Page 11

On the Move

Fae

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F ae isn’t sure how much longer she can pace in the cave like this.

Between sneaking out to scour for food in the nearby pub’s dumpster and trying to keep herself warm during the colder nights, she thinks Poppy isn’t coming back.

Days have passed, but how many? Fae lost count.

She met one of Poppy’s friends already. A golden, prickly scaled baby named Gigi. Her eyes always squinted in apparent suspicion at Fae, but she eventually left her alone, so Fae can’t be that scary since she’s in the same spot when Gigi comes back. Just like Poppy, Gigi is toothless, but with specks of glitter embedded in her scales. A true sign of a native Topazian.

The wind shudders into the cave with a slow, low howl. Fae shivers and moves to a tighter corner to keep warm. She needs a break if the Superiors can spare her one, or her toes will go numb when the night is over.

Her body is sore from the spaces she tries to hide herself in within the cave. She never knows if Mildred’s team will come back, or any wanderers, so she never truly falls asleep. It’s the safest she’s been, but still not ideal conditions.

A gleaming shadow catches Fae’s eyes and she jumps to her feet, hunched over and shivering in case she needs to run. The silhouette rounds the corner, revealing Gigi tucking her brilliant, fiery orange wings with green veins webbing across the stretch like velvet lines resembling a green moss peacock butterfly.

“Fee. Gigi is back,” she announces.

Fae slumps forward, knees buckling beneath her until she crashes on the hard rock structure. She smiles with relief from a familiar face, even if it’s someone who consistently pronounces her name wrong.

“Fee? You okay?” She inches closer to a resting Fae, whose stomach rumbles from a dying banana she ate an hour ago. “Fee, Gigi heard there was a dragon death on Isle Garnet last week.”

The tired Spirit User sits back up with the sudden lurch from her stomach squeezing itself. Her throat is thick with nausea, but the worry overrides the fear of puking.

“Wh-what?” she whispers. “You don’t think—wait, a week has gone by?”

“Fee. Gigi does not know, but Gigi... worries about your health being in cave without sun. You’re rat-snacking every night from garbage. It’s disgusting. Gigi is appalled.”

Fae frowns. “Stop judging me! I’m just trying to survive while you—” She gestures to the dragon posing majestically before her. “Eat... uh, um I actually have no idea what you eat.”

“We drink from sparkle lakes, Fee. We’re well sustained by simply existing, so when we die, we take that life supply with us, because it’s ours.”

A flapping of wings enters the cave until something crashes into Gigi. Fae yelps and scoots away from the confined space, watching Poppy rise from on top of her friend with her silver, pearly scales. The clash of the two dragons is like hearing glass clinking together.

“Poppy. Gigi is glad to see you’re okay. We heard about the death and thought—”

Fae summons her last burst of energy to throw her arms around Poppy. Her senses shut down, feeling the security and safety settling in her bones.

W armth wraps around Fae as she drools and snores herself awake from her slumber with a violent jolt. She scans her surroundings, having realized she lowered her guard, but with company at her side.

Poppy and Gigi are curled up in front of her, soundly asleep as a glow of light peers from around the corner where the mouth of the cave is. Fae slept through the remainder of the night.

But a rock is stabbing her butt.

Yeouch. She leans to the side to smooth the debris away. Poppy stirs in front of her, wings vibrating to an almost flutter that would whack Fae and Gigi if they open. Gigi then ruffles herself awake. Her eyes slit in her usual suspicious stare at Fae and Poppy before softening with a wide smile, exposing her gums.

“Didya sleep well, Fee?”

“Y-Yeah, did I pass out?”

“Ya! You must’ve been so exhausted,” Poppy says, unleashing a shriek of a yawn. “I’m happy you’re okay and see you’ve met Gigi.”

Gigi keeps her smile with a slight nod. She rattles her wings and trots away until her wings flap from outside the cave. Poppy snuggles up to Fae, pressing her snout against her face. Fae caresses her scales, feeling the luster under her trembling hand.

“Gigi took some time warming up to me, but she helped watch over the cave.”

“Good, and I think I found your friend.”

Fae perks up. “Did she have the eggs?”

“Not sure, I tried leading her to follow me to Topaz, but she didn’t budge. I saw that death lady, too!”

“M-Mildred?” Fae gulps, but it lodges in her throat.

Poppy leans back, then nuzzles Fae’s shoulder before resting her flat chin on her lap.

“She was with Alice Reid but maybe not in friendly way. Death lady had a photo of you! I think she’s looking around.”

“She is, that’s why I’ve been avoiding Garnet Island. She can’t find me.”

Poppy purrs and closes her reptilian eyes. Fae continues to absently pet her scales as she thinks of what to do next. Staying in the cave is fine, but not feasible for anyone, especially if Mildred is out there. She’s been on the run and where is it getting her? She’s tired of merely surviving day by day.

What can I do though?

Before meeting Alice Reid, going against a government official seemed impossible. It seems slightly possible now, but only if Alice Reid isn’t helping Mildred. Going to Garnet is so risky, with any Guard finding her. Fae is lucky she even made it as far as she did before Mildred realized she escaped. Now everyone is on high alert.

“Poppy.” Fae lightly shakes her back awake. “I’m leaving. I’m going to Sapphire Island.”

“Sapphire? Why there?”

“That’s... kinda where I was trying to go, but I came here to avoid getting caught. That woman has a warehouse on Sapphire that needs to shut down. She’s holding dragons there.”

Poppy’s ears perk up as she straightens away from Fae and curls her back to stretch. Gigi flies back in the cave, tucking her wings and bops her head against Poppy’s.

“I’ll come with you!” Poppy says.

Fae raises her hands. “No, you need to stay far away, because if you get captured, then you’re going straight to that warehouse. I gotta stop hiding and be brave, for Zeala.”

Gigi tilts her head. “Where is Fee going?”

Poppy stares at Fae, who gives the baby dragon a look she can only hope is code enough to understand what they’re talking about.

“She’s going to Sapphire. Now that I’m back, we don’t need her to help watch the cave,” Poppy mumbles. A slight whine escapes her mouth.

Gigi nods and nuzzles her snout against Fae, heat radiating from the scales and almost steaming Fae’s eyes out of her sockets.

“Fee. Gigi won’t miss you, but Gigi wishes you well,” she says without missing a beat. She smiles almost a little too proudly before prancing off to another section of the luminescent cave. Poppy hangs her head low, keeping her sad eyes on Fae.

“Please be careful,” she whimpers.

“You as well. Don’t you have moms to return to?”

“We have mothers, but we’re entirely independent. Gigi and I will be okay, I just hope for the same for you.”

With Gigi and Poppy’s help, Fae eats soggy cold fries and a melted vanilla milkshake the baby dragons found in the Entertainment District. Fae’s stomach bubbles, but she waits until dark to leave the cave and start her transit to the station for Sapphire Island.

With the help of her two new friends.

Fae holds onto Poppy’s shoulders as the dragons soar through the night sky. They navigate safely, with periodic breaks on roofs to avoid fireworks. The air slashes through Fae’s hair as they pick up speed, weaving through the buildings as the music pulses in and out throughout the districts.

It’s quite a distance Fae would’ve had to travel on foot, and a time sinker, too.

She shivers as the cold air whips at her skin during the descent toward the Sapphire Island station. From a higher view, even Topaz Island’s brilliance is no match for Sapphire’s lackluster as the station is muted all the way to the train tracks.

Poppy gently lowers to let Fae slide off her back while Gigi stays back to hover above with the flap of her wings.

Fae looks back at the two dragons, trying to hold back tears. She can only hope to the Superiors that no one hurts them.

“Goodbye.” She swallows the lump in her throat.

“Good luck, Fae.”

Gigi huffs a little smoke from her mouth. “Gigi wishes you luck, Fee!”

The dragons soar into the sky, spiraling around each other like a performance before they land on a tall building to perch on. Fae scans her surroundings, realizing there’s little to no traffic in the area or even music. Distant honks and sirens rattle down the streets, but even the paramilitary isn’t out. Maybe because the area is low on foot traffic.

Fae rubs her arms as she makes her way up the platform and notices one bronze coin on the ground. She casually swipes it and waits with the other few people for the train to come back for its last routes of the evening.

When the train arrives to thrust a cluster of people out, Fae rushes on and holds the coin proudly in her hand at the train conductor. A glittered freckled guy with a purple mop of hair that partially covers his eyes. His deadpan expression makes Fae believe he isn’t about that Topazian life.

“May I please get on with this?” Fae asks, cracking a smile.

The guy rolls his eyes. “I don’t care. I’m surprised you Sapphirians even have coins to spare.”

Fae frowns from the mischaracterization but looks down at her clothes and feels even worse than before. She takes the chance and thanks the guy before finding a seat in the train to Sapphire Island.