Beside Ebony, Jet tensed, her claws curling in fury at the irony in Obsidian's tone. Ebony closed his eyes, putting a claw on her shoulder. The situation was too tense to resent the insinuation. Still, it stung. What stung most was that Obsidian was right. He HAD sought refuge in the trees away from his tribe. He had waited before breaking the news to his people. Because...he was afraid of telling them. He had been a coward. Hot shame burned in him, and his head drooped.

Obsidian smiled wickedly at the pair. "Oh...maybe it wasn't fear that prompted our brave leader to hide from his trusted friends and family. Maybe it was guilt." A gasp went up from the assembled dragons.

 "I was wrong to hide from your gazes," Ebony admitted swiftly before Obsidian could twist the events any more. "I'm sorry, and I'm also sorry that I allowed Dertharion to enter our village...where he could steal our ember. But it was never guilt that kept me from coming to you immediately. It was shame at my failure." 

 His people murmured softly. Ebony was so ashamed that he could not raise his head to look them in the eyes.

 Obsidian snorted out smoke. "Sorry? Dear leader, the ember is gone!"

 "I know it is," Ebony said. "But arguing isn't going to bring it back. I have admitted my failure in this, so now let's move on and decide what we're going to do about this."

 "Decide?" Obsidian laughed darkly. "Oh, Ebony, we've already decided for you! You took so long up there that we organized a court and banished you. You're no longer our leader. You're no longer one of the Charred. You leave our village tomorrow."

 Ebony stared, every word cutting into his heart like a barb. "You...what?" Some of the dragons in the crowd turned their faces away from his agonized gaze, but Obsidian met his eyes calmly.

"Ebony, failure is not to be tolerated. You once led us from tyranny, it is true," Obsidian said, lashing his tail, "but now you are nothing but a weakling." He turned to the assembly behind him. "Isn't that right?"

Horrified, Ebony saw nods and agreement from the dragons...his people...his friends. What nightmare was this? he wondered. Jet had been writhing by his side, but now she could take no more, exploding, "Have you no gratitude? No shame? What is this?? Ebony is not just our leader; he is our friend! How can you treat a Charred in this manner?"

"Jet, he failed us," a voice said from the crowd. Ebony sought out the speaker with pained eyes. It was Midnight, the village hunter. Ebony swallowed. I...I thought he was my friend. The usually quiet greenish-black dragon raised his voice, calling out, "He lost our ember! The key to our Chroma! There were those who counciled him against taking the traitor in...but he did it anyway."

Jet glared so hard at Midnight that her eyes glowed like flame. She was opening her jaws to respond hotly, but Ebony gently squeezed her shoulder. This was not helping anything, though she meant well.

 "Thank you, beloved," he said to her, turning away. "But...I believe that this...COUNCIL, such as it is, has decided my fate already."

 He sprang into the air with a whoosh of his wings. Flapping hard and fast, he dodged through the trees, speeding to somewhere far away from all the accusing stares. He planned on returning to the village to collect his belongings before Obsidian's deadline ended, but for now he simply had to fly out his rage and pain. He flew for what must have been an hour before he collapsed limply on a branch, shuddering, his sides shaking.

 I can't believe this is real. It has to be a nightmare, he thought. Sighing at his own foolishness, he pricked his side with a claw. He waited for a moment. Nothing. This IS real. With a long sigh, Ebony paused, letting it sink in.  This was the lowest moment of his life. But he was not the type to stay down for long. So the very people he had helped now cast him out. So they turned their backs on him because of a single failure. So what? 

Ebony gritted his long fangs. There was no point wallowing in grief and rage. As tempting as biting into Obsidian's sneering face sounded, violence was not the way to resolve this. He would prove himself to the Charred by finding Dertharion, and tearing their treasure from his grasp. A plan began to construct itself in the depths of his mind. It was still mid-morning. He would not wait to be thrown from his own village. No, better to pursue Dertharion while the trail remained fresh. 

He slid smoothly from his perch and began winging his way back to the village. The cool air felt good against his face as he flew. Ebony had always loved the habitat of their home. When he had led the Charred from Saliss' domain, they encountered a long, deadly stretch of desert with heat enough to dry out a dragon. After flying for a day, with no sign of life or water, the Charred had wanted to turn back. But Ebony had felt that there was something better waiting for them on the other side of that desert. He had known it, somehow. He and his people had fled an evil regime, and Ebony simply knew that they would be provided for. The Charred were more difficult to convince, of course, but finally his pleading bought him another day's flight. And then, just when he thought his wings would give out - there it was. A beautiful edge of jungle lay in front of his eyes, its trees and bushes straying out onto the sand in broken lines to greet them. Miracle Jungle, they called it. 

Ebony sighed, folding his wings and dropping from the air onto the branch outside of his home. And there they had lived in tranquility ever since...until Dertharion arrived. He shoved the thought from his mind. There would be time for that later. For now I will enjoy the last shreds of my life, he thought, glancing at his home. At the sight of it, Ebony couldn't resist a smile of bitter pride. They'd done good work in the year they'd lived in the jungle. His house was sturdily constructed out of a oval framework of thick branches, covered completely with vines and leaves. It sat neatly in a crotch of the tree, where it would be safe from all but the strongest winds. 

He ducked inside, poking his head through the woven mat that hung in the entrance. The bitter smile disappeared from his face and was replaced by a real one as he caught sight of Jet.

 "My love!" She bounded to meet him, licking his face and ears. "Are you all right?" she asked.

 Ebony wrapped his forelegs about her shoulders tenderly. "I will be fine, beloved."

 Stepping back, he realized she looked tired and worn, and reproached himself for leaving her alone with Obsidian and the rest. "Are you all right?"

 "I will be fine," she imitated him. Disatisfied, Ebony was going to press her when she turned her head to look at the other side of the hut. "And she is fine as well."

 Ebony followed her gaze, his face softening with love. Their egg sat, gleaming a soft white in the dusky interior of the small hut. Unconsciously, he approached and sat beside it, cupping it in his claws gently. If he focused hard, he could see faint, twisting motion close to the surface of the eggshell. 

"She is so close to hatching," he whispered, drawing Jet beside him and into his embrace.