"So, Teardrop-"

"It's not-"

"Where do you come from?"

"Oh, well I can ask the same, I'm guessing the Skywing kingdom you've mentioned?"

"Yes, my palace will hopefully be in perfect condition when I return, but however this does mean my daughter has probably assumed control over my kingdom." The dragon said as she continued to walk away from me, letting me ride on her unbroken wing due to the fact I'd complain every five minutes. "You still haven't answered my question, scavenger." She snarled as she turned her face to look at me, her face a mess of lines and melted skin and blood due to the acid. I barely managed not to gag.

I let my legs dangle freely as I looked around at the surrounding trees to avoid looking at her face. "You really need a mask." I mutter under my breath.

"EXCUSE ME?" She roared at me, her saliva flying right on my body.

"I said your breath is ass." I lied as I wiped the strand of saliva still stuck on my arm.

"Well it's not my fault I can't brush my teeth when I'm stuck out here." She growled before sliding me off her wing roughly. I let out a yelp that was shortened as I landed face first in the grass.

"Why not? I've been doing it." I say as I grab a chewstick and start gnawing on it.

She just gave me a stare with her eyes half-lidded. "Is that what you call brushing your teeth, no toothpaste or anything?"

"What's toothpaste?" I asked as I continued gnawing on my stick.

"You know, for the first few seconds when you spoke, I actually believed you may have been a slightly intelligent race, now I see I was wrong." She huffed, a puff of smoke coming out of her flaring nostrils.

I rolled my eyes as she went down to drink some water. "Whatever you dumb lizard." I pouted as I went next to her and scooped some water into my hands before starting to drink, only to spit out a small fish immediately after. "Ew! That felt so slimy!" I cough, making sure all that water is out as I spit repeatedly.

She let out a growl of amusement before letting out a startled whine as a large claw reached out of the water and lodging itself onto her snout. "ARGH! GETITOFF! GETITOFF!" She cried as she lifted her head with a crab still latched on.

I smirked as I watched from afar, before she started to breath streams of fire everywhere as she shook her head, trying to get rid of the pale crab.

"Scarlet! Cut it out!" I yelled as I dodged as a fire stream nearly hit me. "You're gonna burn down the entire forest!" I yelled as she finally managed to aim her mouth towards the crab, shattering the crab into several pieces before the stream of fire hit the water, it didn't take long for it to start boiling. I saw as a few groups of fish were burnt to a crisp and floated to the surface, and a few pieces of crab floated away down the river. She finally stopped and took a deep breath. "I always hated seafood. Pet, remind me to take away the Seawing's water again." She huffed as she whipped her head away while holding it high, as if she weren't screaming and flailing from a crustacean just moments before.

"I'm not your pet-"

"Shush, I just had a thrilling idea!" She exclaimed.

***

"What is this?" I asked as I hesitated before sticking my foot into the steaming water, letting out a yelp as my foot made contact with the hot water.

"It's called a bath, you stinking pest, besides, I think I'm due for a bit of relaxation." She sighed as she submerged herself in the steaming water.

I let out a hum of disapproval as I slowly lowered my body inside. "So these are common in your kingdom?"

"I have my own private bath pool, and some of the other nobles, however we do have a bath center but it's probably filled with dirt and shit and whatever disgusting things the lessers do, but as long as the gold keeps coming, I'm happy." She relaxed.

"That doesn't sound too bad, so, you call my kind scavengers, right? Why?"

"Cause you scavengers like to scavenge."

I paused for a moment. "Good point." I said as I remembered picking up all those herbs on the side of the steps, and fighting anyone who tried taking me and the old man's spot. I frowned as I remembered him, before refocusing back on the giant red and orange dragon in front of me. "Be honest, what's going to happen to me when you get what you want."

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

She paused for a moment before moving her snout right in front of me. "I... I... what the hell is wrong with me!?" She roars suddenly as she digs her head back into the water before coming back out with a deep breath. "I'd usually throw you away as soon as you become boring..."

"And?"

"Usually there wouldn't be more to that, even my own husband, I threw to the arena when I got fed up with him just following around and nodding to everything I said, but why do I feel bad? No. I shouldn't feel bad. It was thrilling when he died, nothing more-I mean less, no, more, I don't know anymore." She started to pant as I saw something fall off her head, a red drop of liquid again, followed by a stream. "Not again." Scarlet huffed.

"It's okay, I'll take care of it." I said as I swam up and climbed her snout, being careful to not step on any of the exposed muscles on her face from the acid. I quickly added a few more herbs and mixed them while then realizing where exactly I was, her head, right next to where her brain probably was. "I think I found the problem, why you're acting differently then how you said you used to be." I stated.

"Why then?"

"Brain damage, I think that fall you took didn't just harm you physically, but also in your head."

"What are you saying, the crash did this to me you little brat!" She snarled as she then jerked her snout to the side, sending me flying, I let out a grunt as my body landed on a nearby tree branch. "Shit! I'm sorry!" she then shook her head. "Why am I apologizing, I'm a queen, I shouldn't treat you as if you're special! But then your small and fragile bones-"

"It's getting worse." I managed to grunt as I stood up, luckily only having a few bloody scratches on my back, nothing I couldn't fix later. "You need an actual healer, I can only work my magic for so long."

"You know animus?"

"What?"

"Nothing important, let's go, sooner I get back, sooner I take the throne, sooner they fix me." Her eyes then narrowed as she scooped me off the tree and looked in the direction of the mountains. "That leads to one problem though."

"Yeah?"

"My daughter, I haven't exactly treated her well."

"I wouldn't imagine it any other way- OW!" I yelled at her as she hit me on the head with her good wing.

"She may want to retain the throne and well-"

"I see, is there like a tradition or anything-"

"You mean for queens, those of nobility can challenge the current queen, the one who survives is the one who gets to rule the kingdom, I've ruled for a long time that way."

"How long is that?"

"Longer than you've been alive, bug."

"Can you like... I don't know, maybe say both combatants have to be in top-shape before fighting, requiring they heal you."

"That's... not a bad idea." She sighed as she then stopped as she grabbed her head with one of her claws, before letting it fall back down.

"Headaches?"

"Your theory isn't looking too crazy anymore."

"No one ever called it crazy."

"Yeah I did."

"Not verbally."

She groans before freezing as she spots a deer crossing the river. In a blur, she lunged forward and seized the giant animal in her mouth, it started to cry out only to be silenced by a loud crunch. She dropped the large animal in her mouth before looking back at me. "You like it cooked, right?"

***

It was quiet at night, except for the occasional growl she let out in her sleep, I had started off underneath her wing, laying down by her chest, that was until she rolled over and nearly crushed so I stayed my distance and rested atop a close tree branch. I had made sure that the twigs and leaves I placed had covered any chance of being spotted by any fliers above.

A couple more days, that's all we needed. "What is even going on?" I asked no one in particular as I hugged my knees as I sat, looking at the three moons. I wonder what their names were, maybe Scarlet knew, but then, she only knew what the dragons called them, not humans. And now look at me, thinking about talking to a dragon again, although she's talked back. Is it me? I don't think it could be, after all, I've heard the roars of that angry yellow one a few times now and have never heard it speak anything that wasn't a growl or "Grrrr!" But Scarlet could never understand scavengers before. I looked at one of the jewels that came off her face when I healed her, noticing the slight glow it gave off. "Maybe this had something to do with it?"

My eyes widened as my fingers felt an engraving on the side, two teardrops, colored silver. "Yeah, that's no coincidence.'' I thought aloud as I ran my fingers across the 'tears' on my own face. I'll have to ask Scarlet about that later.

I sighed as I turn back to face her, hopefully it didn't affect her memory too bad but usually when the brain is damaged, so many things can happen, and it's rare that any of those things aren't severe, even rarer if they're actually beneficial, though I doubt this one would be. Hopefully it convinces her to keep me alive for another... day or two, hopefully longer than that. Of course, when dealing with dragons, there's no way to tell. I look back at the slumbering giant. What is the best case scenario here? She lets me leave, so I can die alone by some random dragon or animal in the wild? Talisman wouldn't have me, and I know no other cities except for Sunset's watch, and last time I heard, that may have been burned to the ground days ago, at least that's what some of the refugees told me. Maybe being her pet would be for the best, basic luxuries, a bath, but then a toy, what if I become her chew toy, the thing she takes her anger out on, live and suffer, die and not suffer, why do there have to be so many factors, why can't it be simple? Because nothing is simp- Scarlet would never win, she's too weak, even if her mind is put back together, and if her daughter can't understand, if I'm just another animal, I'm food. I should leave... but if I leave with her, go back to Talisman, I can tear the Dragonmancer's apart, especially with the queen of Skywings herself, Ex-queen, this can work. Then I can figure out the rest, especially what to do with Scarlet, but if more dragons stop eating humans, and help us, the possibilities are endless, we can save and help so many people, I can '"Truly heal the world," as Yarrow used to say. Maybe we can get along, it's a long shot, but it's a dream, "And some dreams come true." I murmur.