"THAT SCARRED LITTLE BASTARD!" Prickle's shout rattled the building, and Fennec's ears started ringing. He didn't blame his brother for being pissed, but could he at least try not to render the whole gang deaf as he raged?

And raging was the perfect word for what Prickle was doing. He picked up a vase off a table and threw it at the wall. Rattlesnake yelped and ducked as shattered pieces flew around her. Fennec's eyes widened as Prickle started throwing everything he could get his talons on, preferably the more breakable objects. 

"Could you try not to destroy the entire office while you yell?" Fennec asked, and Prickle spun so fast he must've seen stars.

"I will destroy the ENTIRE DAMN KINGDOM IF I FEEL LIKE IT!" Prickle snapped at him. Fennec didn't blink. He had gotten used to Prickle's tantrums by now, although he had to admit that this was certainly the worst one he'd had in awhile.

"Prickle please, just calm down!" Rattlesnake cried. "I know you're angry that Coal betrayed you, but surely there's a way for us to fix things without-" Prickle whipped a scroll at her and Rattlesnake let out a small cry as it hit her. He reached for another vase and Fennec grabbed his brother. They were all pissed at Coal, but that was no excuse for Prickle to give Rattlesnake a concussion.

"Stop." He told Prickle. "We're all pissed. You don't see everyone else throwing things at their girlfriends. Get a hold of yourself." Prickle glared at him, a stare so murderous that Fennec was surprised he didn't burst into flames. Fennec stared right back, until Prickle broke off, looking at Rattlesnake and snapping his head towards the door.

"Leave." He ordered. Rattlesnake shot a grateful, yet worried look at Fennec and quickly fled from the room, shutting the door behind her. The moment it clicked shut, Prickle used his free hand to slap Fennec, hard enough that his face whipped to the side.

"Coal is dead to us," Prickle growled, clenching his fists and ripping out of Fennec's grasp. "He is DEAD. If that bitch of a dragonet thinks he can betray us, almost get us all killed, and nothing bad will happen to him, he's got another thing coming. I'll kill him-"

"We don't even know where he is-" Fennec started. Prickle slammed his fist on the table.

"Then we'll FIND HIM." He roared. "HE NEEDS TO PAY." Fennec hesitated. He understood Prickle's anger. He was mad himself. How could Coal just betray them and run away? Where would he even have gone? If Fennec didn't known anyone outside the gang, then Coal definitely didn't. He had no one to run too. But at the same time...

"He's our brother," Fennec whispered, trying to remind himself as much as Prickle. Coal wasn't just some enemy. He wasn't like the dragons that had killed Ferla or Drought. He was family. He had betrayed them, yes, but he was their little brother. Hadn't he suffered enough?

"No he's not. He stopped being our brother the second he fucked up by betraying us. It's just you and me now." Prickle paused, studying his brother, watching Fennec's solemn face closely. He grabbed his brother by the throat. "And if you EVER even THINK about betraying me, about leaving like he did; you'll be lucky if killing you is the only thing I do."

"Why would I betray you?" Fennec hissed, his own anger growing. All he had was the Sting. Where would he go? What did he possibly have to gain by leaving, by betraying the only family he had left?

"Why would Coal?" Prickle countered, releasing him. "I want every dragon we have on this. Find that son of a bitch." He shoved Fennec towards the door and Fennec walked quickly, eager to be out of that office. "Oh, and Fennec?" He paused, waiting. "I don't want you talking to Rattlesnake anymore." Fennec turned, confused.

"Why not?" He asked. Rattlesnake was the closest thing to a friend he had. He hadn't spoken to Coal since Drought's death; what other dragons did he have to chat with? Prickle picked at his talons, radiating cooling rage.

"I don't like the way she looks at you." He said bluntly. "Now get out." What that was supposed to mean, Fennec wasn't sure, but he took the opportunity and left the room.

The thing Fennec didn't understand about all of it was how Coal had gotten out. He hadn't known there was a way out of a gang, other than being banned or burning on a bonfire. It had never occurred to him that living outside of a gang was a thing dragons could do; that he could do. And how had Coal, of all dragons, found a way out? And where had he gone? 

He couldn't have gone far, Fennec thought. Their entire lives were inside the Scorpion Den. The Sand Kingdom was huge, but most of it was just bare desert. He knew of all the little oases, even if he had never been to any of them. But why would Coal go to one of them? He was alone in the world, even more alone than he had been inside the gang. He wouldn't go too far.

But he could, Fennec realized. He stumbled a step as he realized it. It wasn't like the Sting Headquarters was all there was in the world. There was a whole continent, full of desert and mountains and rainforest and ice and ocean. Coal had no one, but that also meant he had no one to bound him to any place. He could explore all of it, and for a split second, Fennec thought it sounded like a wonderful idea. He wondered what the ocean was like. Was the sand on its shores like the sand here? Was it better? He had heard from others that the ocean was loud, but that didn't make much sense to him. How could water be loud?

Coal could find that out, he realized. He didn't have any responsibilities without a gang. Granted, he would be running from them for the rest of his life, but still! Nothing said he had to stay in the same place. The more Fennec thought about it, the more he started seeing the appeal. He could be free, if he left. He could be as strong as he liked, stronger than Prickle if he wanted. He could pick his head up without worrying about anyone knocking it back down. It sounded liberating, in a way.

But Fennec also knew he could never do it. He could never betray the Sting like Coal had. Whether it was because of Ferla or Prickle or somebody else, Fennec didn't know. He just couldn't see himself having the guts and the will to go through with it. He was too loyal to this place, and that meant he could never leave. He would end up burning on a bonfire one day, like all the Sting's loyal soldiers. Maybe Prickle would bury him in the yard instead, but Fennec hoped not. He wanted to return to the sky, like Ferla should have.

But all of a sudden Fennec understood why Coal had betrayed them. It wasn't so much about saying 'fuck you' to the Sting, although he wouldn't blame his brother if that was the reason. They had treated him like hell for his entire existence. No wonder he didn't care if they all got arrested or killed. But no, Coal had betrayed them because he wanted to leave. He wanted to explore the world outside of the Scorpion Den, outside of the thick walls of the Sting Headquarters. Fennec couldn't blame him for that. He was just upset that Coal hadn't said goodbye. He thought he had done enough that his brother would at least have said goodbye to him.

Maybe he had, Fennec realized. He had passed Coal a few days earlier, and his brother had nodded at him. Fennec had unconsciously nodded back, like they always did, and they had said nothing. Maybe that should have been his warning. Maybe that was the only proper goodbye Coal knew how to give him. 

****

Prickle and the other gang members spent weeks tracking down Coal, to no success. Fennec had to give his brother credit. He had hidden well. No one had even seen the dragonet they described, let alone knew where they might find him. But as they kept looking, Fennec found himself growing more and more hesitant to do so. Prickle would kill Coal without hesitation when they found him, and Fennec didn't think his little brother deserved that. Maybe it was because he had spent more time with Coal than anyone else had. Or maybe it was because Coal had suffered so much already, and if he wanted to leave and see the ocean, then Fennec thought he deserved that right.

"We're not going to find him," Fennec said one day, and Prickle had glared at him.

"We'll find him," Prickle had snapped back, already growing impatient with the lack of information they had already. 

"Prickle, he could be anywhere on the continent. He could be dead already. We don't know. Why are we wasting energy trying to find him?" 

"Wasting energy—HE BETRAYED US!" Fennec fought the urge to roll his eyes. His brother really did have a one track mind. But maybe he could use that low intelligence to steer the gang away from looking for Coal. He wasn't sure why he wanted to help his brother. It just felt like the right thing to do. The strong thing to do. 

"Exactly." Fennec sighed. "And what kind of message do you think that sends to the other gangs?" Prickle paused. "We were betrayed, and we've recruited our entire gang to finding and killing one dragon instead of restrengthening ourselves and reminding everyone else that we are not some pathetic gang they can swoop in and take over because we're weak."

"We're not weak."

"Well we're not acting strong, and the other gangs know it. We're leaving ourselves exposed by looking for Coal. He doesn't want to be found, and it's not worth it. Who knows. If he was dumb enough to betray us, then maybe he's dumb enough to come back. We can take care of him later. Right now we need to strengthen the gang. I'm your second, Prickle, it's my job to think of these things." Prickle thought for a minute.

"Fuck," He swore. "You're right. For the first time ever."

"I'm just as surprised as you are."

"Fine. We'll regroup and focus on the gang for now. But Coal is not getting away with this." Prickle declared. "We're going to find him, and we're going to make it suffer for it."

Fennec had no doubt he would live up to that promise. But at least he had bought his little brother some time. He could only hope now that Coal would find a way to repay him for it one day, even if he only did that by never getting caught. Protecting Coal was the dumbest idea he'd ever had, the most he'd stuck his neck out in his entire life, and yet...

And yet it felt right.