Parents: Who Needs 'em?

Howdy! This is gonna be a pretty quick two part fic. It'll be about Wildfire and what it would be like for her to meet her parents, Mesa (SkyWing) and Drought (SkyWing). Minor language warning. I'm not sure if this'll be canon or just a hypothetical thing. Either way, I hope you enjoy!
== Part One: Mother Dearest ==
Wildfire stood still in the bustling city street and looked up at the huge red tent in front of her. An elaborate wooden sign read 'The Finer Things: A SkyWing Owned Business'. The tables in front of the store displayed exotic rugs, imported spices, and shiny jewelry. This had to be the place. She shoved through the crowd and entered.
"Welcome to The Finer Things! What are you looking f-" Wildfire quickly shut the salesman up with a glare and continued past the rows of assorted valuables. She was tempted to take some for herself but reminded herself that wasn't what she was here for. She stopped at a wooden counter near the back where a yellow-orange SkyWing sat, counting money and sorting it into a wooden drawer behind him. He took a few moments to see her and he quickly shoved the rest of the gold away.
"Good morning ma'am. How may I help you today?" he said with feigned friendliness. "I want to see your boss," she replied curtly. The cashier startled at the frank question but quickly hid it under faux professionalism.
"I'm sorry ma'am, but Miss Mesa doesn't take visitors. Whatever's the matter, I'm sure one of my fellow employees can take care of for you." Wildfire scowled, her tail starting to twitch. "No, actually, they can't," she snapped, a hint of mania edging her voice, "Now let me see her now!" Her raised voice was beginning to catch the attention of other shoppers and workers alike, who looked at the scene with a mix of confusion, annoyance, and a hint of fear.
The older SkyWing was clearly beginning to get nervous at the attention being called to him, which Wildfire couldn't help but take pride in. "Alright, I'll check with her, please just don't cause a scene! W-what do you wish to speak to her about?"
Wildfire paused. What did she want to talk to her about? Or rather, what should she tell this weak-willed excuse of a dragon? She thought for a moment before replying, "Business". The gold SkyWing nodded and quickly strode through some curtains behind the counter, with a simple sign above that said 'Employees Only'. Wildfire tapped a talon on the counter impatiently, waiting for the cashier to return. A minute or so passed before he peeked his head through the curtain and beckoned her over. "Right this way, miss."
Wildfire walked around the counter and pushed through the dark red curtain, following him down a corridor. She eyed a couple of rooms nearby, one likely a storeroom and the other an employee lounge where a couple SkyWings sat laughing. At the end of the hall was a large curtain with gold patterns swirling along the edges. He walked into the room. "Here she is, Miss Mesa. Let me know if you need anything else." Wildfire heard a dismissive grunt and the cashier quickly paced out and back to his post.
A deep and regal feminine voice broke the silence. "Come in, make it quick." Wildfire took a deep breath, mentally hyping herself up. She stepped in to see a large, deep red SkyWing dragoness reclining on an elegant sofa, jewelry adorning her neck and horns. She peered down at the smaller bright red dragon and narrowed her dark gold eyes. "Well you don't look like a business sort of dragon, do you?" She laid back, relaxed. "Normally I'd kick you out for wasting my time but I'm feeling a bit generous today," she said, the word dripping off her tongue like venom. "Now get on with it, dear, what do you have to say that's so important I hear?"
Wildfire had to admit to herself she was actually intimidated by the dragon before her. She mentally screamed at herself for it but found her voice. "Mesa, I presume?" she spoke, covering up her anxiety with an irritated yet aloof tone. The wine-red dragon nodded. "Do you remember me?"
Mesa blinked coolly. "I don't remember every little SkyWing that I meet, darling. Refresh my memory, why don't you?" Wildfire found herself unable to hold back her temper any longer and shouted, "Really? You don't remember your own daughter? The one you abandoned just a decade ago? You don't remember her?!" She was breathing heavily, her claws digging into the carpet below her.
"Mm, now that you mention it I do. Barely. Insufferable little whelp. What of her?" Mesa replied while examining her talons, not fazed by the outburst at all. Wildfire was stunned. She was hoping for some sort of reaction; happiness, an apology, an explanation, a fight, anything but indifference. She shook her head. "That's ME! I'M your daughter!"
Mesa looked at her, annoyance visible on her face. "And? Why are you here?" She played with one of the many golden necklaces that rested on her neck. "If you want my money you aren't getting it and if you want a job the answer is no," she concluded. Wildfire was silent, overwhelmed with surprise and anger and maybe even a bit of sadness. "Close your mouth, dear, don't want to catch any flies."
Wildfire stared at her in disgust. She didn't know much of anything about mothers aside from a couple classes she took when expecting Lavender, but she did know they were supposed to give half a rat's a** about their dragonets.
Mesa looked at her, amusement twinkling in her eyes. "What, did you expect some big tearful reunion complete with a feast and fanfare?" Her twistedly amused smile turned to a glare in a second. "This isn't some hatchling scroll, kid, it's the real world. I left you for a reason and there's a reason I didn't try and find you. You wanna know why?" She leaned down over her with a cruel grin. "Because you were a noisy little brat who always got into trouble and were in my way of success. I never wanted a dragonet; you were a mistake. You should be glad I didn't just kill you"
That was it. Wildfire leapt up with a roar, ready to claw her miserable excuse for a mother to shreds; to make her hurt. She was suddenly slammed down, a massive paw pinning her snout to the ground with a sickening crunch. She struggled to claw at her attacker who merely stood above her, unfazed by the weak attempt on her life. "Are you done now, dearie? I have work to do. Now get out before I do more than break your snout." Mesa suddenly lifted her now bloodied talons from Wildfire's snout, wiped them on the carpet below her, and turn away back to counting her treasure. "Oh, and next time I see you here should only be you buying something from me. Thank you for your business," she finished in a sickeningly sweet tone with a malicious grin to match.
Wildfire tenderly touched her snout with a wince, yep it was definitely broken again. She wanted to lunge at the dragoness in front of her again and again until she won but grudgingly knew she would lose. She turned and stormed out, just as she heard Mesa call in another SkyWing to clean the rug of her blood. She walked out of the market and earned a number of stares from the other patrons who were left to only guess what had happened.
As Wildfire stalked off through the streets, she thought to herself. While she hated her mother, she admittedly admired her too. She was a large, intimidatingly beautiful dragoness who carried herself like a queen and was treated as such for it. She commanded respect and fear from those around her, ruling with an iron talon. She was cunning and strong: a dangerous combo for anyone who opposed her. She was ruthless and wouldn't let anything or anyone get in the way of what she wanted. She was almost everything Wildfire wanted to be!
But the key word is 'almost'. She was a terrible mother, and while Wildfire never used to be concerned about such a thing, now that she had a daughter of her own she vowed to try her damnedest to be better than Mesa ever would be in that respect.
== Part Two: Father Darling ==
Wildfire looked up at the humble building before her then back at a small slip of paper in her talons. The address matched but there had to be a mistake; surely her mother wouldn't have had an ordinary middle class dragon as a mate. She considered just giving up and flying home but she made it this far and the need for answers outweighed her doubt. She knocked on the wooden door sharply. There was a shuffle of talons from inside and the door opened to a somewhat plump SkyWing with red-orange scales and bright hazel eyes.
"May I help you?" she asked, her voice sweet but not disingenuously so. Wildfire puffed herself up slightly, wanting to come off as intimidating and powerful as possible. "Yeah, do you know where Drought lives? Male SkyWing, orange scales, boring office worker?"
The SkyWing smiled brightly. "Why yes, he lives here! I'm afraid he's out right now though, but he should be back not too long from now. Come in, come in! You can stay for a cup of tea until he returns," she beamed. Wildfire was slightly taken aback at how overly trusting and hospitable this dragon was, but she would use it to her advantage. She forced a smile. "That would be wonderful!"
The SkyWing led her inside and sat her down at a modest stone table, bringing over a kettle and pouring its contents into a small cup. "My name is Chaparral, I'm Drought's mate. Who might you be?" Wildfire gingerly held the cup of hot tea and took a sip, buying herself time to think of a response. She guessed she wasn't too surprised her father moved on to have another mate; from what she heard he was a very boring dragon. She almost gagged on the bitter liquid but forced it down with another false grin.
"My name is Wildfire, I'm just here to catch up with him. It's been a while since we last talked," she said, not entirely lying. Chaparral tutted and shook her head, "He gets so caught up in his work, I swear he'd forget to eat without me nagging him. He's s-" She was cut off when a dragonet, who could be no more than seven walked in from a hallway that led to what was presumably a bedroom. "Ma, who is it?" he asked, rubbing his eyes of sleep.
Chaparral grinned. "Good morning dear! Just a friend of your father's," she turned back to Wildfire. "Wildfire, this is my son, Blitz." Wildfire balked slightly; her father didn't want her but would keep this dragonet? She looked him over quickly. He was a tad small for his age, his scales were pumpkin colored with a darker orange underbelly: overall pretty unremarkable, at least compared to herself.
Chaparral didn't notice her guest's suspicious glare and continued her introduction. "He's the top of his class in school, and a wonderful athlete too! Drought and I are very proud of him," she crooned. Blitz bowed his head in embarrassment. "Maaaaaa," he drawled in a long drawn whine. His mother chuckled warmly while Wildfire began to feel rather out of place with this happy family.
Chaparral looked up at a little clock hanging above the nearby kitchen counter and jumped up. "Is it that late already? Pardon me, Wildfire, I have to pick up my dragonets from school. Blitz, be a good host until your father returns. Sorry to leave you so suddenly, we'll have to continue our little chat later," she said, hurrying out the door of the small apartment, leaving Wildfire and her half-brother alone in awkward silence that the elder dragon tentatively broke.
"So... Blitz," she nearly spat the name, "You have siblings?" Blitz nodded. "Yeah, I have an older brother who works in the army, Bolt, and two little sisters: Buzzard and Bateleur . Normally I'd be at school too but I faked sick, don't tell my ma that though," he said with a mischievous glint in his eye. A small smile quirked her lips at that; maybe they did have a little in common at least. But then she really took in what he said: he had THREE SIBLINGS. She had a lot to talk to father about. Like why he had four other dragonets but ditched his first one. And who Chaparral is to him. And why do all of his dragonets have names starting with a 'B'?!
 Before she could linger on her resentment more, Blitz spoke up again. "So who are you really? Dad doesn't really have friends, especially not ones who aren't old boring dragons." Wildfire narrowed her eyes, he was too perceptive. "That doesn't concern you, does it?" she said, annoyance in her voice. The front door clicked open, interrupting stopping her from talking more. An amber colored SkyWing stepped in and stopped at the sight of the strange dragon in his home.
"Hi dad," chirped Blitz. "This dragon said she was here to see you." Drought looked at Wildfire, a little flustered at the development. "Oh, pardon me ma'am. Who may you be?" he said, grabbing a seat across from her.
Wildfire smirked to herself; she could make him squirm. "Oh, you don't remember?" she asked innocently. "My name is Wildfire." Drought looked at her oddly for a few moments before recognition dawned on his face. "Wildfire? As in my daughter Wildfire?" he gaped.
She nodded but winced when she heard Blitz squeal, "I have a secret sister I never knew about?!" Drought looked at his son and gestured his head in a silent sign to leave them be, which he begrudgingly obeyed and scampered off elsewhere.
The elder dragon turned back to Wildfire, still stunned. "I never thought I'd see you again, especially with Mesa in charge," he said. Wildfire quirked her head to the side slightly. "What do you mean by that?" she questioned. "Well with her raising you-"
"Woah woah woah, she never raised me!" she shouted. Drought rubbed his temples and sighed, "Moons, she dumped you on her sister didn't she? I guess that's better than having her as a mother but-"
"NOBODY raised me!" she snapped, cutting him off. "What do you mean 'nobody raised you'?" he sputtered. "We agreed that she would take care of you!"
Wildfire snorted a small plume of flame irritably. "Well OBVIOUSLY she didn't. I didn't even know who she was until a couple weeks ago!" Drought ran his claws over his face in an exasperated gesture. "That good-for nothing vile wench... I'm sorry, I had no idea." He regained his composure and looked at her with sympathetic eyes. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
She thought about his offer. It's not like she needs a home or a job or food. She could ask for some treasure compensation but from the looks of their home they wouldn't be able to offer much. "Answers," she said decisively. Drought nodded. "What do you want to know?"
"First of all, why did you and Mesa leave me?" she asked, anger edging her voice at the thought of what excuses he would make. Drought took a deep breath. "Well, Mesa and I... hooked up, you could say. Having a dragonet was never in our plans so you were a surprise we didn't prepare for. We tried to raise you, but we fought so much it wasn't working out for either of us. We decided to separate and I thought she agreed to raise you alone, so I... moved on. I never thought I'd see you again, knowing her," he finished.
Wildfire twitched her tail irritably, although she couldn't find anything in his story to yell at him about. On to the next question then. "So you didn't want me but you wanted four other dragonets instead?" she asked accusingly. Drought held up his talons in a pacifying gesture. "It's- It's not like that!" He rested his head in one of his thin and bony paws. "I wasn't prepared financially to take care of you. Mesa, though, came from a rich family. She could afford to raise you but at the time I couldn't. But when I met Chaparral, I had a steady job. Even if I tried to get you back then, your mother would be too stubborn to give you up to me.
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Content (bpdstanley)
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Fanon)
Category:Mature Content