Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sunny’s P.O.V.:
As Clay and Peril were talking, Glory called me over to a spot away from the rest of the group to talk about something. When I got there, she sighed. She took a deep breath as I waited for her to explain why she called me over here.

“I’m going to leave,” she told me, getting straight to the point. “What?! Why?!” I asked her, my brain exploding with questions. Was it something we did? Was it something I did? Why is she leaving now?

“I was thinking while we were in the Sky Kingdom… I want to create my own destiny. I want to be able to find my family, and my own path in life without it constantly being messed up by a prophecy I’m not even supposed to be in. I think it would be best for all of us if I leave.”

“Glory, if you really think that’s what you need to do, I’ll help you.” I gave her a hug. “Are you going to the rainforest?” I asked her.

“Yeah. I want to be able to find my family, and learn more about my tribe. I want to know if my parents went looking for me, or if they didn’t care. I want to see if I have any siblings. And hey, maybe come visit me after you save the world?”

I smiled. “Of course.

“Glory! Sunny! We’re leaving!” I heard Starflight yell.

“Coming!” Glory called.

“I’m going to slip out at the first possible chance. Thanks for covering me.” I hugged her.

“Of course.” “If you don’t come now we’re leaving without you!” Tsunami yelled.

“Alright, alright!” Glory rolled her eyes.

As we flew to our next destination, I couldn’t help but wonder if I had done something to drive her away. But she wasn’t acting angry, so I cleared the thought from my head and kept flying.

Chapter Text

Glory P.O.V.:

As I flew away from the group, I was filled with excitement and fear. What if I couldn’t find my family? But what if I could? What if nobody accepts me? But what if they do? What if they’re all just like the stories say, lazy fruit eaters? But what if they’re not?

I shook all the bad and worrisome thoughts from my head as I reached the border between the Mud Kingdom and rainforest. Nothing would actually happen if I don’t actually get there.

I looked down and saw my scales speckled with pale green, brown, violet, and gold. I cleared my mind and set aside the worries I had for the future in favor of getting there.

I swooped in to land, and touched down right at the edge of the trees. The jungle within seemed daunting and yet also intriguing.

I took a deep breath as I stepped inside, but I felt no immediate change other than in surroundings.

I closed my eyes and focused on the feeling of being in the jungle. Bright yellow splotches appeared, but I pushed them down and focused on the calm feeling, the sound of leaves rustling above me, and critters scurrying in the trees.
When I opened my eyes again I was all the colors of the jungle. I blended in perfectly, with lines of brown, spots of green and flecks of gray.

As I walked along, the colors changed order, green specks swirling, and brown blending in and standing out. I could have watched the colors all day.
Birds chirped above me, and twigs snapped below. I took a moment to just let all of the sounds wash over me.

I realized the air was also better here than anywhere else I’d been in my life. It was fresh and clean, and reminded me of all the things I’d been missing out on, like soft ground that wouldn’t cause you pain every time you tripped, and trees to climb, and birds tweeting.

It made me realize how horrible the cave was. I had mostly learned this right after getting free and seeing the world, but this really drove the point in.

In the cave, the air was always so stale, like it had been standing still for months before we breathed it in. The rough stone floor forced calluses onto my feet that wouldn’t have happened if I had grown up where I was meant to.

In the cave, I was shut away from any sunlight, with the only light coming from lanterns and the skyhole.
Here, the sunlight beaming through the trees was amazing and warm, and made me feel amazing. It made me feel sleepy too. I realized this is the time that I usually take a nap after lunch.

I walked into a small area of the forest with long soft grass on the ground, and a beautiful patch of clear sky above.

Maybe… I yawned. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to just take a small nap.

I laid down on the ground, letting the sunlight wash over me. As I drifted off to sleep, I wondered if the others were doing okay.

Chapter Text

"Christmas? What's that?" Glory asked.

"It's a holiday! Where you decorate things, and give gifts, and be merry and jolly and happy!" Kinkajou explained excitedly.

"Is it a Rainwing holiday? I've never heard of it," Glory said, confused.

"Maybe? We've been doing it since forever, but I don't know if other tribes celebrate it. It would be awesome if they did!" Kinkajou told her. "I've decorated a tree! Come see it!"

Kinkajou led Glory through the rainforest, to a small tree covered in sparkly things and little orbs.

"What is this?" Glory asked, puzzled at the strange decorations.

"A Christmas tree!" Kinkajou exclaimed. "We decorate them with ornaments, and tinsel, and a star!"

"But why? What's the purpose?" Glory asked, confused by the nonsensical holiday decor.

"For fun! And because it looks pretty! Here! Put it on the tree!" Kinkajou pressed one of the weird orbs into Glory's claws.

"...How do I put it on? Where does it go?"

"You use the hook, and hook it over one of the branches! Like this!" She took one of the ornaments and hung it on the tree. "See?"

"Okay?" Glory hung it on the tree. "I guess it's cool. Very sparkly."

"Come on! Let's go back to the village! I want to show you this cool tradition!" Kinkajou bounced up and down excitedly as she talked.

"Okay. What is it?" Glory asked her.

"You'll have to wait and see! Come on come on come on!" She left into flight, flapping her wings up and down as she waited for Glory to join her.

They flew towards the village, sometimes gliding, sometimes flapping. When they reached it, they flew past huts decorated with colorful berries, or garlands of sparkly things, or odd little circles of leaves and vines woven together. They reached the main part of the village, surrounded by hammocks, and bathed in sunlight.

"So what is this mysterious tradition, Kinkajou?" Glory asked her.

"Over there! See?" Kinkajou pointed to where a group of dragons had gathered, facing out to the other Rainwings in the clearing.

"What are they doing?" Glory asked, intrigued.

"You'll see in a few minutes!" Kinkajou told her, intent on not spoiling whatever surprise she had planned.

After about two minutes, they started to sing.

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
Everywhere you go.
Take a look at the five and ten, it's glistening once again
With candy canes and silver lanes that glow." They sung in harmony, the rehearsed words coming out smoothly.

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Toys in every store
But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be
On your own front door"

"This is beautiful!" Glory whispered to Kinkajou.

"I know, right?"

"A pair of Hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots
Is the wish of Bromelia and Bonobo
Dolls that'll talk and will go for a walk
Is the hope of Jaguar and Julia
And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again"

"Who wrote this song? I've never heard it before."

"I don't know. I don't think anyone knows. It's been around a long time."

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Everywhere you go
There's a tree in the Queen's Palace, one in the park as well
It's the sturdy kind that doesn't mind the snow"

"What's a park?"

"No idea. It might be a thing from the past."

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Soon the bells will start
And the thing that'll make 'em ring is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart"

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Toys in every store
But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be
On your own front door"

"Is a store also something from the past?"

"Yeah, probably."

"Sure, it's Christmas once more"

"Is that the end? That was really awesome." Glory told Kinkajou as they walked away.

"Yeah! They do it every year! I hear they practice for a week before they do it."

"They're really dedicated." Definitely not 'lazy'

"Yeah! Wait, let me go get the present." Kinkajou flew off, and returned a few minutes later with a box in her hands

"What is it?" Glory asked her.

"A present! Open it, open it!" Kinkajou bounced up and down excitedly.

Glory carefully took the wrapping off, being careful not to tear it. Inside sat a golden circle with a halfcircle in the middle, with the letters 'BF For' on it.

"What is it?" She asked Kinkajou.

"It's a friendship bracelet! I have one two! See?" She showed Glory a bracelet of her own, with a halfcircle with the letters 'Fs ever' on it. "Now we match! Ta da!" She pressed the two halfcircles together to reveal the words, 'BFFs Forever written on it.

"What's a BFF?" Glory asked.

"Best Friends Forever!" Kinkajou replied.

"Best Friends Forever Forever?"

"...ignore that."

"Okay then. Thank you, Kinkajou. I love it."

Chapter Text

I opened my eyes to a yellow and pink blob. I blinked, sitting up slowly. Not a blob, a dragonet?

"HI! I'm Kinkajou! Who are you? Where'd you come from? I haven't seen you before, do you live in another village? Sorry, Bromeliad says I talk too much, is this too much questions? Oh that was another question, whoops."

"My name is Glory. I used to live outside of the rainforest. Do you think you could take me to your village, Kinkajou?" I asked her.

"Outside the rainforest? Why would you live there? I can take you to my village, yeah. Do you want to be friends? You're the first dragon I've ever met that lives outside the rainforest." She told me, starting to walk.

"...Sure. I lived there because my egg was stolen. I was raised under a mountain." I told her, thinking back to my friends. I hope they're okay.

Kinkajou looked shocked. "Your egg got stolen?! Who would do that?? That's horrible! And you had to live under a mountain for all that time?"

I smiled a little at her enthusiasm. "I was with my friends, so it wasn't that bad. And I was taken because they lost the Skywing egg for the prophecy." Should I be telling her this? Oh well. Other dragons should know about what's really happening with the prophecy.

She looked at my with a puzzled look. "What prophecy?"

I paused. "The Dragonet Prophecy?"

"What's that?" She asked me, seemingly bewildered.

"The prophecy about the end of the war? You know, 'when the war has lasted twenty years' and all that?"

"Never heard of it. Why's it called the Dragonet Prophecy anyways?" She asked me, seemingly unaware of the sheer absurdness of this lack of basic knowledge.

I looked over at her, baffled. "Because there's supposed to be 5 dragonets to stop the war? There- how do you not know this? Everybody knows about the prophecy!"

"Well that's stupid. Why have kids stop the war? And who even decided it should be you guys anyways?"

"The Nightwings? They can see the future."

"Huh. Sounds fake, but okay."

It's not- ugh. Are we getting close to your village?" I asked her, changing the subject.

She bounded ahead, pulling back a conveniently placed vine to reveal the village just ahead. "Ta-da!"

I walked in slowly, taking in everything in wonder. There were other Rainwings soaring through the sky, performing flips and maneuvers I had never seen before. There were hammocks hanging from trees, and vibrant flowers on every house in the trees. And the dragons. Oh, the dragons. They were all different colors, changing and shifting and fluctuating. They were more beautiful than anything I had ever seen. And they looked like me.

"We're beautiful, aren't we?" Kinkajou beamed, seeing me staring at all of it.

"...Yeah. We are." I smiled back. If Rainwings had built all this, they couldn't be the lazy dragons everyone said they were. I could prove them all wrong if I could show them this.

Kinkajou led me farther in, chatting all the while. I kept looking around, gazing in wonder at all the things the Rainwings- my tribe has built. It was astonishing.

And then I heard screaming. It was sudden and terrifying. I jolted, trying to figure out where it was coming from.

Kinkajou placed her talon on my shoulder, seeing my surprise. "It's okay, it's just the monkeys. They do that sometimes."

I looked at her in bewilderment. "They screech? And that's just normal?"

"Yeah. We call them screamer monkeys."

And suddenly, I knew why there wasn't more research done here.

Chapter Text

Kinkajou walked me around the village, pointing things out to me as she saw them. She told me about flying classes, and playing hide and seek with the other dragonets her age, and winning some fruit gathering contest a few days ago.

I looked at everything in awe, barely listening. It was so different from the cave. There were all the colors of the rainbow, instead of just gray. There were amazing plants and animals, and sounds all around. And nobody was yelling, or fighting, or calling anyone lazy. It was amazing.

Blue and indigo rippled through my scales. I didn't see those often.

Kinkajou led me over to a platform with two other dragons, saying something about flying. She introduced them as Jambu and Pineapple, the flying instructors that week.Kinkajou walked me around the village, pointing things out to me as she saw them. She told me about flying classes, and playing hide and seek with the other dragonets her age, and winning some fruit gathering contest a few days ago.

I looked at everything in awe, barely listening. It was so different from the cave. There were all the colors of the rainbow, instead of just gray. There were amazing plants and animals, and sounds all around. And nobody was yelling, or fighting, or calling anyone lazy. It was amazing.

Blue and indigo rippled through my scales. I didn't see those often.

Kinkajou led me over to a platform with two other dragons, saying something about flying. She introduced them as Jambu and Pineapple, the flying instructors that week.

I introduced myself, and listened to them talk about flying techniques and occasionally glance longingly at each other.

"Oh!" Kinkajou exclaimed. "Glory's been away from the kingdom since birth, she probably needs to do a few tests to find out who's related to her."

I paused. "Tests?"

"Yeah, venom tests!" She said, as if that explained anything.

"Can you... elaborate on that?" I asked her slowly.

"Right, other tribes don't have venom. A venom test can help you find out who's related to you." She told me.

"You don't already know?" I asked, confused.

"No, eggs are all raised together. We don't really do 'parents.'" She told me cheerfully. "I kind of wish I had siblings though, but friends are good too."

Huh. What an odd system.

"So how would you do a venom test?" I asked her.

She grabbed a leaf off a nearby tree, and sprayed some venom on it, before holding it out to me.

"Now you do it." She told me. I took the leaf, and sprayed some more venom onto it, albeit with less control. It accelerated in burning through the leaf when mine touched hers.

"Dang. We're not related." She said, disappointed. I tried it with Pineapple next with the same results, but when my venom met Jambu's, an odd thing happened.

"Isn't it supposed to speed up?" I asked Kinkajou. Suddenly, Jambu pulled me into a hug. I yelped, and looked to Kinkajou for help. She just stood there, the traitor.

"I've got a little sister!" Jambu yelled, letting go a doing a happy dance.

"Little sister?" I asked, confused.

"If the venom stops burning, that means you're related!" Kinkaou excitedly informed me.

I have family. I have family. I have family!

I laughed for the first time since leaving my friends. I pulled Jambu into another hug, wrapping my wings around him. My scales burst with spots and stripes of pink and yellow. I have a big brother!

Jambu laughed as well and hugged me back, his scales much more expressive than mine.

I had noticed that their scales were all much more vibrant than mine, often changing colors at the slightest emotion. Was the duller color of my scales due to the cave? Do they get brighter if you're happier? If I hadn't been so stressed all the time, would the shine like their's did? If I had grown up with them, would I be happy and content and beautiful? Was this the guardians' fault, or was it mine? Could I have done something to get us out sooner? I could spit venom and turn invisible, why hadn't I gotten the others out? It was the least I could have done for them.

"Glory? Glory!" Kinkajou snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Sorry, what?"

"You looked lost in thought. Are you okay?" She looked worried. It was my fault, I shouldn't have worried her.

"I'm fine," I reassured her. "Just thinking about my friends. I'm sure they're fine, though."

"Alright..." Kinkajou still looked skeptical.

"Hadn't you guys said something about sun time earlier?" I asked her, trying to shift the focus away from myself.

It worked. Kinkajou immediately perked up. "We did! Come on, you're going to absolutely love this."

She led me to a platform. The sun was high in the sky as she landed, right around the time I would take my daily naps.

"And what exactly is 'sun time'?" I asked Kinkajou.

"It's when the sun is highest in the sky, and we all take a few hours to rest and replenish our energy." She told me, stretching like a sloth.

"...So it's just nap time?"

"It's not just a nap. We get most of our energy from the sun, so there's that too. It also helps us be happier, and makes our scales more sparkly," she told me, yawning. "You can relax."

Happier, eh? That explained a few things. I obliged her. I lied down under the sun before closing my eyes and letting sleep wash over me once more.

Chapter Text

Kinkajou was still there when I woke up. I definitely wasn't relieved.

Jambu and Pineapple were on a platform next to us, their claws entwined. I was pretty sure they weren't like that when we went to sleep.

Kinkajou stretched next to me, yawning as she woke up. "Morning, Glory!" She cheerfully chirped, smiling up at me.

"Good morning. You slept well, I assume?" I asked her.

"Yup! And how are you? Do you feel better now?"

I... did. I felt lighter, for lack of a better word. I was happier than before. That was nice.

"Yup."

Kinkajou stood up, flapping her wings out and stretching her legs. Her frills ruffled, shifting between her normal pink and yellow as well as spots of emerald.

"I have to go for my venom lesson. Do you think Jambu can handle showing you around?" She asked me.

"I'm sure he can. I'll be fine, don't worry."

"Alright. My teacher is super strict and boring, and I'll get in trouble if I'm late. See you later." Emerald green and violet shifted through her scales, a stark contrast with her usual colors. I knew that shade of green was irritation, I had seen it on myself many times.

I looked over at my new brother. He was still sleeping with his boyfriend. That was fine, I didn't want to disturb them. I stood up, stretched my wings, and took off.

It felt good to be flying again. The trees below me, the sky above me. I flew past a few other RainWings. They were talking, and laughing, and having fun. This could have been me, if I hadn't been taken. Why me? Why was I the one the took? Why did she have to be so horrible, and why did the rest of them never defend me?! But it's rude to speak ill of the dead, I suppose.

She's dead. I could have saved her, couldn't I? I could have killed Scarlet earlier, when she first found us. I could have just not lit the fire, and she never would have found our cave. We were safe and protected. They were keeping us safe. But it was so much better out here, I just-

I just crashed into a rock. Okay. Ow.

I got up, rubbing my head. I looked back at the rock, and it felt... wrong. I didn't know why. Against all my instincts and the logical part of me, I brushed back some of the vines on it. A tunnel. A dark tunnel leading somewhere.

I stepped back. This wasn't right. This wasn't supposed to be here. It felt wrong, like a gaping hole in reality. It was dark inside, and it felt like if I got too close, it would suck me in, and I wouldn't be able to get out.

Get yourself together, Glory. It's just a hole. A hole... inside a boulder.

The smell hit me suddenly, with the force of 1,000 fireballs. It was something decaying, something rotting, something dead.

I ran. Went by foot, stumbling over rocks and logs under I got a good place to lift off. And I flew, away from that place, away from the smell, and the dark, and the wrong.

I flew back to where we had napped together, trying to see if Jambu and Pineapple were still there. They were. I landed down, breath still shaky, but calming down.

"Glory?" Pineaple looked up from weaving a bracelet.

"Hey, what happened? Are you okay?" Jambu asked, concerned.

"I'm fine. I just- saw something that freaked me out." I told him, trying to convince both him and myself.

"Well... if you say so I guess." He glanced at Pineapple before looking back at me. "Hey, do you want to join us? We're weaving bracelets."

I looked between them. "No thank you. I'm not good at weaving anyways." I smiled slightly before leaving again.

Kinkaou probably finished her class, right? But she never told me where she was going, so that made it difficult. I would just have to ask for help.

I landed in front of a red and orange dragon, startling her slightly.

"Sorry- um, hi. I'm Glory." I said awkwardly.

She groaned. "So you're the one Kinkajou's been yapping about."

I felt irritation bubble under my scales, but pushed it down. "I guess. Do you know where she is?"

She scoffed. "I don't know. She ran off during practice. Maybe you can go find her so I don't have to deal with her." She turned away, but threw a flippant glare over her shoulder.

I muffled a growl building in my throat. Who did she think she was? Whatever. She wasn't worth my time.

I headed over to the direction she pointed in, calling Kinkajou's name. No luck. I flew over and through the area for an hour before giving up. Maybe she had gone off to some of her friends.

I asked around, but nobody had seen her. I was starting to panic. Where did she go?

"Have you seen my wife?"

"Huh?"

A purple and blue RainWing stood in front of me. He was more muted than the others I had seen, and looked tired.

"I asked if you'd seen my wife. She's mostly pink, usually has a flower or two behind her ear. Oh who am I kidding. Of course you haven't seen her. I've been asking all week. The queen won't listen."

"She's... missing?" I asked hesitantly.

"She's been gone for about a week. I don't know where she could have gone."

"I'm trying to find my friend. Maybe the queen will listen to two people instead of one?" I suggested.

He sighed. "Sure. But don't expect much from her."

Chapter Text

Well that went horribly. I was only supposed to go in to find Kinkajou, but now I'm looking for other dragons too. This was not how I wanted to spend my second day back, but alright.

I flew over the entire RainWing village, occasionally stopping to speak with other dragons. None of them had seen the missing dragons, and oddly enough, none of them seemed to have realized they were gone in the first place.

"He's just on a vacation"
"It's okay, she likes her space"
"They do this sometimes, don't worry"
"Xe're probably visiting xeir brother"

Gibbon, Tangerine, Orangutan, Tualang. Similar stories, exact same reaction. The time they had been missing apparently ranged from days to weeks, but it was probably more than that, according to Mangrove. Gibbon and Tualang had been gone the longest out of the four I'd learned about. I had no doubt there were others.

I sighed and flew back to my brother. He and Pineapple were sitting with each other outside a hatchery. They were unfortunately unavailable doing boring couple stuff, so I left them alone.

I needed to get Mangrove's help with this. If I was going to find these dragons, he was the guy I needed. Unfortunately, to no actual fault of my own, due to entirely external circumstances, I had not learned where he lived. Or how to contact him. Or any place I could normally find him. Entirely not my fault.

My best bet, if I couldn't find him, was to go back to the tunnel I had found earlier. It was a good idea to look where Kinkajou had last been seen, and the tunnel was close.

As I landed, preparing to explore the tunnel better, I was hit with a putrid scent. It was disgusting, like somebody had combined rotting meat with a splash of acid. It smelled like something had died and been left to rot.

I followed the scent, making my way towards the smell. It was so strong that it felt like it stained the air green and black. It filled the air, making everything reek with the smell of death.

I finally got there. It was a monkey, lying dead on the ground, obviously lost its light ages ago. I had no idea how long it had been sitting there collecting flies. It was saddening, seeing it lie limp on the forest floor, nobody around to put it to rest.

I sighed. I'm not heartless, okay? I know it's just an animal, I know it was probably a waste of time, but I couldn't just let it lay there. So I buried it. I dug a little hole in the ground, and I pushed it in and buried it. It didn't deserve to be left out there to rot.

I didn't get sad, and if I did, that's none of your business. I left it there, and went back to the tunnel. It was still exactly where I left it, feeling cold and unnatural and wrong. It shouldn't have been there. It was a rip in space that shouldn't have been left.

I slowly reached out my talon, and touched it. The stone felt cold and rough under my claws, like how stone should. The inside of it was made of the same material as the inside, nothing seeming amiss. If there had just been a hole in a boulder, it would look just like this. But it wasn't just a hole. I clenched my eyes closed. I had to get my emotions under control. I couldn't save the others if I was afraid of a rock. I forced myself to take a step inward, lime green scales contrasting against unyielding gray. I took another step in, then another. It didn't become easier. It didn't become less scary, or less wrong. But I got used to it, and did my best to suppress that primal instinct in the back of my brain telling me to get out of there, to flee where I still could. It was to late for that. The only way out was through.

The tunnel was longer than it should have been. Darker too, I couldn't see a thing in the pitch black. I couldn't have lit a torch, or brought a fire breathing dragon with me. It would have been better to have my friends with me here. But that wasn't an option. They weren't here right now. And sure, maybe I regretted leaving behind the safety of a group, or the fact that they were actually trained to fight. Or just them. But if I wasn't here right now, who knows what could happen to Kinkajou. Would anybody have saved them? Would anybody even care that they had disappeared? Would anybody even care if I-

Sand blew into my eyes, hitting me as if I had done something to personally offend it. Sand can't be offended, so I don't know why it was so aggressive. Dry heat swept in as well, emerging from the sandy light at the end of the tunnel. I rubbed my eyes, trying to clear the sand out of them. I hate the desert.

The... desert? I stepped out from the tunnel into the vast SandWing desert. That was a surprise. The Kingdom of Sand was extremely far away from the rainforest, at least two weeks travel. I had only been walking for ten minutes, so how was that possible?

I could vaguely see the swirling air that made up the boundary between the Ice and Sand kingdoms in the distance. I took off, making sure to note the position of the tunnel to come back to later. I figured the Ice Kingdom would be a better bet than staying in the Sand Kingdom. In the Ice Kingdom, I might freeze to death, sure. But In the Sand Kingdom, I could be tortured and experimented on, or have my head ripped off for Burn's tower.

I landed in a small cave filled with icicles, a decent shelter from the buffering winds of the occasional tornadoes of the boundary. It was freezing, but it would do. I would go back to the tunnel later, but I couldn't pass up the chance to speak to Blaze while I was here. The only problem was how. I flew out into the cold, attempting to come up with a plan. I spotted an odd black spot on one of the ledges, a stark contrast to the blue and white all around. A Nightwing. What could one be doing here? Well. Only one way to find out.

I focused on what I knew about Icewings. Fyord hadn't been close enough to see many details, but I had seen enough, combined with the drawing in our scrolls. I focused on my color first, turning my normal green and orange to a silvery gray, with speckles of white. My eyes shifted to a stark blue, and I flattened my ruff back, hoping to make it look like extra icicles. My horns turned white, as well as the tip of my tail. I hoped the snowflakes and brutal winds would be enough to distract them from the details.

I flew over, making a harsh landing in front of them, my claws scraping against the ice.

"Hey!" I barked, summoning all the authority and confidence into my voice that I could muster. "Who are you, and what are you doing in our territory?"

Chapter Text

I hated the Ice Kingdom. It was cold, and windy, and all the snow got my scales wet. At least the swirling snow might be a bit of cover. Definitely better than the desert. At least here there's some places to hide. In the Sand Kingdom you can see for miles, and a black dragon sticks out like a sore talon. All in all, not the worst place I'd been, but still pretty bad.

I shook myself out of my thoughts. Who cared if I didn't like it here? I had a job to do, and standing around rating a snowstorm wouldn't get anything done. I was here to find the dragonets of destiny, and to kill them. I kind of felt bad about it, but y’know. I'd done worse.

And then an Icewing landed in front of me. “Hey!” She yelled. “Who are you, and what are you doing on our territory?”

On second glance, she was definitely not an Icewing. She didn't have nearly enough horns, and she has shaped entirely different than an actual Icewing would be. Maybe she was a hybrid? Her horns were bent, so maybe she was an Icewing-Skywing hybrid? She flicked her tail in annoyance, and I saw the bumps on it, much too small to be Icewing spikes but profound enough to mark it as not the same as a Skywing. Her wings had hooks on the ends as well. Ah. So she was a Rainwing.

“Well?” She demanded. “Answer my question.”

I decided not to point out the flaws in her disguise. Maybe I could find out why a Rainwing was here. They usually didn't leave the Rainforest, preferring to stay where there was little conflict and plenty food. They weren't as lazy as all the books liked to make them out to be(especially the ones by Nightwings), but they were definitely much less violence-inclined than most dragon tribes.

“It's not Icewing territory, actually. It's pretty close, but still Sand Kingdom.” I told her, remembering all the lessons Quickstrike drilled into my head, of boundaries and alliances and strategies. This was part of a strip of land close to the border, where the heat of the Sand Kingdom and the freezing cold of the Ice Kingdom combined to make tornadoes and an unholy combination of sandstorms and blizzards.

She blinked. She didn't know that. “Yeah, well- it's close enough! What's a Nightwing doing here anyways?” She tried to cover up her mistake, mimicking the ego and bravado of an Icewing soldier.

I ignored her question, choosing to leave my own story vague. “It might be Icewing territory soon, though, if Princess Blaze follows through with her promises. All this land would be given to Queen Glacier. Why, though? It's useless, what with all the horrible weather and such. Maybe she thinks there's gems to be found underground.” If so, she's foolish, and that was not a word I would use to describe the Icewing Queen. She most likely had her own plans for the land

She thought for a moment, processing what I had said. She seemed to weigh whether it was true or not, which was smart of her. Truthful isn't really one of the words used to describe assassins, though she didn't know what I did as my job yet. “I won't ask again. What are you doing here, Nightwing?”

I laughed. She really got straight to the point, not dancing around it like a Nightwing would. “If you must know, I'm here on a very important mission.”

“Yeah? And what's that? Let me guess another ‘Nightwing secret’?” So she had dealt with Nightwings before, and enough to give her an idea of how they acted. Interesting.

“I guess you could call it that. I’m looking for a group of dragons I've heard might be around here.” 

She scoffed. “Yeah? Who?”

“The Dragonets of Destiny,” I told her, watching her face. If I was right, her expressions alone might tell me what I needed to know.

She froze. There it was. That was probably why she was here. She might know where they were. “And why are you looking for them?” She asked slowly, suspicion covering her face.

“I'm afraid I can't tell you that.”

She growled in frustration. “‘Nightwing business'?”

I smiled at her. “‘Fraid so. Can I ask for your name, though?” I had just realized we’d had a whole conversation and neither of us had offered a name. I also needed to steer the conversation away from my mission. I had given her too much information already.

“None of your business.” She growled.

“What if I tell you mine? Would that be fair?” I really did want to get her name. She was interesting, far more interesting than most dragons on the volcano, though that was quite a low bar. One of the many reasons I loved being away from it.

She rolled her eyes. “No. Stop asking.” She snapped at me, turning to fly off.

“My name is Deathbringer!” I yelled as she flew away from me. She didn't turn back, she might not have heard me. Damn. She really was interesting. Maybe I'd run into her again. She was kind of cute. Wait where did that thought come from. Nope. I had no time for that.

I turned back to my map, trying to get that strange Rainwing out of my head. I definitely wasn't blushing, and if I was it was because of the cold. I was there to find the ‘prophesied’ dragonets. Though I wouldn't mind seeing her again.

Wait. Didn't Morrowseer mention there being a Rainwing with them? He said they had lost the Skywing, then ranted on and on about the Guardians’ incompetence. Skies above could that guy talk. He had said the had stolen a Rainwing to make up for it. I honestly don't know why he was so mad. It wasn't like the prophecy was real or anything. But of course he didn't want his ‘reputation’ to be ruined. So I was supposed to kill them all, but especially the Rainwing. Great. Just my luck, I find someone I like don't find annoying, and I was supposed to kill them. You know what, flip it, I'd disobeyed orders before, I could do it again. And of course Morrowseer never bothered to learn anything about her, so I still had to find out her name.

Chapter Text

Hi guys! Sorry I have such an inconsistent posting schedule. Executive dysfunction has been kicking my butt, but fortunately I got ADHD meds! I'll try and post more often.

Do you guy think I should rewrite the old chapters? I've gotten much better at writing now.

Also, comments are my lifeblood. Every time I get a comment I get more motivation to keep writing. Even if it's just a heart emoji or something, it really helps. I once wrote a whole chapter because of one comment. Please please please comment.

Hooty, out!