Could Time Repeat

*Title taken from the song 'How Would That Feel' from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds*

Sawtell didn't notice the other dragonet until she turned around, which startled her. She hadn't even realised she was being watched, and it was a bit unsettling. She was pretty sure she hadn’t seen him before, but he was tucked away in a shadowy corner, hidden by his dark colours. She stared at him for a brief moment, trying to identify him. He stared right back at her, frowning slightly.

“Do you need something?” Sawtell asked, and the other dragon blinked briefly, like he was startled out of his thoughts. He stood up and walked over to her, giving Sawtell the distinct feeling that he was inspecting her. She definitely hadn’t met him before, she would have remembered his scars if she had. He had dark blue scales, claw scars over one eye, and his grey-blue mane had paler blue markings.

“You’re Corvus’ daughter.” He said, more telling her than asking. Sawtell nodded slowly, still confused. It wasn’t rare for other OutCasts to ask Corvus for medical help, but usually they would go straight to him, not wait for her to talk to them. It was true, Corvus had taught her a little, but she definitely didn’t trust herself to deal with any serious injuries.

“Yeah. Do you need him for something? Because you can just go talk to him yourself, you don’t need to go through me.” Sawtell said, sitting back and resettling her mane. She didn’t want him to think he was making her uncomfortable, even though he definitely was. He narrowed his eyes at her, still being slightly unnerving.

“Hmm. It would be faster to speak with both of you at once.” He said, and Sawtell nodded again.

“Well, I was going to head back now anyway, so I guess you can come with me.” She said, trying to move around him. “Also, who are you? I don’t think we’ve ever met before. I’m Sawtell, but you probably know that.” At least, she was pretty sure they’d never met, but there was a tiny part of her mind that was desperately trying to place him in her faintest memories, from before she was exiled. She glanced over at him, and he started following her back to the cave where she lived with Corvus.

“Sawtell?” He said quietly, like he had been expecting her to say something else. He shook his head quickly, and looked at her again. “I’m Salamander.” He added. Sawtell gave him a small smile, which got no response, not that she expected anything. He didn’t say anything else, and she didn’t either, so it was quiet for a little bit. It wasn’t an awkward silence though, which was nice. It felt like Sawtell was walking with a friend, not the strange dragonet she’d just met.

“So, what do you need Corvus for? You don’t look hurt, or sick.” Sawtell said, curious. Salamander just scowled, and ignored her question. She felt a bit hurt, but she understood. She didn’t need to know his personal problems if he didn’t want to share them with her. She was still practically a dragonet, and he didn’t even know her. Of course he wouldn’t want to share anything with her.

They didn’t speak until they reached the cave, and even then Salamander just pushed past her and went right over to Corvus, who had heard them approaching. Sawtell was going to say something, but then didn’t. Corvus gave her an amused glance, and then looked at Salamander.

"What do you need help with?” Corvus asked him, tucking his large wings close to his sides. He was taller than the average CaveWing, and with his deep purple wings, he could be intimidating sometimes, but he was one of the nicest dragons Sawtell knew.

Salamander was silent for a moment, examining the older dragon. At last, he responded, "I've heard much of your profound abilities and have come to realise they would be useful for us. You're talented in the medical field, are you not?" Corvus looked amused, and Sawtell had to try and hide her laughter.

“I appreciate the flattery, but really, what are you here for?” He asked. Salamander lifted his head and smiled. It looked strained and fake, but the falter was brief and his smile quickly became genuine. Sawtell was pretty sure Corvus hadn’t noticed, but she had. Salamander intrigued her, and she wanted to know what he was up to.

"Well, I'm gathering the Outcasts together for one common goal; the fall of Polar and Swiftlet. You would be welcomed into my group and valued. We need you, Corvus." He had an odd look on his face, as if he were concentrating. "Will you join us? Both of you?" He finally looked at Sawtell, as if just remembering she was there. Corvus hesitated, then shook his head.

“I can’t speak for Sawtell, but I won’t be joining you. As much as I dislike Polar and how she runs things, I won’t be part of something that would result in just more pain.” He explained. Sawtell felt another brief flash of recognition. She knew who Polar was, of course, but Swiftlet? Why would that name be familiar? She pushed the thought aside, it wasn’t important.

Salamander scowled at the hybrid, apparently struggling to keep his composure. "Pity. I could've used someone like you." His gaze turned to Sawtell and his scowl relaxed. "Will you come, anyway?" he asked her. "You're needed, whether or not you come with Corvus." His smile returned, his teeth showing as if he were desperate. Sawtell was surprised he’d asked her directly, and she scrambled to find an answer. If Salamander really needed a medic, and Corvus refused, he’d be stuck if anything happened to one of his dragons. Sawtell, while not being as skilled as her dad, knew what to do for minor injuries, and even that was better than nothing.

Sawtell nodded, and Salamander’s smile widened. “Of course I’ll join you. Having a medic is important.” She said, smiling back at him. After all, Polar had exiled dragons she cared about for no real reason, and Sawtell wanted to get back at her for it. Not just for herself, but for Corvus, and now Salamander.

“What did you do?” Sawtell hissed, trying to hide her dread from the dark blue CaveWing sitting across from her. Salamander’s expression barely changed, which just made her more nervous. Her partner, Lion, had vanished, and Sawtell had a feeling that Salamander had something to do with his disappearance. “Where is he?”

“Why do you think I did anything? I couldn’t care less about who’s here or not.” Salamander said coldly. Sawtell knew he wasn’t telling the full truth, Salamander had been suspicious of Lion even since the now-missing dragon had first showed up.

“Because I know you were jealous. Upset that I liked him.” Sawtell snapped, her tail lashing. She’d fallen for Lion, and Salamander didn’t like that. He’d always been weirdly possessive over her, even though they weren’t together, and barely even friends. She didn’t like him that way at all, and she was pretty sure she’d made it obvious to him. Salamander, though, didn’t take rejection well, and wouldn’t back down.

Salamander hissed, his ears folded back. He stepped towards her threateningly. Sawtell refused to back away, letting him get right up to close to her. He was trying to intimidate her, she couldn’t let him see that it was working. Sawtell was scared of Salamander, and she knew that if he ever found out about her dragonets - Lion’s dragonets - he would turn on her.

“You’re mine, Sawtell. Mine.” He growled. “He tried to take you from me. I won’t let anyone take anything from me again.” Sawtell flinched, looking away. He refused to understand that she wasn’t interested, and she’d stopped trying to reject him at this point. If it hadn’t been for Lion, she probably would have given in years ago.

“I’m not.” Sawtell said, finally done with his obsession. “I’ve never been yours, I never will be. Just leave me alone.” She snapped, whirling around and storming off. She found herself walking towards the city in the distance, and she curled up near the river. She regretted joining Salamander’s group of OutCasts now, and wished she could go back in time to refuse. To forget about Salamander, his goals of power. She wished that she could just live with Corvus again, the only dragon who’d really cared about her.

Lion, on the other talon, might have loved her, but he didn’t care. If he had, he wouldn’t have just left like that, without saying anything. Which was why Sawtell was sure that Salamander had something to do with it.

Sawtell could only watch from her sister from a distance, carefully hidden in the shadows. Swift was sobbing, huddled near Pirate's body. Sawtell wanted to run over and comfort Swift, but she couldn’t. Swift didn't know she was undead.

None of them had noticed the IceWings at first. Then Pirate had taken an arrow to the face. An ambush. Sawtell hadn't intervened, even though she knew that if she'd helped, Pirate might have survived. It hurt to see her sister like this, but if she ended up attacking Swift, she would never forgive herself.

Swift looked up, and met Sawtell’s gaze. She froze, her expression stunned, scared, but still hopeful. Sawtell turned and ran, heading for the cave she'd been sleeping in. Maybe Swift would forget that she’d seen her, or maybe she'd think she was seeing things.

“This is not a joking matter, Sheer.” Sawtell huffed, rolling her eyes at the IceWing. Sheer just grinned at her again, and Sawtell had to resist the urge to punch them in their new teeth.

“You're boring. I have fangs!” Sheer said, laughing. “This feels so weird, honestly. I can't believe I'm back here.” They added, gesturing to the snowy forest around them. Sawtell glanced over at Aurora, who looked like she was regretting all of her life choices.

“This is entirely your fault, by the way.” Sawtell said, and Aurora sighed, but nodded. She was the one who had decided to make Sheer a vampire, and it had been her idea to get Sawtell to help them figure out their new state.

“At least she hasn't done anything stupid yet.” Necromancer commented. He was only there to keep an eye on Aurora’s daughter, although what had actually happened was that Ferret and Squirrel had tagged along, and now they were watching Bleak.

“It's been an hour. Give her time.” Aurora said, grinning at Sheer, who shot an overly dramatic offended face right back. Sawtell just rolled her eyes again.

“Right, apparently none of you can take anything seriously. I'm done here.” Sawtell said, glancing at Necromancer. He'd be fine here with these two, she just wanted him to know where she was going.

“Mom, come on.” Ferret chimed in. “Please? We've never been able to have a moment like this. For once, nobody is dying, or trying to kill anyone. We don't need to be serious right now.” Sawtell paused. Ferret was right, of course. She'd been focused on protecting herself and her family for her whole life. Now, she didn’t have to. It felt wrong, somehow. Like if she let her guard down, something terrible would happen.

Except... it wouldn't. There was no threat. She was safe, her family was safe. Sawtell sighed, and smiled at Ferret.

"Okay, yes, fine." She said, sitting down in the snow. It would be okay to just take a moment with her dragonets. Nobody would die.