#when she hatched (under the moon in the Talons Of Peace camp) she was REALLY bright | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nivrad00 · 6 years

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Fig Tarts

Flame peered into his bag as he walked with Viper through the busy SkyWing market.

“Fettuccini, check,” said Flame. “Garlic, check. Artichoke hearts, check. I think I have everything I wanted.”

“Great,” said Viper, munching on a fried lizard.

“Moons, I haven’t gotten to cook anything in ages. This was the best idea ever.”

“I know, right?” said Viper. “I couldn’t stand that boring Talons of Peace camp for another second.”

“We’re going to be in so much trouble when we get back.”

“I know.” Viper grinned, then tossed the rest of the lizard into her mouth. She wiped her talons on the fabric of her bag.

“Where’s you get all this gold, anyway?” said Flame.

“Don’t worry about it.”

A familiar scent drifted through the air, and Flame stopped in his tracks. The market was thick with the scent of prey, bread, and spices, but that smell he would have recognized anywhere.

“No way,” he said. “Fig tarts!”

“Fig whats?” said Viper.

Flame sniffed the air and pushed through the crowd, eliciting a few angry complaints. “Fig and goat cheese pastries,” he said. “My mother used to make them on holidays. I have to get some.”

He skidded to a halt near a delicious-smelling tent full of baked goods. He watched, his mouth watering, as a bag of tarts exchanged talons between the burly shopkeeper and an eager SkyWing.

“Uh, sorry, bud,” said Viper, catching up to him. “We spent the rest of the money on fried lizards.”

“Owl turds,” cursed Flame. “I told you not to get so many.”

“Hey,” said Viper, putting a talon on Flame’s shoulder. “Don’t sweat it. I have an idea.”

“Hello,” said Flame, approaching the open side of the tent. “How much for a bag of fig tarts?”

The shopkeeper looked down at him with an appraising look. “Ten silver.”

“Ten?” said Flame. “What do you take me for, an idiot? I’ll give you five.”

“Eight,” said the shopkeeper. “Best tarts in town, kid. It’s worth your money.”

Flame rolled his eyes. “Not impressed. Five or no deal.”

“Alright, alright,” said the shopkeeper. “Six pieces. Just for you.”

At that moment, the supports of the tent gave out, and its rough fabric came crashing down on top of the shop. Viper’s sandy-white scales disappeared into a nearby alley. As the shopkeeper cursed and struggled, Flame grabbed a talonful of fig tarts, shoved them into his bag, and leaped into the air. “Eat dirt, hippo face!” he yelled, gleefully.

“Get back here!” cried the shopkeeper, emerging from under the fabric. “Help! The red dragonet! He’s stealing my pastries!”

Flame followed the shopkeeper’s gaze and noticed, for the first time, the squad of armored SkyWing guards patrolling the market. With a gulp, he dove back into the crowd and banked sharply around a corner.

“Flame!” Viper motioned furiously from a narrow alleyway and dove into an open crate. Flame jumped in as well, landing with a thud.

“Ow! Watch it, that’s my tail!”

“Maybe if your tail wasn’t so fat I wouldn’t have landed on it!” snapped Flame, shutting the box behind him.

The crate was dark and cramped, and he felt his claws getting tangled in a coil of rope. He held his breath as the sound of armored dragons passed by the alleyway. Then the sound receded.

“Eat dirt, hippo face?” whispered Viper, putting her snout inches from Flame’s. “What happened to a quiet getaway?”

“Did you see that shopkeeper?” said Flame. “He was probably too big to lift off the ground, let alone chase me. Besides, I didn’t know there were guards.”

“There are GUARDS?” hissed Viper. “Queen Scarlet’s guards? You’ve heard what she does to dragons that break the law, right?”

“Whatever,” said Flame, nervously coiling his tail around himself. “We’ll just wait a while and then waltz out of here. No big deal.”

“Oh, yeah, a SandWing and a bright red dragonet with a bulging bag,” said Viper. “Real inconspicuous.”

Flame sighed. “We’ve really opened up a can of worms now.”

“Flame, you are a walking, talking, moonsblasted can of worms.”

“You’re a half-witted desert rat with lizard droppings for brains.”

“You’re such an ugly toadstool your mother left you for a cherry tomato.”

Flame’s claws dug into the rope. “Take that back,” he snarled.

“Nope.”

“Take it back!” said Flame.

“Shh!” Viper wrapped her talons around Flame’s snout, and they both sat in silence as the sound of clinking armor passed by.

“Get your talons off me,” said Flame, freeing his snout. “We have to do something. They’re going to check in here eventually.”

“Okay,” Viper said. “On the count of three, we make a run for it. I’ll go left, you go right. We can meet up in the forest.”

“Fine,” said Flame.

Viper took a deep breath. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

“One… two… three!”

Flame burst out of the crate and flew through the market, pumping his wings as fast as they would go. A nearby guard shouted and lifted off in pursuit. Flame risked a glance over his shoulder. The guard’s giant wings would give her the advantage in speed, but Flame could take sharper turns through the town. He weaved through the buildings, trying to break her line of sight. If he could just get out of town, he could hide among the trees.

“Got you,” said the guard, who was suddenly in front of him. She grabbed him by the leg, sending him crashing to the ground. He roared and clawed at the guard’s arm, but he could do nothing against her armored scales.

“Just a dragonet, huh?” said the guard. “Poor thing.”

“Let go of me!” snarled Flame.

“Not likely,” said the SkyWing. “Calm down or I’ll knock you out.”

“I’m not a Sky Kingdom citizen,” said Flame, breathing hard. “I’m from the Talons of Peace. They’ll come looking for me. It’s not worth the trouble.”

“Queen Scarlet will be the judge of that,” said the guard. “Would you stop struggling already?”

Then she yowled as Viper took a bite out of her tail. Flame wriggled out of the guard’s talons and shot out of the town, followed closely by Viper.

“You little brats!” yelled the guard. She leaped into the air to follow, but immediately crashed back onto the ground, her back leg tied to a nearby pole.

Breathing hard, Flame flew with Viper through the forested mountainside until the SkyWing town was far out of sight. Then he let out a triumphant cry.

“Woohoo! We made it!”

“No thanks to you,” said Viper, icily.

Flame gave her a sideways look. As annoying as she could be, she had just saved him from Queen Scarlet’s grasp.

“I guess you’re not so bad, for a SandWing,” he muttered.

“And?”

“And… sorry for messing up the plan, or whatever.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” said Viper. She circled to the ground and landed on a patch of fallen needles. “I’ll accept your apology, if you let me try one of those fig things.”

“You already had your dumb fried lizards!” protested Flame, landing next to her.

“Fork it over,” said Viper, holding out a talon.

Flame rolled his eyes and opened his bag, revealing six delicious fig tarts: warm, flaky, and a little squashed. He handed one to Viper and took another one for himself. He gave it an eager sniff, then took a big bite.

He closed his eyes as the sweet and salty flavor filled his mouth. The last time he had eaten a fig tart was his fourth hatching day. His mother, Avalanche, had taken him and his friends to the beach, where they’d collected a dozen pearlescent shells and reenacted famous battles in the sand, much to Avalanche’s amusement. After dinner, she had surprised him with warm, homemade fig tarts, which were the most delicious thing he’d ever eaten. That night, he had fallen asleep curled up under her wing.

“This is pretty good,” said Viper with her mouth full.

“Tell me about it,” said Flame.

#inspiration once again from the wonderful sandshadow #wings of fire #writing #fanfiction #flame #viper #i did it! a ficlet a day for an entire month!#here's hoping for two #thanks again to all the readers :3

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