Well this is a problem.

Drake wasn’t sure how he got here, or why. There were pieces and parts that wanted to come back to him, but whenever he tried to focus on it, his head started to hurt. There were parts of his memory that were vivid, though, but he ignored those. Those particular memories scared him. But those were the easiest to ignore. Where the hell even am I?

The last thing he remembered was something involving a group of individuals on the deck of an airship. They were all running around, scrambling and yelling. And then something had hit Drake, and that was the last thing he remembered. It’s cold. He shivered. Or at least tried to, but he couldn’t move. Hmm? It didn’t make sense.

The cold and isolation made him think back to a memory. This one was surprisingly easy to grasp. A warm hearth, and children laughing. And a smiling woman. But who are you? The warmth was nice, but he couldn’t see their faces. I can’t…

All alone, Drake was trapped in a crystalline structure, half buried in a chasm in the middle of nowhere. The heat was unbearable, but didn’t seem to have any effect against the cool, shimmering crystal barrier that kept the celestial trapped. There was no telling how he had gotten there, nor how long he had been entrapped by the ice.

She had been tracking them for a while. They were notorious sky pirates that had an artifact. It was a sword that she had caught a few glimpses of when the sky pirates would show it off. They called themselves the Nightingales. They were a fierce lot of pirates that been around almost as long as she had been. Her wings extended as she glided along the flying vessels. They hadn’t noticed her yet.

Good.

She managed to fly through a porthole thanks to how small she was. Pulling up her goggles she looked around and folded up her wings for a quick escape. She dodged much of the staff and finally got into the captain’s room. He was sleeping. Good.

The sword was on a pedestal. Slowly she reached for it and took it off. Stashing it in her shoulder bag she tiptoed over to the side of the room and put her hands to the wall after lowering her goggles. “Thanks for nothing~” She cooed.

It startled the captain who stared at her. “VELA!”

The side of the ship exploded and she soared out and dive-bombed down. The captain had it coming after all. He had scammed her out of her hard-earned silver. She nimbly evaded magic shots. She could see the desert incoming and she prepped her lungs for the air change.

It was almost suffocating but she barely managed to dodge the last blast. Bolts were fired next. “GET HER. KILL HER NOW! Don’t lose her in the sand!” She could hear the captain’s big mouth. She had underestimated the number of bolts though as it hit her up her back and one of her lower wings. Losing one of her four wings caused her to spiral.

What she hadn’t expected was the impact as she impaled herself on a crystalline structure. “Fuck,” she coughed some blood. Her fingers tried to grip at the structure trying to free herself but it was lodged quite good in her center mass. “I give myself… Maybe five minutes before I pass out.” She pulled off her goggles and through them so she could get a better view as she gritted her teeth.

“This is,” she struggled with her words, “worse than that time in Baltil.” Her five minutes were up pretty fast as she passed out.

What? Drake had felt something. A vibration. This pulled his focus for once, and he made an effort to move. Still no good. He could hear words. A voice. She sounded in pain. It wasn’t much after her words vanished when he smelled it. Her blood. She was dying. I can’t have that happen, now can I? But that still didn’t solve the problem he was having. I still don’t know where I even am.

There were more voices now. Angry ones. Triumphant ones. They were mocking the dying woman. Calling her a thief. A liar. A thief… Something stirred in his memories. They were at the edge of his consciousness, as if tempting him to try harder, but they slipped through his grasps yet again. How infuriating.

Outside of the large crystal that Drake was encased in, the sky pirates had crash landed their ship. A small group of them had surrounded the chasm, noting that their prey was no longer a threat. The captain made his way down into the chasm, followed by his small team, to retrieve the stolen artifact.

“Looks like this is it, Vela,” he said as he laughed. “Your time is up. Tonight, the Nightingales feast.”

Oh. I think I just remembered something!

The crystal that Vela was impaled on started to vibrate, humming in the hot air. The captain took a step back. “What the hell is she doing!?” There was obvious worry laced in his words. “There’s no way she could be doing anything.” It was then, that he started to realize what had happened.

About a week ago, the pirates had come across a lone man with great, black wings. Thinking him an easy target, they attacked him for the weapons and silver he may have held, but in the end, he proved to be too much of a match for them. So, they wasted one of the precious artifacts they had lifted. The artifact somehow froze the man in a stasis, and as he fell, his weapon landed on the deck of the ship.

The captain was now staring at that very man encased in crystal. And it was then, that the crystal started to crack.

That’s right…I’m a dragon. The crystal exploded outwards as a great, black dragon erupted into existence, roaring. The chasm shook with the tremendous sound, echoing throughout the desert. And resting on its back, was the wounded angel woman.

The dragon’s crimson eyes leveled with the captain, and a booming voice resonated in the chasm. “I think it’s best if you went on your merry way…”

If Vela had been awake she would have told the captain to eat her ass. They hadn’t been on good terms since she blew up his airship and she had only added to that number since then. She had once been part of his crew but decided it wasn’t for her after she caught him stealing from her.

The vibration caused Vela to regain consciousness a little bit but no a lot. The wing that been damaged vibrated enough that it fell off. It had barely been hanging on but at least the weight was gone and she felt better about that much.

She could feel a heartbeat below the vibrations as her hands grasped at the scales. “Eat…” She took a sharp breath as her eyes looked down to where the captain could be. “EAT MY ASS YOU SON OF BITCH,” Vela let out in a roar. She let in a heave as she felt blood leave her mouth.

“You…” The captain stared at her. “Whatever, she’s almost dead. We’ll settle this next time if there is one.” The captain turned around and beckoned his people to follow.

“Oh fuck off,” Vela laid her head down on the dragon’s back. Her breaths were heavier now and they were few and far in between. If she was going to die he was going to hear how she felt. “I’m done,” she coughed. Probably. If wasn’t she wasn’t done then that was a fucking miracle on her end.

Drake felt good. The best he had felt in a long time. He was finally free of that infernal trap, and he could even stretch his wings out. The dragon let out another roar, spreading its wings before finally retreating into itself, slowly returning back to the form of a man. He was careful, making sure to catch the angel in his arms, and gently let her down.

“Oh. This is much worse than I thought…” Drake stated with a stern voice, looking over the wound. Not good. Let me… He scrambled over her person, looking for anything she had that might help. What’s this? A…box? Something was screaming at him to open the box. Against his better judgement of rummaging through another’s things, he opened the box, and reached in.

“What a mess…” The box was obviously magical. He pulled out a variety of different things, weapons and useless trinkets and items. “Is she some kind of hoarder. Nothing…” His hands found a small flask. He popped it open, and took a sniff. Potent. And it smells like medicinal herbs. Whatever it is, it can’t hurt at this point. He poured some over her wounds, and then took a swig himself, putting his mouth over hers to force some of the liquid into her mouth.

He carefully lifted her head, making sure she didn’t choke on the liquid, and then waited. Please work…it has to work.

The magic made quick work as one would expect from a legendary goddess. Vela came to when Drake had his mouth to hers but just barely. She could feel the healing tonic go down her throat. At least he wasn’t some pervert looking for quick kicks. She had that going for her. “My wing,” she wheezed a bit. Her vision was still hazy.

“The left one,” her voice was so weak still as the magic quickly repaired the damage done by the crystal. Her purple eyes were vibrant but they were fading luckily it stopped as the potion worked its magic. She closed her eyes. “Thanks.”

It was sloppy work but she had actually managed to get the sword away from him. If only she knew that the owner of the sword was the man who had saved her. She would have shit herself right then and there. After a few moments, she managed to regain enough consciousness to pull herself up or at least try to. She winced heavily from her stomach wounds. Her wings were a bloody mess.

“Hey, dragon man,” she looked up at him. “Bolts. My back. Can you pull them out? My wings too.” She was well aware that it would cause more damage. “Quick before that potion wears off. Don’t mind my screaming.”

Drake looked to where she was asking about her wing, and shook his head. “No good. The wing’s gone. You’ll have to deal with that later, though.” The potion was doing its work, and for that the celestial dragon was thankful. But she was right. The bolts needed to come out. Between the two of them, they managed to turn her over.

“Six bolts,” he said aloud. He put his hand on the first one, clean in the center of her back. “Ready?” Without waiting for an answer, he tore the bolt out, tossing it aside. One by one, he yanked each one out, ignoring her screams of pain. The other options were far worse, and Drake knew that.

“You’re in luck. The potion is still healing it,” he said as he rolled her on her back. “I think that’s that.” The warrior stood up, and looked around. A hell of a chasm. And it’s hot… He was already sweating through the light travel clothes he had. “We can’t stay here. We’ll have to move. The desert doesn’t get any colder at night either…”

Sure. I can remember that, but not where I was before this.

He glanced down at the angel, and held out his hand. “Drake. Do you…know where we are?”

“Well shit,” she let out a laugh but it was hesitant. She wondered if she would be able to fly…

She screamed as the bolts were pulled out but thankfully he did it fast enough that the potion kicked in for those wounds too. She let out steady breaths as she paced herself. Taking his hand she was helped up though she was a bit wobbly. “Vela. Though I am sure that you heard him yell it.”

She had a sheepish smile and she looked around. “No, I was trying to avoid the desert during the descent but I guess when my wing got blown out that I was sent deeper into the desert.”

She looked at her spilled bag and she made a face, “Really?” She managed to put everything back into the box and pulled out a tablet. “Luckily for us… It doesn’t matter where we are.” She tapped it to make sure it worked and suddenly the tablet projected a map of the inside of the chasm.

“Mmm,” she looked to the left and she looked to the right. “We might be able to find refuge in this structure here,” she pointed to what looked like ruins inside the chasm. “The stones are normally made so that the heat doesn’t seep in and if we are lucky there will be stuff to burn for a fire so the cold shouldn’t be too bad. I have blankets too.” She kept the tablet in view as she spun it.

“Entrance is about fifty feet from here going that direction,” she pointed. “I’m a treasure hunter… by the way. What the hell were you doing in that crystal anyways?”

“A treasure hunter?” Drake asked curiously. “Sounds kind of dangerous.” He shrugged, though. None of that was really his concern. What she did with her life was her choice. And obviously it hadn’t gone well this time. She was lucky that he happened to be here. When she asked the question of how he got into the crystal, he simply shrugged.

“Couldn’t tell you. I only remember pieces and parts of it.” Drake wasn’t lying either. The memories that he tried to grasp were so broken and fragmented, that it barely mattered. He followed her to the entrance of the cave, all the while staring at her back, where he could still see the tender flesh from where her missing wing was.

“Here, maybe I should lead the way,” he said, reaching down instinctively for a weapon. Wait…where is…? At his hip was a sword sheath, but no sword. Well I obviously own one… He frowned. There were vague memories of him using magic and fighting hand to hand, so at least he had some way to protect them should anything happen, but the fact that he was missing his sword was disconcerting.

It meant something to me. The weapon did… That was what his instincts were telling him, but he couldn’t remember.

As they entered the cave, Drake snapped his fingers, producing a flame at the tip of his fingers to light a path. He looked a bit surprised at how easy it was, and that he could even do it at all, but decided to try and hide his surprise to Vela. Perhaps best if she doesn’t know… Down they went into the caves, picking up debris in order to light a fire as they saw it. Soon, they entered the clearing that was stated on Vela’s map.

“If you set things up here, I’ll see if I can’t track down something…edible.” He didn’t have high hopes, but at the worst, he was sure he saw some lizards on the way in.

She looked up at him and smiled a bit. “Was a sky pirate for a little bit. That captain is my ex-boyfriend. He stole from me so I blew his airship up. Every once in a while he finds something I want and so I take it. He almost had me this time though so thank you.” It was a spat, there was no reason why they continued their fight except for the fact that there was nothing better for Vela to do. “For the most part, it is pretty safe. I spelunk down into ruins by myself and come out by myself. I don’t have to worry about anyone other than myself.” She let out a sigh and looked up at him. “I’ve been doing this a very long time.”

She saw him reach for his sword and she was disappointed to see that he in fact didn’t have one at all. It looked like he had lost it in whatever chaos had put him in that crystal, to begin with. “Don’t sweat it too much. What’s the worst possible thing that could happen to us down here besides dying.” She shrugged it off nonchalantly. “We should be fine,” she reassured him a little more seriously this time.

“That’s a handy trick to have… Even my sight isn’t great in this darkness,” she patted his shoulder giving him a thumbs up. At least she could be supportive. “Yeah, I can.” She rummaged around in her bag and looked up at him.

“Here,” she pulled the sword out. “I stole this from them. You should be able to use it to get food. I’ll have the camp set up by the time you come back.”

It was easy for her to pull out the blankets, the tinder, and everything else they would need. They had quite the setup. Even her wings had been locked away behind magic though her back still looked red and tender. She was setting up a tent with the blankets in them. A campfire was roaring and a kettle was blowing steam.