Lost A Friend

*Title taken from the The Fray song 'How To Save A Life'*

“Thyme, are you okay? You’ve been really distracted recently. This isn’t like you.” Azure said, concern in his voice. Thyme didn’t respond, and she looked away from him. He didn’t need to worry about what was bothering her, it would just make him anxious.

“It’s nothing. I’m fine.” Thyme lied, her thoughts immediately drifting back to Amethyst. She was suffering, and Thyme had no idea how to help her. She had to get back to her daughter, just in case Amethyst needed her. Azure would understand. “I should go. I have work to do at home.”

Azure looked disappointed for a second, but then nodded. “Alright. Just, you know you can talk to me, right?” He took her talon, gently squeezing it. “I’m here for you, always.” Thyme smiled at him, grateful that he cared about her. She hugged him tightly, resting her head on his shoulder for a moment.

“Well, if you have to go, you should probably do that.” Azure said, removing himself for her hug. Thyme laughed, and walked home. She sped up once her small home came into view, anxious to get back. When she’d left, Amethyst had been asleep, but her scales had been too pale for Thyme’s comfort. She hated that her dragonet was sick, but she didn’t know what to do. She had no idea what was making her sick, or how to stop it.

Thyme went straight to Amethyst’s room to check on her. No change, but whether that was a good thing or a bad thing was unknown to her. She sighed, and picked up the sleeping dragonet, holding her close. Thyme winced as her gaze flicked to the dark sigil burned into Amethyst’s shoulder. They both had it, but it hurt Thyme more when she saw it on Amethyst. The Animus Project’s mark meant that Amethyst’s sickness was most likely a curse of some sort, but Thyme refused to give up on her.

“Moons. What did they do to you?” Thyme asked quietly, not wanting to wake Amethyst. She’d managed to escape mostly unscathed, and she knew she was one of the lucky ones for escaping at all. Her partner and only friend, on the other hand, had been killed while trying to protect her. Thyme hugged Amethyst closer, trying not to think about the dragonet she’d lost to the Animus Project. She knew Amethyst couldn’t possibly be her daughter, she wasn’t half SilkWing, but Thyme liked to think she’d been given a second chance, to save someone else from their shared past.

Sometimes she wished she could have her dragonet back, but that was impossible. If her dragonet, taken from her before they even hatched, had whatever the Project was looking for, they would have been changed, twisted. If not, they were most likely dead now. The Animus Project wouldn’t just let someone go, they would find a way to use anyone they got their claws on. It scared her that a group like that existed, and there wasn't any way to stop them.

Thyme spread her wings out, enjoying the warmth of the sunlight. She didn’t feel tired, though. While she was trapped by the Animus Project, she had stopped sleeping in the middle of the day. Now that she was back in the rainforest, she was trying to join the rest of the tribe in suntime, but she still found sleeping difficult.

Amethyst, though, wasn't having that issue. She was fast asleep, curled up next to Thyme. Morning and Solandis were on Amethyst’s other side, pressed against each other. Thyme stayed quiet and still, so she wouldn't wake them up. She was happy to be home, especially now that Amethyst was doing better. Thyme figured that her sickness had something to do with how far away she was from the Animus Project's labs, and leaving Pyrrhia had activated the worst part of her curse.

“Lannn. Get off my tail.” Morning grumbled, waking up slowly and gently shaking Solandis. Thyme had to stifle her laughter, since Amethyst was still asleep. Solandis huffed slightly and shifted, but she was still grinning at Morning. Thyme softly nudged Amethyst, to both wake up her daughter and to pretend she didn't notice that Morning and Solandis were quietly flirting with each other. They hadn’t been awake for very long when someone landed on their platform, which immediately silenced all conversation. The new RainWing looked distressed, and they bowed quickly. Morning was standing now, concerned.

“I'm so sorry, Princess. Both of you. It's Queen Titan. She's dead.” The RainWing said, and nobody spoke for a long minute. Then Morning’s stunned expression broke, and she collapsed into Solandis, sobbing. Solandis pulled her wife into a close hug, folding her wings around both of them. She looked just as broken as Morning, but she wasn't crying.

Thyme didn't know how she was supposed to feel. She wasn't Titan's daughter, not really. Morning was her half-sister. But Titan had always been a great mother to her, before she was taken. The Animus Project had grabbed her when she was six, and she had been missing for seventeen years. Thyme was never as close to Titan as Morning or even Solandis was, especially since she'd only been reunited with her family for a month.

Thyme didn’t respond, and just picked up Amethyst, holding her tightly. She should have gotten more time with her family. So much time had been stolen from them, and now they'd never make up for it.