[Art by: JumpySheep]

Aureus

Aureus looked at the paper in front of him, sounding out the letters scribbled onto it.

"'A' as in cat, is diffrent then 'A' as in cake," said Eve, reminding her son of what she had taught him.

"I know mom! Gimme a minute... 'The caracal jumped high, its claws outstretched to catch the bird. The caracal ran fast to catch the running hare. The caracal patted the angry centipede with a mighty paw. The caracal then when to sleep under the mighty baobab tree,' there, happy now?" Aureus asked, though he was quick to get rid of his smart tone, seeing his mother's slightly glare.

She opened her jaws to get onto him, before a member of the gang came in, standing tall.

"Lady Eve, we bring news from Lord Burrow." He explained, opening his left wing to show the branded camel spider on him.

Aureus' ears laid back, seeing the old burn mark trying to heal. He was sure no matter how many times he has seen the few with infection in the burns, even those without, it wouldn't sit well in his belly.

Eve looked to the guard before waving her talon. "Go on." She ordered.

"Lady Eve, Lord Burrow has arranged a meeting next week to talk about the active peace treaty between us and them. Lord Camel Spider has ordered me to tell you to arrange for someone to look after young Lord Roadrunner and young Lord Aureus." He explained.

The deviled horned SandWing looked to him before looking down to her son. Aureus looked up, trying to plead with her to just let Roadrunner look after him.

Although, now that he thought about it, he'd rather be alone. Roadrunner had been getting much more worse to deal with his now oversided ego and snark personality.

Eve looked to her son, before wacking the back of his head with her talon.

"One, don't use that tone with me, young man. Second, tell Centipede to come and watch him." She ordered. The other SandWing nervously looked to her.

"Er... Lady Eve, Centipede is dead." He told her.

For the first time in Aureus' life, his mother looked surprised, but she soon shook it off.

"Killed by a target I presume?"

"No ma'am. He perished in a house fire," explained the other. Eve gave a small 'hmm' of thought before looking to Aureus.

"Scorch, of course!" She said as she thought of the kidnapped Sand and Sky hybrid. Aureus looked to his mother with pleading eyes once more. He would have done anything to not be with that brute of a dragon.

Scorch was the dragon they had kidnapped from a raid a long time ago, forced to be friends with Roadrunner and Aureus when he was a hatchling.

Aureus may have been a small dragonet, but he remembered how rude and mean he was behind closed doors. One time, the hybrid thought it would be a 'cool idea' to feed him to the angry wild dogs found around town.

His tail barb was not dangerous whatsoever when he was that young, and worst of all, his parents didn't believe him. Why? Scorch pulled him away before the pack leader could claw his eye out.

He did however have small bite marks on his ankles, wrists, and sail, but they were gone now for the most part.

"Mom, please don't leave me with him." The dragonet begged. The older didn't seem to hear, but instead walked off, her jewelry jingle jangling as she left.

Watching her and the other member walk away made him feel lonely; well, he normally was but more then the usual.

He looked at the scroll before him with the first grade story which was supposed to help him learn to read. Normally his mother hated the stories in the scrolls, saying they don't show what truly happens in real life.

The more he thought, the more he realized how realistic his mother's views was. One time, she told him a story of how she and his father planned on taking over his grandfather's gang when they still attended school.

Two months after graduating, they had successfully taken it over. The Coyotes' previous leader, Daze, was Spider's father, so he knew a lot of the tricks he would pull. Poison their drinks, surprise attacks, and such really.

Aureus rolled the paper up and set it aside, before getting up and walking out as well. He walked down the hallway and passed by the hideout's casino. After a moment of standing outside of he doorway, he finally decided to peek inside.

Around a table was a group of dragons, not all SandWings either. He saw two SeaWings and a NightWing too, though judging by their brandless wings, they just came to visit. A lamp hung over them, giving them light to see.

They are all laughing and throwing down a few cards, pushing in painted wooden chips to the center. Aureus didn't fully understand the game for the most part, but knew the chips stood for money.

He growl, seeing one of the SandWings there. Emu was his name. Aureus gave a small growl, remembering how much the dragon had spent on that stupid game. If he heard right by a few of the guards, the SandWing didn't actually have a lot to spend it sounded like.

'He spends money as though it were air. What an idiot!'

The heir gripped the ground, his claws digging in slightly. He snorted and walked by, passing by a few guards here and there. A hitman passed by him, giving him the gang's smile.

It was something the gang always gave to one another, smiles to show they were part of the gang. It was diffrent from the normal smile which could easily be replicated.

Aureus had to learn how to give the smile too. Keep one side of your lips closed the other sides is open wide to show the gumline. It was hard to get right, especially since they added something diffrent for the leaders and heirs. He had to do it without his snout crinkling like a feral animal, and get his pointed teeth alined.

The young dragonet flashed it to the hitman as he passed by her, her light brown scales dull as she passed by a window.

He finally came to the meeting room, seeing his father and a SkyWing. He looked at her for a moment, before realizing something.

This was the SkyWing from the festival!

Fearing he would get caught, he hide around the corner, claws digging in the stone wall with his back against it. His sharp hearing let him listen on, however.

"This better be good, I have something to go do," snarled Spider. He could almost see the three legged SandWing glaring down from his snout to the blazing copper dragon.

"Mister Camel Spider, my name is Spin, I'm the doctor of the SkyWing town, Skydrop City. I've come bearing news of something that may kill your entire gang,"

"Highly unlikely. The Coyotes are strong, who would try to kill us?"

"Not someone, but something,"

Aureus flicked his ear, a bit taken back by what the dragoness said. She soon continued with, "An illness has gotten out of control, and so far only seems to be effecting SandWings."

Spider merely grunted in response, "And how do I know this isn't a lie?"

"Nearly half of White Sand Valley is infected, along with Possibility and Bobcat Village." She explained further.

Aureus held back a gasp. White Sand Valley was very famous for it being home of Queen Sandstone's champion, Sol. She was strong and formidable, burly and ready to fight every minute of her life (from what he heard anyway).

Hundreds of dragons lived there, and if half of them were sick...

"So? I have no business with them. Now get out of my sight before I snap you're head off your neck,"

Spin tried to continue with her warning, before the sound of her yelping made Aureus flinch. The memory of the SkyWing dragonet flashed in his mind.

Almost as if his legs moved by himself, Aureus jumped out from behind the doorway.

"Dad, wait!-" but Aureus watched with wide eyes as he watched his father, who's talons gripped the other's horns, let out blast of fire from his mouth.

Everything slowed down if seemed like, as the SkyWing fell limply to her side, smoke rising from her burnt face. Her wings twitched slightly as her body sprawled out onto the ground.

Never had Aureus felt so... worthless. If he had came out sooner, and not stood there thinking, she could have lived! The memory of the smiling mother and the now motherless dragonet came to his mind, a small tear forming.

A sudden growl was heard.

"Aureus. What were you doing? You better not have been easedropping," stated Spider, who now faced towards him.

The young SandWing began to shake slightly, before dropping down into a bowing position. He didn't know why he did, but body just did it.

"Well?" Camel Spider asked, his tail uncurling.

'He's going to kill me. He doesn't need me, he has Roadrunner,'

Aureus tried to fix his jaw to do the smile, barely lining up his left fangs. He gripped the ground as he slightly tilted his head to his father. The air seemingly to thick to breath in as he laid there, frozen.

The golden SandWing statutes seemed to tower over him, their beady black obsidians for eyes stared down at him. He felt himself grow weak under their gaze, his mind thinking they were really dragon. However, the one he should have been worrying about was in front of him.

The dragon above him was large and imposing, his father's black eyes glaring down at him. Even though he was missing his back right leg, the SandWing had strong and powerful wings.

Scars littered his chest from old fights, which his camel spider necklace mostly covered. Hanging from his ears were camel spider earrings, made of pure gold with small emeralds for eyes.

The more the smaller looked at him, the more he realized how old his father looked as well. He looked well into his thirties, which was middle age for dragons. Aureus was four, merely a teenager.

"You have ten heartbeats to explain," growled the other, noticing the other's lack of words.

"I... I just-"

That moment, Roadrunner rounded the corner. He looked bored as always, but once he saw his brother, he had a large smile.

"Are you finally gonna get rid of him? It's about time, I'm fit for the throne, right?" He asked, puffing his chest out. Spider looked to him, eyes cold.

"No, you're wrong. Only the one I choose will be fit for the throne,"

"But, dad, I'm the oldest!"

"But you are a lazy vulture brain who wasn't so important to the gang, would have been long gone,"

"Aww, c'mon, dad, don't be like that!"

That entire moment of them talking, Aureus slipped away. He finally reached the door, and bolted down the dark hallway to the exit. He passed by a few others, but they didn't glance at him.

He burst out of the door, and ran full speed down the street. He didn't want to risk getting caught in the sky. He ran and ran, his only thought was to find Ivory.

The two had hung out for a few moons now, and she became a therapist of some sort for him.

The thought of what could have happened to him kept playing over and over in his mind. He ran for what felt like hours if seemed like, before actually reaching the plaza.

Just as he had thought, Ivory sat near the unlit corner, gently playing her guitar. However, tonight, not even her beautiful melodies could sooth him.

He came over, tapping the ground again. Ivory's river blue eyes looked up, locking with his dark hazels. She gave him a small waved before doing talons gestures.

In the time they had spent together, he had learned sign language.

'Hello, Aureus. Back for more lessons?' She signed, before patting her extra guitar. Aureus shook his head, before his eyes beginning to cloud with tears.

'Ivory, I just need,' he stalled for a moment, trying to think, '... someone to talk to, again.'

Ivory nodded and patted the spot next to her, moving her sharp tail spikes.

'Tell me what's wrong, lil' gangster,' joked the other, trying to raise his spirits. Aureus gave a small smile at the nickname before explaining all that happened. From Scorch, all the way to what happened a few moments ago.

Ivory read all of it attentively, correcting a few of his signs. After he was done, Ivory opened a wing, holding him in her wing's dome.

What happened next surprised him.

"I do apologize for all you are going through, Aureus. You don't deserve what is happening to you in your life, but I know you are strong. If your father and mother don't appreciate or care what happens to you, just know I do. Things will get better, if you believe they are going to get better. Don't lose yourself to them, you are you; and you should stand up,"

Aureus looked at her with wide eyes. Did she just speak? Well, he knew she could, but only when she sang.

He didn't bring up that fact she said his name wrong (ur-ee-us instead of a-ray-us), but gave a large smile. He needed to hear that.

"Thank you, Ivory... I needed that."