Chapter Text
He was barely a dragonet when he entered the island. His tiny claws grasped the dry greenery as he pulled himself out of the water. While swimming, he had gone off course and got swept away by a riptide and into a large tunnel. He was beaten and cut up by the sharp rocks, he was bleeding from various cuts.
He coughed, spitting up some salty water, the burning in his throat was intense. He flopped down on the warm sand, a small comfort at the moment. His vision was blurry and he couldn’t think straight.
“Well hello little one, are you lost?” a voice said, it sounded older, like a middle aged dragon going through a midlife crisis. Jax opened his eyes, unable to focus on the beige dragon standing over him. He had golden scales, hints of tan and salmon tones in his shiny scales. He had an intense stare, his bright blue eyes only intensifying it. He had a purple robe that fell down his back, lined with off white fluff, speckles of black patterned all over. The Sandwing gently raised a claw, pushing clumps of sand off his snout. Jax wrinkled his nose, slowly sitting up. He looked up at the Sandwing, he was regal, he looked like a king. “Do you have a name?” He asked, craning his neck down to the dragonet. Jax stared for a moment before mumbling. “Jax..”
“Jax… that’s a nice name, Mine’s Kinger.” Kinger said, before shifting his gaze to the dragonets injuries. “Oh my… are these new? We’ve gotta get you patched up, can you fly?” He asked, spreading his wings slightly. Jax couldn’t fly, his wings barely worked and now they were damaged. “Y-yea, I can.” He muttered, knowing damn well he couldn’t even try. Kinger smiled, ready to jump into the air. Jax tried to spread his wings, but a large gash made it impossible to do so. The sandwing frowned, roughing close to the dragonet. “You’re in no condition to fly, let me help you.” He whispered, extending one wing to the small dragon. “Get on, I'll be your wings today.”
Jax had never been so high up before. Sure, the Skywing kingdom had a lot of mountains and the Sea palace was very high, but nothing could beat this. Everything was so small beneath them, Jax was holding onto Kinger like a baby koala, peaking out from over his back. He was partially afraid, partially elated, is this what flying felt like? It was amazing. “Enjoying the view?” Kinger chuckled, smiling at the overjoyed dragonet. Jax quickly nodded, unable to speak through his wonder. Kinger had turned towards a large cave in the mountain, the moment he landed, a brown Mudwing was already all over him. “Oh, Kinger, where were you? I could have sworn you disappeared!” She exclaimed, smoothing out the fluff of his robe before noticing the little dragonet on his back. “And who is this little one? What’s your name sweetie?” She asked, lifting him up. She was beautiful, she had these big brown eyes, warm and welcoming. Her scales shone like mocha diamonds. She had a robe just like Kinger’s, but instead of purple it was red. Jax blinked before speaking. “Jax.” he said quietly, looking up at her. “Well, Jax, aren’t you just the cutest thing.” She cooed, gently cupping his face before noticing his injuries. “Oh my… lets get you fixed up sweetheart, are you hungry? We’ve got fish, chicken, fruits, anything you want, angel.”
Jax had never been so warm, his scars and gashes were patched up, a now empty plate of chicken and fruits in front of him. He was sleepy, like, fall asleep and not wake up for twelve hours kind of sleepy. He was barely keeping his eyes open, he felt like his brain was benign smushed under a pile of pillows. Kinger and Queenie must have noticed this, the Mudwing had gently draped a blanket over him, adjusting the patch of leaves under his head. Kinger had gone off to find something, presumably a scroll from what Jax heard. He had returned and sat next to him, unrolling the scroll and speaking. “Do you enjoy stories, Jax?” He asked quietly, gently petting the sleepy dragon’s head. Jax could barely speak, only nodding his head slowly. He did love stories, the Skywing kingdom had so many stories, so many writings and literature. Kinger smiled, speaking quietly.
“Once, many moons ago, there was a dragon. The dragon thought he could do anything. One day, he said, “I could turn one bowl into two.”, The others were skeptical, telling him to prove himself. Back at his den, he had no idea what to do! He didn’t know how to make a bowl, he had no clay and no tools. What he did have was a spool of brown twine and glue. He took a bowl he had in the pantry and wrapped the twine around it, gluing it into place. Once the glue dried, he peeled off the twine, which gave him a second bowl. He was so proud of himself, the moment he went back to his tribe, he amazed them with his craftsmanship. The dragon then became a well loved and known artist, all because of a little bowl.”
Kinger smiled, finishing the short story, he rolled up the scroll and looked down at the now asleep dragonet.
“Goodnight Jax..” He cooed, gently laying a wing over him.
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“We have to escape. Now.”
Everyone was silent, not a single breath could be heard. The Rainwing was right, if they didn’t move soon, they might not at all. Caine was going crazy and they knew he had an even worse adventure planned for the next day. The fire was the only thing filling the awkward silence, illuminating each dragon. “If we do end up escaping, how would we find and exit? We can’t go through the air, Caine has a barrier that stems from the coral. We don’t know of any underwater tunnels and… I hate to bring this up, but what about Jax? I know he’s a pain in the tail and all… but we can’t just leave him. We all have to stay together, even if we’re not all fond of it.” Ragatha said, looking at each of them with an unreadable expression. Everyone was silent before Kinger spoke up. “Ragatha is right. I’ve known Jax since he was just a dragonet, there’s no way I could leave him behind, especially in this situation.” He said, standing up, tired eyes speaking for themselves. Zooble sighed, shutting her eyes for a moment. “I’m not exactly friends with Jax, but… I agree, leaving him would be cruel, even he wouldn’t cross that line.” They said, lifting their head.
“So we look for an escape tonight?” Gangle asked, her voice small.
“I think so.” Pomni responded, scaled ever so slightly brighter.