Dragons of Arilla (Book 1 - Draft 2)

Chapter 5: Emotional Wounds

It was the second morning of the flower festival, and Red was on his way out to see his aunt, when he spotted someone he hadn't expected. His brother-in-law was standing outside, and looked just as surprised as Red felt.

"Oh! Good morning," Wind said. "Sorry, are you going somewhere? Is now a bad time?"

"I was just about to pay a visit to my aunt," Red said. Though he had many aunts, Red was only close with the one, so there couldn't be any confusion about which he was referring to.

"Sorry, I'll let you go-"

"No, she's not exactly expecting me, what do you need?"

"Well, not need, exactly..." Wind held his wings close to his sides in a self-conscious gesture. This was maybe the most he'd ever said to Red in one interaction. "I was just hoping we could chat a bit."

Red shifted his weight, "Is this about dinner?"

"More than that, but honestly, I'm not sure what I was hoping to accomplish by coming here. I don't think I can actually help."

"Seems like you had something to say though."

Wind appeared to enter an internal conflict before he finally spoke. "I don't claim to know or understand anything about you, or your relationships with your family, I'm really just an outsider looking in, but I think, maybe my own experiences have given me insight that could help? Maybe that's a little over confident of me..."

"Let's sit down," Red suggested, moving to a spot on the hill where he could look out at Central Lake.

Wind seated himself near, but not quite next to, Red. He looked no more comfortable than before.

"Maybe we need to make something clear," Red said, earning a nervous look from Wind. "You're married to my sister-"

"But that doesn't make me family, I know."

Red grimaced. "I'm certain that's not something that Violet would have told you."

"Well, no..."

"So why do you think that?"

Wind opened and closed his mouth, then looked away, as if to hide his embarrassment. "You were going to say that it does make us family?"

"To an extent. I barely know you, I haven't even heard much about you from Violet, since we don't talk. What I do know is that Violet loves you, that she looks happy with you, and that your demeanor is disturbingly similar to Pierce's."

"Pierce?"

"Smoke and Gem bully him. Well, they were when I moved out, eight years ago, but I wouldn't be surprised if they still push him around."

"Right, yeah, I've noticed he shies away from them."

"My point is, I understand your hesitance, but I like you well enough, and you're a part of the family, so just say what you want to say."

Wind gave a nod and took a deep, calming breath, then spoke. "Do you know how Violet and I met?"

"You were both working for another healer, right?"

"Gold Leaf." He spoke the name like it was bitter and painful on his tongue. "We grew up together, she was the niece of my foster parents. They meant well, but had more foster children than they could care for. I never really had a family, and love was a rare delicacy, so I latched onto the first person who seemed to genuinely love and care for me."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Red asked. "I'm happy to listen, I just... why tell me, of all dragons?"

"I have a point I'm getting to."