The Dragon Liberator: Escapee

-22-

Fendrel groaned and put his face in his hands. "I already regret asking."

"It'll be fun, I promise."

"Fine." He lifted his head and stood.

"Count me in." Frederick sprang up.

Ember led them away from the party.

A small grin was already betraying Fendrel's attempts at trying to not be interested in what Ember had in store for them.

<~><~><~>

Fendrel stirred and opened his eyes. It was completely dark.

This isn't a dream, is it? Is it still night?

He was pressed against something that moved slowly, rhythmically. Fendrel calmed down when he realized it was Venom's rising and falling chest as he slept. He lifted Venom's wing and stepped over his tail.

Venom growled in his sleep. He reached out with one of his claws and pawed at the ground. A soft whimper escaped him.

Fendrel placed his hand on Venom's snout. "I'm still he-"

Before he could finish, Venom's paw grabbed him and pulled him back under his wing, holding him in place.

...What do I do?

Fendrel froze. He yawned and stretched, pretending he woke up just then.

Venom stirred and his eyes opened. He nudged Fendrel with his nose. "Good morning, young one."

"Good morning..."

The dragon let go of Fendrel and dragged himself out of the indent in the rock wall. "Are you ready to meet up with the others?"

Fendrel followed Venom out and pulled himself onto the dusk dragon's shoulders. "Ready."

Venom took off, his wings a bit slower due to him just waking up.

<~><~><~>

Fendrel chuckled at Fog's aerial flips. She flew beside Venom, who was carrying Fendrel and Thea again, and seemed to be getting used to the weight of the saddle and bags.

Birch carried Cassius, whose face was pale and frozen with fear, on his back. The floral dragon occasionally scratched his paws, scraping off more dead scales.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Fendrel smiled at the fact that the fire dragon was under surveillance at the Black-Brick Ruins. He watched the terrain change from barren earth to sandy dunes. The heat became more intense the further into the desert they traveled.

Thea peered around Fendrel's head. "Am I hallucinating, or is that our next destination?"

Fendrel nodded. "That's it, the Twin Oases." He couldn't help the smile that spread onto his face.

I wonder what Ember's been up to since the last time I saw her.

<~><~><~>

The Twin Oases thrived as much as ever. While most other tribes lived in places where the structures of past human civilizations were crumbling, the buildings of the Twin Oases looked like they could have been built just a few years ago. Of course, the original houses were too small for dragons to live in, so the fire tribe rebuilt the structures at a larger scale. The palace, however, stayed the same size, save for the doors, which were replaced with beaded curtains.