulders.

     "Wyx!!" Name cried when she saw him enter the main room. She jumped up and ran over to him, pulling him into a hug. As she squeezed him, he howled. His arm still stung, and she definitely wasn't helping. She quickly let go of him at the sound. She held him by the sides of his arms. "A-are you okay?"
     He squirmed uncomfortably in her grip and whimpered. He attempted to pull his left arm away, but it hurt enough that he gave up. Name pulled back, letting go and then examining Wyx. She noticed the blood staining his jacket.
     "Oh, fuck..!" She curses. "How did this happen?" She quickly and roughly pulls up his sleeve. She was surprised to see something that looked like a snake bite, with two obvious holes, though they were clearly alongside a full set of sharp teeth.
     "Shit. Okay, let's get you cleaned up," she stated, attempting to hide her panic. It wasn't really working...
     Name took Wyx to her room to take care of the wound.

"So... What happened?" Name questioned her friend. It's not like he would answer, so she was essentially asking herself.
She sat on her beaten and battered cot, leaning over the edge and resting her arms on her legs. She looked down at Wyx, who was laying on his back on the floor. He wore nothing except a pair of shorts she gave him, so he showed off his wings, having them stretched out beside him. Off-white adhesive bandages were wrapped around his left forearm.
The vessel simply scoffed and continued avoiding Name's gaze.
"Y'know, normally you just don't answer me, but the fact that you're going out of your way to respond like that tells me something," she stated, pointing down at Wyx with a finger. He let off a low growl. She was right.
"You could at least try to communicate with me," Name prodded. "You've mimed for me before, Wyx."
He immediately turned onto his side to face her and snarled. Did she ever know when to quit? In response, she raised her hands.
"Woah, okay," she relented. "...Alright, I'll stop. If you don't wanna talk about it, I won't make you." Name sighed and relaxed her hands, resting her head in one of them. "I'm only trying to help."
Wyx turned over a bit more and pushed himself up to his feet, standing on all fours. He slinked over to and hopped up onto the cot, joining Name. He did appreciate her sentiments, but he wouldn't admit that to himself. He wasn't going to hurt her, he just didn't want to talk about his meeting with Whym, and she was simply prying a little too much.
He curled around Name, his head next to her leg and his tail resting over her thighs. She wasn't too surprised by his sudden shift in mood, as it was somewhat normal for him. She ran her other hand along his tail. The pattern of his scales was relaxing to her.
"Thanks, Wyx."
It was amazing how much Name trusted him. He could definitely do something to her right now.
...Not that he was going to.
He was happy with the way things were. He wasn't going to ruin it.