ORIGIN

There may have been a misunderstanding, but if there was, Desert would have no idea. He felt his mouth hit flesh- hit right home where he wanted it to, but he didn't dare crunch down. No. He bit, yes, kept his grip, growled with his blue-purple gums shining in the dim light of the tunnel. Let it say what it wanted, then. Let it speak, but with his teeth on its throat, maybe it'd be more careful on its words. This alliance wasn't sacred. This alliance was necessary, but he wasn't afraid to pull a knife to it if this shit would persist.

At the warning, Desert pressed his teeth in harder, daring to draw blood. Daring to bite down, to injure, but not to kill, no. Where would he be, then? Friendless, in this waste of a cave.

Did he still consider Hemlocke a friend anymore?

Not when pain shot straight through him, the taste of his blood mixing with Hemlocke's on his tongue. Blue swirls mixed with reddened spit and drooled out. The edges of his vision faded to black as he tried to pry his jaw open far enough to let go, his wings battering back against Hemlocke's as his eyes went wild with fear. What the hell had it done?

A sick crunch sounded as he jerked back, both colors of blood spraying from his mouth and onto Hemlocke's open neck and the glass below. An accentual scream ran out as realization hit him. But. Below- shit, the glass- He didn't have time to worry about the blood draining from the roof of his mouth, although the pain was eye-crossing. No, even as he moved, he threatened to fall onto the spikes and maim himself even more. Primal synapses fired as he scrabbled onto the smooth surface for purchase, sliding down under Hemlocke and above the shards.

He panted. He couldn't feel his mouth- could barely breath with the blood draining into his lungs. He had to tilt his mouth to the side, his tongue and lips hanging limply from where they were connected with the alien color running down thickly.

Why the hell did he do that?

Desert could barely hear Hemlocke. His senses were fading in and out- mostly out of shock, with the bone still holding on the majority of his blood in the roof of his mouth. For now. But he could feel it in his nose- a drip ran out of his lips from a nostril.

Oh, shit. He heaved dryly, coughing up blood with racking movements. His sides wheezed- he was fine, he'd be fine, he'll be fine-

The glass was slick. He gulped, swallowing down blood as he latched on with the spurs of his wings, eyes shutting tight to force down the spinning that threatened to take him over. He'd deal with this later, he had to go, had to leave, had to run-

Hemlocke landed near him. Clear tears bundled at the edges of his eyes as it still continued, latching on with hooks as though it were desperate for a rope to drag down with them. It worked, this time. It worked- oh, it worked, as Desert broke out into a quiet sob, hiccuping with blue tinging the corners of his lips and tears threatening to wipe it away.

Years of running, years of surviving, for what? To kill each other like rats scrabbling for a piece of meat? They were stranded, and they were alone together. They only had each other. And they hated each other.

His muscles were weak when he fell down beside Hemlocke, ungracefully and claws crashing into the spurs risen from the ground. Snaps here and there persisted- his wings were still flared out, his mouth hanging open as coughing sobs shook his entire body.

If it wanted him to die, it could just kill him there now. But- as it came forward, he drew back, hissing and snapping his teeth shut in the air before crying out in a shriek of pain. Fuck, that was a mistake. He wobbled on his feet, exhaling sharply as he had no choice but to leave his mouth open.

He shuddered as Hemlocke reached in. Its bone was lodged into his palate, the roof and tongue ripped with uneven splits along the muscles. It was unnatural to have something in there that wasn't going to be swallowed, and he shoved down the urge to snap down on the paws- even as they dragged out the offending bone from the wound. He could feel his eyes rolling back- the blood dripping down onto his tongue- the senses overwhelmed him, driving him to further tears, sobs running through his throat like a kid who'd stubbed their toe.

He screamed as his flesh burnt. It took a shot of will to not destroy what was inside, his breath like fire in his throat from the heat. It burnt through- cauterized, horribly, but it would heal. Desert yanked back when it became too much, his head low and coughs forcing out the last of the foreign contaminants within his body.

"I'm-" He stopped, his tongue numb. They... They weren't supposed to split that way. A few smacks of his lips and runs over his teeth with the muscle discovered the extent of his injuries, feeling the still hellfire-hot flesh at the roof and blue staining the yellow of his bones. "I'm sorry."

It took all he had to admit it, muscles drooping down below him and body shaking. He was pathetic. Was this really all he was, someone desperate for companionship that he'd attack the only one he had that had a chance of giving it to him? He really was a disgrace.

What would his brother think?

He felt his consciousness slip in and out, his eyes blinking hard to keep him in focus as he stumbled in place. "Please- I'm- I'm sorry, please- Survive, Hem- I'm sorry." His words tumbled out in a desperate plea. He knew he wasn't going to die- knew he was going to heal, but panic drove him, flooding his senses. He wasn't like this in the trials- wasn't so pathetic, so weak, but here.. Things were different. Too different. He was different, and he hadn't improved for the greater, in this case.

The dragon struggled to breath without coughing as it watched Hemlocke, the air that managed to fill his lungs tainted with the smell of their mixed metallic bloods. It- He was honest, it made him hungry, and he nearly vomited from the thought of food right now. That- No, not with his mouth like this. Not with...

The floor so close. He stumbled down, for a second, his vision swirling in front of him before he drew his head up. He had to survive. He- he refused to let his chrysalis draw him in. What would Vargas think if he saw his champions imprisoned near their children? What about Doctor? Would they be quick enough to find him?

They had to be. Desert's lungs pained his sides from the force of his breath, panic driving a particular soreness through his muscles as though he'd just ran through a trial in a minute.

Hemlocke didn't deserve what he'd done. As much as he goaded them, Hemlocke was an ally, and Desert shouldn't've exploded like that. It was an opposite situation, in this case, then. Agate... Was that the cockatrice? Yes- the one that'd awoken for these trials. Desert halted his breathing for a second to swallow and shamble over to Hemlocke, struggling to stay on his four feet.

Desert looked away at Hemlocke's words, a ragged sigh running out of him. "Yes." The answer was simple, but one packed with memories- ones he didn't have, ones he'd lost during that lapse, of things that could've happened. A faint ghost swirled in his mind of it, though he had no clue as to what it was there for.

He lowered his head, though, offering his shoulder for Hemlocke to lean on. He didn't know how much further he could make it- the blood in his mouth had grown sticky, grown to clot the flesh and seal the whole thing shut. "Come on-" He began, breathless- "We need to get to- to Doctor." His nose dipped forward to the other end of the cave.

Betrayal hurt. It hurt Desert to do. It hurt everyone involved. He'd had enough of betraying others- had enough of attacking his friends, his allies. But talking, here and now- it hurt, and the fresh wounds threatened to split from their burnt states again. He was stepping on shards, too- the pain was overridden, then, by the pain in his head, but the moment he thought of it he cringed in realization. He was probably leaving footsteps of muddled blue by now-

Blue, followed by the whump of his body crashing down. He needed to rest, he needed to lay here, needed to wait, needed to survive here for just a few moments. But Hemlocke- he tried to nudge it forward, towards Hydra. "Find-" He wheezed, coughing out. He was so tired.

"Find Doctor." His voice was weak and barely croaked out. What had he done- driving them both to this pain? This was foolish- this was idiotic of him.

Would he have done this with his brother? Was that any different? Why... Why was he thinking about him so often?

He wasn't allowed to miss anyone.

Desert's wings drooped. Despite this, despite having gone through worse, he could feel the itching at the base of his skull telling him that his gem was not happy with him. Or, at least, he'd interpreted it that way. The infernal thing that held his life seemed to think it knew more about him than he did.

The dragon grumbled under his breath. Hemlocke wouldn't let him rest, and his eyes squeezed shut at the words. It was true they wouldn't make it that far, and his own wings threatened to curl in on themselves. Shakily, he rose to his feet with their spurs digging into the ground, a faint hiss coming from his clenched teeth. He couldn't suppress a smile. The empty threats meant nothing, and, truly, Desert misread it as a jest now, especially since he knew the both of them couldn't do anything.

He paused as they offered themselves up for a change. "No-" He rumbled, his voice low and deep. "Let me take the blame. Don't lose your position over..." He glanced about them, a sad eye barely able to see the blood splattered all over the place. "This."

Wobbling in place, Desert took one step, then another, towards the wall, stumbling over shards and threatening to trip once or twice. He didn't want to go into his chrysalis- not as he felt the sand march across his skin from his ear, covering his face quickly. He held it up for a second as if pleading to the heavens above for... Something. There was no stopping this. There was no denial of the injury he bore, of the stress that weighed on his shoulders.

He dropped his head when it enveloped over his neck, instinctively curling into a fetal position as his skin was enclosed for later retrieval. A sweeping tail took care of the thick glass around here- and he quickly let the selenite march over his body, consciousness drifting away from him as he lulled himself to sleep.