Chapter Text
Present
I stared at the SeaWing standing a few feet ahead of me. My mind was racing.
How did he take me by surprise? I know it's raining like nuts, but I still should have noticed him.
To his credit, he seemed to be a very dark purple. He easily blended in with the rain soaked trees around him. He wasn't very big either. He looked maybe 4 years old. He otherwise looked very average for a SeaWing. Shorter legs, thick-muscled tail, glowing scales.
"I mean, you were all HIYAH and hoowah and shwahhh!!" He said this while karate-chopping his claws. "I'd step on my own tail just thinking about trying to do that. Heck, I don't even think I could have done that underwater!!"
The rain poured between us.
After a moment he shuffled a bit. "Uhh... sorry if I interrupted you... or anything?" His scales flashed weakly.
I stared at him a bit longer. I blinked a couple of times, slowly turned and walked towards my cave.
Aaaaand he's following me. Great.
"Sooooo what's your name? How old are you? How long have you been out here? And what are you doing in the Mud Kingdom? I mean, I'm not one to talk because I'm not in the ocean, which is definitely the safest place to be. But here I am! Crazy enough to be on land!"
I was hoping that once we got to my cave he would stay outside. That was not the case.
"By all the moons, it is raining WHALES out there! I'm really glad you have such good shelter. You'd think that I'd like the rain, because y'know SeaWings and water! But I don't see the appeal of buckets being dumped on my head. I'm Ink by the way." His scales flashed again as he said his name.
Avoiding eye contact, I took my pack out of the alcove, sat on the floor and started to go through it. I've been meaning to do that for a while now.
"I can't believe I actually saw an undead!" His eyes were wide and excited. "I've been on land for a few days now and haven't seen anybody AT ALL. I passed by some villages but they're all empty of course. Then all the sudden I see you totally smack down that SkyWing! You NEED to teach that to me sometime!"
I dug deep into my pack and laid out the last thing on the ground, some mint leaves. I looked down at my things and started to reorganize each item back into my pack.
"Soooo..." Ink said.
My claws hovered in front of me. After a moment, I looked up at him.
"So, I can tell you're annoyed..." He said rubbing the back of his neck. "My mom always said I can be quite, uh, talkative. You're the first dragon I've seen in at least a week and I let my chattering get away from me. Sorry about that," he paused, looking at the ground. "Do you think I could stay here a bit? Maybe a day... or two?"
I shook my head no.
He sighed, defeated. "Right, yeah that makes sense. Can't be too careful!" He turned to leave and started to walk in the forest.
Without his blabbering, I noticed the rain had finally decided to slow into a light sprinkle. The sounds of birds and other creatures filled my ears and my head. I'd been waiting for the rain to let up for days, waiting for the relief of being able to hear my surroundings again. I hadn't realized it wasn't the quiet I craved. My head and wings dropped.
As Ink stepped out into the sun, I cleared my throat.
"Fi..." I paused. "Five years."
He turned his head towards me, brow furrowed.
"That's how long... I've been out here."
I didn't stop him as he turned back into the cave.