Flame had never seen himself as an overly reckless SkyWing - not in the same way his mother had always been, at least. And not in an "I'll actively harm myself to prove a point" way either.

But it had been four days since the meeting with Buzzard and Hurricane, where he'd received royal permission that he was allowed to journey to the Kingdom of Sea with a group of his choosing, and he was growing more and more restless by the hour.

The Healing Chief had declared that he would have to be fully healed from his wounds before leaving Summit Central, and despite Flame's assertive claims that his scratches were just that, he'd been mandated a 3-day rest period where he wasn't allowed to fly.

Despite his frequent complaints, even Treen had agreed that that had been a generous offer.

Flame had wanted to be more upset with Buzzard, and perhaps spew a little more smoke his way, but he knew there were other reasons to delay his departure.

Other reasons he could understand a little too well.

Choosing to ask Ardor to travel with him hadn't been a hard choice. The SkyWing healer apprentice was already bursting with enthusiasm to visit another kingdom, and she had dropped more than a few hints that she wished to accompany him. According to her, it was a clear way to "expand her healing horizons".

"Ardor might be a lot to handle, but she's definitely a SkyWing who won't back away from hardships. If any dragon can keep me from giving up, it's her." Flame thought as he recalled the joy on her face when he'd asked her 'officially'. Unsurprisingly, she'd already had a satchel half-packed waiting for that very moment.

Buzzard, however, hadn't been too happy. The healer wanted to keep his daughter at Summit Central, not just to make sure she studied for her healer's exam - Flame could see a spark of fear in his eyes when she first announced that she'd be joining the former's quest.

"He doesn't want to let his daughter go into what used to be the enemy's territory. I doubt any parent would... or at least, any good parent. Any parent like Buzzard- or mother."

Additionally, Placoid had been an obvious choice. The SeaWing hadn't had much of a say in the decision, but he didn't seem to mind going back home. From how he leaned into Ardor's bubble of optimism as they walked, he seemed glad to have her around, too.

"Placoid said his family would help us, too. We don't know much about them, though. Or maybe I don't. Come to think of it, I don't know much about Placoid's past - or if to trust him at all," Flame thought with displeasure. He didn't want to force the SeaWing into telling them about himself, but he couldn't help the feeling that he was hiding something from them.

Flame remembered seeing him talk to a mysterious SkyWing on the night he attacked Ire, and made a mental note to investigate that, eventually. Something told him there was more to that than just a nightly meeting.

Other than the two of them, Flame had wanted Rail to come with him. The hybrid's quick thinking and adaptability would have come in handy, and they had seemed to like meeting new dragons in the Talons of Peace. But Flame also wanted to make things up with them. He felt like he had totally messed things up between them, and Rail had been the first dragon Flame had opened up to in a long time... so he didn't want to lose that.

But as of lately, they hadn't been themselves much. They had been more present, sure, but Flame saw the way they stole glances at him, and the way they cautiously considered their words. And that wasn't the Rail they had once known.

"That's your own fault. And Rail has things they need to do: their life doesn't revolve around your scarred snout and enchanted scales. Plus, they risked enough for me last time, it's fine," the SkyWing thought, thinking back to their nighttime talk in Sanctuary. "But still... I'll miss them? ...Get yourself together! They know how to reach you if needed. They know..."

Flame had also categorically decided to exclude Avalanche from the expedition, for two main reasons. Firstly, Riptide had been clear - no Talon of Peace was to go in SeaWing Territory alone. Queen Coral hadn't been very merciful with the 'pacifist' group in the past, and he didn't want to take any chances again. But above that, Avalanche was planning to remain at Summit Central for a little longer than planned to get a proper check up on her back ankle, which she'd sprained as a dragonet and which had never properly healed. Flame hadn't noticed how much discomfort it still caused her on a daily basis.

"Besides!" She'd declared, "it'll help me make sure Coot makes it back to Sanctuary too, gemstone." Flame had nodded, but he knew, in his heart, he'd miss his mother's wings around him.

Lastly, another dragon had been chosen for the expedition... but not by Flame. And not by Summit Central, either.

It turned out that one dragon had been chosen by Queen Ruby to aid in the delegation between the kingdoms. His name was Glint, and he'd taken his sweet time to arrive at Summit Central, despite being only barely older than his mother.

He also oozed of snobbiness and superiority in a way that Flame hated and wore a little too much gold around his claws and horns to not be noble. He was sure he'd seen Treen roll her eyes at him at least once, despite how respectfully every other dragon seemed to treat him.

"I wish I could have anyone else mediating this quest. His golden horns and blood scales can go get themself stuck in a tree for all I care!" He'd thought with bitterness. "Glint... Flint. I also could have done without that similarity."

On that note, Treen told him she had wanted to come with them, but held herself back. Other dragons needed her there, and Flame hadn't argued with that. In their last session, Treen had asked him if he'd ever used her scroll to unleash his inner world. Flame's silence spoke louder than his words, but the analyst simply smiled, as yellow rippled down her neck.

"You'll use it when the time is right," she'd declared, knowingly, before wishing him good luck. "Don't push yourself too far, Flame. You have other wings to rely on, now. Remember that."

He'd probably smiled at that thought.

It felt true, for once.

———

That night, Summit Central basked in the light of three crescent moons. Flame's snout was buffeted by the cold breeze as he walked outside his cave.

He knew he should have tried to get some sleep for tomorrow's journey, but something inside him wasn't feeling like resting.

As he paced outside, he quietly sneaked past the other sleeping caves, his footsteps hidden by someone's (Ardor's?!) loud snoring.

A silhouette stood again at the cliff's edge, just outside their cave's entrance. Flame walked towards it, already guessing who it was.

"Time to face Ire... again. Better now than when your claws did the speaking."

The larger SkyWing didn't turn her head as Flame sat next to her. She looked like an ominous statue, anchored to the cliff with her claws. They stood silently, the wind whistling past their horns, as they basked in the torch and starlight.

Flame wondered if either of them would ever break the silence. He started to flick his claw against a rock, clicking it with the sharpest point of his talon before dragging it across it.

"Don't do that," Ire breathed, not bothering to turn her head towards him.

"Why?" Flame asked, facing her. Moons ago, he would have added, challengingly, "because you said so?"

"I've stubbed my claws doing that one too many times," she said, facing him with tired eyes, dark marks underneath them, "and I wouldn't recommend that."

Flame retracted his claws, and nodded, as he settled back into an awkward still stand. Something told him Ire wanted to say more.

The wind carried her words with dramatic potency.

"Keep them safe, Flame," she said, her voice harsh but also raspy, "just... don't let anything bad happen to them."

Flame tilted his head. That wasn't what he had expected to hear. Especially from her.

"I guess I assumed Ire was a lot like me," he realized. "That she wouldn't care for other dragons, let alone a ditzy SkyWing and elusive SeaWing. But she's not like me... I probably wouldn't have been so calm around a dragon who had tried to kill me days ago."

"I'll try," he responded, giving her a curt nod. Her eyes narrowed as she stared deep into him.

"Trying is not good enough. I don't know what enemies they could face out there, and none of them can fight. I need you to fight for them, if needed. I need you to promise me that," she said, her voice a low hiss. "If I lost them too... I don't know what I'd do."

"Oh... She really does care about Ardor and Placoid." He blinked slowly, fiddling with his claws as he dropped his gaze. "She cares enough to ask a near complete stranger to fight to keep them safe. She's asking me of all dragons... that's so odd. But I probably would have found all of this a lot odder a moon ago - not so much now,"

He looked back at Ire, whose expression had remained unchanged. "I can't promise you much - I also don't know what we'll find out there," he declared, waving his talon to shush her before she could interject. "I will try. But Ire... don't underestimate them: there's more fighting spirit in them than there had been in me for a long, long time."

Ire raised an eyebrow at him but dropped her intimidatory stance.

"Yeah, that's right. If it hadn't been for them, I probably wouldn't have fought for myself either," he recalled, with a mix of sadness and new warmth. "Ardor, Placoid... Rail. And Treen. They all taught me that I didn't need my claws to fight. And that I didn't need to fight all the time, anyways. Sometimes I just needed to stop and face myself - scars and all. I owe that much to them - and I will defend that with whatever I can."

"Very well, I- I do appreciate that," Ire said briskly, before standing up and walking a few steps away from him.

Flame followed her with his eyes before she once again stopped. She turned to face him again. "Do you really not remember me, Flame?" She asked, in such a genuine way that almost made him wonder if he'd misheard her.

"No," he responded, quickly. There was no trace in his memories of that specific huge SkyWing with no wing membranes. Or of any SkyWing that looked like her, for that matter. He tilted his head, "should I remember you?"

She croaked, her eyes shutting for a few seconds. "Perhaps not. Maybe this is for the better, for all of us." Ire spewed a small plume of flames, then added, "goodnight, Flame. And good luck, with all of this."

"Thank you, Ire," he responded. He'd wanted to stop there, but the words fell out of his jaws before he'd thought them through. "Thanks for not killing me."

"Oh, I could have," she replied with a toothy smile, and Flame knew that was true. "I know how to deal with mindless fighters, trust me. I've fought plenty of them during the war. But eh. You didn't seem to be completely mindless, I guess."

Ire shrugged. Flame hoped she couldn't see how completely flabbergasted he was.

"Good winds," she wished, before disappearing inside the cave.

Flame didn't know how long he stood outside, but he did remember the promise he made to himself on that very night.

"I want to figure out Ire. What I did to her, what she's not telling me... and how I can make it all right."

He let himself go, drifting off into sleep.

"Thanks," he said, under his breath, Summit Central bright in his mind, "for saving me."