Shipped Away

== .chapter 1. ==
"Can I get this?" Fatum held up a loaf of bread, hopefully gazing into the eyes of the cashier.
Steeltalon sniffed. "How much you got on you?"
The three-year-old dragonet reached into his pouch and pulled out a handful of copper coins. "Uh... is this enough?" He asked, spilling them onto the market counter.
Steeltalon sighed, visibly annoyed. "Fine," He snapped. "Take your bread."
As Fatum turned away, his grip loosened on the chicken wing he had snuck, and it tumbled to the ground.
"Hey!" Steeltalon snapped. "You need to pay for that."
"Hm? Pay for what?" Fatum tried to act like he had no idea what the NightWing was talking about, but the way he had flinched must've given him away, as Steeltalon facepalmed.
"Don't play dumb with me," He snapped. "Pay up."
Fatum reached into his pouch, and held up the last three copper coins.
"Got any gold?"
Fatum dug around in his pouch. "No."
"Then hit the road!"
Fatum sighed. "Can't I pay you back?" His parents would have money, if they let him use it.
"No."
His tail flicking, Fatum turned and headed away. "Thanks anyway," He called over his shoulder.
His words were kind, but his tone and mood weren't. The bread felt cold in his hand, and in frustration, Fatum threw it to the ground. When he picked it up, it was covered in dirt, and a worm had latched onto it.
"Gross," Fatum mumbled, flicking off the bug and brushing off the earth. He hoped his parents wouldn't notice.
Flaring his wings, Fatum shot into the sky. He caught a wind current and followed it, overlooking the entire NightWing kingdom. Below him was the marketplace, where some dragons lived and all of them traded and shopped. In the middle of the kingdom was the Great Diamond, and north of that was the palace. Beside the palace was the ravine, where a lot of NightWings lived. Then, east of the Great Diamond, was the city where Fatum lived. It was small, with cheap blackstone buildings, and was right next to a beach. The entire Night Kingdom was marked with pine forests and short mountains, the air cold and crisp from the cool ocean air tainting the wind. But the night was peaceful and quiet, unlike the burning daylight.
Fatum dove down into the small city, diving past pine trees and hanging branches. The bread was gripped tightly in his talons.
Suddenly, a black figure flashed in front of him, and he skidded to a halt in midair, lost his balance, and tumbled downward. Twigs and leaves scratched at his scales, and he flared his wings as he tried to fly back up.
He managed to catch himself just before he hit the ground, and sighed with relief.
"I'm sorry!" He recognized the voice as his neighbor's dragonet, Flintbringer. "Fatum? You dropped something."
Fatum gasped as he realized he had dropped the bread. "Crap!" He roared. Diving to the ground, he searched rapidly for the food.
"Calm down, I got it," Flintbringer said, revealing the food in his talon.
"Thank Nyx!" Fatum gasped, running over and giving Flintbringer a quick hug. "You just saved my life!"
Flintbringer handed Fatum the bread, then looked worriedly at him. "Did you lose weight?"
"Thanks." Fatum growled.
"No, seriously. I can see your ribs."
Fatum blinked. Had he gotten that skinny? His parents hadn't had enough food leftover to feed him much for the past couple of weeks, but he still got to eat sometimes. His parents, Broadface and Preywatcher, were often lazy, and didn't have stable jobs because of that. Broadface was mainly a house husband, and cleaned the house while Preywatcher hunted to get money. But despite her name, she wasn't the best hunter, so the money the family made was poor. On top of that, they decided to have three other dragonets, and since Fatum was the oldest, he was expected to do the work. He loved his family, though- mostly his siblings, Tunespeaker, an unhatched egg, Shadowstalker, a three month-old male, and Scripter, a one-year old female.
"I was practicing my hunting, and caught a boar." Flintbringer broke into his thoughts. "Want some?"
Fatum blinked and looked away. "Sorry, I can't." The temptation was there, but the sun was going to rise in a few hours, and he needed to get back to his home soon. "I'll see you tommorow, and we can hunt later." He tried to keep his voice hopeful, but he doubted that he would have time tommorow, since he had a busy schedule at home, with five dragons to manage.
"Okay, man," Flintbringer replied. "Have a good night."
Fatum nodded slowly and then launched himself into the sky, his star-speckled wings blending into the night. Flintbringer's words rang in his head, like a gong from the school he couldn't afford. The weight on his shoulders was still there, although sometimes he couldn't see it, and he wondered if Flintbringer was right, and maybe he should be taking better care of himself, not his family. But that's selfish, isn't it? He thought.
== .chapter 2. ==
wip
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Genre (Adventure)
Category:Content (Dogw1ng)