AWAKENING

 Zutara clawed her way back to consciousness, she was resting on something deliciously warm, she looked around taking in her surroundings.

 They were in a cave, that was certain because of the dark dampness and poor greenish light filtering in from somewhere she could not see, a fire was burning nearby with something cooking over it.

 Riz was kneeling in a corner wrapping bandages around Sikorra's side. The nasty boy who she had bitten, scratched and head butted she remembered in mild embarrassment was kneeling beside Riz and they were both smiling - the beast.

  Of course he would be taken in by Riz's beauty and charms.

 Zutara tried to get up and gasped in pain, the pair turned sharply towards her, she felt like she had been chewed up by some wild animal and the spat out.

 ''Hey, you're awake'' the beast said smiling gaily and she simply grunted in reply not trusting herself not to spit in his face if she opened her mouth.

 ''Thank the skies, I thought you would sleep forever, are you okay? Riz asked her voice laden with concern she came to sit beside her.

 ''Trust me, I wish I could sleep forever, it all hurts, everything is on fire'' Zutara groaned pushing up to her knees and forcing down the vomit that rose to her throat.

 "Sorry!, you fell off your horse and if Sephiata had not scooped you up in time..." Riz shuddered and looked up to where the dragon's head lay snoring like a stampede Zutara was snuggled in her shoulder .

 ''You've been asleep for two days you know '' Zutara pouted 

 "It's all his fault'' she arched her neck towards the boy who had the guts to ask ''Me?'' in surprise, Zutara shot him her coldest side glance, nostrils flared in silent sarcasm, then his expression cleared and he laughed, he laughed ! the monstrous beast, if she wasn't felling like shit she would have dashed across the room to, to...

"To what?'' she snapped at her self in her head adding an invisible eye roll, admiring in spite of herself the way he laughed big and unapologetic with snort at the tail end, it brought an almost smile to her parched, feverish lips.

 ''Oh sorry that was my identical twin brother though we are not looking so identical now thanks to you'' he snorted again and even Riz giggled.

 Zutara looked from one to the other in confusion.

 "Thanks'' a voice slurred dryly, she turned towards the sound and was taken aback. She remembered him ''The Beast!!!'' her mind sang in her throbbing skull.

 There was an ugly purple bruise around his left eye from her head butting him, down hs cheek was red and swollen where she had scratched him and as the scene replayed in her mind's eye she saw herself first as a lioness,  teeth and nails shiny and sharp for biting and scratching but then the next image was of herself as a red bad tempered nanny goat head butting poor innocent unsuspecting individuals.

 He frowned at her and muttered something unpleasant under his breath.

 ''Come and sit with us'' Riz beckoned but he neither moved nor responded, he just remained sitting there with his back against her dragon, one leg stretched out and the other upright, folded at the knee.

 Rude, Zutara added to a repertoire of his faults, she truly hoped that he was in just as much pain as she was - beastly boy, she hissed.

 ''What happened to him'' Zutara nodded towards Sikorra's prone form.

 ''Two major strikes to the head and a slash to his chest, one or two broken ribs but he'll live we are lucky that they came along when they did'' 

 Suddenly Sephiata yawned loud and hot sucking all the air out of the room and began to stretch out her wings.

 Sven yanked her out of the way so fast her head started spinning.

 ''I'm going to be sick'' she groaned ''What did you do that for?''

 ''Whoa !'' Minre exclaimed while Riz rushed to her side ''Did you see that?, even I am not that fast!''.

 ''Sephiata was not going to hurt me'' she clutched her belly doubling over to throw up.

''It's okay the nausea will pass, come and sit by the fire, I made us  some oats, eat that will make you feel better'' Riz rubbed her back as she dry heaved 

 "You know that you haven't eaten in two days so there is nothing in your belly to be thrown up, now quit trying to hurt yourself ''.

 ''I will kill that boy'' Zutara whispered in fury, pushing her hair off her face, Riz laughed heartily.

 "You will do no such thing, he's your sage sweety you can not do shit without him, take the show down we just had and think of what would have happened to us if they hadn't come along to lend us a hand, trust me girl shit would have hit the roof''.

 ''I hate this life'' Zutara complained.

 ''Awww, it's not that bad, have you met Minre?'' Riz led her towards the fire '' talk about fun, boy is sooo lively''.

 Minre reached for her hand immediately she sat down.

 ''Sooo you are the new dragon lord or should I say dragon lady'' he grinned showing all his teeth, he reached over to tuck her damp hair behind her ears and leaned in close, very close, closer than any boy had ever been. So close she could feel his warm breath on her upper lip, then he grinned thumbing her nose.

"You are sooo pretty'' he said staring straight into her eyes. Zutara flushed under his gaze suddenly feeling shy.

 ''Forgive my manners'', he pulled away smoothly twirling a lock of her hair "I'm Minre, Air - binder at your service''.

"I'm Zutara'' she grinned back at him accepting a warm cup of oats from Riz.

 ''And that is my new twin brother Sven'' they both turned, he with a bright smile, she with a dark scowl.

 ''New?" Riz asked putting a cup in Minre's hand.

"Thank you '' he said taking a sip and groaning in enjoyment to Riz's deep pleasure "We just met '' he said drinking again.

 "How can you have just met?''

  ''Long painful story'' Minre replied wiping his chin on his sleeve.

 ''Who raised him?, an angry bear?'' Zutara asked and Minre snorted in laughter.

 ''Very funny'' Sven drawled.

 ''If you loosened up a little more then no one would have to ask that, you are always frowning at something even when there's nothing to frown about''. 

 A sharp retort rose up in Sven's belly but as always he forced it down and kept his mouth shut turning away into the warm hide of the dragon.

 ''You should speak up more Sven'' his mum always said, well the mum he had always known, who'd kissed him goodnight and held him when he couldn't sleep.

 "It's not healthy to always keep things all bottled up, because someday the bottle is going to get full and burst apart and then you'll lash out at those around you'' 

 He always got the sense that she was talking about his dad - ''uncle'' he corrected in his head. He had to begin switching these details in his head, his dad was dead and the man he knew as dad was his actually his birth mother's older brother which made the only mother he had ever known, his aunt by marriage and his brothers whom he had grown up with and fought with and laughed with and eavesdropped on their conversations about girls - his cousins, it was like waking up and finding out that you had suddenly become somebody else, wasn't that enough to keep a body frowning all day long?'' he wondered.

''It's enough'' someone said beside him but when he looked around there was no one close, then the dragon nudged him with one shiny blue talon.