Act 2: Finale
"Why wasn't I told that Sala is still alive?"
Zinnia's biting question is the first thing spoken as everyone sits down in the hut Lee and company have called home for the last six weeks.
Seated across from Zinnia with Danae at her side, Elder Juniper sighs deeply. "We thought him gone as well, Granddaughter," she speaks, each word weary. "When we found him beside what remained of Aster, he was delirious with grief, and we could not approach for fear of his aimless wrath. Then he took to the skies, flying to Metron'fall Krate, and we could not pursue, for we had to prepare the final rites of Aster. We feared he wished for solitude, to expire from a broken heart in peace." Juniper closes her eyes. "Weeks after Aster left into the sweet embrace of the ancestors, he returned, curling by her grave and refusing to hear any words spoken to him."
Zinnia's frown is decidedly unsatisfied. "That still doesn't explain why I wasn't told."
"We assumed you knew, Thelban. We assumed that of all our tribesmen, you would have gone to pay respects countless times and seen him," Danae murmurs, refusing to meet Zinnia's eyes.
Her frown transforming into a frustrated snarl, Zinnia turns her head and growls. Whether she's upset with herself or the elders, Lee isn't sure.
Sitting with Zinnia on the couch with Ninetales and Sceptile standing to his right, Lee swaps between listening to the Draconid's conversation and looking out the window, where Sala lies curled up just outside the hut.
It's no wonder Zinnia wasn't concerned about Sala when he finally lost the energy to keep fighting: the brute got back up within ten minutes, many of his lacerations already scabbing over. Even then, though, Lee's first instinct was to treat the dragon's wounds. Sala tried to ward him away with a snarl, but Lee wasn't having any of that.
"Don't give me that shit." Lee answers Sala with a seldom-used scowl. "You lost, bud, and I know how dragons handle things like this. Your fate is in our-" he gestures to himself, a smirking Sceptile, a stone-faced Salamence, and an amused Zinnia "-hands. If I say I want to fix you up, you're in no position to complain."