Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a new day in the Sea Kingdom.

Tsunami sat upon her throne, eyes shut as she tried to contemplate the day’s events. First was a regular briefing of the state of her kingdom. Things were running smoothly, all things considered. Tsunami was a natural leader, given things. But she barely got a day’s rest. It was either trying to fix things on the outskirts of her kingdom, overseeing trade, and so on. It was exhausting, and she barely had time to spend with Riptide as a result.

Only in the rare quiet moments or at night did she get a chance to spend any alone time with her boyfriend. Riptide was understanding and helpful but Tsunami could tell that even he was not prepared for what the role entailed.

That wasn’t even getting to the time when they’d have to make dragonets . Ugh. Tsunami did not want those little gremlins. Yet she knew that one day, she’d have to. Unless she planned on giving it over to Anemone or Auklet, and there was no way she was going to saddle this burden on them. Well, at least Riptide would enjoy the making part… oh, who was she kidding, she probably would too.

But, the biggest event of the day was meeting with Queen Snowfall. The two of them had become quick pen pals, bonding over their shared experience. Truthfully, when she first met the Queen, Tsunami did not have a good impression. Neither did most dragons. But now, almost four years later, they are meeting as friends.

Funny how time changes many things.

“Tsunami.” Riptide snapped her out of her thoughts. They were in the Summer Palace, where Tsunami was conducting her business as to not make Queen Snowfall wait.

At the sight of the other Seawing, though, Tsunami’s mood lifted tremendously. His handsome, blue scaled face oozed compassion. His eyes danced with both worry and affection. Riptide would make a good king indeed, if only for his ability to keep Tsunami calm when she wanted to hit something. Her lack of proper combat training was also getting to her these days…

“What broke this time?” Tsunami asked wryly, leaning on her palm. She lay on the throne, ordained with a beautiful pearl necklace and a crown. She hated both of them at first but had grown accustomed. The necklace in question, especially; it was her mother’s most beloved piece of jewelry.

“Nothing, this time,” Riptide said with a wink. “But, I wanted to let you know that I’m going to be returning to Sanctuary in a few days. Big transition period, what with our Pantalan Pals being recalled and an influx of refugees. I probably won’t be gone for longer than two weeks, though.”

“Ah yes, that whole mess,” Tsunami grumbled.

The moment she heard of what happened to Possibility from Turtle, Tsunami couldn’t believe it. A time of peace was finally upon them, and then a town was blown apart. Just her luck. She hoped she wasn’t thrown into another war, but she doubted that would be the case. Although, her kingdom did have its own band of pirates that she needed to keep an eye on. If they teamed up with Vulture, the culprit of the attack, then who knew what could happen.

Well, they hadn’t met her! Coral was no real fighter, relying on words. Tsunami? Oh, she’d wreck all of them and send them crying into the depths.

“Mess is an understatement.” Riptide shook his head. “My friends almost died.”

“I didn’t mean mess in a - ugh, you know what I mean.” Tsunami tried to correct herself, only to have the words die as she spoke.

“I know,” Riptide smiled and nuzzled her quickly when no one was looking. “But, yes, I wanted to give you ample warning. I used Turtle’s bowl to duplicate Dreamvisitors, too. I think Blue and the others will need it.”

“Thank you for telling me.” Tsunami held his claw firmly in response. Riptide was far, far too good for her. Always making sure his presence and intentions were known. Being there when she needed him the most. The two weeks he went to Sanctuary were going to be painful, but she would manage. After all, she had a ton of other support.

Who knew, maybe Snowfall had extreme coping tricks?

“Oh, and by the way, Queen Snowfall is here.”

“I - Riptide!” Tsunami stood up in a flurry. “Why didn’t you say something!?”

“Because I just saw her fly past.” Riptide indicated outside. “Given how shiny Icewings are, I’m surprised you didn’t notice.”

“I was distracted by you.” Tsunami scowled..

“Aw, I’m glad I take up so much of your attention.”

Tsunami swatted at him as he laughed quietly.

The Summer Palace was a place that Tsunami found herself liking far more than the Underwater Palace. She’d spent so much of her time above the sea and getting used to the ocean and its confinements was… interesting. Not bad, but certainly not what Tsunami wanted to get used to. She missed the sounds of the world and having everything muted bothered her.

She’d trained herself to be a warrior. Someone who relied on her senses to guide her claws. Yet, hearing was all but gone, as was scent. If someone was coming up to her, she had a much more difficult time telling. Not to mention that everything moved that much slower underwater. In her training sessions with Shark, it took her ages to get used to the movements.

Tsunami knew she’d have to learn it. Didn’t mean she didn’t want to spend every chance she had in the Summer Palace.

Sure enough, though, as she walked out into the plant-filled courtyard, a small group of Icewings awaited. Although this was met on peaceful terms, both queens had agreed that it was best to bring an escort. Not because they feared attack from each other, but after Vulture’s assault, anything was possible. Turtle’s message had also indicated that something else was coming, but Tsunami hadn't had the chance to speak to him yet.

Admiring the scenery was the Icewing Queen in question. She was downright gorgeous , with sparkling white scales that held a glimmer of pink. That wasn’t getting to her icy blue tiara and bracers, which only amplified her look. A cloak that looked like a shimmering aurora covered her back. Tsunami briefly wondered if that made her warmer, but knowing Icewings, that cloak probably did the opposite.

Her honor guards shimmered and sparkled alongside their queen, with royal blue and purple armor. They had a stiffness to them, but no hostility. Tsunami supposed that some traditions were dying quite slowly.

Her Seawing royal guards stood behind her, ready to leap in at a moment’s notice, as did Riptide. Again, nobody feared an intertribal attack, but times were changing.

“Queen Tsunami.” Queen Snowfall bowed graciously, an action Tsunami mimicked. Bowing was still difficult for her. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you in the scales once more.”

“Same to you, Queen Snowfall.” Tsunami smiled warmly. “The trip wasn’t too bad, was it?”

“Nothing I couldn’t handle.” Queen Snowfall shook her head. “I’ve been here before, back when I had to meet Queen Coral over a supply route. Despite the heat, I find this place… pleasing.”

“Oh, she never told me.” Tsunami was surprised.

“You were teaching at Jade Mountain. I imagine a visit from another queen would not cross her mind to write about.” Snowfall smiled thinly.

“No, I suppose not.” Tsunami chuckled. “Let’s get you inside. I don’t want you to burn up after landing.”

Tsunami led them inside, where a dining table had been set. Tsunami had to research what Icewings liked and made plans specifically for them. Admittedly, chilled meat sounded disgusting , but she supposed it made sense. Especially frozen fish. Bleh. But, Seawing eating habits must be strange for Icewings.

She chuckled at the imagery of Winter and Kinkajou discussing food. Although she hadn’t seen the two of them since the funeral, Winter and Riptide had kept in touch and the latter shared some of the letters.

Tsunami made sure that the royal guard could eat as well, which was apparently strange for them.

“Things are changing slowly at home.” Snowfall explained. “My mother and most queens before her had it that royalty dined by themselves, and to have anyone else join them was unheard of. However, as Queen, I require my guards to be at their best and within reasonable distance. Which means, dining with us,” she added to her guard, who shifted uncomfortably.

Nevertheless, they did as ordered. They remained quiet though, averting gaze with their Queen, who gave Tsunami a sardonic look. Tsunami couldn’t help but chuckle, noting that her guard was much less rigid. Tsunami had no time for formality; if someone wanted to say something, just say it. This applied to other areas. The happiness of her dragons meant happiness for her. As well as a lot less stress.

“How are you finding being Queen?” Snowfall asked pleasantly after they began to eat.

“Not as expected,” Tsunami answered truthfully. “In more than one way.”

“Mmm… I felt the same, as I said.” Snowfall nodded understandingly. “At least you didn’t have a cursed crown that made you more paranoid and hateful toward another tribe.”

Tsunami nearly dropped her food at Snowfall’s words. “Pardon?”

“Oh, yes, it turns out the Icewing crown was enchanted by Queen Diamond to make the wearer forever be hostile with Nightwings.” Snowfall chuckled. Some of the Icewing guards shifted again. “This had a trickle down effect where other tribes were roped in. While not wearing the crown, I was still under its influence when I turned you and the Pantalans away.”

“That… explains a lot.” Tsunami eyed her own crown. She doubted it was animus touched, but she was now second guessing.

“Indeed.” Snowfall laughed. “It is why I wear this tiara now. I think it fits my head better, in addition to being much less cumbersome. One day, I shall wear a crown again, but I am in no rush.”

“I certainly wasn’t in any rush to wear one.” Tsunami smirked, holding it in her claws. It was made of pearl, the iridescent coloring reflecting light beautifully. She smiled internally; now that she thought about it, Snowfall’s scales were pearly. Explained the pink.

“No, neither of us were, were we?” Snowfall’s face fell slightly, dark blue eyes sullen. “But, life is unfair. It takes, and takes, and takes until we join the Great Ice Dragon. Or, in your case, the Endless Ocean. Yet, if life was all joy, we would be bored and crave for release.”

“That’s… dark.”

“Yes, I suppose it is.” Snowfall mused. “But I am a realist. I see things as they are. And besides, we would not have gotten along so well – at least, over letter – had things gone our way. For every loss we suffer, we must also seek the tiny victories where we can.”

“Yeah, you have a point.” Tsunami nodded slowly. “Did you wish to speak of this more in private?”

“I think that would be best. No need to bore the guard with our angst, do we?”

Tsunami barked out a laugh, which Snowfall accompanied with a giggle. Even Riptide looked bemused.

After they finished, Tsunami decided to show Snowfall around the newer renovations of the Summer Palace. Namely, the upper part, where a wonderful garden showing plants from all tribes. With it came other birds and insects and a mixture of contradicting scents that somehow worked together.

Strangely, Snowfall reached into one of the plants and plucked a small… snail ? Tsunami blinked. She expected Icewings to be rather stuffy and averse to such slimy creatures.

“A friend of mine enjoys these creatures.” Snowfall noted Tsunami’s look. “His name is Sky, a Skywing. I cannot fathom why he enjoys them but seeing his eagerness… it is somewhat infectious.”

“Oh, Peril’s brother!” Tsunami recognized the name. Snowfall raised a brow. “Yeah, Clay told me when he visited JMA.”

“I had no idea that he was Peril’s brother.” Snowfall watched the snail crawl along her finger. “From what I understand, they are opposites of each other.”

“I’ve never met him, but from what I was told, yeah you got that right.”

“He spoke to me about attending Jade Mountain, however.” Snowfall put the snail back. “I’m sure you are aware that I plan on sending Mink there.”

“Yeah, I figured as much. I know she’d fit right in.” Tsunami nodded. “I’m not sure exactly who’s going, but if she’s as excitable as you make her out to be, she’ll get along with her winglet most likely.”

“I hope so. It would be interesting to see them in the same Winglet. But we’ll see how it goes, I suppose. I wish I had the chance to bring her, or send Lynx, but alas running a kingdom through a time of change is… taxing,” Snowfall said wearily. “I do not mean to vent but count yourself lucky that you do not have a conservative crowd who is determined to limit your progress.”

“Yeah, Seawings are pretty affable about things so long as I don’t demand they stay on land for an extended period or whatever.” Tsunami snickered. “I’m going to assume they tried to use your grief and inexperience against you.”

“Yes, yes they did.” Snowfall’s face fell. “I hadn’t any form of chance to accept my mother’s passing before the crown was thrust upon me. My advisor, Winter’s mother Tundra, was all but aiming to mold me into the queen Icicle never would be. I was alone, terrified, and jumping at shadows. I was even convinced that my best friend, Lynx, was out to get me at one point.”

“Jeez, that’s awful.” Tsunami winced.

“Tell me, what do you know of Icewing culture? At least, before I came along.”

“Admittedly, not much other than what I saw,” Tsunami shrugged. “I got the impression that, at least for royalty, the lot of you were stuffy and had an extreme superiority complex.”

“You are not wrong.” Snowfall nodded. “The Icewing nobility had an animus object called ‘The Gift of Order’. The queen would reshuffle ranks and the like for nobility. Seventh is the lowest of the low, next to commoners. First is second only to the Queen, so on. That damnable object would give me nightmares for a reason I understood much later. I was to decide the fates of dragons that were mere names on a wall, and to change without so much as a reason some of the time. For something titled ‘The Gift of Order’, it only caused chaos.”

“What in the Seas is that kind of object?” Tsunami recoiled in disgust. “I could never do such a thing.”

“Yes, that’s why I shattered it in front of the whole nobility.” Snowfall’s queenly demeanor faded, replaced with a cheeky, if not mischievous, look. Tsunami burst out laughing, Snowfall joining. “It is my opinion that dragons, be they nobility or not, are more than titles. The poorest of Icewings can be better than the richest of nobles. And I wish to promote that growth.”

“Now that I can respect.” Tsunami grinned. “I may be nobility, but I grew up in a cave and had to make do with my own strength and wit. Dragons can be so much more than where they are born. Heck, I’m queen!” Her mirth slowly faded at her own words. “Yeah… I’m queen…”

Snowfall gave her a compassionate look that was not at all what Tsunami expected from an Icewing outside maybe Winter.

“Have you the time to grieve?” Snowfall asked softly.

“Yeah. I got closure before my mother died, too.” Tsunami looked away, tail flicking along the ground. “It just… feels unreal. I knew it was coming. Yet two months later, I’m still expecting to see her turn the corner.” She sighed. “It’s not even her death that gets to me. It’s the absence.”

“Yes, I know the feeling.” Snowfall looked toward the sky in thought. “It took me a year to fully accept what had happened. What Darkstalker took from us.” Her claw curled in a flash of anger. “I am still livid at my own powerlessness to fight against that monster. I had my chance on the battlefield, but there was naught for me to do. Instead, I heard everyone’s thoughts about me , and that only fueled my paranoia.” She shook her head. “But, I digress.”

“If only I had something to hit.” Tsunami chuckled dryly.

“Yes, your mother’s illness was natural, but it does not make it any better.”

“The only solace we have is that we didn’t have to kill our mothers, right?”

“Indeed.” Snowfall smiled thinly. “Every dragon who wishes to succeed the queen must kill the other. That is how we are taught. That is how it has been as far as we know. Yet, I do not think it is the best way.”

“Honestly? Same.” Tsunami nodded swiftly. “What does that tell a dragonet? ‘Yes, to be a queen, you must have your mother’s blood on your claws. And if you fail, she will have yours on hers.’”

“It’s barbaric, I agree.” Snowfall shut her eyes and turned back to the flowers, lidding her gaze as she watched the snail from before slither along. “We have evolved past such notions. Challenges should still exist, mind you, as there will be terrible queens in the future. But a queen should also be allowed to retire and transition to their successor without blood being spilt.”

“We must be the change we want to see in the world.” Tsunami murmured. “I remember Riptide saying that to me when we discussed Sanctuary.”

“He’s right.” Snowfall indicated around them, where dragons of all tribes walked together or otherwise went about their business. Traders, visitors, so on. “And as Queens who were thrust into the role, we have the power and experience to be said change. There will be a day where I have a dragonet of my own, and I do not want them to lay awake at night thinking of ways they must kill me.”

“Them?” Tsunami raised a brow. “Don’t you mean her?”

“Well, yes, but I have heard a very interesting story from the Nightwings who aren’t afraid to venture to us.” Snowfall began to walk along the edge of the Summer Palace, overlooking the seas. They were calm today, and the crystal-clear ocean showed wildlife swimming past. “Apparently, there is to be a king if things go smoothly.”

“Are you considering an Icewing King as well?”

“I’m not opposed to it, but as I mentioned, it is convincing the rest of the kingdom,” Snowfall said. “My steps must be graceful. Shake the castle too much, and it’ll all come crumbling down. I know that some are looking for any excuse to challenge me. However, the commoners and open-minded nobility far outnumber them. They’d never accept a queen who retracted everything I did.”

“So, you live with the threat of assassination daily?” Tsunami grimaced. She really had it lucky here.

“Yes. The Icewing Kingdom is very cutthroat, but unlike the Sand Kingdom, it is quite subtle. A poisoned drink, an accident in the halls… you never know. They tried to pass me off as dead when I joined you to Sanctuary that one time.” Snowfall slid an eye to Tsunami. “They tried to make Mink my successor. I did not have that at all.”

“I’m going to imagine they’ll be scrutinizing every detail about you, including your choice of mate.” Tsunami leaned against the railing to the seas. “I’m guessing they hate Sky acting so casually around you. Imagine if it turns out he has a crush on you.”

Snowfall coughed on her breath, and for the second time today, her Queenly demeanor fell. This time, it was replaced by shock.

“Aw, do you return the feelings?” Tsunami teased.

“I find him to be incredibly endearing and a joyous distraction from my duties, but I fear romance is… not something feasible.” Snowfall regained her composure. “Mostly due to his personality. According to Wren he’s… stunted. I doubt he’ll even know what romance is.”

“He’ll take one look at you and go ‘hey wait, where’s your d - ?”

“ And besides ,” Snowfall cut her off sharply, although Tsunami could tell she was laughing internally at Tsunami’s line of thinking, “if I were to ever romance outside my tribe… oh, you better believe there would be civil war. Icewings like me for the most part, but there is still the mindset of ‘the bloodline must be pure’.”

“Mmm, I don’t see that changing even here,” Tsunami mused. “I get it, though. You want a Seawing for the Seawing Kingdom. Poor Glory and Deathbringer, though, are dealing with that consequence.”

“I do not envy them.” Snowfall shook her head. “But, going back to before, I tell you all of the strife in our kingdom to set a picture. You are a formidable warrior, Tsunami, but I am uncertain if you know assassination tactics. I would teach you how to keep an eye out for them during my stay.”

Tsunami looked at the battle scars along her blue hide. Yeah, nobody would dare try and strike her down in the open. If someone wanted to get rid of her, it’d be through subterfuge.

“For example, there is a particularly deadly poison known as cyanide,” Snowfall continued. “It will kill you swiftly if ingested. You may recognize it through an odor that is not unlike a bitter almond.”

They spent the next few hours going over experiences and how to detect various traps and so on. Tsunami had been briefed on a number of them, but some – such as the cyanide – were beyond her knowledge. Snowfall did not talk down to her, but rather seemed genuinely concerned. Like an actual friend.

If this was the start of an alliance, then Tsunami was all in for it.

Chapter Text

Home.

That’s what the Ice Kingdom felt to Winter. No matter where he went, what paths he took, part of him would always consider the frosty mountains and snowy tundras where he belonged. Only here did the auroras shine in the skies in their multi-colored hues. Whenever he was left alone, he remembered watching them dance along the stars for hours. 

The palace in question sparkled much like his icy blue-white scales. Made of ice tougher than most metals, the palace was a sight to behold. He could see reflections from the ice, giving it the illusion of water in some areas. Once, such a formidable place gave him a sense of duty and belonging. Then, dread. He knew he’d have to meet his mother.

Now? Now, he didn’t care. Queen Snowfall had welcomed him back. He was welcome, even if his nobility was not restored. Truthfully, he didn’t care about that. If it came back to him, it came back to him, but he wouldn’t ask for it. Most of the traditionalist crowd who did not like the sweeping changes would probably shed scales over his choice of mate, too.

At the thought of said mate, Winter’s dark blue eyes flicked behind him, where a gold and pink RainWing kept pace. Long and slender, she wore a heavy arctic white-blue cloak and a band around her wrist; the Gift of Negotiation. It would keep her nice and insulated from the frigid temperatures.

Winter never saw himself with a RainWing of all dragons. And yet, after that conversation in Sanctuary almost four years ago, a spark had been lit. It had refused to die no matter how many times he tried to snuff the flame. It ate away at his emotions until there was naught he could ever consider but her. Even Moon faded into the background when it came to Kinkajou’s sun.

And when it finally came to fruition at the graduation, Winter never looked back. He was happy.

It wasn’t just the two of them on this trip, however. Two more IceWings joined them, one of which looked like a bigger, silverer version of Winter; Icicle. She had an expressionless look on her face, but her arctic blue eyes couldn’t conceal the apprehension. She, too, dreaded meeting their mother deep down.

The other IceWing flew side-by-side with a MudWing; Crystal and Gharial, respectively. Much like Winter, Crystal was an IceWing noble who fell in love with someone outside her tribe. Unlike him, though, they were already married. The clash of glimmering white scales and muted brown scales, however, never ceased to create an uncomfortable clash in strong light. Not that Winter minded the two of them at all in personality.

In fact, he was grateful they decided to join. Admittedly, he never really had a chance to get to know his extended family. They – or at least, their dragonets – were hardly the problem when it came to his trauma. They were a result of their own.

“I don’t think Queen Snowfall is here,” Winter announced as they began their descent. “Sea Kingdom is a distance away, and she’ll very likely be staying there a few days.”

“Completely understandable.” Kinkajou twirled around him. Her high pitched voice had lost its squeak over the years, and was now very sing-song in nature. Which fit, given her excellent singing voice. “I mean, one look at the ocean kinda makes your worries go away. When we were there for the funeral, I remember staring out a few times and going ‘golly, that thing is deep, kinda makes you wonder what’s down there’ and my own concerns became secondary to that mystery.”

However, her perchance to ramble and go off on tangents remained. Not that Winter truly minded.

“It’s too warm,” Icicle said flatly. “Ocean mysteries or not, any IceWing worth their wings would be miserable.”

“I mean, I’m sure there are cooling pads,” Kinkajou said brightly. “I know Tsunami. She made JMA accommodating, she’ll make the Summer Palace the same.”

“If you say so.”

“Are you alright?” Winter landed on the snow, looking back to Crystal and Gharial.

“Nervous about being back here after so long,” Crystal answered. “Yet, also interested to see what my sister did.”

“Cold,” Gharial said bluntly. The Gift was given to Kinkajou, as her scales were much thinner than his. MudWings were built for durability, so the coldness didn’t get to him quite as much. “Also interested to see what Queen Snowfall did.” He added quickly. “Especially since the IceWings aren’t exactly staring.”

Winter nodded, striding up to the gate. Sure enough, the guards were far more focused on Icicle. They knew of what she did; it was impossible not to. Winter reached into the satchel around his neck and chest and produced the letter written by Queen Snowfall. The guards looked at it, then Winter, and finally Icicle.

“Very well,” the guard said, signaling the gate to be opened. “But you must keep an eye on her.”

“I hardly think she will do anything.” Winter frowned.

“It’s more for the other nobility who are not keen on her arrival, given her… antics.” The guard looked at Icicle again, who rolled her eyes. “Things have changed, but they haven’t changed as much as you may think.”

“As I suspected.” Winter’s frown deepened.

“I’m sure mother dearest will likely try to poison us,” Icicle said to Winter as they ascended the snowy steps. “I think only Hailstorm is safe from her… for now.”

“Well, if you ever decide to get a mate outside your tribe, she may have a heart attack,” Winter mused. Icicle let out a short ‘hah’ at his words.

It was strange, being on friendly terms with his sister. For all their life, it was always a situation of one trying to surpass the other. Or dominance. Winter had fostered her in Sanctuary for her sentencing, and it was only last week did his efforts bear any fruit.

When Possibility was attacked, it was Icicle – after she had fled – who saved them from certain death. She’d never admit anything other than doing it to satisfy for own guilt, but something had changed. The mask had fallen before she ran away. Granted, now it was back on, but the straps were looser.

Inside was much warmer, with the ice giving an insulation effect. The courtyard was down the hall, which swept cold air, but otherwise it was much more pleasant for the non- IceWings. IceWings, be they servants or nobility, walked the halls. It felt nice to not have everyone staring for once. He remembered when he and his parents roamed, there was always this air of ‘stay out of their way or you’ll get trampled’.

The courtyard in question was astounding even after all this time. Snow covered, with winterberries and other arctic plants flourishing. Paths through the snow gave it an almost maze-like vibe. In the center, however, was the Gift of Light. It resembled a tree made of ice, with globes of light that could be picked at any time. These globes would regrow upon being taken, and could even float! Winter glanced at Kinkajou, who was enthralled by the frosty tree. He’d have to take a globe off later and watch her jaw drop.

“Wow,” was all Kinkajou said, a sentiment Gharial echoed.

“It’s not often that non-IceWings stay here,” Winter said. “I’ll show you around later. For now, we’re to meet in the Guest Dome.”

“Who’re we meeting again?” Kinkajou shook her head. “Sorry, most of my thoughts just kinda went out the window.”

“My brother.” Winter smiled softly. “With Queen Snowfall gone, he and Lynx are the ones in charge.”

“He and Lynx?” Icicle snapped her head to Winter.

“They’re her trusted dragons. Normally, our mother would be taking care of things, but Queen Snowfall rightfully…” Winter waited for a few IceWings to pass. “… finds her duties unneeded.”

“Then what, exactly, does she do?”

“Admittedly, I haven’t asked.” Winter paused in thought. “Suppose we’ll be finding out soon enough.”

The Guest Dome had been cleaned up since Winter was here last. Although smaller and less spacious as ever, the mismatched carvings had been organized. Flight ledges led to a clearing below, where Winter spied a few dragons. The Dome in question glowed like firelit marble, with snow surrounding it.

“That’s pretty,” Kinkajou said.

“I’ve never seen it so elegant.” Crystal observed. “It always went to waste during my stay here. A shame, really, to have one’s animus gift be so neglected.”

“So, forgive me for being dumb, but uh… this whole animus gift thing, were IceWings expected to give said ‘gift’?” Gharial asked Crystal. “I’ve been trying to learn, but getting most of your tribe to open up is like trying to pull one of my sibs from the mud.”

“Yes.” Crystal nodded as they descended toward the dome. “It was considered a great honor. The more useful, the better you are remembered. The Gift of Light – that tree you saw – was made by Frostbite. This and the bracelet were made by Penguin.”

“Right, okay, I get that.” Gharial nodded. “And your tribe hasn’t had an animus since?”

“No, our last one was stolen away by the NightWing, Foeslayer,” Crystal said with a hint of bitterness. Kinkajou and Winter exchanged a knowing glance. “Then, bad luck in our genetics caused the trait to simply… die.”

“Arctic wasn’t stolen,” Kinkajou said before Winter could stop her. “Foeslayer never intended to rip him away from his family. Everything just kinda… happened.”

“And you know this how?” Crystal raised a brow. It wasn’t accusatory, but a mixture of disbelief and curiosity.

“Um, I kinda defeated Darkstalker?” Kinkajou said. Strangely, she didn’t have that iota of pride she always did whenever it came up. “Well, my friends and I did, but the point is, a lot of crazy things happened on our end and we ended up speaking to what was left of his mom. Love is a powerful thing. I mean, you abandoned your nobility to run off with Gharial, so is it so hard to believe?”

Crystal mulled it over as they landed. “No… no, I suppose it isn’t,” she said with a smile to Gharial.

Winter let out a quiet sigh of relief. He did not need Kinkajou going off in the middle of the IceWing Kingdom… even if it was amusing.

Inside was warm, but not too warm like the Sand Kingdom. No, it was… comfortable. Penguin must have enchanted it so IceWings would also be. Guest rooms were built into the walls, but the center had an extravagant table in the center. A throne in the back, where strangely, a female IceWing rested.

Her scales were a soothing silver, with blue freckles along her snout and wings. She was very lithe and fit, and if Winter were honest, the pinnacle of IceWing beauty. A distant feeling came from inside at the sight of her. He remembered his old crush on this IceWing in particular, and although those feelings had died, she was one of the IceWings to treat him nicely at his worst.

“Our guests of honor!” The dragon, Lynx, smiled widely at their arrival, all but bounding off the throne. “Certainly didn’t keep us waiting too long, did you?”

“When the Queen calls, you tend to answer,” Winter said as Lynx threw her wings around him. It wasn’t a long hug, but he noted Kinkajou a bit surprised. He desperately hoped this wasn’t going to be some sort of love triangle going on. He was in one. It was the worst .

“True, true.” Lynx giggled as another dragon slowly padded over. He was bigger than all of them, with silver glittering scales and wings. His stance was relaxed, but his arctic blue eyes were alert and focused. It’d been a long while since Winter had seen that. His recovery must be going smoothly.

“You’ve certainly kept your distance,” the dragon, Hailstorm, said with a faint smile. “Are we too embarrassing for you now that you’re running a village?”

“You’re more than welcome to visit, you know.” Winter frowned. He couldn’t tell if Hailstorm was serious or not.

“Ha, no, I have my claws full here. I know that’s why you haven’t visited.”

“Since when are you a jokester?” Icicle raised a brow.

Both Lynx and Hailstorm regarded her with an unreadable expression. Hailstorm’s gradually loosened, but Lynx did not seem as pleased. It vanished after a few seconds.

“Should we tell them?” Hailstorm asked Lynx.

“Hmm, I don’t know… that’s a bit forward for just meeting again…” Lynx smirked back.

“They’re going to notice.”

“I suppose you have a point.” Lynx shook her head. “May as well get it out of the way then. He’s a jokester because he’s dating me, and I refuse to deal with mister arrogant.”

Winter let out an internal sigh of relief. No love triangle. Thank the Great Ice Dragon.

“What?” Icicle sounded baffled. “You two hardly interacted last I saw!”

“Queen Snowfall had us running around together.” Lynx shrugged. “Things happened from there.”

“Well, I’m happy for the two of you,” Winter nodded.

“Thank you.” Hailstorm shifted his eyes to Kinkajou. “I take it this is… Kinkajou, was it?”

“Yes,” Kinkajou affirmed.

“I vaguely recall you, now that I think about it,” Hailstorm narrowed his gaze. “You were with Winter when he set out after me, yes?”

“I was, yeah,” Kinkajou ruffled her wings. “I don’t think I would’ve ever woken up if I wasn’t enchanted to.”

Winter hadn’t thought about that. He knew of animus – canceling objects, such as Qibli’s earring. What if there was an artifact that completely nullified any and all enchantments? Would it send Kinkajou back into her dying state? No, he wouldn’t think of that. Not here.

“Well, I’m glad you did. I don’t like dragons getting themselves hurt over me,” Hailstorm said. “And then you wouldn’t be making my brother as happy as he is. Oh, don’t hide it with a frown, Winter, I can see it in your stance.”

“I’ve been trying to get him to loosen up, but eh, work in progress.” Kinkajou prodded Winter with her tail. “Not gonna shove him past his own barriers.”

“If you’d like, I can share what I know. Maybe that’ll help.”

“Please, no embarrassing stories from when I was younger…” Winter groaned.

“Ha! None of that… yet.” Hailstorm winked. “But come, you must all be tired from the flight. We have guest rooms, as I am assuming at least four of you will be using them.”

“Doubt I’ll be allowed to leave this area, so may as well say all of us,” Icicle pointed out. “Our brother’s my keeper.”

“That is true.” Hailstorm nodded slowly. “By the way, I… did hear what happened. I am proud of you.”

“Please, like I keep telling everyone, I did it for selfish reasons,” Icicle deflected. Hailstorm shifted his gaze to Winter knowingly. “Whatever gets me back into the nobility.”

“If you say so.” Hailstorm shrugged. “Keep up this ‘selfishness’, then.”

The guest rooms weren’t incredibly extravagant, but certainly a step up from what Winter lived in. A bedding made of silk. A study. Just about everything a diplomat or Queen may need for their time, including a small bathing area. The water could be heated, as Sandwings apparently made their way up here at times. Winter and Kinkajou were given one, with Crystal and Gharial sharing another. Icicle took one, too. She probably relished the alone time.

“Queen Snowfall should be back in a few days,” Lynx said to Winter. “In the meantime, you have the run of the palace. Just, y’know, try and avoid the traditionalists. They wouldn’t dare try anything with Hailstorm and I around, especially knowing that the two of you were instrumental in stopping Darkstalker.”

“I’d like to see them try.” Kinkajou puffed out her chest pridefully. “I’m friends with the royalty of three tribes, they wouldn’t dare touch me.”

“Mmm, but accidents happen.” Lynx responded through a frown. “Snowfall – I’m dropping the queen pretense here because honestly she’s my best friend and it’s exhausting – has been cleaning up a lot here, but things are… slow. An icicle loose here, a poisoned drink there. All ways to move up that hasn’t died yet. Even without the Gift of Order, some power-hungry dragons want to be near the top.”

“Oh, fun.” Kinkajou scowled. “May as well write a letter saying that if I die here, I didn’t kill myself or it wasn’t an accident.”

“Trust me, I’ll know, and Snowfall will know.” Lynx giggled. “But as I said, they won’t be so open. Just… y’know, be careful. Words can hurt, and they are good with those.”

“Please, I went up against Darkstalker and had my brain scrambled by another NightWing shapeshifter thing.” Kinkajou waved her off playfully. “And besides, if I were ever to get into trouble, I have my prince charming to catch me.”

“Knowing my mother, she’ll pretend I don’t exist or that I’m some lowborn IceWing,” Winter said distantly. Kinkajou slid an eye to him. “Especially if she’s to be grandmother to RIceWings one day.”

Kinkajou snickered while Lynx looked at them, confused.

“RIceWings are what we call Rain and IceWing hybrids,” Kinkajou clarified.

“So should we expect MIceWings from Crystal and Gharial, or…?” Lynx caught onto it.

“Yes,” Winter and Kinkajou said at the same time.

“Oh, I’ve missed you, Winter,” Lynx said happily. “And I’m so happy that you found someone that makes you as happy as I see you are. I know Hailstorm said that, but it bears repeating.”

“I’ve missed you both as well.” Winter nodded awkwardly. He was still unable to properly respond to such statements.

“I see that’s still in effect.” Lynx giggled. “Anywho, I’m sure you’re tired. If you need anything, there are servants around. Hailstorm and I will be back in the main throne room if we’re not here if you want to find us later.”

“Thank you again, Lynx.” Winter bowed his head.

Lynx left, and since Hailstorm didn’t come in after – likely talking to either Crystal or Icicle – he and Kinkajou decided to settle down for the evening. Kinkajou drew a bath, heating it via… actually, Winter wasn’t entirely sure how. But she ‘saw a knob and suddenly the water was warm’. Probably due to the enchantment.

“Well, are you gonna join me?” Kinkajou asked Winter.

“Water’s a bit hot, isn’t it?” Winter eyed it.

“I mean, I’m in it.” Kinkajou leaned over the edge. “But no, it’s not any warmer than the Rainforest. And I know you’ve gone swimming in that.”

Rainforest rivers indeed were warm, but not scalding. He could tolerate it for a while. And besides, he could spend time with his girlfriend. Nothing wrong with that.

The bath was big enough for the two of them, even if just barely. Admittedly, the water was nice, even if it was because his scales chilled the water a little bit. Kinkajou turned it up in response, but not to the point of boiling Winter. Kinkajou, however, decided it was time to push Winter onto his back and straddle him.

“Um…” Winter found himself staring at chest scales.

“Oh please, I don’t have any plans, but this is the best way I can get your attention,” Kinkajou said mischievously, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her chest against his, their snouts bumping. “Don’t act like you’re not enjoying this, though. I can feel you are.”

“I never said I wasn’t.” Winter averted his gaze. “This is just… more intimate than I was expecting.”

“Just relax.” Kinkajou smiled lovingly. “I don’t think we’re ready for that yet. But that doesn’t mean we can’t toe the boundary.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Winter said blankly. Kinkajou snickered. “It’s just… IceWings aren’t this forward. Sharing a room with someone you aren’t betrothed to is, well, a good way to fall in the ranks. Celibacy was our way of life until marriage. At least, amongst the nobility it is like this. Commoners and lower end nobility aren't enforced.”

“So, you’ve never…?”

“No, I haven’t.” Winter shook his head, catching onto her meaning. “It just never occurs to me. Maybe that’s part of the reason why I’m so withdrawn.”

“Mmm, RainWings aren’t promiscuous, but we certainly aren’t like that.” Kinkajou nodded understandingly. “At least, the ones I know aren’t. I’m not. I just like teasing you. Unless it actually makes you uncomfortable, in which case I’ll stop.” She added quickly.

“No, I’m not bothered, I just… don’t know what to do with it.” Winter chuckled. “I know anatomy, but nothing about, you know, mating. It’s literally never crossed my mind.”

“Admittedly, I’m the same. Not that I’ve never had my moments,” Kinkajou winked. Winter’s face turned a dark blue at the insinuation. “But, we’ll get off the subject for now, because I want to ask you something serious.”

“Mmh?”

“Are you afraid to face your mother because of me?”

Winter blinked. “What? No. Why would you think that? I would’ve never brought you if I feared her.”

“Sorry, I just saw you react when you mentioned her.” Kinkajou entwined her tail with his. “But you are apprehensive, right?”

“How could I not be?” Winter averted his gaze. “Everything she ever did was to try and move our family up in the rankings, and Icicle and I basically wet the bed. All she has left is Hailstorm, who is dating a ‘lower class noble’. Not that it matters anymore with the ranking system destroyed, but she remembers.”

“She cared more about the family bloodline than the individuals, basically.”

“Yeah,” Winter sighed. “It meant so much more than you may realize. We were this close to becoming the family on the throne. That’s why Icicle was raised the way she was; Tundra fully intended on her challenging Queen Glacier. I was already a failure in her eye, so having her only chance at succeeding the throne be labeled a criminal… well, that’s on her more than it is anything else. What does it say that two of your three dragonets are failures? She blames herself, I can see it in her eyes. We’re failed experiments to her.”

Kinkajou’s talons gripped his shoulders tightly, nearly piercing them. She gave him a harsh, almost angry look.

“You are not a failure,” she hissed.

“I didn’t say I was,” Winter responded. “Well, I am to IceWing nobility, but I’m okay with that. If I wasn’t a failure, I would’ve never been with you.”

Kinkajou relaxed slightly. “Well, screw the nobility! I didn’t see any of them standing up to an army of Sandwings!”

“I know, I know,” Winter said gently, taking her claws in his. “Although, this new wave I may fit into.”

“Perhaps.” Kinkajou chuckled. “Hey, would that mean I am technically IceWing nobility if you get that reinstated?”

“I… doubt it. But our dragonets, should we have any, would be.”

“Mmmh, I guess I can accept that,” Kinkajou laid her head on his. “This is nice, though. And I’m glad you’re learning to open up. Actually, that came across as ruder than I intended.”

“I know what you mean.” Winter pulled her closer. “Thank you for not giving up on me.”

“Please, you speak as if I never had issues of my own.” Kinkajou chuckled again. “You know I was taken by the NightWings during the war, right?”

“Mhm, I remember that.”

“I guess… well, this is a bit embarrassing, really.” Kinkajou shifted in his arms. “I think that’s why I was so enamored with you. You were the only one who actively reached out to me and wanted me around. Like, I know the whole Jade Winglet and Glory want me around, but when you said that it meant the world to you that I visited… that was a validation I yearned for. Nobody came looking for me until Glory. So I ran around trying to make friends and then you said the words I needed to hear.”

Winter regarded her in a new light. He’d suspected that she had deep rooted issues from that, but never wanted to pry. She’d tell him when she was ready, and he guessed now was that moment. But to hear that his words made the world of difference for her… that was unheard of. He was used to always messing it up or shouting. Not creating words of healing.

“I guess we both have deeply repressed issues,” Winter said gently. “Explains the clinginess.” He added with an attempt at humor.

“Ha, I think even if I didn’t have these issues, I’d be like that.” She averted her gaze. “Just… let me know if I become too clingy. I don’t want to push over your boundaries.”

“I wouldn’t trade it,” Winter shut his eyes, content. “I like you the way you are.”

They fell into comfortable silence, resting against each other. The bath water wasn’t too bad, now. Although, that may have to do with a RainWing resting on him negating any discomfort. If it meant he could remain in this moment of peace, he would sit in a hot spring all day with her.

Chapter Text

Moon was a bit apprehensive for a few reasons.

One, she was going to the ancestral home of the NightWings. That was already an undertaking in itself. She’d been there once, and it was because of Darkstalker. As a result, it drew unpleasant memories of her time. How she basically had a form of ‘captive love’ for the giant NightWing. She vividly remembered defending him after Winter revealed that his entire tribe was dying.

Why would she ever do such a thing? It filled her with guilt to this day. At least now, she can create new memories that rekindled hope rather than dread.

Secondly, she was still worried about Qibli. It’d only been a few days since his run-in with Vulture, and while he wore the face of confidence, his mental walls were still healing. As a result, it was decided that they help Deathbringer search the old ruins to get their minds off of things. Qibli was still big into his archeology, so this would be an excellent start.

Still, she couldn’t help but glance at where his scar used to be. She never brought it up, but while he had said he ‘moved past his scar’, Moon wondered if that was true. She respected his privacy, and if he wanted to tell her, he would.

The third reason landed beside her as they reached the outskirts in the form of Peacemaker. Peacemaker’s eyes were wide as dinner plates as he took in the rubble. The Rain/Night hybrid was enamored by the sights, talons shifting on the ground excitedly as his starry wings shifted between all the positive colors RainWings displayed. Moon brushed against his mind, finding nothing more than genuine curiosity.

No signs of Darkstalker, of whom this little dragon actually was.

His mother, Hope, landed next to them, a massive NightWing that only Darkstalker topped in size. Unlike Peacemaker, there was a sense of tragedy and loss in her face. Hope was the name she went by now, but before, her name was formally Foeslayer. Darkstalker’s mother, and outside Jerboa, the oldest dragon in Pyrrha. She was here when the Night Kingdom flourished.

Moon couldn’t imagine what flood of emotions came from her, but she could certainly feel some of it.

“Is it weird to think that this place looks better than how we left it?” Qibli touched down next to Moon. The Sandwing stood out against both the environment and their little group of NightWings, with golden scales and a gangly frame. “Maybe it’s because of the lack of evil.”

“Mmm,” Hope mused quietly. Qibli winced a bit, but both knew just how far gone her son had gone. There was no sugarcoating it.

“You think Deathbringer arrived yet?” Moon asked. “I know Starflight and Fatespeaker went ahead of us.”

“Considering I don’t see that boat thing he was creating, I doubt it.” Hope indicated to the surrounding ocean. Part of the Night Kingdom had sunk into it, and so from what Moon understood, some SeaWings were to be joining them. Unfortunately, not Turtle, as he had to inform Queen Tsunami more about what happened in Possibility in addition to escorting Auklet home.

“How in the world do they plan on rebuilding this, though?” Qibli poked his head into one of the ruined homes. Most of them were made from stone, such as marble. While stone itself could stand the test of time, many were broken and shattered. “I mean I guess they can tear everything down and rebuild using materials, but some of it looks… irreparable. Like, unless we can melt fragments of stone together…”

“One step at a time, I guess.” Moon pointed to another further down the street. “Like, that one can be cleaned up.”

“I do not envy Deathbringer in the slightest.” Qibli shook his head. “But hey, once it gets going, I imagine it’ll be a thriving place.”

“Are you planning on moving here once it gets settled?” Moon asked Hope, who slowly padded down the paths with Peacemaker.

“Perhaps,” Hope said non committedly. “I like the rainforest. Here brings back… memories.”

“Did you live here?” Peacemaker asked her. “I thought NightWings lived on the volcano.”

“I did indeed, long before you were born.” Hope smiled thinly. “I do wonder if my old home is still around.”

“Do you remember where it is?” Moon questioned. She wondered why Hope was speaking so openly, and debated on asking Hope mentally. However, the larger dragon’s mind was cut off by a wall of memories.

“I remember it vividly, yes.” Hope nodded. Yet, there was apprehension in her voice. “It is along the way to the center. Near the palace.”

“Why didn’t you just take the palace?” Peacemaker asked. “I mean, this place is abandoned, and you coulda lived like a queen!”

“It wasn’t habitable last I was here. Perhaps they have made some improvements…”

“We were close to the palace because Queen Vigilance enjoyed keeping her ‘prizes’ nearby,” Hope said in her mind through the swirling memories. “Arctic was just that to her. Part of the reason why he was so miserable. He had no real authority despite being a prince, and he was surrounded by a tribe that saw him as little more than a trophy. I tried, and he knew I did, but it just… wasn’t enough.”

“Are you okay with going back to your home?” Moon responded. “Also, is it a good idea to keep discussing this with Peacemaker right here?”

“It’s why I came along. I need my closure. And no, Peacemaker won’t react to the home. I’ve told him stories of Darkstalker, and he didn’t show the faintest hint of recognition. Including details only he and I would know.”

Moon didn’t know how to feel about that. Hope was getting dangerously close to accidentally sparking a memory. But then again, she did have to know what she could or couldn’t say around him. And Hope was the only one Darkstalker would never hurt… well, outside Moon. That was a bit creepy, especially finding out that he saw her as akin to Clearsight.

And then Qibli told her what he did to Fierceteeth and nope she was not going down that road ever again. No wonder why he had nightmares that Moon needed to erect barriers around. Moon would too after seeing a sight like that.

Admittedly, Moon had so many questions of how the Night Kingdom previously looked and how it may thrive again. There weren’t a lot of drawings of how it was, and those were always up to artist interpretation. Moon had learned this the hard way when trying to find a reference of a historical figure and there were two similar, yet also different, interpretations. And since both were made around the same time, there wasn’t any way of telling which was accurate.

Moon spotted a few dragon-made lakes and forests, though. Most of it had been ravaged by the elements and wouldn’t be feasible for a whole tribe. This was evident when Peacemaker decided to taste the soil and spat it out, disgusted.

“It’s so dry.” Peacemaker coughed. “You won’t be able to plant anything here! And if you do, it's gonna be the size of a talon at most!”

“Guess they’ll have to import soil,” Qibli said. “I’ve heard of transplants like that.”

“I guess, but I don’t know what’s going to happen if the roots hit the old soil,” Peacemaker frowned. “You’ll have to excavate a whole area and place a ton of soil in. And that’s going to take forever in itself, as you’ll need a lot of water, and so on. Salt water will ruin it, and unless we have a way to desalt it, we’ll need a lot more than those lakes will offer.”

“Jeez, you really went for the farming thing, huh?” Qibli chuckled, impressed.

“Yup!” Peacemaker nodded proudly. “It’s probably the only thing I’m good at right now. It’s why I wanna go to Jade Mountain. Learning is fun.”

“No wonder why you and Moon get along. Bunch of nerds, you are.”

“Well, that and she lets me read her books!” Peacemaker grinned. “We used to have book sessions.”

“Oh, what type?” Qibli swiveled his head to Moon. “Did she make you read romance?”

“Qibli!” Moon snapped, face darkening.

“No.” Peacemaker shook his head, likely missing the insinuation. “Tales of adventure, though. My favorite was The Sight , which was about a group of dragons led by a young prophetess that foresaw them traveling to another world. It was sad, but well worth the read.”

“Another world, huh?” Qibli let out a small ‘huh’. “Like some sort of parallel dimension or those planet things that the humans mentioned?”

“Former,” Peacemaker hopped up on what used to be a ledge to take off from, where he overlooked part of the sunken city. “I’d like to visit one. Maybe there are other versions of me? That’d be cool. We could compare strawberries.”

“I don’t think even animus could do that,” Moon said. “Although, I guess futures that don’t come true did come true in another reality? It hurts my head to think about.”

“So, what timeline are we in, then?” Qibli decided to throw sand onto that growing headache. “Are we in a future that didn’t happen before, or…?”

“Stop, my head hurts.” Hope came to Moon’s rescue. “All I care about is where I am. Other versions of me will likely feel the same.”

“I think I see the others,” Peacemaker said. “There’s movement, at least.”

Moon looked to where he pointed, and sure enough, there was a fire going in the center of some ruins. It was awfully close to the ocean, though; maybe they were cooking fish?

“Yep, those are NightWings,” Hope confirmed. “I see Starflight and Fatespeaker, too.”

Without any hesitation, they flew off toward the encampment. Moon noticed the ruined palace, how tall and imposing it was even after all this time. She remembered being in it, roaming the attached school and library. Some of the statues stood against the test of time, depicting great dragons of NightWing past.

The group of NightWings were about ten in total, not counting Starflight and Fatespeaker. Moon recognized a few, but none that she was particularly close to. They were all well trained, too, evidenced by their powerful frames and posture. Some were lax, but ready to jump at a moment’s notice.

This was evidenced upon their arrival. The instant their shadows were cast over them, every single member sprang into action, only to relax upon sight.

“You made it!” Fatespeaker said excitedly. Fatespeaker was a dragon that Moon felt a kinship with, even if they didn’t quite have the time to talk often. Said kinship came from the pair of silver, teardrop-shaped markings under their eyes; the mark of either a telepath or mind reader or both. Unlike Moon, she did not have a strong connection to her abilities. However, this has not stopped her from feeling empathy and correctly predicting things in the past.

“You didn’t tell us others were coming,” one of the NightWings said.

“Didn’t I?” Fatespeaker frowned. “Oh, right, I kind of babbled and it slipped my mind.”

“It’s difficult getting a word in when she goes off.” Starflight chuckled.

It was kind of amazing to see the librarian with his brilliant green eyes sparkling. Mostly because everyone could see said brilliant green eyes sparkling. Before, he wore a blindfold that covered up most of his scar tissue and scalded eyes. He was never miserable as far as Moon could remember, but he was nowhere near as happy as he was now. Starflight’s tail flicked on the ground, energy rippling through his claws. Ears flicked in all direction.

“Right, well, in the future please let us know,” another NightWing said. Gloomblade, from what Moon recalled. She was a big, imposing NightWing with a flamboyant stance that oozed elegance and danger. Moon wasn’t sure why she was named that, though. She didn’t look gloomy, nor did she have a blade. Perhaps she did in the past?

“I mean, I did not get a premonition of danger, so clearly things were going to be okay,” Fatespeaker said confidently, claw on her blue scaled chest. Her color scheme reminded Moon of staring up at the stars.

“Right…” Gloomblade shook her head. “Deathbringer didn’t mention that more were coming.”

“It was kind of spur of the moment,” Moon explained. “We arrived at Jade Mountain to pick up this one,” she indicated to Peacemaker, “and Fatespeaker told us there. We decided to tag along.”

That, and it’s a great excuse to relieve Qibli’s worries, Moon spied a glance at the Sandwing, who was examining the fire. Sure enough, there were fish being cooked.

“Fair enough.” Gloomblade nodded. “Welcome to our future home. Ain’t it wonderful?”

“I’m sure it will be at some point.” Moon chuckled. “I take it that living here isn’t too bad so far?”

“Nah, the only difficult thing is not wearing any luxury,” Gloomblade shook her head. “I miss the glitter and glamor that the RainWings made. Ah well, we’ll make our own in time.”

“When is Deathbringer going to be here?” Hope questioned.

“Uh, he should be here in the next hour or two,” another NightWing said. “This is assuming he didn’t get caught in that nasty storm we saw over the horizon.”

“He’s also never been on a boat,” Hope said flatly. Two NightWings snickered. “Has he any idea of how he’s going to stop that thing before it strikes the rocks?”

“He’s an idiot, but he’s smart.” Gloomblade shrugged. “He figured out our plan to kill Queen Glory a few years back and wiggled his way out of our trap.”

“What?” Starflight cried.

“Oh, yeah, my mate, Shadowedge, and I tried to create a usurpation a few years back,” Gloomblade said nonchalantly. “Do what Fierceteeth was too impulsive to do. However, we were… quite bad at it. Even if we had her at our mercy, I doubt we would’ve gone through with it. Now, I’m perfectly happy where I am, with a loving mate and a dragonet.”

“Jeez, she never mentioned that…” Starflight bristled. “I guess if Deathbringer trusts you, I can relax a bit.”

“Please, if I wanted any of you dead or held hostage, I could’ve,” Gloomblade smirked confidently. “I’m not so naïve on that front anymore. All I want is to bring the glory of the NightWings back, and since Queen Glory is allowing this, I think any residual hatred is long gone.”

“Is that so?” Hope raised a brow. “Care to back up your boasts?”

Gloomblade looked her up and down. “Admittedly, your stature is… troubling. Did you fight in the war? Because jeez, you are jacked . I can even see Silentwings staring.”

A smaller, thinner dragon hissed at Gloomblade, who laughed. Hope smiled faintly. If there was one thing Moon knew about Hope, it was that she loved how others reacted to her size.

“I fought in a few battles, yes,” Hope nodded. “I left the NightWings before you came out of your egg, though.”

“Ah, explains why I never saw you before the Rainforest.”

“Did you find anything interesting while you were here?” Qibli asked.

“We didn’t really look too much.” Gloomblade shook her head. “Our priority was to find a place that was hospitable, clear away what we can, and see what terrain is suitable. We work in rotations here, so we’re the lucky ones you met.”

“And your assessment?”

“This place needs a lot of work,” Gloomblade said bluntly. “We managed to stabilize the homes in the tri-block area, but we’re not touching the palace without a bigger crew. It’s bad enough trying to find fresh water.”

“There’s a lake up there,” Peacemaker pointed from where they flew. “It’s not big, but it’s more than enough for us.”

“Yeah, we saw that, but we’re trying to see if there are hidden pools around here too.” Gloomblade ruffled her wings with irritation. “Push comes to shove, we’re going to need to dig irrigation funnels, and I am not looking forward to that.”

For the next hour, they rested and talked to the other NightWings. Fatespeaker and Starflight decided to poke around to find any scrolls, Moon and Qibli going the opposite way. Hope elected to stay, as Peacemaker was tired from the flight.

The homes didn’t have much. It was very likely pillaged over the years, as some had evidence of ransacking. It certainly wasn’t because of Darkstalker from back in the day. Although, Moon did find a few scrolls, but the pages were too worn down to read well. She could make out a few words and pages, but time had not been kind.

“Looking for more romance scrolls?” Qibli teased.

“I’m going to kill you if you bring that up near Peacemaker again.” Moon gave him a pointed glare. “He’s a dragonet, Qibli!”

“I was more trying to embarrass you. And besides, there are dragonet-safe romance scrolls…”

“That is not what you were getting at.” Moon snorted, putting down what she assumed to be a journal. “I’m not showing a dragonet… that . If he’s gonna find it, it won’t be from me.”

“Makes you wonder how that conversation went with Hope.” Qibli snickered. “She’s as blunt as they come.”

“My mother gave me a scroll during one of our breaks and said to ask if I had any questions.” Moon chuckled. “I’ll admit, that was a lot better than having that awkward conversation.”

“Yeah, I uh… learned in a not so pleasant way.” Qibli shook his head. Moon raised a brow. “Scorpion Den does not lend itself to uh… private matters much. One back alley turned and oops there’s a repressed memory.”

“Oh Moons…” Moon shuddered. “I don’t think I could have dealt with that.”

“Yeah, I burst in on Thorn like ‘HEY DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS’!?” Qibli started laughing. Moon did too at the mental image. “Like it sounded like it hurt, but now I know it was… yknow… the opposite. It was in our territory, and little old me was trying to be helpful. I’ll never forget the exasperated look on her face as Six-Claws just sighed.”

“Why didn’t you jump in to help then?”

“Because the male was about three times my size at that time.”

Moon shook her head, covering her mouth with her wing to mask the giggle fits she had. It didn’t help much. As horrible as it was for Qibli to grow up in that type of environment, that level of innocence mixed with adulthood could have only happened there. Made sense why he was public about his… comments. Well, maybe not, but that’s what she was going to blame it on.

“Still, gotta wonder what life was like here.” Qibli rummaged through a destroyed desk. “Like, how different it was compared to the NightWings we know now. They’re a lot calmer and chummier than they were after the volcano, so was that how it was here? Or was there more arrogance?”

“We can always ask Hope, you know.” Moon indicated back to the camp.

“That’s true.” Qibli paused in thought. “I don’t know, I’m just so fascinated by this. After what happened with Darkstalker, I pretty much gave up on this place forever. But now that I can look through it without worry, it’s… well, interesting. You were at the palace longer than me, though. Any secrets?”

“Uh, no, not that I could tell.” Moon shook her head. “Granted, Darkstalker could’ve hidden a lot of things.”

Something caught her eye under a pile of rubble, though. The home in question looked like what could’ve been a beachside estate, and it was in rather close distance to the Palace. She couldn’t tell who lived here, as most everything was eaten away over time. Yet, there was a sealed box with dull silvery trimmings. Made of elegant obsidian, too.

“What’s that?” Qibli questioned.

“No idea,” Moon found it locked tight. It took a bit of force for her to crack it open, but when she did…

“Are those… cards?” Qibli peered inside the box. “Did they have card games back then? It’d make sense.”

The cards in question had the backings of a full moon cycle. Silvery stars glittered alongside them, and when she touched it to flip it over, she felt a chill. Not just the chill of being untouched for two thousand years. No, she recognized it.

“This is animus enchanted,” Moon said warily.

“Really?” Qibli regarded the deck with new interest. “Do we wanna be touching it, then?”

“There’s a piece of paper stuffed next to it, let me just…”

The paper had survived time’s test, and upon unraveling the carefully folded parchment, Moon read it aloud:

Since you keep aggravating the Queen, she has badgered me into enchanting this one object for you. Count yourself lucky, clairvoyant, as this is the only one I shall do. I’ve not much of my own soul left, and if I snap from anything more, you will be among the first I come after.

This tarot deck will focus your powers better. Pay attention to these instructions, as I’ll not be pleased if I must answer to you as well:

-        Three moons means that nothing is amiss. Today will be a good day.

-        A waxing moon amongst three means that something may happen, but the chances are minimal. Try not to trip, will you?

-        Two moons in the sky means that something is coming. What it means, I have no idea, but that will guide your visions to look for this.

-        One and a half means that it’s a fifty percent chance of something going awry. This is when you should really badger the queen.

-        One moon means that unless your clairvoyant skills are taking a nap, you should be able to see what’s coming.

-        Anything less, you drop everything and tell the Queen.

Additionally, this deck shuffle, so you need not dig for each card.  If, for example, you get a two-moon card, then the rest of the cards will change to represent futures. This does not mean they come true, if any. They serve as a warning, and if one card says the sky is falling but you see nothing amiss, try to contain yourself, will you?

May this serve you well. This is my first, and last, gift.

-Prince Arctic of the IceWings

“Jeez, he sounds like a cactus in the rear.” Qibli shook his head. “How did Hope ever love him?”

“Maybe he was good to her? Although, I can see why Darkstalker didn’t like him…” Moon folded the instructions back up. “I’ll admit, I’m kind of curious as to what this does. I’m going to assume it only works with those who have my powers.”

“I mean, it seems pretty straightforward,” Qibli frowned. “I guess we can try it? Provided he didn’t make it so only this clairvoyant could use it. Be a shame if you were struck dead from this.”

“I’d assume it simply wouldn’t work. If someone touched this and died, I daresay Arctic would’ve been executed.”

“Fair point.”

Moon gently plucked the topmost card, flipping it over anxiously. She let out a sigh of relief; two and a half moons.

“Oh, that’s not bad at all.” Qibli grinned. “As curious as I am to see the other cards, though, I don’t think we should see what possibly lies in the future. From what Hope said, it drove Clearsight to a breaking point.”

“Yeah, but I’ll take it with us.” Moon closed the box. “Hope will probably want to see this regardless.”

“No, I agree. This is a cool relic either way. First one, and it didn’t even take us long!”

“Maybe there is hope for this profession after all.” Moon brushed her wing against his. “Come on, I’m getting a bit hungry.”

They went back, where Starflight was talking to a few NightWings about something indistinct. Fatespeaker was answering questions from Peacemaker, who asked more about the academy. Hope was by the ocean, staring out with a distant look on her face. No signs of Deathbringer’s boat yet, though. Although, if Moon squinted, she swore she made out something in the seas.

“Find anything interesting?” Hope asked once they landed beside her.

“Yes.” Moon held out the box. Hope’s eyes flickered with recognition. “There’s a letter written by Arctic, too.”

“I remember this… it was when Whiteout and Darkstalker were so very young.” Hope took the box, opening it and removing the letter. She read it quietly, and tears welled in her eyes, pressing the letter close to her chest.

“I know how this reads,” Hope said to them. “He was a troubled dragon. I’ll make no excuses for him. It was in those quiet moments that I knew he loved me. I just wish he extended the same to Darkstalker. Despite everything, I miss him dearly. Whiteout, too. But at least I know Whiteout had dragonets of her own. I just hope she was happy.”

“I’m sure she was,” Qibli said reassuringly.

“Did I ever tell you two about her?” Hope asked. They shook their heads. “Didn’t think so. You would have loved her. She was… different. Spoke in colors and tongues, but if you paid attention, you could catch her meaning. Darkstalker told me that she thought in colors and waves instead of words. For example, if she thought you were azure, that meant you had a good heart. No secrets, either.”

“I think I’ve heard of that.” Moon’s brow furrowed. “There was a scroll detailing mental conditions that covered it. They described it as ‘Synesthesia’.”

“Interesting name.” Hope nodded slowly. “I just wish I had a chance to say goodbye to her and Arctic. After everything, she must have felt so alone.” A sigh escaped her. “There’s no worse pain than never being there for your dragonets. If you two ever have any, I hope you never have to understand.”

Moon said nothing, as did Qibli. What could they say to this?

“Keep the cards.” Hope gave the box back. “I can’t use them, and I trust you.”

“I’ll take care of them,” Moon promised.

“I know you will.” Hope smiled tautly. “Now, I don’t know about you, but that fish smells quite good. I could use something to distract me from this. I just hope Peacemaker doesn’t see me like this…”

“He’ll understand,” Moon reassured. “He’s good like that.”

“Yeah… yeah, he is.” Hope stood and made her way back to the fire, Moon and Qibli following.

Chapter Text

Clay wasn’t sure what to expect from this trial, truthfully.

In some ways, he expected it to go well. Sora and Umber’s contributions to Possibility’s defense was indisputable. Surely, that had to go a long way? Not exempt from the crime they committed, but it should call for a lighter sentence.

But, there was also the fact that three queens now had to convene. Queen Ruby of the SkyWings, Queen Moorhen of the MudWings, and Queen Glory of the Rain/NightWings. While Queen Moorhen didn’t lose anyone to the bombing, Sora and Umber were soldiers of her kingdom. At the end of the day, their actions reflected on her.

As a result, they were to meet at the edge of the Mud Kingdom, near the borders of both Sky and Rain territory. There was a building there that could be used for the trial. Granted, it had to be cleaned up a bit, but it’d do. The cavern-like shape was big enough to hold a gathering, with it apparently being some sort of old theater abandoned after Scarlet razed the settlement to the ground. 

So far, it was only Clay, Peril, and the SkyWing guard who were there. The rest of the Queens had been sent letters, and it was only a matter of time before they showed up. Clay hoped it would be Glory first. He missed her. He could use the down time to catch up with her.

While waiting, Clay looked at his two siblings. Sora had a look of dejection and guilt, but also a faint iota of peace. She lay chained to the walls, but she had more than enough room to roam if she wanted. Umber was the same. Umber was a lot more talkative than her, though, speaking to other guards and so on.

All things considered, they were nice to the two MudWings. The only one who was short and curt was Flame, which was a given. The red SkyWing had channeled his anger into justice and while Clay worried that he may use it against them, it was Flame that had ordered their chains be loosened. They weren’t running.

“It’s funny, really.” Peril sat beside Clay. The orange-red SkyWing kept her bright blue eyes on the guards and Clay’s siblings, tail flicking to keep from boredom. “They’re still so afraid of me. They give me a wide, and I mean wide, berth.”

“You’d think that you not burning Sora or Umber would be a good indicator,” Clay chuckled, wrapping a wing around her. She leaned into this muscular, brown scaled chest at the motion. 

“Or sink through the floor.” Peril joked. Clay laughed at the mental image. “I’m serious! Starflight rattled off one time about how I should have sank through rock from how hot I burned but apparently I didn’t. Maybe it was just flesh and scale that it affected? Kinda wish we knew more rather than SkyWings dropping them off cliffs.”

“I… can’t wrap my head around that.” Clay smiled. “I can barely do math, let alone uh… oh, what’s the word…”

“Calculate?”

“Yes, that.” Clay nodded, his broad head almost accidentally smacking hers. She was so dainty compared to him that he was afraid that he may accidentally harm her with his movements. But, she was a lot more durable than her appearance may suggest. Especially from their training sessions.

“Well, that’s okay. You make up for it by being so dang cuddly I could just sink my talons into you,” Peril sighed happily. 

“Careful, they’re listening,” Clay indicated to a pair of guards who stood near the entrance.

“Let them. I can talk about other great qualities you have. Like how great of an eater you are,” Peril winked.

“Not in public!” Clay shushed her, embarrassed. For the longest time, whenever she did that, he thought about his love for food. It was only after Tsunami pulled him aside to discuss the comments did he understand what was really going on. “Stars, what am I going to do with you?”

“Well, I did just give you a suggestion.”

Clay fidgeted with his talons at that. That subject was always… well, not exactly something he felt embarrassed about, but the way she was just so flippant about it certainly made him feel that way. He never got over the time when Peril – loudly – had asked Fatespeaker about it in the library because she was trying to find something.

Her social skills have improved tremendously, but sometimes Clay wondered if she did it on purpose now. Knowing her, that was most certainly the case. 

“I’m not making you too uncomfortable, am I?” Peril asked quietly.

“No, I think I just have that bit of uh… what’s the word… innocence?” Clay scratched his head. “I just don’t know what to do.”

“Mmm… I know. I had a different experience with innocence. I get just being liberated in all ways makes me, well, vocal? I sometimes forget that you were raised in a cave for six years.”

“It wasn’t bad, actually!” Clay smiled. “I mean, it was a safe place. You had a river. Fish swam a lot down it, too. If we were allowed to leave and hunt I think I wouldn’t mind staying there at all! Well, outside how mean…”

Clay stopped himself. The one who was the meanest was Kestrel, Peril’s mother. Part of him wondered how she would feel about him, the one she was most disappointed in – outside Glory – dating her daughter. Clay had the mental image of her glaring about three inches from his face as a ghost. The mental image made him laugh.

“How mean my mother was makes you laugh?” Peril raised a brow.

“No, but her reaction to us together did.”

Peril snickered at that. “That would be funny. Oh well, whenever the worms eventually consume us, I guess we can see her face then.”

“Bit morbid.”

“Life is morbid. At least I know that I’ll be eaten one last time before my flesh rots.”

Clay let out a small sigh as Peril burst out laughing at her own comment. He should’ve really learned to anticipate these comments. But no, he didn’t. 

“How do you feel about this, by the way?” Peril indicated to Clay’s siblings. “You haven’t talked to them much since Possibility.”

“They want to be left alone for a bit,” Clay answered. “I can tell right on Sora’s face that she’s going to plead guilty and wouldn’t be surprised if she doesn’t fight even the death penalty. Seeing her so depressed it’s… painful. Especially when I know she did wrong. But I share that blame, too.”

“What? Why?” Peril sat up, confusion written all over her face. “You didn’t tell her to do this!”

“No, but we opened the academy not a year after the war ended.” Clay shook his head. “I was still so naïve back then. Still am. But my eyes are open now. We should have never made the academy until the dust had settled, or at least until Scarlet was dealt with. We were just so eager to make everyone get along that I failed to consider that some wounds never heal.”

Clay stopped, taking a breath, trying to choose his next words carefully lest they were overheard.

“That Icicle, who killed our sibling, would attend the academy. We all should have known that there were dragonet soldiers in the war and that it’s entirely possible that by meshing them together, they were sitting right next to the killer of friends and families.”

“You’ve changed,” Peril murmured.

“Happens when you are in charge of the futures for these dragonets.” Clay chuckled. “I had to learn and change, too. I’ll never be book smart or leadership material like the others, but I am good at reading dragons now.” He looked at her. “Believe it or not, helping you made me realize how to look at a dragon and see how they are feeling.”

“Plus you’re good at medical stuff. Don’t forget that.” Peril kissed him lightly on the cheek. 

“Yeah, that’s true.” Clay smiled broadly. “But, yeah, I’m worried about them. My other sibs are coming, too.”

The clambering of claws from the SkyWing guards announced the presence of one of the queens. Clay looked out and felt a small smile crawl on his face as Queen Glory landed first. She was very pretty, with green scales that faded into yellows, oranges, and blues. It was no wonder why Deathbringer was so attracted! On the subject of her mate, Clay noted that he was not around. Instead, Glory had an escort of two NightWings and two RainWings. His heart started racing. Did they have a fight?

“Queen Glory.” Flame dipped his head in greeting. “I am pleased that you came.”

“Someone in my tribe was killed,” Glory said bluntly. “It is my duty as Queen to see to it personally.”

“I assure you, justice will be carried out,” Flame said proudly.

How different the SkyWing was from back then. He was angry, hostile, and miserable. Now, he seemed to replace it with a sense of furious justice. Clay could tell, though, that something else was bothering him. He had no business to pry, but if it interfered with the trial, then he’d have no choice but to make it.

“Hi Glory!” Clay greeted warmly, waving with his wing. At the sight of him, Glory’s face relaxed, a slow smile forming. 

“It’s nice to see you again, Clay.” Glory walked up to him, signaling for her guards to remain alert but not to keep on her tail. “Even if it is under these circumstances.”

“Yeah, same,” Clay nodded. “Where’s Deathbringer?”

“He’s off on his boat to the Night Kingdom.” Glory chuckled, rolling her eyes. “He was so ecstatic to be on it. Unfortunately, this all happened during the time he was supposed to leave, and he couldn’t exactly cancel it.”

“Oh, okay.” Clay let out a small sigh. 

Glory raised a brow. “What?”

“I thought you two fought,” Clay said with relief. “This is one of the few times I see you without him.”

Glory made a strange motion at that. Something about what he said bothered her. But what? Should he apologize?

“No, nothing like that.” Glory regained her composure. “When we fight, it’s never enough for me to send him away for so long.”

“It’s kind of like you want to murder him but you wanna do it lovingly?” Peril interjected. 

“… That is certainly a way of putting it.” Glory stared at Peril, who beamed. “I don’t know about murder, but strangulation is certainly on the table.”

“Clay’s neck is too thick for that.”

“I’m now inclined to ask how and why you know this.” Glory shifted her green eyes between them. 

“Fighting lessons,” both said at the same time.

“And now I am worried that means something else.” Glory shook her head. “Regardless, I’m assuming those two are the ones?”

Clay followed her gaze, seeing that Umber had perked his head up at the sight of Glory. Sora, however, barely moved. Clay winced; the arrival of a queen should’ve stirred her. But no, she was just as she was before.

“Yes,” Clay confirmed. 

“You weren’t kidding about her not running.” Glory let out a hollow chuckle. “If those chains weren’t on them, they wouldn’t even bother. I’ll admit, I take pity on them after seeing them in this state. Plus, what you described has softened my stance.”

“I’m not going to ask you to let them off the hook,” Clay said. “But I know you’ll be fair. You were fair to the NightWings after everything.”

“Yes, I must be impartial to their relationship to you.” Glory grimaced. “Admittedly, that is a tad more difficult than it sounds,” she turned an eye back to him.

“I’m aware. I told Peril that it’s partially our fault.”

“How am I responsible?” Glory scowled. “I did nothing wrong. Same with you.”

“Well, we did make the academy right after the war…”

Glory went quiet. She clearly never considered this. And how could she? She was never around the academy outside of the rare trips. Yet, she was also there when it was founded.

“We really jumped too early off the branch there, didn’t we?” Glory asked begrudgingly. Clay affirmed her statement. “Ugh. Well, I hope you know that I’m not going to bring that up. We don’t need the academy coming under fire again.”

“No, I didn’t expect you to. It’s more of a thing between us.” Clay sighed. “But anyway, are you hungry? I am. I could eat a whole hippo right now from what a week this has been.”

***

Clank.

Sora was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn’t notice Clay was there until he put down a few fruits and a slice of meat in front of her. When she looked at it and him, she simply pushed it away weakly. 

“Sora,” Clay said firmly, “you need to eat. You haven’t since Possibility.”

“I’m fine. I’ve went longer without food,” Sora answered quietly.

“That does not mean that you should starve yourself.” Clay pushed it back. “I can’t understand what you’re feeling, but this is not the answer.”

“You’re right, you can’t possibly know.” Sora shook her head, wings ruffling against the chains. “Imagine trying to avenge your brother and then having two innocent lives on your consciousness instead. Two dragons that had every right to live and I robbed them of it. And now that I’m not running, I finally have to deal with that.”

Clay shut his eyes. How could he possibly comfort her from that? It was the truth, blunt and harsh. 

“Sora, you’re also our only chance of getting to Vulture,” Umber piped up. Both MudWings turned to him. “You were under his control, yes, but you also know how his operations worked. Any tiny detail could be invaluable. So if you starve yourself to death and let yourself accept the harshest punishment, we lose the chance to save more lives.”

Sora glared at him. Logic seemed to infuriate the depression side of her. Clay had seen this before in Peril. It was a struggle to get her to see reason when all she wanted to do was wallow.

“That does not absolve me,” Sora hissed lowly.

“No, but that does not mean you cannot make it up in other ways,” Umber pressed. 

“He’s right,” Clay added on. “Starflight’s dad tortured RainWings. Now, he’s making it up to them. Stars, look at the whole NightWing tribe in general.”

Sora’s glare shifted to him. Yet, Clay saw a small spark light inside of her. There was one way to light it further, and Clay didn’t like it one bit. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Peril approaching. Either she was reading his mind and didn’t mind taking the fall for it, or something else was going to come from her mouth.

“Icicle did good in the end. And she’s on her way to getting her sentence revised,” Peril said bluntly. The mention of Icicle drew fury in Sora’s face. “She intentionally killed dragons. As did I. You didn’t. Are you telling me that you see yourself as more of a monster than me?”

“Peril…” Clay said warningly.

“No!” Peril snapped. “I’m not going to let someone sit there and want to die when I, in comparison, have killed more dragons in this room thrice over! And I live with that every day! Two dragons on accident? Yes, that’s awful, but stop focusing on that instead of your use! I can’t take back the lives I took, but I’m doing everything I can to make sure nothing like that happens again!”

Silence. Even the SkyWing guards were staring, as was Glory and her guards. Sora averted her gaze from Peril.

“And what would you have me do?” Sora instead growled bitterly. “I can’t decide my own fate. Clay can’t. You can’t. The only ones who can are the Queens. If they decide that I am to be locked away for the rest of my life, who am I to protest?”

“Yes, and Queen Ruby exiled and still forgave me after I did something heroic,” Peril retorted, fire blazing in her eyes. “You’re giving up before it’s even begun! You still can do the right things. Umber is right with you helping us with Vulture or Sanctuary or whatever!”

“Peril’s blunt, but she’s right,” Clay interjected. “I don’t know what the others think. And you’re right about it not being my call like it was with Peril. But lest we forget, she did a heroic thing to earn our trust. You stayed in Possibility when you could have ran.”

Silence. Sora glanced between all of them, growing more angry yet defeated at the same time. She continued to glance at the food until she sighed.

“Fine.” Sora snatched the plate. “I’ll eat. But I promise nothing more.”

“That’s okay,” Clay said warmly. “Eating is all I ask of you right now.”

Sora didn’t say anything, eating in silence. Peril huffed quietly, turning away and stepping toward the exit.

“I’m okay,” Peril flashed a small smile. “I just… need some time to recuperate. Shouting like that just… yeah.”

“Do you want me to go with you?” Clay took her claws in his. Despite the necklace around her neck holding back her Firescales, she was still incredibly warm to the touch. 

“No, I’m okay, just going for a flight is all.” Peril nuzzled him. “I’m a big girl. But I’m grateful you keep asking either way.”

“Always.” Clay returned the affection, holding her tightly for a moment. He felt her purr against his touch. He remembered the day when she confessed her feelings to him. How oblivious he was to her love. He simply thought that he was the only one she felt comfortable around with her Firescales. It was so obvious in hindsight.

Oh well. At least it happened instead of her pining after him forever.

***

Peril flew in the skies, twirling and feeling the velocity with each loop. How it tugged at her scales, made her chest feel tight. She lived for these moments. Plus, it was nice to skirt so low to the ground in a corkscrew without burning the ground. Every day, she went out and flew for a bit, and not once did she ever get tired of the feeling.

It was also the perfect way to relieve stress and boy did she work herself up back there.

Peril knew exactly what she was getting into when she started shouting. She was not good with softer emotions, so anger was the way to go. And it did seem to work. Yet she could not help but feel resentful of Sora for acting the way she did.

Landing, she felt her claws tremble with barely contained rage. Whenever she felt extreme emotion, positive or negative, she had to release it. And she was alone, and without anyone nearby. So, she slashed and gouged at a tree, feeling the bark and wood splinter under her vicious strikes. It wasn’t enough to kill the tree, but feeling it give way… it elicited a thrill that she knew came from the arena.

And she hated it. It was a part of her she’d never be able to let go, and she knew this. So long was her life marred by blood and death that violence was her answer to almost everything. It was such a good thing that Clay was big and muscular, as she feared she’d break anyone smaller, like Turtle. Although, his scales were apparently invincible now. Maybe it could have worked if Clay didn’t return her feelings…

No point in dwelling on that. She was happy. She had someone who understood her and defended from anyone who would hate her. Not that Peril needed someone to defend her. It was just the action in itself that was sweet. But she also knew that it was time to grow more independent of Clay.

The infatuation stage was over. She had a brother, a brother! Someone who needed her in more ways than one, and she couldn’t expect Clay to drop everything to go off with her. Same with if the Jade Winglet needed her. They dropped everything to come to her rescue before, so why shouldn’t she do the same?

And that thought circled back to her earlier outburst. They looked at her and accepted everything. Even when it was her fault. They knew she was being manipulated and everything. She’d made many, many, mistakes and blood would never not be on her claws.

But couldn’t Sora see that if someone like her had hope, why couldn’t she? Icicle for that matter, too! Peril doubted she’d ever like the IceWing, but she had to respect doing the right thing.

So seeing Sora sitting there and beating herself up disgusted her. And Peril knew she was being unempathetic. She was trying to work on that. She took two lives and ran. It was awful and she knew what it was like to burn someone alive. There was still a part of her that kept asking if she had killed Bigtail or Carnelian from simply touching them, but what was the point in dwelling on it? 

Wallowing in helplessness and guilt did nothing. Not when there were ways to make the world a better place.

Heck, she freed Scarlet! And caused so much chaos in that wake! 

Peril sighed, sitting down to gather her thoughts. She’d soften on Sora, she knew that. Especially since it seemed to have worked. She really hated to compare her trauma with others but it was the only way she knew how to relate. Like saying that at least Tsunami’s mother didn’t sell her or try and kill her. It felt like the right thing to say but Clay’s clarification made her realize otherwise.

Peril ruffled her wings and curled her tail around herself. It was a nice day out at least. She could lay on the rocks and warm her scales. And not sink through them as Starflight would have said! Although the mental image was funny. She could be one of those mole dragons she heard about in stories. Molewings. Ha, how stupid.

Movement from above drew her attention as a dragon landed next to her. Peril instantly stood up with a wide grin at the sight of him.

“Sky!” Peril exclaimed happily.

Sky was her twin, a scrawny, skinny looking dragon who looked like he was constantly suffering from an illness. But that did not stop his wide smile and hopeful, pale blue eyes from beaming. It’d been some time since she saw him last, where he spent about two weeks around Jade Mountain. 

“Peril!” Sky embraced her warmly. Despite how weak he looked, his grip was firm. “I thought I heard your voice! I was actually looking for you, and I remembered Wren saying that there was gonna be a trial or something near the Mud Kingdom borders.”

Peril went to address the human he was with… only to see her not there. “Where is she?”

“Oh, um, that’s… actually what I wanted to talk to you about,” Sky bumped his talons together nervously. “I um… you know how I wanted to attend Jade Mountain, right?”

“Yes?”

“Well um… I… wanna know what it's like to be more like a dragon…” Sky averted his gaze. “And be more independent. Wren had to help her brother, and I wanted to find you, so… this is a test flight.”

“What’s the occasion?” Peril asked. “Not that I won’t help you! I just… expected to see Wren glued to your shoulder.”

“I um… well… there’s a reason, but I don’t want to share. You may laugh.”

“Please, I assure you that there is nothing you can surprise me with.”

Sky nodded, face darkening. “I… think I may like Queen Snowfall.”

Okay, that was a lie. Out of everything Peril expected, that was not one of them. She stared blankly. Out of all the dragons he could possibly feel attracted to, he went right for the queen of the IceWings. Not just an IceWing, not a noble, their queen!

“Uh… well, way to aim high, Sky,” Peril said in shock. “Wait, how did you know you liked her? Because you didn’t even know what boyfriends and girlfriends were.”

“Well, when Wren said what it was, I started thinking,” Sky looked like he was shrinking down with every word. “I just thought we were friends but I remember reading that Queens were always so busy with tribes! And I’m not an IceWing. She makes time for me. I started to wonder why and then I had all these weird emotions and I think I like her but I don’t know if I do what if she doesn’t like me what if she only sees me as a dragonet and - ”

“Sky, stop.” Peril put her wing around him. “You’re going to give yourself an anxiety attack thinking like that. Trust me, been there, done that.”

Sky took a few deep breaths, calming himself.

“I… just want to grow up, I guess.” Sky looked at her. “I see you happy and I want to be happy with you. I want to spend more time with you and your world! But I don’t know how to dragon. I don’t even know my own tribe! There’s a whole world that’s open to me and even if maybe Queen Snowfall doesn’t like me I still want to be around you. Wren likes dragons more than humans so that’s easy but what about babies? I don’t want to kiss Snowfall and then she has babies.”

“W-what?” Peril stopped him. “You… don’t get pregnant from kissing someone, Sky…”

“What!?” Sky whipped his head to her. “But… the stories… characters kissed and then there were babies!”

“Skies above…” Peril muttered under her breath, trying not to laugh. “No, that’s… that’s not how it works, Sky.”

“Then where do babies come from!?”

“Uh…. Sky, I’m… not the best to ask for that. I think I may break your reality,” Peril said through laughter. “We’ll focus on that later. There are biology scrolls in the Academy.”

“Okay… I’ll wait.” Sky nodded slowly. “So, are you doing the trial thingy near here?”

“Yeah.” Peril nodded. “I’m sure you heard about what happened in Possibility.”

“I did, yes.” Sky shuddered. “It was… horrible. I saw the destruction. I’ve never seen anything like that since the battles…”

“Right, well, there was another… event at the academy a few years back. So we’re trying to figure out what to do with them now.”

“Oh.” Sky seemed to follow what she meant. “Well um… do you mind if I stay? I don’t want to intrude on this.”

“No, you’re fine.” Peril smiled brightly. “And besides, Queen Ruby of the SkyWings will be there. If anyone can help you get used to your tribe, it’ll be her.”

“Oooh, another queen friend!” Sky’s face visibly brightened. “Is she nice? I hope I don’t bother her. I’ll hold back on the snails this time.”

“Her and I didn’t see eye-to-eye for a while, but I think she is nice enough. SkyWings don’t have any complaints,” Peril said. “Her son, Prince Cliff, is also going to the academy. He and I are friends.”

“Oh! That’s cool! I wonder if we’d get along…” Sky nodded enthusiastically.

“Come on, though, let’s head to the theater. I think it’s an old theater, anyway. Your wings must be tired, and there’s food there.”

“Oh, yay! I hope there are melons…”

Chapter Text

As evening came, Deathbringer’s boat finally came into view. He was never technically minded, at least not in that way, but the engineers clearly knew what they were doing. It stayed aloft, and looked like it could carry at least fifty dragons. Deathbringer didn’t exactly say how many he was bringing, but if that was the case, food was going to be a lot more scarce. 

Still, Deathbringer was smart. He likely thought of it. Starflight hoped.

Dragons flew from the ship as it gently hit shore. Supplies, such as food and other commodities, were in their claws. Deathbringer himself was one of the first to touch down, a wide smile on his face.

Deathbringer was a strange one. The first time Starflight met him, he tried to kill Princess Blaze. Yet he was enamored by Glory. As a former assassin turned bodyguard, Starflight never would’ve pegged him as a leader. Times change, he supposed. 

And, despite his name, Starflight found him to be very pleasant to be around. Very chatty, with a snarky attitude with Glory, but a good heart deep down. Maybe one day he should change his name. Certainly Battlewinner wasn’t born with her name. 

The tradition of name changing was a strange one, but one that Starflight thought important. Their names changed with their duties most of the time, but they could be identified via birth name. 

“Alright team, you know your tasks!” Deathbringer shouted to them. “Let’s get what we can done, and then regroup! Remember, don’t go anywhere without another, we have no idea what is left behind here!”

Starflight watched the units fly off, not seeing his father among them. Glancing back, he saw said father scrawling on a notepad, muttering calculations under his breath as he checked the boat for damage.

“Starflight!” Deathbringer greeted happily. “You made it! I wasn’t sure if my letter reached you in time, but I’m happy it did!”

“Of course,” Starflight nodded with a smile. “It gives me more material to potentially add to the library.”

“Ah of course, how could I forget about such a sacred place!” Deathbringer winked, looking behind him. “I see you brought friends! I expected Fatespeaker, but the others? Well, the more the merrier.”

“Yeah, it kind of… happened.”

“As things tend to do,” Deathbringer said understandingly. “But, I won’t stand in the way of you and your dad. I will be needing him a lot, but with you two nerds working together, I’m sure we can speed things along, hm?”

Deathbringer patted Starflight on the shoulder, moving over to the others. As he did, Starflight made his way to Mastermind. Another name that there was no way he was born with. Starflight was cautious as to not startle him from his work, waiting patiently.

That, and Starflight needed a minute to collect his own thoughts. Mastermind was someone that he still had mixed feelings about. The horrible nature of his experimentations and so on still lingered in Starflight’s mind as clear as day. Especially Orchid hanging on the wall. Who knew how many other RainWings went missing? Starflight remembered twelve, but who knew if there were more?

But… Mastermind was doing everything he could to make up for the experiments. There was nothing more Starflight could reasonably ask. He helped make the Rain kingdom safer for both NightWings and RainWings. He made no excuses. Some of the RainWings, apparently, enjoyed his company despite everything due to the efforts. Not all, but it was more than Starflight expected.

The NightWings in themselves had a lot to prove. Yet once free from a tyrannical queen and Morrowseer, things… changed. Not overnight, but gradual. 

Honestly, now that Starflight thought about it, each tribe outside the RainWings did something horrible in the war. That wasn’t even getting to some of the horrible war crimes. Poor Webs would have to teach that this year, as it was decided that there was no hiding from the war.

“Oh!” Mastermind noticed Starflight after a bit. He was the same as Starflight remembered, with glasses and a scarred snout. Still skinny, but a healthy skinny rather than starvation. His eyes were still alit with scientific curiosity and wonder, but it seemed… harmless in comparison. Lighter. Freer .

“I didn’t want to interrupt you.” Starflight smiled.

“Don’t worry about that, I… I…” Mastermind adjusted his glasses, peering at Starflight through squinted eyes. “Wait… where is your blindfold?”

“Do you remember how I said that I was on the cusp of something?” Starlight tapped the scales next to his eyes. “This was it.”

“You… you mean that your eyesight is…?” Mastermind approached, nearly dropping his notepad. “B-but how!?”

“Animus object restored the damage,” Starflight answered. “I can see just as I did back then, if not a bit better. Truthfully, I’m unsure.”

“This is…” Mastermind pulled Starflight into a hug, taking the latter by surprise. “Oh, I’m so gladl you found a way! Seeing you blinded by that volcano hurt me in ways you could never know. I wish I could have better expressed it, but seeing you healthy… that is every father’s dream.”

“I was in tears,” Starflight admitted.

“As I would be in your situation.” Mastermind sighed, pulling away from his son and holding Starflight’s face proudly. “If only your mother were alive to see you as you are now. She would be very proud of you.”

“I wish I knew more about her, truthfully,” Starflight admitted. “But if she is anything like I know, I’m sure she would be.”

“Your mother was so compassionate.” Mastermind’s eyes glazed over in reflection. “Brave. The pinnacle of what NightWings should have been instead of what we became. She doted all over your egg. I’m not sure if you are aware, but NightWings had breeding programs. It is why you and Fierceteeth are only half sisters. I was removed from the program due to my commitments in the science field. They did not, as they said, want me ‘distracted’. I did not realize it was my egg she had until Morrowseer told me.”

“Explains why you sounded so surprised. Either that or you were surprised I was alive.”

“It was both, truth be told.” Mastermind returned to the ship, inspecting for wear and tear. “It was why I was so happy to see you.”

“I figured.” Starflight inspected the ship as well. “I’m surprised how buoyant it is. You’d think with the wood, it would flood.”

“So you would think! But there was a special glue that seals the cracks.”

“Interesting. I assume there are many open spaces to allow for buoyancy?”

“Yes, yes.” Mastermind nodded, nearly shaking off his glasses. “I helped more with the material than the building, so I cannot answer much about that. But I did oversee construction of the sails and rooms. Even my genius has limits, alas.”

“What is your job here, then?” Starflight knocked on the wood, sure enough finding it quite hollow.

“Mine? To assess what can be constructed,” Mastermind leaned in a bit closer. “But truthfully, I wish to study the local faun and fauna. Biology has always been my interest.”

“We can do that later, if you want,” Starflight said. “I’m sure Fatespeaker wouldn’t mind joining.”

“Of course! I would love the company.”

Once the ship was inspected and deemed satisfactory, it was time to move on to the nearby structures. Fatespeaker had moved away from the campsite, helping organize rations with Gloomblade, Moon, and Peacekeeper. Starflight had spoken to the small hybrid during his stay at JMA, and was surprised at how well versed the dragonet was at agriculture. Deathbringer doubtlessly brought farmers here, but if what he said was true about growing a Strawberry about the size of his head… well, they had some competition!

“Starflight, be a dear and grab that container,” Fatespeaker said without turning around. She must have ‘sensed’ him approach, as she tended to do. Either that or she was just being coy about exceptionally good hearing. Either way, Starflight couldn’t sneak up on her that often.

Starflight obliged, picking up a container full of smoked meat. The smell was intoxicating. While he was never one to eat much meat, having it prepared like this was delightful. Another brought fruits, as there were strictly vegetarian NightWings aboard.

“Are you going to help them cook later?” Starflight asked.

“But of course!” Fatespeaker grinned widely. That grin was enough to make all his worries away, especially now that he could see it now. “They have not tried any of my stews, and I very well cannot have that!”

“Mmm, they’ll probably love it.”

“Flatterer.” Fatespeaker shook her head. “It won’t get you an extra serving.”

“I wasn’t trying to…” Starflight mumbled.

“I know, but I enjoy teasing you.” Fatespeaker bumped her hips against his. “I’m guessing you and your dad have work to do?”

“Yeah, we’re going to be investigating the buildings nearby,” Starflight nodded. “See what can and can’t be rebuilt. Wanted to see if you would be joining us, but if you’re staying here, I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Yeah, I’ll be helping here.” Fatespeaker chuckled. “Can’t exactly leave them to do all the work.” She leaned in closer. “That, and I want to speak to Moon about our powers. Never had a chance to.”

“We were at JMA…”

“I know, and I was so wrapped up with everything that I forgot!”

Beside them, he saw Moon giggle quietly. Doubtlessly, she either overheard their conversation or thoughts.

“Go spend time with your father, Bright Eyes.” Fatespeaker waved him off with her wings. 

With his smile still going strong, he approached his father, who had been waiting patiently while conversing with another NightWing. They were going over something that happened in the Rainforest. Starflight couldn’t quite figure out what it was, but it was clearly an in-joke.

“I must say, the craft of some of these homes is exquisite,” Mastermind ran his talons over some of the walls of a nearby home. “Two thousand years later and, with a bit of polish, this could fit a family. Walls would need to be patched in, same with some of the roof, but it feels… untouched by anything but time.”

“Darkstalker did try and rebuild part of it, from what I understand,” Starflight said. “Fierceteeth was his majordomo from what I understand. So I guess some of this ransacking could come from then…”

“From her?” Mastermind raised a brow.

“No, just the short-lived expedition.” Starflight stifled a laugh.

“Starflight, look at this!” Mastermind said upon entering one of the estates. “I’ve seen it in pictures, but never in the volcano.”

He indicated to a destroyed table of sorts. There were diagrams on it, as well as hanging drawers. Starflight looked to Mastermind for an explanation.

“This is a CalcuTable !” Mastermind exclaimed. “All those diagrams and symbols? That is what the NightWings of the past had for remembering mathematics and other equations. Built into it are different drawers and widgets that could change on a whim! I always wanted to build one, but never had the time!” Mastermind ran his talons over the etchings. “I could study this for hours! It’s a perfect window into the past. I would very much love to keep this.”

“I mean, if it fits on the boat, I think Deathbringer won’t mind.” Starflight examined it himself.

A good part of it was damaged, yes, but Starflight was able to see ancient calculations. He recognized them to be blueprints for potions, buildings, and so on. Nothing extravagant, but it was a good study guide. He and Mastermind pieced together parts of it, discovering a broken vial that held liquid. A snapped ruler. Sure enough, though, there were ways for this table to ‘flip’ if needed, so the NightWing in question could do science, then math, and then construction. It was a work of art.

“Queen Battlewinner didn’t see why we couldn’t just use different things, and we lacked the space for something like this,” Mastermind babbled. He sounded like a dragonet showing off a science project. “Obsidian is a good material, yes, but marble is very smooth and allows for you to feel the slightest bit of error.”

“I may have to take one for the Academy…” Starflight muttered. “I suppose I can try and teach some tribal history, too. But I’m not great at public speaking.”

“You take after me in that regard.” Mastermind laughed. “Always want to share knowledge, but when it comes to attention, you get nervous.”

“It’s a curse.” Starflight shook his head. “I guess that’s one thing about me that won’t change despite my newfound optimism.”

“Yes, I did notice you happier than you’ve ever been.” Mastermind gave him a proud smile. “Compared to how we first met and subsequent visits, I daresay you’ve grown into a cheerful young dragon now. You get that from your mother, I think.” He squinted. “Yes, I see it in your face. It’s the same look she had when you were born. The same look she gave me.”

“Fatespeaker says it’s my true personality.”

“I believe her.” Mastermind finally pulled his attention away from the Calcutable. “You were, what, raised in a cave for six years and then blinded? I would be miserable, too. In fact, I was in the volcano.”

“Given your starvation, that makes sense.”

“Indeed, I - ”

They got no further, as an ear-splitting shriek of absolute shock and terror came from nearby.

***

Moon suspected that Fatespeaker would want to talk to her about her powers at some point. Honestly, the fact that it didn’t come sooner was surprising. Maybe Fatespeaker didn’t want to intrude on what was a teacher – student relationship. Certainly would be Moon’s mindset.

For now, they walked along the beach, watching the sun set in the distance. Its shades of orange and yellow were comforting, relaxing them as what was a nice day closed.

“Tell me, when you get visions, what are they like?” Moon asked.

“Truthfully? They show as flashes at most,” Fatespeaker admitted. “I see myself in a location. Kind of like how you imagine yourself in, say, Jade Mountain. And then you end up there somehow anyway.”

So, not as strong as mine, Moon thought to herself. She’d already suspected, but perhaps there was a chance to draw it out of her?

“And you can read other people's emotions?” Moon inquired.

“Somewhat.” Fatespeaker nodded. “Whenever someone exhibits strong emotion, I can feel it as if it is my own.”

“That is indeed indicative of an empath,” Moon said. “What about mind reading?”

“No, I can’t do that. Or, at least, not that I know of. But somehow, I seem to know what others are thinking.” Fatespeaker tapped her chin in thought. “Like the one time Starflight was looking for something. He didn’t tell me what it was, but I found it on my own as if I knew .”

“Have you told prophecies?”

“Well of course!” Fatespeaker said with a ‘duh’. “I am called Fatespeaker for a reason!”

“Can you tell me the last one you remember?” Moon chuckled a bit at her response.

“Err… well, I prophesied that…” Fatespeaker’s brow furrowed. “No, maybe that was just some foresight. My memory isn’t great.”

“Well, it’s good that you haven’t. Trust me, you’d remember if you did,” Moon shook her head, remembering the one about Jade Mountain. “But alright, that gives me an idea of where your powers are.”

“And what’s your assessment?”

“Truthfully… they’re weak,” Moon said with a wince. She saw Fatespeaker’s face fall at her words. “But don’t worry, I’m sure we can make them stronger! You just need guidance. I needed it to be where I am now. It’s clear you were born under two moons, as you have both foresight and empath abilities. However, the volcanic clouds must have crippled your abilities.”

“So, there’s a chance I can be better?” Fatespeaker perked right back up.

“Yes,” Moon said encouragingly. “Granted, I’m not entirely sure how. With me, it was more of how to channel mine. In this case, we need to strengthen yours. For example, I can telepathically communicate with those who open their mind to me. I could not do this a few years ago. I imagine it to be a muscle of sorts, one that you haven’t been able to train properly.”

“You can do that?” Fatespeaker said in awe. Moon nodded. “That would solve so many problems!”

“Do you want me to try with you?”

“Yes, sure.” Fatespeaker nodded. “How do I open my mind?”

“You focus on me, and through that thought, I can use it as a connection,” Moon instructed. “It only works in a short range, though. I can’t talk to you across the city, for example. I’d have to be within a block or two.”

Fatespeaker nodded, opening her mind to Moon. Moon felt the surface level thoughts and her excitement. Her mind was going a hundred leagues an hour, abuzz with shifting thoughts and emotions. Truthfully, it was a bit hard to make a connection with such an unfocused mind. But sure enough, it was made.

“Can you hear me?” Moon asked in thought. Fatespeaker let out a gasp. “I guess so.”

“How do I respond?” Fatespeaker questioned.

“You simply think back and I can read the surface thoughts,” Moon said.

“Like this?” Fatespeaker responded. Moon nodded, smiling. “Oh wow this is crazy! I never knew we could do such a thing! I wonder if Clearsight or even Darkstalker knew how to do this!”

“Darkstalker did. It’s how we communicated.”

“That makes sense,” Fatespeaker looked like she was ready to slap herself. “But if this is what I can do later on, oooh I can’t wait for it!”

“Keep in mind your progress may be slow due to your stunted abilities,” Moon warned. “We need to build up your strength, and to do that, we need to take it one flap at a time. The easiest, I think, would be mind reading. I think Starflight, if he allowed it, would be the best place to start given your connection with him.”

“Starflight would do anything to make me happy.” Fatespeaker winked. “But yes, I’ll ask him.”

The conversation got no further, as a shriek of terror came from close by. Moon immediately felt said terror and shock like a blow to the head. Fatespeaker winced from it, too. Holding her head, Moon looked to the direction and was surprised by the source.

It was Hope. One of the most fearless, brave dragons Moon had known, shrieking in horror. Moon immediately took to the skies, following Hope’s frantic thoughts. It was hard to read just one.

“Mom, are you okay?” Peacemaker landed just before Moon and Fatespeaker did. “What’s wrong?”

Hope was huddled in the corner of what looked like a wealthy home. The archway was immaculate after all this time, the entrance a faded blue door. Inside was cozy, with an old fireplace in the living room.

“Hope, what happened?” Moon approached cautiously, noting that something was clutched in the large NightWing’s claws.

“This is the cruelest, most vile joke I have ever seen,” Hope spat. “Once I meet the one who dared play this prank, I will break their neck!”

“Hope, please, look at me.” Moon bent down so their eyes met. “What prank?”

“Moon, I’m sure you can figure out what this place is,” Hope hissed lowly. Moon narrowed her gaze before it hit her.

This was her home, all those years ago.

“I came here for closure. To see if there was anything left,” Hope’s voice trembled with rage. “And sure enough, I found something. An impossibility.”

“What?” Peacemaker asked, standing next to Moon.

“Do not react,” Hope said to Peacemaker, who’s brow furrowed as if he recognized what she meant. Then, she opened her claw.

It was a beautiful black scale with hints of sapphire blue to them. Moon, at first, didn’t see why it would elicit such a response from Hope before she noted that it sparkled . Only one type of scales did that; IceWing.

“Is that…?” Moon asked with dawning realization.

“Yes, I could never forget it. No other dragon had scales like hers.” Hope shook her head. “This scale belonged to Whiteout.”

***

Glory found herself back in the Rainforest, where a dream-like haze surrounded her private pavilion inside the Queen’s hut. Where both she and Deathbringer would go to have privacy, unbothered by the rest of her tribe. With the Dreamvisitor, it was their place of meeting as well. Deathbringer had memorized her Suntimes, so it was no surprise to see him already there.

A NightWing as her mate… that was something Glory never would have expected. Sure, she had Starflight as a close friend and brother, but she never looked at him romantically. And when Morrowseer ordered her death, that was what sealed it for her. It only got worse as their ‘adventures’ did, with being abducted by that tribe and nearly experimented on.

This wasn’t even getting to the first meeting with her now mate. He was quite literally sent there to kill her, and yet upon sight of her, did everything in his power to both save and infuriate her. 

Now she couldn’t imagine a life without him. His handsome face to greet her daily, the care in his dark blue eyes that only she could see. Their relationship was nothing but snark and sarcasm in public, but in private… she saw him for who he really was. It was only a matter of time before his fellow NightWings did, too, and then he’d… have to go and rebuild them.

Before those dark thoughts could come to the surface, she found herself smiling at his presence. Even if it was just a dream, his consciousness was here, pouring tea for her to drink. She could smell the sweet aroma it gave off even now. It was her favorite, green with a dash of lavender.

“I wondered if you’d have the time to show!” Deathbringer greeted warmly as she sat beside him, snuggling close. They felt as warm as it would in the flesh. It only made her long for him again.

“Queen Moorhen will be arriving shortly, so I wanted to sneak in a nap before she did,” Glory answered. “Queen Ruby was delayed slightly, as she was giving orders for the clean up crew in Possibility. They need to fully account for the dead.”

“That makes sense.” Deathbringer nodded slowly. “Uh, actually… speaking of the dead…”

“Did you discover a bunch of skeletons there?” Glory asked wryly.

“No but… I got a series of questions for you.” Deathbringer shifted somewhat uncomfortably. “Okay, so, we know that Hope is actually Foeslayer, and that Peacemaker is what remains of Darkstalker, right?”

Glory’s mood almost immediately plummeted.

“What happened?” Glory immediately questioned.

“Well, both of them came to the kingdom. That’s fine, it makes sense that Foeslayer would want to see what remained of her home. But uh… well, you know that Darkstalker had a sister, right?”

“Vaguely. I think her name was Whiteout?”

“Yeah.” Deathbringer nodded once again. “Well, Foeslayer decided to check out her old home and found a scale of Whiteout. Now, I’m no nerd like half your friends, but even I know that scales rot and fade away. This scale is fresh, maybe a day or two old.”

Glory pulled away, staring at Deathbringer incredulously. “What are you saying, Deathbringer? That the dead are walking ?”

“I don’t want to lead to any assumptions,” Deathbringer’s tail tapped on the wooden floor. It was the first time she saw him… anxious. “But a dragon who’s been dead for two thousand years leaving behind an immaculate scale? That doesn’t lend itself to a lot of possibilities.”

“What do the others think?”

“They’re as baffled as I am.” Deathbringer chuckled. “I mean, really, what else can you do but be? Naturally, we’re keeping this on the down low, but I wanted to tell you just in case Bigtail walks in the door.”

“Animus can’t do this, can it?” Glory bit at her nail in contemplation. She tended to do this when deep in thought. “I distinctly remember that the dead being resurrected is one rule that no one could break.”

“Well, there’s also a lot we really don’t know about it,” Deathbringer said. “It’s possible. But if animus is dead…”

“Then who – or what – cast it?” Glory finished his thought. “Of course, this is all hypothetical. Unless, as you say, Bigtail walks right into me I’m not going to entertain it much.”

“And how far does this go, if true?” Deathbringer slid his eye to her. “Because if Whiteout, a dragon who’s been dead for centuries, is back… what’s to stop someone like Morrowseer from following? Blister and Burn? Scarlet? ”

“Again, I think you’re jumping to conclusions.” Glory flicked his forehead lightly. “The dead can’t come back. Clearly, someone is messing with you all. Plus, animus is kinda sorta… gone? Unless that changed.”

“Vulture apparently used animus magic in Possibility.”

“Yes, but that must be an artifact. Do not jump to conclusions, alright?”

“Exactly.” Deathbringer grimaced. “But… I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Glory’s eyes narrowed. “You aren’t this gullible.”

“If the dead are walking, it doesn’t always mean a bad thing,” Deathbringer’s voice grew quieter with each word. “Whiteout isn’t a villain. And if Bigtail and Carnelian come back, is that really cause for alarm? I mean, once we figure out if their return isn’t heralding the end days.”

“… No, not on principle, I suppose,” Glory spoke slowly. There was something else he was getting at, though. His face was conflicted, with loss and pain written all over it. Yet, there was hope in his voice. She didn’t know of anyone who…

It hit her like a sack of bricks. No wonder why he was entertaining this!

“Your mother,” Glory murmured. “You’re hoping she’s back too, aren’t you?”

“I told you the story, didn’t I?” Deathbringer glanced at her. 

“You made me think you were several years older because you screwed up the timeline to ‘make it more interesting’.” Glory answered blankly. Deathbringer barked out a laugh at that before growing serious.

“I didn’t save her.” Deathbringer’s claws curled around the desk, creating splinters as they dug in. “I stuck to my mission, and I lost her. I had the chance to help, but I didn’t.”

“It’s why you never changed your name, right?” Glory scooted closer, wrapping her wing around him. It was so rare that he had a trace of vulnerability. Getting him to talk about Quickstrike, his mother, was the one of the few ways to make it appear.

“I no longer bring death, but she gave me that name.” Deathbringer sighed, eyes glistening slightly. “It’s a reminder of that day. I will never forgive myself. As you likely surmised – heck, maybe I even told you – that’s why I didn’t want to kill any of you back then. I always wanted another way to get what I needed.” He went quiet for a moment. “But maybe, if she is back… I can tell her I’m sorry.”

“From what you told me of her, she strikes me as the proud sort of NightWing who would rather compliment you on your task rather than saving her,” Glory attempted to reassure his worries, massaging his shoulders gently. She was terrible at this, maybe on Peril’s level at times, but she had to try.

“Heh, strike…” Deathbringer chuckled. Glory rolled her eyes. “I know she was. But that doesn’t mean that a dragonet should ever have to make that choice. And realistically, I know that I made the choice she would have approved of; stay hidden, don’t alert the enemy. I left her to be found by Blister’s soldiers for my own safety.” His claws ripped off part of the table in anger from how tight he gripped it. “It was what she taught me, and I feel like a coward for obeying.”

“And if you went out there, you would have died too.” Glory reminded him softly. “I think she would’ve wanted you to live and be happy.”

“It’s what she wanted, I know.” Deathbringer’s tail slapped the ground in frustration. “I hope that you never have to make the same choice I did. It’s why I never left your side, you know. I didn’t know if one moment, you’d disappear too…”

Glory blinked. In all the time she’d known him, he’d never admitted that. Sure, she suspected, but she never pried. There were many things she’d tease him about, but when it came to the real reasoning for his fretting and overprotective nature, she wouldn’t push. And yet, hearing his words…

… they broke something in her.

“You idiot,” she found herself whispering. “You let me walk all over you for this.”

“Please, I love the teasing.” Deathbringer laughed hollowly. “Keeps us on our toes. And it allows me to pretend that it isn’t the real reason.”

A silence fell over them. Glory held her mate, this time being the comforter. He leaned into her, and she wished he was here in the flesh and not just a dream. She could feel the tears that welled in her eyes slide down her real face. They were both dragons who never opened up much, but when they did, it was significant. Like her not wanting him to leave. And now his mother.

“I can tell you’re thinking about our separation,” Deathbringer said. “And truthfully, I have been too. It’s only been a few days, I know, but the Dreamvisitors really aren’t enough.”

“Yeah… but like we said, we’ll figure out something,” Glory said. “I just… don’t know how to even start.”

“Same. Admittedly, I’ve been looking at a few replacements in case it came down to it. I’d choose you any day, even if the tribe wants me.” Deathbringer gave her the sweetest look that always bypassed any of her ‘barriers’. It was all she could do not to hold him tighter. “But as you said, I have to hold to my dreams until the end.”

“Who were you thinking of?” Glory asked.

“Honestly? Hope,” Deathbringer answered. His answer was simultaneously surprising and unsurprising. “She has the look of a natural leader as well. Apparently, she was a commander back in the day, too. So it makes sense that she’d be a great choice. Maybe there won’t be a king for a bit, but when it comes to the safety of my tribe, I will sacrifice that in a heartbeat.”

Glory nuzzled him at his words, earning a low growl of approval. She’d heard comparisons of Deathbringer to Darkstalker, with charismatic leadership and a desire to be king. Not to mention certain aspects of his personality. 

Glory hated them. Deathbringer was nothing like him, and his willingness to give up being king only affirmed it. Darkstalker would’ve driven his tribe to the grave to keep power.

She knew they meant it as a compliment. She knew that they resented what Darkstalker meant. Their comparison was only meant to make their previous actions look foolish or whatnot. But Deathbringer was not the anti-Darkstalker they were thinking. Not in her eyes.

He was the same old infuriating jokester with a heart that meant well. He didn’t ‘become’ this figure they saw him overnight. He always was. And while she was happy her mate got the recognition he deserved… she wished she could put a stop to it. Yet what would that come across like? No, Glory would allow it, even if it hurt her.

“I think our time is at an end, sadly,” Deathbringer broke the silence. “I can hear someone approaching, and I know you will likely need a bit to process all of this. I wouldn’t tell the queens, but I’d tell Clay and Peril just in case. Moon, last I checked, was attempting to get in contact with Turtle after this and Starflight with Tsunami if that failed.”

Glory chuckled. “Alright. Keep me posted. I’ll let you know what the others think when I can.”

They kissed passionately, and despite it being a dream, felt real as ever. The reality they wove together fell away, and Glory felt the sun hit her scales as she awoke.

***

It didn’t take long to find Clay. He was talking to Flame, who looked like he had finally calmed down a bit. He still had that grumpy exterior, but Clay’s ‘bigwing’ presence must’ve put him at ease. For their little winglet, as Sunny called it, Clay was definitely the heart of it. May not be smart in the traditional sense, but when it came to compassion and understanding, he was the best.

“…so my mother decided that if I wanted to really make a difference, I should join the guard,” Flame said upon Glory’s approach. “It proved to be the best decision. I had an outlet, and I did make a difference.”

“We can always heal that scar, if you wanted,” Clay offered. “We have a way to do it that has no hidden enchantment.”

Flame contemplated this for a moment. Then, he shook his head. “No. It serves as a reminder of where I came from. What happened to me, and the other false dragonets of destiny, was an atrocity and I’ll never allow myself to forget it.”

Clay nodded understandingly. “If you ever change your mind, just need to ask.”

“I hope you know, by the way, that my treatment of your siblings is not personal by any means,” Flame admitted. “I understand the situation they were in, as I too would’ve tried to kill Morrowseer. I did not know any of the victims, but I know how Queen Ruby felt about Carnelian. In my youth, I was very angry, as you recall. But if I do not give this my full attention, that would be unfair to the other arrests I have done. I will punish according to the law, no more or less.”

Glory regarded Flame with newfound interest. She had met the SkyWing a few times before, but never spoke a word. But, Glory did wonder about his unwavering conviction, and so couldn’t fight the words that escaped her lips.

“What if there is a gray area?” Glory approached. Both dragons turned their attention to her, Clay with a degree of happiness. For example, you find a thief who has stolen something valuable. But it was not for personal gain; it was a family heirloom that was wrongfully taken and displayed publicly. The thief wanted it back, as it was the only reminder of their dead parent. Your laws state that the thief is in the wrong. Do you believe that?”

 Clay’s eyes widened at her words. Flame was completely taken aback by it.

“I would have no choice but to arrest the thief,” Flame answered slowly. “I would have no way of knowing.”

“That is true,” Glory nodded. “Say that you do learn, would you still punish someone trying to steal back from the thief who stole their property?”

“I…” Flame looked conflicted.

“After all, the displayer stole and got away with it. It could have been bribes or sheer trickery,” Glory shrugged her wings. “Does that not make him a thief? What would you do? Things are not so black and white. Laws in themselves are, but situations surroundings them are not always. I am not saying that this case is such, but if you hold to that conviction, there will be those who suffer on both ends. I don’t expect an answer to that question, by the way; I want you to think about it.”

Flame had the look of someone who had their food slapped from his claws. It was a look that she’d seen on some NightWings whenever they tried to act high and mighty before being reminded of the past. Flame, however, was not a bad dragon. In Glory’s eye, he simply replaced his anger with a sense of justice that blinded him in a similar manner.

“Clay, I need to speak with you and Peril before the other queens arrive.” Glory turned to the MudWing. “Meet me outside.”

Clay made his way to where Peril was, seeing her talk to a pale dragon that looked almost exactly like her. Glory blinked. Did she have a sibling? No… that wasn’t possible. She consumed him or something along those lines. Yet, that dragon had her face and eyes, however paled they were.

Was… was this a resurrected dragon!? Hiding her growing suspicion, Glory stepped into the forest, relaxing herself. Being around trees and nature always did. Inside the theater was too quiet for her tastes. Reminded her of growing up in that cave.

Clay and Peril arrived shortly after, both with looks of confusion that perfectly complemented each other. She almost laughed despite herself before telling them exactly what Deathbringer told her.

As predicted, none of them took it seriously.

“I hope this means Scarlet’s back!” Peril shook her head, a manic grin on her face. “I get to rip her eyeballs out!”

“Peril,” Clay said gently, placing a claw on her shoulder. “We don’t know if she is.”

“I know, I’m joking.”

“I hate to ask this, but that dragon you were with… did he recently come around?” Glory asked Peril. She was not buying into this at all, but the anxiety part of her was flaring.

“Yes, but not that way,” Peril said, much calmer than Glory expected. Glory anticipated her to flip out. “He’s been around for years, and I only recently just knew of him. He’s my twin, if you haven’t guessed. So he’s not part of this whole zombie invasion thing we’re talking about.”

“Zombie invasion…” Clay chuckled. “That is one way to put it, I guess. Kind of spooky, though.”

“Well, again, I don’t see this really going anywhere.” Glory shrugged. “Granted, it’d be nice to speak to some again, but chances are that they’re going to be agents of whatever brought them back.”

“If Bigtail and Carnelian came back, though, then Sora maybe wouldn’t be as guilty,” Clay said with a bit of optimism.

“Even if Bigtail and Carnelian came back, the fact is Sora still killed them. They’d want an answer to that,” Glory responded bluntly. There was no way around it. “It may not lead to prison, but that emotional trauma is not something gotten over if they remember how they died.”

“Yes… yes, you’re right,” Clay admitted. “But that also means there’s a chance to move on.”

“Always the optimist, aren’t you?” Glory raised a brow. Clay nodded vigorously. “I guess you wouldn’t be the Clay I know if you weren’t. Despite my attitude, I’m hoping you’re right. If, of course, if we bother to entertain it past this conversation.”.

“And besides, Darkstalker was an animus.” Peril turned back to Glory, having been distracted by an annoying woodpecker. “He could’ve enchanted Whiteout’s scales to never age.”

“Exactly!” Glory grinned. “Time will tell, I suppose. We’ll have to hear back from the others if something else is happening.”

Without anything else to say, they headed back. Glory felt a state of apprehension unlike she did before, though. She was not convinced about this ‘zombie invasion’, but the winds were shifting. Something was coming. It was just a matter of what.

Chapter Text

Once the nervousness and apprehension settled, Winter found himself somewhat enjoying the Ice Kingdom. He’d spent so long away from this place that he’d forgotten what it was like to have glacial insulation and snow on his back. It was everywhere, between his claws where he stepped, clinging to his icy horns and spines. Sanctuary was by no means a tropical hellscape of warmth and misery and insects, but it felt like it in comparison.

Yet, as he stalked the halls and garden, he felt a sense of… he couldn’t really describe it. Not misery. Not melancholy. He wasn’t even sure it was negative. But it certainly wasn’t positive. All he could do was remember the days of IceWing nobility and how taxing it was on his mind and body. He was free of that now. Yet, it lingered.

Winter recognized many familiar faces. Some were friendly, others indifferent or outright prudish. However, most of that ire came from his choice in companion.

Kinkajou stared with wide-eyed wonder as they stepped out into the garden, where the Gift of Light loomed. Her jaw was slack, the colors of her scales changing to all sorts of happy hues. Cheek fins spread, tail swishing with excitement. Wings were all but flapping.

“Didn’t Queen Glory take a piece?” Winter questioned, smiling at her expression.

“Yeah, but it really wasn’t that big. Kinda needs a cool place to grow, too, so I never got a chance to see it,” Kinkajou answered distractedly. “But this! Look at how bright it is! How glowy! Oooh, I could stare at this all day! I wanna climb it but I know I’ll probably get sent to the gulag.”

“Gulag?” Winter coughed out a laugh.

“Whatever prison you have here. I remember hearing that word before and I just fell in love with it. It sounds so funny.”

“Never change, Kinkajou…” Winter shook his head while Kinkajou puffed out her chest proudly. “Although, did Queen Glory ever show you this?”

Winter plucked one of the globes on the Gift, having it float right in front of Kinkajou’s face. Her eyes went cross at the sight of it, going rigid. Winter’s ribs felt like they were broken again from how hard it was to keep in his laughter. It was so strange to feel… open and able to express his emotions, too.

The battle in Possibility really put a lot of things into perspective. That may have been the last night the two of them may have had together. Winter wanted nothing more than to spend all his remaining days with the RainWing after. She made him feel happy. Loved.

Accepted.

“No, no she did not.” Kinkajou snapped out of her trance, holding a claw underneath the orb. “This is amazing! How long does it last?”

“Uhh… truth be told, I never timed it.” Winter shrugged. “But it’ll follow you around. I used it whenever I went to the library.”

“Ha, nerd.” Kinkajou giggled.

“As if you don’t like reading.”

“I like reading stories and adventure !” Kinkajou flared her fins, squinting. “Not boring old documents and history. Blah. Boring!”

“I like that stuff too…” Winter frowned. “Just… more serious than you I guess.”

“You? Liking serious stuff? Why, I never!”

Winter bit back the urge to snarl. She was joking. He knew she was. She was grinning with that bright smile of hers that threatened to infect him. But when it came to ‘attacks’ on his interests… oh, he felt incredibly defensive already. She didn’t seem to notice it all yet, too consumed by that mirth of hers.

Splat !

A sudden burst of frost struck him in the face. It wasn’t thrown aggressively. More like snow suddenly blinding his vision. It knocked him right out of his defensiveness from sheer shock.

“Saw you getting all serious, so I figured you needed to cool off .” Kinkajou winked as he shook the snow from his face. “I told you that I wasn’t going to allow you to be all broody.”

“What if I had an actual grievance?” Winter subtly moved his claws in the snow around him.

“Well, if that was the case, I expect you to just tell me rather than look like you swallowed a trout.”

“True…” Winter pretended to frown.

As she was about to reply, Winter threw a snowball right in her mouth. Her eyes went wide as she gagged and coughed. It was Winter’s turn to let out a small chuckle.

“Jeez, practicing for later!?” Kinkajou coughed.

“What?” Winter raised a brow.

“Oh, you know, pitching for me to catch.”

“… I don’t get the joke if you’re making one.”

“Winter. Really?” Kinkajou gave him a deadpan look. Then, it hit him, and his scales turned a dark blue. She smirked. “There we go.”

SMACK !

Another snowball hit Winter in the face. So stunned he was that he didn’t have a chance to react. All he could do was look at the mischievous grin on Kinkajou’s face, and he forgot why he was ever angry. Although she was currently throwing snowballs at his face, he knew that if it came down to it, she wouldn’t do anything to hurt him intentionally.

However, as he went to retaliate, she changed her scales to blend in with the environment. She’d learned to squint her eyes, too, so they weren’t obvious. A true master of disguise, she was.

Yet, perfect invisibility did not account for one little thing. With a confident smirk, he threw a snowball at where he thought her to be. It didn’t hit her face, but struck her neck, earning a small cough as she tried to regain her breath.

“How did you know where I was!?” Kinkajou pouted, standing a very small distance from him.

“Your claws still leave prints in the snow.” Winter indicated down.

“Oh.” Kinkajou followed his gaze. “I suppose I didn’t account for that. Snow just doesn’t happen in the rainforest.”

“Mud doesn’t do the same? Dirt?”

“Not really.” Kinkajou shook her head. “See, with that stuff, any imprints really don't show because it’s harder to see due to grass, plants, et cetera. Snow? Oh, there’s nothing to cover it. No wonder why all of you are so frosty looking.”

“Indeed. It’s why those with melanism never really lasted long here.” Winter frowned. He could see Kinkajou raising her brow questioningly. “Melanism is when you are born with dark pigmentation. So scales would be blackish, for example. Albinism is the opposite.”

“A black IceWing… nope, never seen that. I think it’d be interesting, though.” Kinkajou’s ears and fins fluttered at the thought.

Smack!

Another snowball hit Winter in the chest. He just barely saw it in time to avert his head.

“Are we still doing this?” Winter chuckled.

“Why not?”

“Because it’s childish.” A new voice came. Both looked to the source, finding Icicle standing there with a scowl on her face. Behind her was Hailstorm, who looked like he’d been watching their snowball flinging with amusement. “Unbefitting of an IceWing.”

“Pretty sure we went over that I failed as an IceWing.” Winter returned the scowl.

“And besides, it’s fun .” Kinkajou stuck her tongue out. Yet, Winter saw her green eyes all but hiss at him for saying that he failed as an IceWing. Oh, he’d be in for it later.

“Hmph.” Icicle didn’t argue the point more.

“What she’s trying to say is that there’s something more fun going on at the gates.” Hailstorm interjected. “Someone is demanding to meet with Queen Diamond. Calls himself Prince Arctic.”

“What?” Winter asked, taken aback. “Darkstalker’s father ?”

“Wasn’t Foeslayer the only one who lived this long?” Kinkajou added on, just as baffled.

“Yeah, whole thing’s weird.” Hailstorm nodded in agreement.

“Honestly, it’s just some nut trying to stir up trouble.” Icicle ruffled her wings, annoyed. “I say we slam the gate and lock him in the loony bin.”

“Yeah, I had half a mind for that, but he’s got a daughter that ‘looks like both an IceWing and a NightWing’.” Hailstorm pointed out. “Lynx is busy meeting with the advisors so she told me to handle it. Ran into you two on the way.”

“And I am forced to come along unless you want to do something different.” Icicle looked directly at Winter as if to say ‘please let me do anything else’.

“I mean, I wanna see the area around the palace, so we can just go that way and take off after.” Kinkajou looked at Winter hopefully.

“May as well. Someone being so brazen as to act like Arctic is warranting some curiosity.” Winter shrugged. Icicle rolled her eyes but didn’t put up a fight.

At the gate, sure enough there was a commotion between the guards and an unfamiliar IceWing. The latter had snow white scales that held hints of blue, a grumpy face that Kinkajou immediately teased Winter about, and a stance of pure regality. Not to mention the piercing blue eyes that stabbed at anyone he looked at.

This dragon certainly did resemble the eloped prince. But appearances lied.

What didn’t lie was the other dragon he was with. Her hide was black with hints of sapphire blue, offset by splotches of moon white scales along her body. She had a face of confusion, but not at the situation before them. No, something else was sparking in her pale blue eyes. Recognition of sorts.

Upon their approach, both newcomers examined them with different expressions. ‘Arctic’ was impatient and baffled, eyes constantly flickering over to Kinkajou. The other dragon had trepidation in her gaze, yet was much kinder. Her narrow, elegant face visibly brightened for reasons unknown.

“A RainWing?” ‘Arctic’ all but shouted. “What is a RainWing doing here?!”

“I should be asking you the same question,” Kinkajou immediately shot back. “There are easier ways of entering the palace than pretending to be a dead prince, you know.”

“I am not pretending!” Arctic snapped back. “I am here to see my mother, Queen Diamond. Whom I am told died two thousand years ago! Which is absolutely preposterous, as if that were the case, why am I still here?”

“But father, we did fly in the stars,” the other dragon said. She looked no older than six, maybe seven. “Yet we have landed back on the ice.”

“ We have done no such thing, Whiteout.” Arctic hissed. “This is no place for your fiction.”

“Well, he has the attitude down…” Winter grumbled under his breath. “And Whiteout is exactly what Hope described her to look like. You really can’t fake that .”

“Are you trying to say that two long dead dragons are here at our gates?” Icicle shot him a disbelieving glare. “I wonder if that bomb really did give you a concussion, because you must have brain damage.”

“I’d like to say stranger things have happened, but…” Winter ignored her cutting remarks.

“Arctic.” Hailstorm approached the dragon. “Tell me, why have you come to speak with the Queen?”

“That is none of your concern,” Arctic said dismissively.

“It is my concern, as I am the secretary of the reagent queen while ours is away,” Hailstorm said proudly. “If you want to get into the palace, you will tell me what your objective is.”

“ Fine .” Arctic hissed coldly. “I am here to secure the safety of my daughter, Whiteout, and my mate, Foeslayer. I know she has come here. Whiteout here will marry into nobility, and the animus gene will live on through her. There, satisfied?”

“That’s… not a lie.” Winter’s brow furrowed.

“Agreed, only we knew what happened with Foeslayer.” Kinkajou murmured back. “I’m starting to think this dragon is telling the truth.”

“Impossible.” Icicle immediately shut them down. “The dead do not walk! That is the one consistent rule for animus.”

“Yet it did not stop Darkstalker from transforming Fierceteeth into Clearsight. Theoretically, the dead can come back from that.” Winter responded. Icicle appeared confused by such a notion, as well as sickened.

“Darkstalker!?” Arctic suddenly shouted. “Why are you talking about him? What do you mean, transforming another dragon!?”

“Brother survived after our flight,” Whiteout said with both happiness and sorrow. “I did not see him high above, yet he is not buried once more.”

“And what does that mean?” Arctic turned to Whiteout, frowning.

“It means that we are out of time. Something has clipped our wings. We are grounded.”

“I… think she’s aware of this.” Kinkajou narrowed her gaze at Whiteout, interested. “She’s just as confused as we are.”

“Hailstorm.” Winter approached his brother. “I think they’re telling the truth.”

“That’s impossible, though.” Hailstorm scoffed with disbelief. “I’ll admit, it’s convincing, but there’s no way.”

“We both know that animus could make dragons appear as another.”

Winter never wanted to remind Hailstorm of Pyrite, but in this case, he had to. Something was going on, and right now, they needed to get these two inside and away from the public. Hailstorm’s face immediately fell, eyes growing distant. Doubtlessly, trauma over his split identity had come raging to the surface.

Yet, as Winter looked over Arctic and Whiteout, he detected nothing on them. They were plain. No animus trinkets unless it was incredibly small. No, it seemed like an enchantment was made directly onto the bodies. Which is impossible. Animus is dead.

Yet, it didn’t explain how Vulture suddenly got away back in Possibility. There wasn’t a trinket that could do that specific thing. There couldn’t be. Vulture himself wasn’t an animus or else the battle would be over.

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Hailstorm whispered to Winter, who nodded. “By the Great Ice Dragon… alright, let’s move this inside.”

“Sir?” One of the guards spoke, confused.

“Trust me, I have reservations too.” Hailstorm grimaced. “But we’re going to attract a crowd, and I’d rather solve this before Queen Snowfall returns.”

“ Diamond .” Arctic ‘corrected’ with a hiss.

Hailstorm ignored him, allowing entry for the two dragons. Arctic had a determined look on his face, whereas Whiteout was far more apprehensive. Sure, she had a wide eyed wonder, but there was trepidation in her step. Winter wanted to say something, as there was this innocence in her face that reminded him of a newborn, but at the same time he had to keep his distance.

This was not a real dragon. The ‘host’ was still alive down there.

Once inside, they went to the throne room, where Lynx rested upon the throne. She did not wear a crown, but was ordained with jewelry. Downright ravaishing, if Winter were honest. He shifted a glance to Kinkajou, wondering what she’d look like if she were to wear them. He’d already seen her with flowers in her horns.

By the Great Ice Dragon, he needed to focus!

“What is this?” Arctic demanded upon seeing the throne room. “This is not the throne room! I demand you take me to the real one at once!”

“This is the throne room,” Lynx replied flatly. “If you are Prince Arctic , surely you must be aware of the sands of time and how things change over two thousand years.”

It certainly did over the past few. There were more sculptures, one of which being a giant snail, and other icy structures that changed hue when light shone through them. Although his cousin was a force for change in the kingdom, she still had her vain moments, as indicated by a large tapestry above the throne that displayed the banner.

Above it, however, was an elegant portrait of Queen Glacier. Incredibly life-like, too. It was like she was staring down at the throne, but not as a judgmental queen. Like a mother would daughter. It was rare to see this side of her. Winter wished he had the chance to say goodbye to her. They were never close, but she always treated him with respect and dignity.

While Arctic processed this, Hailstorm approached Lynx and whispered in her ear. Winter read his lips, seeing that he was telling her about their theory. Lynx’s eyes narrowed.

“What are we going to do in the meantime?” Kinkajou asked Winter and Icicle. “If they are replicants – that’s what I’m calling them now – we can’t exactly treat them rudely. Even if Arctic totally deserves it.”

“I say we lock them up for study,” Icicle responded coldly. “Surely there are animus objects made to detect magic.”

“I’m not going to lock up Whiteout!” Kinkajou hissed. “She’s clearly aware of something happening, and she hasn’t made a fuss! In fact, she looks terrified! Fake persona or not, this dragon is real to herself! Do you remember Pyrite?”

“No, because I wasn’t there,” Icicle replied dryly. “I still think they are decoys to whatever threat is brewing.”

“Something sent them, I agree.” Winter nodded as Whiteout began to look in their direction. Her gaze was so strange. There was a warmth there. Trustworthiness. Yet as Winter read her, he felt like he himself was being studied as if he were a textbook. From the way her eyes darted all over him, he felt scrutinized. Yet, there was no hostility in her stare, even as she switched to the others.

Then, she slowly walked over.

“You seem azure.” She spoke to Winter and Kinkajou. “Your soul shines brightly.”

“Um… thanks?” Kinkajou blinked, bewildered.

“Although, there is darkness in your light.” Whiteout focused specifically on her.

“Hiding something, are we?” Icicle taunted.

“The cracks in your ice are apparent.” Whiteout turned to Icicle.

“And what does that mean?” Icicle growled.

“That I can see the azure in you. It is chaotic and fleeting at moments, but it pierces through your green.”

Winter glanced to Icicle. Although Whiteout was speaking in tongues, he was able to grasp what she meant now. The comment to Icicle sealed it.

“She means that we look trustworthy.” Winter translated. Whiteout beamed at him. Such innocence in her face… no wonder why Hope and even Darkstalker spoke so highly of her. It was almost infectious. Whiteout looked like she could never tell a lie.

“I can see blackness before me. The stars are unaligned. A vast ocean is in my mind,” Whiteout said with some apprehension. “Sands have passed. I am no longer sailing.”

“Uh…” Winter, admittedly, did not know what to do with this one.

“She’s clearly stating her confusion.” Kinkajou looked to Whiteout for confirmation, which was given with a nod. “Like I said, I think she’s aware of this. Yet, Arctic doesn’t…”

“Didn’t Hope imply she may have had powers?” Winter attempted to recall the conversations with her. It’d been some time since he caught up with Hope, also known as Foeslayer. Seeing her already with a dragonet baffled him, but after everything, Winter couldn’t blame her for attempting to move on immediately.

“Who are we hoping for?” Whiteout tilted her head.

“Your mother is alive, under a new name.” Winter saw no reason to lie to her about this. And besides, if these two were going to stick around, doubtlessly Hope would want to see them. If only for closure.

“Preposterous!” Arctic came storming over. “Foeslayer would never change her name! Not to something as ridiculous as Hope!”

“She did it after Darkstalker was defeated.” Lynx immediately chased after him, standing in front and getting all up in his face. Arctic was taken aback by both her ferocity and statement. “Oh yes, your son terrorized us long after you died. He killed the former queen.” She indicated with her tail the portrait of Queen Glacier.

“Brother…” Whiteout whispered mournfully. Strangely, she looked at Arctic as if he, too, was a victim. How could she know what Darkstalker did to him? Was it the same way she seemed to be aware of the time gap?

“Oh good, he’s finally gone. I knew he was going to spell disaster.” Arctic’s expression was one of satisfaction, yet as he glanced at Whiteout, it started to fall ever so slightly. It quickly vanished. “Now which one of you defeated him so I may congratulate them?”

“Me,” Kinkajou said acidicly. Her eyes were trained on Whiteout, as if saying ‘I’m sorry’ with them.

“ You ?” Arctic replied, baffled. “How could a RainWing defeat such an abomination?”

“By using his magic against him.” Kinkajou glanced away.

“Why do you look so displeased? You saved not just the IceWings from him, but even the NightWings.” Arctic’s pleasure overrode his tribal prejudice apparently. “You must tell me how you did it.”

“I already did.” Kinkajou said warningly. “I’m not going into detail when his sister is right here.”

Arctic glanced back to Whiteout. Once again, a flicker of remorse flickered across his face. Deep down, underneath that insufferable spite and arrogance, there was a dragon. In a way, it reminded Winter of himself. Winter slid an eye to Icicle, who had an expressionless face. She, too, must see it.

“Hmph, well, maybe I can get used to two thousand years later if I no longer have to worry about our safety,” Arctic instead said. “Now, say that all of this is indeed true… why are we back?”

“Something pulled us from the stars,” Whiteout replied to him.

“Yes, yes, but what?” Arctic didn’t answer dismissively. “Unless animus plucked us from time, I do not see how it could work.”

“We flew, father.” Whiteout protested.

“What, are you trying to tell me that we died and then came back? Because if so, that is impossible. Animus cannot summon back the dead.”

Not entirely true… Winter thought grimly.

“Yet we are,” Whiteout said. “We are as young as we were last seen.”

Now that Whiteout said that… she had a point. Whiteout, as far as Winter was aware, did not die as young as she is now. She lived long enough to have dragonets. So why was she appearing as if she never had any?

“Right…” Lynx interjected slowly. “I have to tell the Queen about this. In the meantime, I can’t let you two be seen around the palace. Two dragons coming back from the dead and stalking like a ghost isn’t going to fly well.”

“That is okay!” Whiteout said brightly. “I am content with staying in a corner. I understand my presence is chaos and I do not wish to be the unpredictable force that brings calamity.”

“If two thousand years have indeed passed, I will request history texts to understand this… world.” Arctic glanced over the five of them. Then, his face softened again, and his pompous expression - Winter honestly thought he may be playing it up - gave way to genuine concern. “But, is it true that Foeslayer yet lives? How?”

“Your mother chained her to a cave where she would remain frozen in ice until IceWing dragonets either slew her, or she killed them. Once she either died or completed her task, she was then frozen.” Winter explained as concisely as possible. Whiteout was horrified, while Arctic had the expression of one who was slapped with a fish. “I freed her. She now lives with the other NightWings in the Rain Kingdom with a son named Peacemaker.”

“I have a brother again?” Whiteout questioned. Her brow furrowed, as if seeing something they could not, and then looked to Kinkajou wordlessly. Kinkajou, briefly, looked scared.

A thought entered Winter’s mind at the reaction but… no, she wouldn’t do that. Not after everything. She wouldn’t after her own experience with animus manipulation. Not after Pyrite. Well, no, she was unconscious and dying during that. But surely if she had indeed made Peacemaker from Darkstalker, she would tell him, right? He would never approve, but he’d understand in time.

She wouldn’t keep him in the dark. None of his friends would. They trusted him, did they not? Why wouldn’t they tell him? They knew better than to lie to his face for years. No, he wouldn’t think the worst of them, just as he trusted them not to think the worst of him.

“Peacemaker?” Arctic raised a brow.

“He’s half RainWing.” Kinkajou added on, a glint in her eye.

“What!?” Arctic responded, baffled. “Why would she ever settle with a RainWing?”

“Why did you settle for a NightWing?” Icicle, not Kinkajou, instead rebutted. Winter was about to jump in on Kinkajou’s behalf, but Icicle beat him to it.

Arctic had no answer to that. Instead, he turned to Winter. “You have my thanks for freeing her. I cannot believe that my mother would do such a thing to her…”

“Your mother was very vengeful after you left,” Hailstorm explained. “She took it out on Foeslayer again and again until she chained her in the cave. She believed you were stolen.”

“I was not stolen !” Arctic spat, claw curling in rage. “I left willingly! I loved her! I knew my mother was vain and proud but to do that… that is abominable. I may not have liked Darkstalker, but even I have my limits.”

“Well, good to know where you stand,” Winter said flatly.

“Okay, that’s enough.” Lynx held her head as if she had the biggest migraine. “I’m finding a room for you two, and I’m going to write a letter to my Queen.”

“I… suppose I should write one to Hope.” Winter glanced to Kinkajou, who nodded. “I think we can confirm you two are who you say you are. We’ll need an object to check for animus tampering, though.”

“Why not simply ask one of the animus here?” Arctic scowled. “I’d do it myself but I think neither of you would believe me.”

“IceWings don’t have animus after you left.” Icicle responded pointedly. “The trait died out. And besides, animus is dead now. None of the other tribes can use it.”

“WHAT?!” Arctic roared. “You lie! My leaving could not have doomed the IceWing animus!”

“It did, and animus is gone anyway.” Lynx interjected once more. “I’ll get you the history books you so desire, but I am going to demand that you keep your voice down. Do not attract attention.”

“Very well.” Arctic conceded after a moment. “I require time to digest all of this anyway.”

“I am excited to see this world!” Whiteout exclaimed optimistically. “I have always wondered what lays beyond my time with the worms.” Her face fell slightly again. “But I wonder, did my scales transfer? Looking may bring the blizzard of torment. Its freezing winds will envelop us if so.” She went quiet for a moment. “Did my Thoughtful return?”

“You two are the only ones who came back as far as we know.” Winter explained. Whiteout nodded solemnly.

“My mind thanks you, Winter, for not lying.” Whiteout shook his claw gratefully. Winter blinked with surprise. He didn’t remember introducing himself. Which… he should’ve. But he was just so confused and bewildered it didn’t come.

“Come.” Lynx gestured with her head. “There is a guest room with a nice view for you, Whiteout.”

“Are we not staying together?” Arctic questioned.

“Well, yes you are, but I don’t think you deserve the view until you cool the ‘tude, my prince .” Lynx shot him a scathing look. Arctic blinked at her response. “Lest you forget, you are standing in the presence of the acting queen and royal family. Not to mention that RainWing you so spoke down to defeated the great and powerful Darkstalker. All she’d have to do is spit on you and you’d be crying. So, take that stick out of your tailhole, and start acting grateful that I don’t put you in the dungeons.”

Kinkajou smiled, flashing her long venom-spewing fangs.

Arctic said nothing, which was probably for the best, and followed Lynx with Whiteout. The rest stood where they were, wordlessly staring at each other.

“So,” Hailstorm started, “the dead walk.”

“The dead walk,” Winter answered bluntly.

“I’ll tell you what, if Queen Diamond walks through that door, I am flying into the great north and never returning.” Icicle pointed at the throne room door.

“I guess we’re just going to have to see where this goes,” Winter replied with a wince. “But, I think that ‘blizzard of torment’ Whiteout mentioned is coming at us.”

“Goodie,” Kinkajou said dryly. “I wish we had a Dreamvisitor. I’d like to inform the others about this. How did Hope ever put up with Arctic?”

“He’s scared,” Winter said. “He's acting like I did at Jade Mountain, hiding it with a superiority complex and so on. I suspect as he adjusts, he’ll get better.”

“You suspect or you hope ?” Hailstorm raised a brow.

“Hope, mostly. And on the subject of that, let’s also hope that this isn’t a common thing…” Winter added, but deep down, he had a dim feeling that this was only the start.

Chapter Text

Turtle flew over the sandy beaches that bordered the Mud and Sea kingdoms. The salty air filled his nostrils, wind caressing his fins and chin feelers. Against the sunlight, he sparkled like an emerald in the sky. Once upon a time, he would’ve flown either too high or low to avoid being spotted, but now he had confidence in himself and his body.

It’s why he’d thinned out over the years. He was round back in the day, and while it was cute for others, it wasn’t what he wanted to be. And if he was going to be traveling around the world, he needed to be in shape. As a result, what would’ve been a tiring flight from JMA to the Sea Kingdom instead was a relaxing sail across the sky.

And he wasn’t alone. Next to him, his younger sister, Auklet, flew with a giant grin on her green face. Ever since Turtle had returned for her, she had a bright smile on her face. It was the first time since their mother died that she was this openly happy.

“I see why you like the place,” Auklet had said once they departed. “It’s so interesting being out of the sea and around other tribes. If I can defeat the strongest of the students here, I’ll be the champion of the academy!”

“Not exactly the lesson I wanted you to learn there.” Turtle laughed. “But I’m glad you liked it.”

“I’m not gonna be as smart as you or Anemone, at least not with books or scrolls.” Auklet shook her head. “My brain don’t work that way. But I am very eager to learn more about the other tribes.”

“So you can learn how to beat them?”

“Yes!” Auklet nodded happily. “Well… that’s part of it. I guess I do have a small interest in how things are run. If I ever have to take over for Tsunami while she’s away in the future, I’d like to know what I’m dealing with.”

“That is more in line for what I hoped for you.”

They had maybe another hour or two before they reached the Sea Kingdom. Turtle offered to swim the rest of the way, but Auklet was much like Tsunami in that she preferred the sky rather than the sea. Then again, she didn’t really have much of a chance to surface in the past few years, being either chained to their mother or taking care of her.

So, it was time for a snack before they reached home. Landing, they caught a few fish, snacking happily upon them. As he tossed one to Auklet, he was reminded of his time with Peril for some reason. How she tried raw fish for the first time and reacted. It was an image he never got out of his head and still brought up occasionally.

“I will miss this, most certainly,” Auklet said once she finished her meal. “The fish at JMA don’t have the saltiness that ocean fish does.”

“I always pictured you to be a hidden sweet tooth,” Turtle chuckled.

“Nah.” Auklet shook her head. “I like salty. Not opposed to sweets, mind you, but there’s something about salt that makes me happy.”

“Could always send some every so often. Sea salt is, naturally, what this kingdom exports.”

“I would love that.” Auklet grinned. “Provided it doesn’t destabilize anything here.”

“I highly doubt a bottle or two every month will cause the collapse of an entire kingdom.” Turtle snickered. “Although, given what’s happened in the past, just about anything can happen.”

“Yeah, I heard some of those stories,” Auklet flared her wings. “I want my own tale of adventure one day!”

“Careful what you wish for.” Turtle was, once again, reminded of Tsunami. “You get comfortable with it, and then a giant NightWing bursts out of a mountain. And you don’t have animus powers to enchant a stick.”

“Speaking of, do you still have that?”

“Yes,” Turtle said bluntly. “Darkstalker is never coming back, but animus is tricky business. I am not leaving anything to chance when it comes to him.”

“Well, I won’t hide! I’ll stand with everyone else if he does come back!” Auklet pledged, standing proudly.

“I just hope that if he does, you’re all grown up,” Turtle said. She looked at him strangely. “You’re tough, yes, but you need strategy, too. All that muscle is going to go right into his palm. Anemone was his pawn and she was an animus.”

“Then I’ll just wear one of those earrings.” Auklet shrugged.

“He could then just rip it off.” Turtle pointed out. “He may nopt be able to touch it, but he can command someone else to.” He fiddled around in his pouch, pulling out the stick that hid him from Darkstalker. “Do you know why I still keep this?”

“To… hide?”

“Yes, but also to find a way to beat him again.” Turtle nodded slowly. “If he doesnt detect my existence, he cannot feasibly stop me. Granted, I won’t be able to protect myself from the others, but I can remain undetected from him.”

“But isn’t he dead?” Auklet eyed the stick. 

“An animus of his level may have a failsafe set to go off at any moment. It may not be for a few years, but I am certain we have not seen the last of him.” Turtle placed the stick back in his satchel. “Are you ready to go?”

It took them an hour and a half to reach the Sea Kingdom. Tsunami liked to rule from the Summer Palace, so he had to swim past the Deep Palace. He wondered how many complaints she got about it, but if that was the only thing anyone complained about her, that was a good start.

But, as they swam past the Deep Palace, Turtle noted something odd. Or, rather, some one odd. She was swimming into the entrance, but there was something familiar about her green scales and face that was unmistakably burned into Turtle’s mind. But from where? He’d have to investigate later. 

Breaching the surface and landing in the Summer Palace, Turtle found that Queen Snowfall was still here, as evidenced by IceWing royal guards hanging around. Made sense, as it’d only been a few days at most. And it’d be a good way to spread word faster of what happened and what they were really dealing with.

Queen Tsunami was in the throne room, going over daily reports from her advisors. It didn’t look like anything serious, as her posture was lax. In fact, she looked somewhat bored by the paper in her talons. Which was a good sign that things were healthy here. No Riptide, though; either he was occupied or finally went back to Sanctuary.

“You’re back!” Tsunami perked up at the sight of them, a wide smile on her face. “I was worried about you after I got Sunny’s letter. And yes, I got yours, too.”

“Oh, good, I wasn’t sure when that’d reach you.” Turtle sighed with relief. “Are you able to have a meeting now?”

“Yes.” Tsunami cricked her neck and stood from the throne. “It’s routine reports, nothing that needs my immediate attention. We were just finishing, anyway.”

“May I also ask if Queen Snowfall is available?” Turtle inquired.

Tsunami’s face grew serious at his words. “That bad, huh?”

“Unfortunately. Is Anemone here, too?”

“I’m right here…” Anemone’s voice came from Turtle right. Sure enough, the pale blue and pink princess was sitting at one of the tables, looking over some documents. No Tamarin in sight, however. “Good for you to notice me, Turtle.”

“Sorry, long flight,” Turtle said apologetically. She flashed him a smile.

“Tamarin’s in Suntime before you ask, so I have time for this.” Anemone rose from the table. “Although she’s more than capable of finding her way around here.”

“I’m coming, too,” Auklet said flatly.

“How bad is this, Turtle?” Tsunami asked him again. “Because I don’t want Auklet hearing disturbing reports.”

“It’s… more about the background evidence than the gruesome details, so she’ll be fine if she promises not to tell anyone not outside the room.” Turtle gave her a hard look. She returned it.

“I see.” Tsunami nodded slowly. “Follow me.”

Tsunami led them into a council room, where she left to find Queen Snowfall. It was quite small, made for confidential matters and official meetings between Queens. Inside, there were paintings of former queens and princesses, including Coral and…

Turtle furrowed his gaze at one painting near his mother’s. It depicted a dark green SeaWing with blue eyes: Orca. The look on her face was proud with a trace of arrogance. But there was no mistaking the facial features.

The same ones that dragon he noticed had… but that was impossible. Orca was long dead. Animus was gone, and even if it wasn’t, it was impossible to bring back the departed. Well… no, that wasn’t true anymore. Animus was back. But even then, it couldn’t do that. That was one of the most consistent rules. Plus, this dragon did not have the royal markings on her wings. But… otherwise, it looked exactly like Orca. But that…

Unless again, someone did what Darkstalker did to Fierceteeth…

“Are you okay?” Anemone asked Turtle.

“Fine.” Turtle shook his head. “Just had an epiphany about something.”

“Really? Cuz you were staring at a picture of Orca.” Anemone frowned. “Like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“It’s nothing ,” Turtle said shortly, shifting his gaze to Auklet. Thankfully, Anemone seemed to pick up on his meaning and dropped it.

A minute later, Tsunami and Queen Snowfall entered, the latter with a critical glare that wasn’t directed at anyone. But, rather, one that Turtle had seen IceWing nobles wear when expecting the worst.

And so, without delay, Turtle told everyone what happened. About how they got the letter, the devastation that followed. Tsunami was horrified even by the scarce details Turtle reported for the sake of brevity. An entire town, gone. When it came to following Vulture, however…

“WHAT?!” Tsunami jumped to her claws. “There’s no way! You said yourself animus is dead!”

“It was.” Turtle nodded. “I learned, recently, that the enchantment to stop animus said ‘any animus alive’. That means Anemone and I, obviously. However, it does not mean someone cannot become one, or is born after.”

“So either Vulture has a newborn animus, or someone became one, is what you are saying,” Queen Snowfall said in clarification. Turtle nodded. “And you are absolutely certain of this?”

“I recognize when animus has been cast,” Turtle answered grimly.

“It’s exactly as he described,” Anemone collaborated his story. “There’s no way Turtle would lie about that.”

“Great, just great.” Tsunami snarled. “I knew something was going to blow up, but I didn’t think this !”

“Nobody did.” Turtle sighed. “I told Queen Thorn that I’d report to you. And since Queen Snowfall is here, that saves a messenger. The only issue is that I am unsure of what to do, as if Vulture is as cunning as I am led to believe, then he has a way of hiding the animus.”

“Perhaps Moon can peer into the futures?” Queen Snowfall suggested. “Now that we are certain of this, then it would make sense that she can try and find a future?”

“I can ask,” Turtle said. Truthfully, he did already consider asking her. But he didn’t want to give a complete sense of hopelessness. Qibli did say that Vulture knew all about them. Doubtlessly, he was watching them now. In a way, he wished Queen Snowfall had not said that, as if they weren’t blocked, they certainly were now.

“I’m really not sure what we can tell others, then,” Tsunami grumbled. “You can’t exactly go about saying ‘hey, you seen an animus around here?’ Cuz then they’ll just point at Anemone. Or you.”

“We will have no choice but to keep our guard up.” Queen Snowfall grimaced. “We are running on nothing. The most we can do is be prepared for the next attack and react accordingly.”

“Agreed.” Tsunami held her head, annoyed. “Don’t suppose you got any ideas, Turtle?”

“There’s Jerboa,” Turtle suggested. Queen Snowfall perked up at that. “If anyone has anything that can help, it’ll be her.”

“The ancient Sandwing or whatever, right?” Tsunami asked. Turtle confirmed. “Okay. We got something, at least.”

“I’m friends with her,” Queen Snowfall added. “I’ll visit her myself. I’m due for a visitation anyway.”

“Alright.” Tsunami leaned back against the wall, tail thumping with agitation. “I’m not sure what I can do about this, but I’ll spread the news to the higher officials. Turtle, I’ll need you either go visit Jade Mountain or use a Dreamvisitor to tell Sunny. They need to be warned of what we’re dealing with. I’m not going to have Sunny be unprepared in her first semester as Headmistress.”

“I’ll fly out tomorrow. I need to return to the Sand Kingdom, anyway,” Turtle said. Tsunami nodded, satisfied.

With that, the meeting was adjourned, Turtle following both queens out. However, as he was about to launch an investigation of his own, Anemone stopped him.

“Now do you want to tell me why you were seeing a ghost?” She asked pointedly.

“Follow me.” Turtle knew there was no getting rid of his sister. And truthfully, he did feel a bit better knowing that he wasn’t alone going where he had to:

The Royal Tomb.

Along the way, Turtle explained what happened with him and Auklet. Then, he shared his suspicion that this unknown dragon was actually their long dead sister: Orca.

“But how?” Anemone flashed as they approached the tomb, which was located underneath the Sea Palace. It was a public area, but the tomb itself could only be accessed by royalty. Orca was buried here, as was their mother.

The guards in front of the tomb allowed them in, but reported nobody attempting to enter. Either Orca bypassed them, or this dragon was just an eerie resemblance. Yet, Turtle knew that his luck was not that strong.

“That’s what I want to find out,” Turtle flashed in return, swimming down the tomb’s entrance and into the dark halls.

The area was alit with blue bioluminescent jellyfish, acting as natural lamps. They were harmless to the touch, but seeing them move around in the dark was… discomforting now. Like at any moment, one would drift over where Orca swam. And if she truly was here…

… she would have her animus powers. Jerboa’s spell would not affect her.

“So we’re just chasing after a known power hungry animus?” Anemone scowled. “Well, I hope she’s alive, because I have some choice words for her!”

“I’m sure Auklet would, too, if she knew what happened around her hatching,” Turtle responded grimly.

They landed on the sandy bottom of the tomb, near the right corner. Statues of queens past served as indicators, with their sons and daughters sharing a space. As Turtle drew closer to his mother’s, he felt a sense of loss and loneliness.

Queen Coral was proud in her stance, but had a welcoming embrace that Turtle wanted to dive into. He hadn’t visited her grave in a while, unable to bring himself to stare upon her likeness for long. Plus, seeing her tomb only served to remind him of his own lack of foresight. If he had just enchanted his rock to heal internal maladies too…

His mother’s casket loomed like a judge and he the defendant. Coral in design, it stood upright, over the others that fit into the walls. Turtle’s claw tightened, and he avoided looking directly at the casket. Instead, he focused on one made of emerald.

Orca’s.

“Are we really going to open it?” Anemone asked as Turtle swam over to it.

“I don’t feel comfortable about this, either.” Turtle shut his eyes, pulling out the casket. “But I know what I saw.”

“Oh, I’m not upset about this. I have no problems with defiling the grave of someone who killed my sisters.” Anemone’s eyes slanted with hatred.

Turtle found himself comforted by her words. It made opening the casket that much easier, even if the lid was heavy. Anemone helped him, and together, they shoved off the top. It hit the ocean floor with a reverberating dwoom . And inside…

“What?” Anemone recoiled with horror not at what she saw, but what she didn’t see. A rotting, skeletal corpse should have been there.

Instead, the interior was empty.

“That’s not possible.” Turtle backed away slowly, shuddering and shaking. “ The dead can’t come back!”

A flash of bright light from behind served as Turtle's only warning before claws of clear crystal gripped both he and Anemone and slammed them against the ground. Through his dazed and confused eyes, he saw a SeaWing hovering over them: the same one from before. Only, there was no more denying what he saw.

“Well, that certainly answers one question and opens up many more…” Orca flashed her scales above them. “I suspected you would check the moment you saw me, Turtle. All I had to do was wait for you to enter and follow. And now… you’re going to answer all of my questions, starting with what finally killed Queen Coral and why she still had an heir to the throne.”

Turtle couldn’t believe his eyes as the wings of their captor slowly revealed her royal marking. This was, without a question, his older sister Orca. Orca, who was dead. Orca, who was killed by their mother before he was born. Yet here she was, floating above him like a ghost.

“You look surprised.” Orca drifted closer to the two of them. “Not at me being alive. But, that I cast an animus spell. Surely mother dearest told you about my power?” As Turtle went to answer, she held up her palm. “Ah, before we have a conversation, I must make sure that we have an honest one.”

Orca produced two shells, staring at them with great intensity. Even without animus powers, Turtle would’ve imagined that they would’ve exploded at her will.

“Enchant these shells so that when a lie is told by the holder, it will grow brightly and begin to emit a pulse,” Orca commanded. After a moment, she spoke again. “I am not at the Sea Kingdom.”

Sure enough, the shells began to pulse as radiant light emitted from them. A smile crossed her face and she thrust a shell into Anemone and Turtle’s palms.

“Now, answer my previous question.” Orca glared down at them with such ferocity that Turtle felt smaller under her gaze.

“Queen Tsunami was taken from the royal hatchery before your statue got to her and was raised by the Talons of Peace.” Turtle answered. His shell didn’t glow.

“Ah, now I recall this.” Orca nodded slowly. “It was before I had my ambitions. No wonder why I neglected to consider her.”

“Why did you make that statue!?” Anemone glared venomously. “Why did you want to kill the heirs? What made you hate our mother?”

“I never hated her.” Orca’s eyes narrowed. “I simply saw her as a weak, naïve queen that drank deep the lies that Blister offered her. It was painfully obvious that Blister was a snake in the grass and yet mother decided to go with it. She would not listen to my words.”

“That doesn’t answer the statue!” Anemone snapped, fangs bared.

“The statue was to make sure that nobody else could get to her before I could,” Orca responded bluntly. “Once I was queen, I had planned on removing the statue. But until that point, I could not allow any interference or other challengers. Yet… somehow, you survived.”

“Because our mother literally had to put me in a harness,” Anemone growled, bubbles popping up from her mouth.

“I see. Well, as I stated, my intention was not to keep her on the throne forever, as stated. I wanted to make the Sea Kingdom strong, and that called for desperate measures.”

“Your last words were ‘I did this all wrong. You're going to rule forever, aren't you, Mother? You should thank me. No one can stop you now.’”. Turtle wasn’t sure if he really should believe Orca. Mistake or not, she still did what she did. Countless heirs died due to her. Queen Coral’s madness over it indirectly led to more deaths.

“Were they now?” Orca frowned. “I suppose that makes sense. Tell me what happened in that challenge. Because as far as I remember, I was supposed to challenge her in the morning. Instead, I woke up in the depths of the ocean, and ran into you.”

“Makes sense how!?”

“I didn’t want to reveal my animus powers. I suppose that was my error. And if I did die, well, she got her wish of being queen forever. Nobody to ever challenge her or her ideals ever again…  until this Tsunami came along.”

Turtle remembered his mother and Tsunami saying that Orca had evidently gone into the fight without intending to use her animus powers. But, that raised one important question.

“Then why didn’t you just heal yourself?” Anemone beat him to it.

Orca, surprisingly, paused. Her gaze was not venomous, but rather one of questioning. As if she, too, was pondering that answer.

“I don’t know. I wasn’t there,” Orca eventually said.

“Then what do you plan to do now?” Turtle questioned. “Your statue is gone. Someone else rules the throne. The war is over.”

“How long has it been since I died?” Orca faced Turtle.

“Eight years, bare minimum.”

“Hmm… then I will see what the world is now, and make my decision accordingly,” Orca answered thoughtfully.

The crystals that held Turtle and Anemone shattered, allowing them to finally move. Turtle wasn’t sure how to feel with Orca being around, a feeling Anemone shared by her glance. She clearly didn’t bear any hostility, yet there was the twinkle of ambition in her eyes. So long as she existed, the Sea Kingdom was in danger. Yet there was nothing to be done. Turtle was powerless against her. One attack and all Orca would have to do is animus him into an actual turtle.

“Don’t give me that look.” Orca eyed them critically. “I’ll not be making my moves just yet. If I do at all.. If Tsunami is a worthy queen, then I will not challenge her. I’ll do my best to help foster this kingdom.”

“How do we know you’re telling the truth?” Turtle questioned. “ You’re not holding a shell.”

Orca laughed, her scales lighting up ominously. “I could bring this entire tomb down. No, this entire kingdom, if I so desired. The fact that I released you and am hearing you out is proof enough.”

Turtle couldn’t really argue with that, as much as he wanted.

“Really? Because we were told that you were ambitious and power hungry.” Anemone didn’t notice that she still held it, apparently.

That caused Orca to pause. Her eyes shut, claws curling. Fangs bared in barely restrained rage, although at Anemone or the idea she planted was unknown.

“Of course.” Orca held a look of rage and betrayal, but at the same time, there was a deep sadness to her. “That would be the tale that was spun after I died. How vain she was… I never wanted the throne for myself at first. I wanted the throne to break things off with Blister. Nobody else saw what I did.”

Even without Orca’s thinly veiled threat before, Turtle would have believed her. There was no faking the hurt scribed into her face. When Turtle brought it up to Anemone, she had to take a hard look at Orca.

A troubled look slowly lined itself on Anemone the more she stared. “But then… why would mother lie?”

“My guess? She had someone whisper in her ear and that lie became truth to her.” Orca shook her head. “I am going to assume that means I am very unwelcome here?”

“Not unwelcome but… well, how would you react if a ghost walked through your door?” Turtle questioned.

“Hmm… fair point. Regardless, I have no intention to hide. I would meet with Tsunami first.”

“I would… stay here. For now.” Turtle suggested. Orca raised a brow. “If you barge out and start demanding to see the queen, things may go badly. You’re not lying to us about your intentions, but I think it would be better if things went quietly. The dead don’t walk, Orca.”

Orca regarded him with an unreadable look. “One hour. One hour I will wait. Then I am coming out and going to meet the queen before the day ends.”

“Alright.” Turtle nodded. “Also, Orca… I don’t know if it makes you feel any better, but mother grieved you until her death. One of her last words was to make amends with you in the Endless Ocean.”

Orca said nothing, glancing at his shell.

“One hour,” she repeated.

***

Tsunami wasn’t sure what she was expecting for the rest of the day, but hearing that her sister was back from the dead was not it. Animus was back, sure fine. She could handle that. It’d be difficult, but the other queens would soon be aware of it.

Orca being back? By the depths, nobody was ready for that.

“So, she’s back, and she’s not charging in here with another statue?” Tsunami asked dryly after Turtle and Anemone gave their report.

“As long as we can meet her within the hour, yes.” Turtle nodded. “I’m sorry for not telling you my suspicions, by the way. I just… well, would you have believed me?”

“No, I wouldn’t have.” Tsunami sighed. “I’m not mad at you. But you better believe I want to knock Orca’s head around for what she did.”

“Same!” Anemone growled. “How dare she just come back and start making demands!”

“Admittedly, I’m curious about this whole thing. And very, very concerned.” Tsunami rose from her throne, grimacing. “Because if Orca’s back… well, I think the past may start affecting our future.”

“Whirlpool.” Anemone spat. “I’ll electrocute him again!”

“Morrowseer…” Tsunami’s talons drummed on the floor. “Right, well, before we get ahead of ourselves, I need to see if she’s the real deal.”

“She uses animus. She’s real.” Anemone reminded flatly.

“The dead just don’t come back!” Tsunami shot back, frustrated. “Ugh. Whatever. Let’s just… get this over with.”

To the royal tomb they went, Tsunami instructing guards to wait nearby. She was taking no chances when it came to Orca. She couldn’t tell them exactly what was going on, but General Shark was aware of a threat. If something were to come out and it wasn’t them, he had orders to attack on sight. Nobody was to be allowed in after them, either.

Inside the crypt filled Tsunami with a sense of melancholy. She was no stranger to this place, but every time she stepped in, she was painfully aware of her own mortality. For most of her life, she postured herself to be a larger than life individual. Yet seeing her mother succumb to a vile disease showed her just how vulnerable life really was.

Tsunami had taken that to heart as queen. She was powerful. She was a warrior! But she knew that one mistake, one little mishap… and it could all come crumbling down. She was still learning. And right now, her actions were the most logical in her eye.

Sure enough, floating amongst the jellyfish and other sea critters like a siren, was Orca. She’d seen the statue, seen the pictures… but nothing could have prepared Tsunami for meeting her in the scales. She had a fierce, determined look that was eying each and every scale with intense scrutiny.

The killer of so many of their siblings, the one who almost took away Auklet… was judging her!? Unintentional or not, their blood was on her claws.

“You look just like mother,” Orca observed.

“And you look just like the one who took away our siblings,” Tsunami answered with a snarl. “You have no idea the chaos you caused in your death. The blood that is on your talons for dozens of guards who did their duty faithfully only to be executed for a failure none could have predicted.”

“Turtle, give her the shell.” Orca didn’t answer, instead turning to their brother.

Turtle grimaced and gave Tsunami his shell. Right… the truth shell. Tsunami took it, still glowering at Orca.

“Now, there is nothing I can do about that. And besides, the fault lays more at our mother’s claws for the actions.” Orca flashed her scales rather nonchalantly. “I will not apologize for doing what I felt was needed for my kingdom. And those guards are not on my claws; they are on mother’s.”

Tsunami growled. There was truth to that statement. Queen Coral did go mad with grief, and if Orca did not intend for the deaths of the guards… well, no, Tsunami could blame her as much as she wanted. But it was true that Queen Coral did do everything else. Only on death’s door did she start to change her ways.

“What do you hope to accomplish by being here, Orca?” Tsunami changed the subject.

“Seeing where the kingdom went after eight years.” Orca floated closer to her. “Yes… I see now you are indeed a powerful queen. Physically. You have the markings of a warrior and I can tell by your face that you are far more intelligent than you are letting on. But that does not make queen material. You need ambition. Something for everyone to remember you by.”

“Oh, I already have that.” Tsunami grinned. “Turtle didn’t tell you, but I was a Dragon of Destiny. You can thank me and my friends for ending the war. Not to mention that we made the first intertribal school that I was the headmistress of. I’m pretty well known even before becoming queen.”

Orca’s face widened with surprise. Tsunami felt smug for a moment before realizing that the surprise was genuine . Like… she was happy to hear that.

“Interesting.” Orca nodded slowly. “And I trust you have nobody whispering in your ear like Blister?”

“We are at a time of peace. Nobody is whispering in my ear,” Tsunami responded bluntly.

“Mmm… Then you certainly wouldn’t mind showing me around? Because I refuse to be confined in a crypt. As Turtle and Anemone likely told you, my bones are gone. I have no memory of my death. As far as I am concerned, I have been plucked out of time.”

Tsunami hesitated. Leaving her alone down here would do nothing. She could simply animus herself out and they’d have a powerful enemy. But Tsunami also couldn’t let Orca get off freely. Yet at the same time… she might be the only answer as to what brought her back. And if there are others following her.

“You look at me as if you are still doubting I am real,” Orca said.

“Animus, for years, has been as dead as you are supposed to be,” Tsunami replied grimly. “The animus who know who you were are in this room.” She indicated to Turtle and Anemone. Orca eyed them with renewed interest. “They wouldn’t bring you back. They couldn’t. So now I’m wondering what you really are.”

“There’s one way someone could come back,” Turtle flashed. “Qibli and Winter told me how Darkstalker transfigured someone else to resemble Clearsight. That means that, technically, someone could come back with someone else acting as a host.”

“But then are they even the real deal?” Anemone added on.

“I exist, therefore I am.” Orca folded her arms, brow furrowed. “If what you say is true, then I would have a body that I am possessing, yes? If so, then all it would take is an animus enchantment to whisk me away. I could do it myself.”

“You would take that risk?” Tsunami raised a brow.

“I worship the truth, and if I am false, then I will not have it.” Orca looked over herself. “Enchant myself to remove any prior enchantments made by anyone else. Enchant myself to revert back to the host body if I am indeed possessing one. Enchant myself to return to my own time if I am indeed plucked from it.”

One second turned to ten and then a minute. No change.

Orca was real.

“What now?” Anemone asked Tsunami.

“If she’s the real deal… then she has to stand trial for the deaths of our siblings,” Tsunami said slowly. “I cannot let you run off. Especially when you could have enchanted the statue to not remain active whilst you challenged our mother.”

“You would have me stand trial when you have a great mystery in your claws?” Orca raised a brow. “Because if I am back, what is stopping dear old mother from crawling out of her tomb? The SandWing sisters, if they are as dead as I assume? You may be in the midst of a crisis and locking me away will make you weak.”

“You’re not avoiding punishment.” Tsunami glowered.

“Tell you what, after we figure out what brought me back, we can deal with that. Because I would very much like to know why I am here.”

“What is your goal?” Tsunami narrowed her gaze. “I mean, what do you hope to accomplish? You say you won’t challenge if you deem me worthy. Fine. I accept that. But someone as powerful as you won’t be content to remain underneath for long. I can see the ambition in your eyes. I want to know what counts as a powerful queen to you.”

Orca smiled thinly. “Finally, one of you asks.” A silent chuckle escaped her. “To me, a powerful queen is someone who will not bend to anyone’s will. Will not sacrifice her pride and strength to the lies of another. Someone who will lead the Sea Kingdom to greatness and be respected. I do not mean by conquering, but someone who will not tolerate any disrespect. Betraying her tribe will never cross her mind, and she will do everything in her power to ensure its safety and land are never disputed.”

“And you saw our mother as someone who betrayed your ideals?”

“I saw mother as someone who would gravitate toward anyone who gave her attention. Blister was clearly exploiting that. By taking the throne, I would have kicked Blister to the side and removed ourselves from the war. Everything she said was a lie. We SeaWings had no purpose in it.”

“You are aware that Blister was promising that we would regain land from the MudWings, correct? Land that was forever in dispute.” And still is, Tsunami thought grimly.

“I know exactly what she promised. But like I said, it was a lie. The instant Blister got what she wanted, she would have turned on the Sea Kingdom. I recognize eels like her. And look at my reward.” Orca looked to where she should be residing; her casket. “I get labeled a power hungry daughter who wanted to seize the throne for herself. I wanted none of that. True, I enchanted the statue to steer away any heirs, but nobody else saw what I did. I took no chances. And I will not apologize for doing what I felt necessary for the good of my kingdom.”

Tsunami eyed her with uncertainty. There was much that needed to be discussed, especially about what to do with Orca. She spoke of strength and ambition, but there was no mention of a kind queen. Either such a thing never crossed her mind, or it was seen as weakness. Tsunami had intended to keep the peace as much as possible.

If Orca was here to threaten it… well, she’d have to deal with that later. Same with the justice that her slain siblings would need. Right now, a larger threat was looming. Bigger than Orca. Bigger than the Sea Kingdom.

“I need to send a messenger to Queen Snowfall.” Tsunami held her head with a sigh. “If she’s going to Jerboa… well, maybe she can explain this as well.”

Chapter Text

The other queens arrived in the evening, with Moorhen arriving first. Glory couldn’t help but note that despite the MudWing reputation of being filthy muck dwellers, she was pristine. Jewelry crowned her head, and her wrists were fitted with golden bracers. Coupled with the powerful stride in her step, she made Glory think of the late Queen Coral. Only, this queen did not look so naïve.

“Queen Glory.” Queen Moorhen dipped her head respectfully to Glory.

“Queen Moorhen.” Glory returned the gesture.

“Has Queen Ruby arrived yet?” Moorhen inquired, noting the SkyWing guards.

“No.” Glory shook her head, noting Clay speak to his sibs nearby. It was like nothing bad had happened at all between them until they looked at Sora and Umber. “You’ve been informed, right?”

“I have.” Moorhen slid her gaze to Sora and Umber. “And I have already made my decision. I shall wait until Queen Ruby arrives before I announce it, however.”

“That is understandable,” Glory responded. Truthfully, she had already made her decision too. It was just a matter of getting the others to agree with it. Glory had never been a part of a Queen’s Court like this. In the past, it was always her tribe that she had to manage.

“I can feel the earth shifting beneath us.” Moorhen frowned slightly. “I feel as if the attack on Possibility is only the start.”

“You and I both.” Glory muttered, reflecting on what Deathbringer told her. He hadn’t contacted her again, which was expected. Nevertheless, she felt a bit of anxiety at the lack of communication.

Shortly after, Queen Ruby descended. True to her name, she was a bright red SkyWing ordained with jewelry all over her imposing, yet graceful, figure. Although Glory had met the queen only a few times, she could immediately tell something was weighing on her mind, and it wasn’t their current situation. Her scarlet eyes shifted to Glory, then to Clay, before finally settling on Peril and her twin.

“Apologies for the delay.” Queen Ruby stated upon landing. “I had to assess the damage in Possibility.”

“Understandable.” Moorhen nodded sagely. “How is it?”

“Gone.” Ruby scowled. “This Vulture will pay for his crimes once I get my claws around his neck.”

“I’ll spit on him too.” Glory hissed out. “I almost lost my friend there.”

“I saw what you did to my mother. I daresay this Vulture will be in for a world of hurt.” Ruby allowed a taut smile to cross her face. “However, before we begin, I must speak to you and Clay, Queen Glory.”

Glory raised a brow before calling over Clay, who bounded over like the big dragonet he was. He had a questioning look on his face that only intensified the moment Queen Ruby led them outside. Glory heard the crickets chirp from how quiet they were as twilight began to fade into night.

“I am… unsure of how to bring this up.” Queen Ruby grimaced, looking both in the eye. Glory already had a dim idea as to what she was going to say, and felt her heart rate accelerate. “But, there was another reason why I was delayed.” She took a deep breath. “I encountered someone claiming to be Kestrel. Kestrel, who was slain by Blister.”

Glory swore so loud that she caused a few birds to flap into the night.

“Oh,” Clay responded blankly.

“That… is all you have to say?” Ruby blinked with surprise. “I speak of someone returning from the dead, and all you can do is swear and say ‘oh’?”

“You’re not the first to report this.” Glory let out a long, drawn out sigh. “My mate found a scale belonging to Darkstalker’s sister. It’s not outside the realm of possibility now.”

“What made you think she was Kestrel?” Clay questioned.

“She looked exactly like her. Same voice and personality,” Ruby responded quite bluntly. “She claimed she had received word that the ‘dragonets needed her’. Obviously, you did not.”

So, right before she would have died. Glory frowned internally. “What did you do with her?”

“I had no choice but to bring her back to the Sky Kingdom. She would not believe that Scarlet was dead at first, but I was able to convince her. She is currently there with a few of my guards. I had considered bringing her here to keep an eye on her, but I decided against it. Seeing both Peril and Sky here makes me grateful I did not.”

“You know Sky?” Clay raised a brow.

“I met him before he took off to Pantala. Upon seeing him, I had suspicions, but just now they were confirmed.” Ruby shifted her gaze to inside. “I spoke to you two first because I did not know how Peril would react. While we are on friendly terms, I did not want her scorching me for a perceived lie.”

“Well, as I said, we kind of expected this.” Glory suddenly felt very foolish to consider Sky one of the walking dead. She’d met him! Granted, it didn’t click then.

“Once this is over, may we follow you to the Sky Kingdom?” Clay asked hopefully. “I know Peril will want to see her again.”

“So long as she does not cause a fire, I do not see why not.” Ruby nodded. “Cliff will be happy to see her.”

“I’ll come, too.” Glory announced. “If this is true, then I must see for myself.”

“Glory… are you sure?” Clay asked sympathetically.

“Absolutely.” Glory gave him a fierce glare. “As queen, it is my duty to investigate and be prepared for anything. Even if, in this case, it means the dead returning. Plus, I have a few choice words to say after she, you know, tried to kill me .”

“I would ask that you contain yourself.” Ruby focused on Glory. “I understand your frustration, but she is key to figuring out what is happening. I would like to gather this information without you doing what you did to my mother.”

“The only venom I will be spewing are my words, trust me.”

“As long as it keeps to that.” Ruby glanced back to the cave. “Regardless, I have said what I needed to. Let us get this over with.”

***

“Is that really what I can expect at Jade Mountain?” Sky’s face lit up like a peach on fire at Peril’s words.

She’d been talking to him about what day to day life was at JMA, which included studies and activities. He’d seen the academy before, but he didn’t know how many tribes would be there. With about five winglets and the Pantalan tribes wanting to come along, they were looking at fifty students! Peril was, admittedly, a bit overwhelming.

That was nothing compared to poor Sky, who didn’t have a lot of experience with dragons. Yet, he was positively squirming with excitement.

“Yeah. I can’t say what winglet you’re in yet, but chances are you’ll be Jade.” Peril winked. “Be rather fitting, don’t you think?”

“I guess!” Sky nodded enthusiastically. “Oh I can’t wait to tell Wren! I bet she’ll be right at home in Jade Mountain. She doesn’t like humans that much. Did I tell you that? I forget what I say.”

“You did.” Peril snickered. “I think having her around will be a good thing, too. Helps get over that humans are friends, not food thing.”

“I think if someone tried to eat her she’d use her sword.” Sky shuddered. “I don’t like that thing. But I understand why she has it.”

Peril couldn’t help but note how sheltered he was despite everything. In a way, it was an inversion of how she was back then. Peril was sheltered, but in a dark and twisted way. She vividly remembered having to eat rocks because of Scarlet. She’d never known anything but the arena. Peril was kind of surprised that Ruby had decided to keep it as a monument to the twisted rule of her mother.

But, it made sense. Occasionally, Peril would visit and stand in the middle of the arena. Why? She didn’t really know. But in a sad, dejected kind of way… it was nostalgic. Back then, she had wool over her eyes. It was easier.

Then stupid Clay and his friend had to come and ruin it. She meant that jokingly, of course, but in a way she missed the simplicity of it. Go in, touch a few dragons, they died, and she went back to doing nothing. Now she had this thing called a ‘life’ and all its complications.

Growing up sucked. But she didn’t regret it at all.

Sky, however, had the wide open world to him but didn’t interact with dragons enough to act like them. He still said babies instead of dragonets, for example. There was a lot about culture that he didn’t understand. Heck, Peril didn’t either. It’d be fun to learn all these things with her brother.

They had ten years to catch up on. Peril didn’t want to waste one second of it.

“Also, I think I did meet Queen Ruby before!” Sky looked to the returning queen along with Glory and Clay. “It was right before I got sent to Pantala. I’m honestly not sure why I went. I didn’t really do anything; Wren did. But it was still so fun to see a whole new land! We need to go back there. Have you been?”

Peril didn’t answer immediately, noting the troubled look on Clay’s face as he slowly began approaching. He was never good at hiding his real feelings, especially when it came to something relating to Peril.

“No, but it does sound like a good vacation place. I know Sunny’s going to meet the teachers,” Peril answered distractedly.

“Oh, yes, it is very nice. Kind of reminds me of where the Sky and Sand kingdom meet. Like it's all grassy but hot and dry. Hard to explain.” Sky looked over to the approaching Clay. “Hi Clay! We were just talking about Jade Mountain. And Pantala. Peril said it was a good idea for vacation.”

Peril rolled her eyes. Of course he’d blurt that out. Clay would then plan around it and get depressed if she wasn’t totally into it – which she kind of was – or things went awry.

“Hey um… so… Peril, you remember what we talked about before?” Clay started clumsily. Peril immediately knew what he meant. “Yeah uh… Queen Ruby just confirmed that it happened to her, too.”

“Which one?” Peril couldn’t help but snarl out as Sky cocked his head, confusion all over his face as one of his ears fell lopsided. It was all Peril could do not to break her expression and start giggling.

“Your mother.”

Peril felt cold. Colder than the time she first put on her necklace and lost her Firescales. Colder than the time she went to the Ice Kingdom with Turtle to find something for his mother. Of all the dragons to come back… it was Kestrel.

“What do you mean?” Sky flinched from the mention of their mother.

“Sky, I have no idea how to tell you this, so I’ll do it bluntly.” Peril took a deep breath. “Our mother is back from the dead.”

“W-what?” Sky trembled at that, eyes widened in fear. He looked like a dragonet there, and from what Peril recalled, he still had nightmares about the time Kestrel tried to kill him. Or, so it seemed.

“We don’t know why this is happening.” Clay added on. “But this isn’t the only instance. Glory’s mate found evidence of someone else long dead.”

“Look at you, speaking eloquently.” Peril nudged him as a way of trying to lighten the mood for Sky. Clay gave her an abashed look, ears flicking. “But, Sky, you don’t have to meet her if you don’t want to.”

“Are you going to?” Sky looked her dead in the eye.

“Yes.” Peril returned the look. “I have questions she has the answers to.”

“Then I will, too.” Sky straightened his pose. “I-I don’t want you facing her alone.”

Peril smiled sweetly, wrapping a wing around him. “Thank you, Sky. I’ll make sure she doesn’t hurt you, either.”

“I’ll have to tell Wren where we are, though.” Sky frowned. “I don’t know how I was going to do that. I said I’d come here and then when it was over I’d come back.”

“We can detour.” Peril suggested.

“Oh, yeah, that can work.” Sky brightened up.

“I’ll tell Queen Ruby about your plan once they get out of their meeting.” Clay told them. “Somehow, though, I don’t think Kestrel will be as mean as we remember.”

“Why do you think that?” Peril raised a brow.

“Well, for one, the war’s over. Prophecy is done. And once she finds out both of you are alive, I think that’ll make her less mad.” Clay shrugged. “I dunno. Kinda feels like something that would happen. I saw how she acted around you, Peril. She did want you to come with her.”

That was true. Peril had said no then, having had her entire life uprooted. She couldn’t trust herself not to burn Kestrel, either.

“The bigger question is going to be what we’re gonna do with her.” Peril frowned. “But, I guess we can deal with that when we get there. Oooh, if she is the slightest bit nasty though…”

“Calm.” Clay gently scratched her back with his wing talon. Peril’s eyes lidded at the act, arching her back.

“Just makes you wonder if Scarlet is going to fly in next.” Peril grumbled. “No, don’t give me that look Clay, I’m not getting riled up. I’m just expecting it now.”

“As long as it’s nothing more than that. Remember, we’re in public.” Clay gestured to the other dragons in the cave.

“I can act civil, you know.” She squinted at him.

“I know you can. That’s why I’m asking you to.” Clay grinned brightly. There was no malice behind his words and she found it incredibly hard to be angry at a perceived talking down. Sky was very much the same, she noted. Turtle, too.

What did she ever do to deserve three naïve, nice boys in her life?

***

The desert was too hot and dry for Snowfall, but she tolerated it just long enough to reach her destination. How did her cousins survive in such heat for longer than an hour? It was good that she did not have to meet Queen Thorn too often – not that she remotely disliked the ‘Bandit Queen’ – as she could feel her scales starting to melt.

Her honor guard felt the same. Although they were stoic and said not a word for most of the flight, she had begun to read them quite well. Through their prismatic helms, she saw exhaustion cling around their eyes. Luckily, their destination had just come into view.

A tiny hut, by the ocean, was their goal. A tiny hut that, to the dragons who didn’t know, would just belong to some hermit by the ocean. Nothing really interesting. Maybe the occasional bandit would try and get in, but they’d be in for a world of hurt if they tried.

“Get some rest.” Snowfall ordered her guard. “The palms here hide the sun well.”

“Will you be alright, my queen?” A guard inquired.

“Oh yes, we’re quite safe here. And if we were not, well… there isn’t much any of us could do about it.” Snowfall grinned cheekily as the guard swallowed nervously.

Snowfall rapped her jeweled knuckles on the door to the small hut. Immediately, she heard shuffling, and the door swung open to reveal a large SandWing with a long, skinny neck that peered down at Snowfall. Once, that youthful face of hers would’ve been furrowed in a critical gaze, but now it was much brighter and calmer.

“Ah, Queen Snowfall.” The SandWing dipped her head respectfully. “It’s about a week early for your visits. What blew up this time?”

“May I come in, Boa?” Snowfall asked.

Boa, or Jerboa as she was originally called, raised a brow but stood to the side to allow Snowfall in. Inside was quaint, with various objects collected over the centuries. Most of them were animus touched, but even Snowfall did not know what they possessed. The hut had one extra room for Boa to sleep, though. She did not get many visitors, so there was no point in expanding.

“Do you ever get bored living here?” Snowfall dropped her queenly demeanor the moment the door shut, bristling. “You are more than welcome to stay anywhere you like, you know.”

“I’ve lived here for two thousand years, why move now?” Boa shook her head. “You didn’t come all the way here to tell me that, though, did you?”

“Unfortunately not.” Snowfall shook her head. “I’ll just say this bluntly; animus is back.”

Boa regarded her with a darkened expression, but did not seem surprised. Instead, she played with the seashell necklace around her neck, neck sail flicking up and down in thought.

“I had hoped to get another five years of peace, bare minimum.” Boa groaned, frustrated.

“You knew this would happen?”

“I made a mistake in my cast. I said ‘animus alive’, not ‘animus forever’. Meaning that if one was born or artificially made through whatever artifacts remain, it would work.” Boa paced around her hut. “What happened?”

Snowfall decided to begin with the attack on Possibility. She’d drop the dragonflame cactus that was Tsunami’s long dead sister returning right after. She almost flew right back to the Sea Kingdom once Turtle had contacted her about it.

For now, the recounting of the devastating attack was enough to make Boa’s brow furrow in anger and despair. She looked ready to lash out at the nearest object, keeping herself in check through unknown means.

“And so it begins.” Boa sighed loudly. “The first instance of animus being back, and we lose a town. This is why I got rid of it in the first place.”

“Do you have anything here that could track who casts spells?” Snowfall inquired.

“I do.” Boa moved over to a large pearl that rested upon a dresser. “Mother dearest was quite the little snoop. When touched, this would recount any recent spells cast. Until then, it will start to shine brightly.” She held up the pearl. “It hasn’t glowed in years until yesterday. Imagine my surprise when I find out it’s a SeaWing named Orca. Now, I don’t keep in contact much, but I do remember the round one – well, not so round anymore – talking about a sister named Orca who was an animus. Only… this Orca is dead.”

“That’s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about.” Snowfall braced herself for the next part. “It appears that the past is invading our present.”

“There are only two ways the dead can be among us,” Boa placed the pearl back on the shelf. “One, they are created. This means by using a host body to create a new personality, or even turning something else organic into the deceased.”

“And the other?”

“They are plucked from time itself.” Boa chuckled. “Doing the latter is very dangerous. If someone is taken from time, then we run into the issue of our future not existing. This Orca… if she is taken, then she never challenges her mother to the throne. I do not know if that means that Turtle’s siblings would have still died. Either way, such an event would have left us in an alternate timeline. Yet, we do not appear to be so.”

“That means that we figure out what’s happening, right? And we, in the end, send them back?” Snowfall asked hopefully.

“Look, just because I have lived for two thousand years and came from a non-dragon egg doesn’t mean I know anything about this .” Boa gestured vaguely before frowning. “Actually… there was one more spell cast before this Orca came into the picture.”

“Do tell.”

“It was a minor protection spell cast by someone by the name of Arctic on another named Whiteout.”

If Snowfall was carrying anything, she would’ve dropped it. All she could do was stare at the SandWing.

“I take it you know this Arctic?” Boa frowned. “Because it’s beginning to sound like Prince Arctic, Darkstalker’s father. I wouldn’t have believed it myself has Orca not come into the picture and then you knock on my door.”

“Where was the spell cast?” Snowfall demanded, all but grabbing Boa by the shoulders. 

“On the border of the Ice Kingdom.” Boa began to start packing a few objects into a sack. “Don’t give me that look; you’re going to want me to come with you to investigate. I can tell if a dragon is engendered, too.”

“You can?” Snowfall blinked. “I didn’t know that.”

“Didn’t come up until now.” Boa let out a small huff, looking distant for a moment. “I haven’t been to the Ice Kingdom since your mother died.”

“It hasn’t changed much.” Snowfall offered a kind smile.

“Yes, it has. She’s dead,” Boa responded bluntly before smiling in turn. “But, you’ve grown into quite the queen yourself. I daresay she would be proud of you.”

Warmth flooded through Snowfall at the compliment. Boa was not one to bring out compliments like that. Snowfall remembered her being a cranky old SandWing who would often shut the door on anyone’s face. It wasn’t until a few years ago did she start calming and… well, living. Snowfall remembered being surprised when she agreed to help at Jade Mountain.

“Don’t stand there staring off into space.” Boa snapped her talons in front of Snowfall’s face. “We have a potential crisis on our claws.”

“What if it’s not?” Snowfall couldn’t help but ask. “What if… mother comes back?”

Boa regarded her with an unreadable expression. “It’s not her, Snowfall. The dead don’t come back. No and if’s or buts about it.”

“Unless it’s time travel.”

“If that is the case, then we must send them back with no memory of the future. Only then we can stop worrying about some sort of collapse.”

Snowfall knew Boa’s words to be true, but she couldn’t help but wish that her mother would walk through the kingdom doors. She did not wish to give the crown back to her mother, but if she could have one last conversation…

… that would mean everything.

***

Vulture once more found his way back to the treasury, where Chameleon often was these days. No matter what shape the dragon had taken, his love for the riches never changed. When he’d returned to Vulture about a year ago with a different personality, he wasn’t sure he was dealing with the same Chameleon until the talk of treasure came up.

This time, the dragon was living up to his name by changing small features on his SkyWing body whilst staring into a mirror. Ever since he’d become an animus, he didn’t need that scroll of Darkstalker’s to transform. Now, it could be at will.

“What do you think, red or orange?” Chameleon tapped his chin, shifting his scales between orange and red. “I think orange has a nice sunset vibe to it, but red… red is exquisite.”

“I’m impartial.” Vulture stood next to him. “Your seeds have been planted. What now?”

“Now?” Chameleon slid his now blue eyes to him. “Well, patience is needed. But, as you can see, I need to kick things along. Can’t resist meeting my sweetest Kestrel, now can I?”

“You just had your time with her.”

“I know, but I miss her so!” Chameleon tsked. “You mean to tell me you’ve never loved a mate? Was it all just ‘give me an heir, wench?’”

“I did have a mate. I loved her dearly.” Vulture eyed him critically. “But I let her go. If this plan of yours is to succeed, you need to do the same.”

“Mmm, we’ll see.” Chameleon eventually settled on red. “By the by, I know you’re waiting for something to do. I have a few ideas, actually. My part relies on subtly, whereas yours can be far more… explosive. ”

“Oh?” Vulture raised a brow.

“You have two targets now.” Chameleon faced him, a crazed gleam in his eye. “Jade Mountain is completely defenseless. You could take that out if you really wanna hurt Qibli. Or, you can go after Sanctuary if you’re feeling particularly bloodthirsty.”

“And what would I gain from that?” Vulture frowned. “I want Qibli to join our side. Possibility was going to be destroyed regardless . If I take out his places of comfort he’ll conspire to stab me in the back rather than join me.”

“That is true.” Chameleon nodded slowly after a moment. “Could go after Thorn, I guess. Kinda boring though.”

“Thorn is already on high alert.” Vulture narrowed his gaze in thought. “But…”

“But?”

“There is a player we can remove right now.” Vulture chuckled. “Two, actually. Just a matter of picking them.”

“Flip a coin?”

“I suppose that works…”

Chapter Text

Fire and smoke clouded Qibli’s mind. He tried to flee away from the growing inferno, but no matter where he fled, it always caught him. The flames burned his body, but did not give injury. It was the perfect torture; no markings, but all the effects.

Bodies lay around him, shadowed or burnt. He didn’t recognize them, but knew they were of his friends and family. Everything was consumed by the fire that scorched the sands and turned it to glass. They backed him into a corner, where he bumped into something.

Jumping back, he saw the specter of the biggest dragon he ever met. Even as an adult, Qibli barely made it up to his black scaled neck. His dark eyes were filled with pity yet no surprise. The flames did nothing to him as he strode through it, pushing Qibli back to the center.

“I warned you.” Darkstalker’s deep baritone reverberated clear as day over the snap and crack of flame. “I tried to share my power with you.”

“It wouldn’t have stopped this!” Qibli tried to argue. It was futile. Even he didn’t believe his own words.

“Yes, it would’ve.” Darkstalker lowered his long neck to Qibli’s level, tilting his head to meet Qibli’s gaze. “And thanks to you, Moon is dead. Thorn is dead. You could’ve saved everyone with one spell. Vulture would be no more.”

“Nobody should have that much power. You know this.” Qibli retaliated.

“Yet, someone has it. It could’ve been you. Instead, you have a wild animus running around and no way to defeat them. Plus, that coin of yours… tsk, tsk. All of this, because you said no.” Darkstalker shrugged. “I’d help, but your lovely friend made me eat a strawberry. So much for being against changing dragons…”

“ You were going to kill all the IceWings and take over the continent!”

“I was ending the war.” Darkstalker frowned. “But you ignore my point. You should have just killed me. My scales are invulnerable, but not my insides… A stab to the mouth and I would’ve been out.” Darkstalker reached out with a massive claw. “Hold still. Let me show you what I mean.”

The flames roared to life once more – Qibli hadn’t noticed they’d been doused – and he was unable to move. He was pinned against the ground, a wicked talon in front of his face.

Qibli!

“Shhh, it’s okay.” Darkstalker cooed. “We’re just doing a bit of a reset.”

The talon dug into Qibli’s nose, drawing blood that dribbled down his cheeks.

Qibli!

The talon ripped the scales and flesh as it drew itself into the shape of his former scar.

“That pain you feel… I felt that. Maybe not physically, but certainly emotionally.” Darkstalker whistled as he carved up Qibli’s face, who was in so much agony he couldn’t move. Speak. His pupils dilated and he spasmed with each carve. “But… you put up less of a fight than I expected. Maybe you like this…”

QIBLI!

***

The sound of shattering glass and the feel of someone binding his claws awoke Qibli. His face was on fire, and he felt warm sticky fluids run down his cheek and into his mouth. The metallic taste woke him up even more, and his eyes darted in all directions.

He wasn’t on fire. He was in some sort of ruined home. The stars were out, and a cool ocean breeze stroked his scales. Reality slowly dawned upon him as he recognized his surroundings to be the old Kingdom of Night. Right… he’d come here with Moon.

The same Moon who had his claws bound across his chest and was now laying atop him with a petrified expression.

“Why are you on me?” Qibli asked blearily. “And why does my nose hurt?”

“Look at your claws,” Moon answered shakily, holding them up. They were bloodied with his blood. Crossing his eyes, he let out a small gasp.

He’d been carving his own face into a crude replication of his scar.

“I… I didn’t…” Qibli blinked a few times, shocked.

“I saw your dream.” Moon wiped away the blood with a cloth. “It’s what woke me up. The cluster of emotions was that strong.”

“Why would I…?” Qibli tried to make sense of what happened.

He was okay without his scar. He was okay with moving on. So, why was he trying to replicate it? It made no sense!

“Let me check your walls.” Moon placed her claws on the sides of his face, shutting her eyes. She grimaced not a second later. “One of them is crumbling.”

“But how? I thought you said they were damaged but not broken.”

“You were just in the middle of a terrorist attack.” Moon reminded him gently. “It makes sense you have repressed issues.” She frowned. “Although, I’m a bit confused as to why it was Darkstalker and not, say, Vulture or your mother.”

“…I might have an idea.” Qibli followed Moon out and toward the ocean. His claws were sticky, and sand clung to them until he washed the blood away in the gentle waves. “Vulture was forcing me to change. The same thing we did to Darkstalker.”

Moon said nothing, deep in thought. Her brows furrowed as if she had a giant headache, reminding him of when they first met. That small – somehow muscular – dragonet who was as shy as a bird who’d entrapped his heart with a snare. He was going to give her up anyway for Winter’s own happiness and what he perceived to be Moon’s. When she chose him… that was the second time anyone ever did, the first being Queen Thorn.

“We had to stop him,” Moon eventually said. She didn’t sound too convinced, though.

“I agree. But if we did the right thing… why didn’t we tell Winter or Peril?”

Of that, Moon had no answer. Qibli didn’t either. They kept promising to tell Winter, but that day never came. It just kept getting pushed further and further back. They didn’t want to ruin any romance between Kinkajou and Winter, and now they were in a relationship. That dragonflame cactus was going to detonate one day and it would’ve been entirely preventable.

Peril was also affected by animus in a similar regard to Winter’s brother. It changed who she was, even making her forget Clay . It made Qibli so angry when he found that out. Especially when he realized that Darkstalker was making dragons like him.

And what did they do? They took the lessons, only to throw them out the window when it became convenient. Qibli may not have been the one to give him the strawberry, but he felt just as responsible by standing by and condoning it.

“I know.” Moon nodded slowly, reading his mind. “But it felt so… justified. Yet if we couldn’t tell our dearest friends, was it really?”

“I have no idea. We’ll need to talk to Turtle and Kinkajou about this. Anemone and Hope, too.” Qibli grumbled. “Okay, I’m going to stick my head in the water. Make sure I don’t shriek.”

“Is that wise?” Moon raised a brow.

“Salt is a natural disinfectant. We’ve been walking around stepping in who knows what. I’ve seen someone scratch at their scales and got a nasty infection.” Qibli shuddered. “Okay, here we go.”

Qibli plunged his head into the water and immediately felt the wound burn. Ripping his head back up, he could feel the salt eating at him. Bloody water dripped down his face, and Moon held him tight to prevent him from scratching at it again. The water also made him realize that his wound was deep . Not as deep as his old one, but it’d doubtlessly leave a scar.

Wait, where was Turtle’s rock? What was he doing sinking his head into salt water!?

“I was questioning the same thing.” Moon giggled slightly. “I think Starflight had it last because Mastermind accidently cut himself. I’ll go get it so nobody asks questions.”

Qibli nodded, and she took off into the night. He watched her go and sighed, going back toward where they rested for the evening. Multiple NightWings were out and about, their nocturnal schedules a contrast to his own. In the dark, they didn’t notice his wound, or at least didn’t say anything.

This was not a sentiment shared by Hope, whom he nearly flew into in his thoughts. Her eyes were all but bloodshot, exhaustion clinging to her face. Ever since she found Whiteout’s scale, she’d been ripping apart the old kingdom to find her to no avail.

“What did you do?” Hope hissed out.

“What makes you think I did this?” Qibli deflected.

“The wound is the exact width of your talons. And you and Moon would never hurt each other. If someone else attacked you, we’d hear about it,” Hope responded, slightly calmer.

“… Right, okay, I can’t hide that.” Qibli glanced around, trying to find Peacemaker. He was nowhere in sight. “Nightmare. That’s all.”

“One hell of a nightmare.” Hope examined the wound, voice blunt.

He may as well get it over with. He did, after all, need to speak to her about Darkstalker. And so, he told Hope about the dream. She listened with a surprising amount of patience given her earlier attitude.

“So, you think you did the wrong thing.” Hope summarized neutrally. Qibli nodded slowly. “You didn’t.”

“Are we so sure?” Qibli asked nervously. “All of us just stood by and let someone’s very identity be erased.”

“And as I pointed out to Moon, Darkstalker could have easily countered it.” Hope motioned for him to land, which they did. A look of reflection crossed her face, eyes distant. “It was his own magic that hurt him, and he could have cast a spell to make himself transform back. Yet… he didn’t. He’s smart enough to have done it, too.”

“You told Moon that?” Qibli blinked. “She never told me.”

“Must’ve slipped her mind. I know her; she wouldn’t keep this from you intentionally.” Hope smiled reassuringly. “Darkstalker, deep down, wanted the restart. He wanted to be accepted and loved, and he turned out a sociopath by our failings. We didn’t curb his narcissistic and power hungry tendencies. All Arctic and I did was fight. Whiteout was the only thing keeping him grounded.” She sighed. “Peacemaker is me correcting my own faults. And if Whiteout is somehow back… maybe I can make up for my mistakes with her.”

“Would Peacemaker recognize her?” Qibli asked quietly. “You’re a NightWing, so of course it may not trigger a memory. But from what I heard about Whiteout that’s… well, she’s certainly a unique one.”

“You have no idea.” Hope chuckled. “But, since you want my opinion, we did the right thing. Even if Darkstalker returned, he wouldn’t be a threat. He saw how evil he was with that scale, and I think it triggered something.”

Qibli repressed a frown. He never told anyone but Moon about the scale. How did she know? Did Moon tell her? Plus, she didn’t exactly answer the question, and a quick look told him that pressing it may be a bad idea.

“I suppose that’s true.” Qibli scratched his head in thought. “I know it would’ve been an eye opener for me. I just feel guilty that we didn’t tell Winter or Peril…”

“As appreciative as I am to Winter for freeing me, I wouldn’t tell him either.” Hope looked him dead in the eye. “I have no doubts in my mind that he would try and kill Peacemaker.”

“Perhaps back then, but he’s unthawed a little bit. You can thank Kinkajou for that.”

“And that is the other reason why I did not want to tell him.”

“There you are!” Moon’s voice cried out as she landed beside him, rock in claw. Qibli grabbed it, and immediately he felt the wound close alongside the pain. “Hope, are you okay?”

“I think I’m about ready to crash, truthfully.” Hope yawned. “I don’t know where she could’ve gone. This scale is maybe a day or two old.”

“I can ask mom if she’s heard any reports of her traveling. Same with Glory, if she hasn’t already left for the trial.” Qibli suggested. “Deathbringer has the Dreamvisitor, yeah?”

“Last I checked.” Hope nodded.

“Right, I’ll go talk to him. He’s probably still awake.” Qibli smirked confidently. “We’ll find out the truth. And if the dead really are coming back, well, I hope it’s a good thing and uh… not what we saw Darkstalker doing.”

“Ugh, why did you remind me?” Moon shuddered.

“Let me know what you find, even if you have to shake me awake.” Hope slowly turned around to trudge toward her old home, where she stayed with Peacemaker.

“I’ll let you grab the Dreamvisitor.” Moon stifled a yawn of her own. “Trying to wake you up drained me. And no , don’t you dare feel bad. Looking into your mind, the wall fixed itself slightly. I guess your talk with Hope helped?”

“She said we did the right thing. Also said you and she had this exact conversation.” Qibli poked her ticklish side with a talon. She squinted. “Yeah, you deserve that for not telling me.”

“I’m sorry. I meant to but everything kept getting sidetracked.” Moon apologized guiltily. “Then it slipped my mind because I was panicking about you.”

“Uh huh. I’ll forgive you… this time.” Qibli winked. She snickered. “Go get some beauty rest. We’ll probably be tearing this place asunder for multiple reasons once we wake up.”

“Alright… I’ll be waiting for you.” She smiled.

***

Turtle lay alone at the bottom of a lake, feeling the cool water sooth his mind. He’d been flying for a few hours now, having left the Sea Kingdom to travel to Queen Thorn. A small sack carrying duplicates of his shell alongside some of his rocks and Dreamvisitors lay beside him. Thankfully, there was no risk of water damage with them.

Orca was back. He felt terrible leaving Tsunami and Anemone alone with her, but there was no choice. He had to help Thorn capture Vulture and the unknown animus. Tsunami was more than strong enough to take on Orca if the situation required. Truthfully, though… he didn’t see Orca making a move. Not yet. And if she did, it wouldn’t be with animus.

There was something so strange about meeting the bane of so many of his sisters. He expected this monster, but he found shades of gray instead. He understood the motivations, even if he disagreed with the path taken. 

Regardless, he had to contact the rest of his Winglet. Kinkajou and Winter were together, as were Moon and Qibli. Peril was off with Clay. The thought of them being with a SO did drive a bit of loneliness into his heart, but he pushed it aside to toss three stones upward. One was white, the other gray, and the other a purplish. Whatever one landed first would be who he contacted.

The white one struck the ground first, and so it was time to contact Kinkajou. It’d been a while since they had a chat anyway.

Taking out the Dreamvisitor, he whispered her name and everything around him began to change. No longer was he at the bottom of a lake, but rather in the Rain Kingdom. A haze surrounded the area, but he could clearly see Kinkajou resting in a canopy. Her right side was hanging off, but somehow she didn’t fall. Her tail was coiled around the branch, though. He knew just how strong their tails could be.

“Kinkajou!” Turtle called out to her. Her ears flicked before eyes slowly opened. Once they caught sight of him, they snapped wide and she lifted her head, a bright smile on her face.

“Turtle!” Kinkajou greeted happily. “Are you Dreamvisiting? Or is this one of those weird dreams where I think I am imagining someone Dreamvisiting and oops, nope, just a lucid dream.”

“I’m Dreamvisiting.” Turtle stood at the bottom of the tree the canopy was built upon. “Did you make it to the Ice Kingdom? Is Winter with you?”

“Winter’s still awake I think… we kind of have a situation here.” Kinkajou grimaced.

“Is it related to a scale of Whiteout’s?” Turtle questioned. He remembered Moon contacting him right before he met Orca.

She perked right up at that. “Uh, yeah… something like that. Only, it’s not so much a scale as the whole dragon and her dad.”

Turtle blinked. “Oh… oh no, it’s happening everywhere.”

“That’s not the reaction I was expecting. I expected, yknow, panic and confusion.”

“I would’ve had that if Orca – you know, the animus sister that died – hadn’t also metaphorically walked through the door.”

It was Kinkajou’s turn to blink and stare before she swore loudly, pushing her upper body up. “I knew it! I knew this wasn’t just going to be a one off! I hoped, but I knew !”

“Animus can’t bring back the dead, yet Orca cast enchantments on herself to test. She’s the real deal.” Turtle scowled in thought as he said those words. “Although… maybe she can’t break the enchantment?”

“Something, something, animus enchantments being unable to override or whatever?” Kinkajou followed his train of thought. Kind of.

“Yes.” Turtle nodded. “This animus is clever.”

“So, what… the host body is stuck?”

“Either that or they are plucked from time itself.” Turtle placed a wing under his chin, tail swishing thoughtfully. “I’m really not sure. Those are the only two ways to bring back the dead.”

“No third?”

Turtle furrowed his brow, recalling what Moon told him about Jerboa. How she was created from an entirely different egg. But, that wasn’t his story to tell. No, Jerboa would have to tell that one.

“Well, I heard that you could make another organic creature into a dragon. I guess it depends on how powerful the animus who cast the spell was,” Turtle answered a bit vaguely. “So, those would be my three guesses. We really have no idea until we can confront the animus in question and pray they tell the truth.”

“Mmm…” Kinkajou’s tail slapped the tree with annoyance. “Hey, so, since you have the Dreamvisitor, can you tell Hope that Prince Jerkwad and Whiteout are here? I’m sure she’ll want to see them.”

“I gotta contact Moon, anyway. I’ll be making my way to the Ice Kingdom after I go to the Sand Kingdom. I think it’s a good idea we all have Dreamvisitors at this point.”

“I’m surprised we didn’t all get one to stay in touch. Then again, we all just kinda left right after graduating.” She squinted. “Although, we were at the Sea Kingdom. Why didn’t you do it there?”

“I… forgot?” Turtle grinned sheepishly. “To be fair, I had a lot on my mind…”

“Oooh, I can’t be mad at you now!” Kinkajou pouted playfully. “But, really… what are we going to do? Because the dragons act just like… well, dragons. But if they’re brought back by the only animus we know, then what? Totally possible they can be spying on us.”

“Yeah, that’s possible. But at the same time, they could be used to backtrack the source.” Turtle furrowed his brow. “Arctic and Orca are animus. Granted, not always agreeable animus from what I recall. We’ll need them for now.”

“If they offered, would you take their animus powers back?”

“No,” Turtle answered without hesitation. “I never wanted the powers. Yes, I have done good things with them, but that power is a burden and a curse.” He paused. “Yet if it came down to it, I would take them back with the enchantment being that I lose my powers after this is all over.”

“I’d like to have an animus I can trust, but, yeah… animus caused so much of an issue.” Kinkajou bristled. “I didn’t miss it either. Now Winter, Qibli, and I may be cursed with this dumb coin.” She jolted. “Maybe Arctic can see what it’s about. Provided he, y’know, thaws out.”

Turtle coughed out a laugh. “Well, good luck with that. Tell Winter I said hi, and I hope you two are doing alright there.”

“I did kinda straddle him in the bath. It was funny watching him get all flustered.”

Turtle’s chest hurt from the lurching he made trying not to laugh. Yet, he also felt a pang of hurt from it. He never forgot his feelings for Kinkajou despite knowing it wouldn’t really work long term. He just felt… left out, he guessed. He never really cared for love but seeing it everywhere…

“Gotta get yourself a dragon to do that for you.” Kinkajou winked. “I’ll see if any of the IceWings are available here.”

“N-no thank you, Kinkajou.” Turtle stammered out. “I s-should probably contact Moon or Qibli, though.”

“Aw, okay.”

“I’ll see you soon, though. Just gotta remember to bring a cloak.” Turtle chuckled nervously.

“I’ll do what I can here to figure stuff out. See you in a few days, hopefully!”

***

Hope did not sleep well.

It’d been maybe a few hours before she was violently awakened by the mistakes of her past. All the times she stood by and let Darkstalker do whatever it was he did. Rolled her eyes whenever Arctic made a passing remark. Their arguments led to them fighting violently and then ending up in the bed not one hour later half the time. It was such a violent, turbulent home and no place to raise a dragonet, much less two.

She checked on Peacemaker, who was sprawled on the floor as if he’d simply just collapsed. She chuckled lowly at the imagery. At least she didn’t screw him up… yet. Part of the reason why she didn’t take a new mate.

This home of hers was now broken in a literal sense. Yet, it drew a sense of comfort. She even stayed in her old room. None of her previous objects outside the odd piece of jewelry survived the two thousand years. If Hope closed her eyes, she could see everything as it was. Then, when she opened, cold reality surrounded.

This place was now a haunted house, with her the ghost.

Hope sighed. If she ever wanted to move on, there was one last place to go. The place she’d been avoiding this whole time. And knowing her luck, that would be where Whiteout would be. If it was the real Whiteout.

Hope had her doubts about it. There was a lot about animus she didn’t know, but if reviving the dead was possible, then Arctic would’ve revived the ones he inadvertently slew. He was a powerful animus in his own right, even if she never saw it often.

Darkstalker had a twisted way of reviving the dead. But was that really Clearsight he was bringing back, or his memory of her?

Was Whiteout the same? Nobody could ever replicate her. Hope would know immediately if this was a fake or not by the way she talked. It was why she had to find Whiteout. Her past had to be buried so she could finally live up to her new namesake.

She had to go to that one last place. She had to put Foeslayer to rest.

And so she flew toward the castle, but not to enter it. No, there was a stage before it. She knew what had happened here. It was impossible not to given all the history the IceWings – in their own version – wrote about Darkstalker. What he did to Arctic after she’d foolishly removed her earring.

And so she landed on the worn and beaten stage. Here, her husband ripped his own body apart thanks to her son. Where did it all go wrong? Was she really that tether that kept the knot taut? Or was it already frayed and her the final string?

The blood had long since rotted away. As would any bone. Still, she felt the stage and knew that she stood on his grave.

Arctic was not a good father. He was not a good husband. But there was always that spark. She could see it deep within him and it always was on the cusp of breaking through. She loved him for that spark. It was abusive, and she knew it. She was remembering a broken dream, and Arctic was not the same dragon he was back in the Ice Kingdom.

‘Stay together for the dragonets’ she had told herself in the mirror. Their broken home didn’t need to be shattered at their age.

Tears slid down Hope’s face as she recalled everything, both good and ill. Darkstalker and Whiteout’s first words to seeing them cower from how vicious her fights with Arctic were. She was surprised they didn’t just kill each other. How she wanted to at times. Yet, again, it all faded when the morning came. There was always something to distract her, a false hope to look for.

And so, she grieved. She grieved for the life she could’ve had and the life she did. The weight of her choices, both good and ill, stood next to her on the stage. She could feel the ghosts of NightWings staring at her, judging her. It was because of her that she brought back Arctic. It was not the plan, but they had grown attached.

It was because of her that she became pregnant. It was because of her that Darkstalker, the bane of NightWings, existed.

But it didn’t have to be. If she was a better mother, Darkstalker might’ve turned out better. She might’ve been a grandmother with dozens of little dragonets bothering her to tell stories of wars past. If she was firmer with Arctic, maybe he too could’ve been with her.

Logically, it was not all her fault. Things outside of her control spun and spun and spun. Maybe Darkstalker was born wrong. The three moons shining down upon his head, and she knew for a fact that she had placed both in its center. Yet when she turned around, only Darkstalker was. Had it started there? Was there really nothing she could’ve done?

And now, it was time for Foeslayer to join them. Foeslayer was a legend with a tangled history. She had no place in this world she haunted. Yet she could not call herself Hope, as when she sat upon the stage, she felt none. Changing the name did not hide the shame or regrets. Peacemaker was better, but he could not replace Darkstalker. And certainly, Whiteout could not be here to be raised as well.

If she really was back… it wouldn’t be the same. Either she’d grown, or she was a fake. There would be no do-over for her.

Movement from behind caused her ears to flick. Someone was trying to remain hidden. It wasn’t Moon; she was somewhat clumsy with stealth. Qibli? No, it was heavier than a SandWing. One of the NightWings who came with Deathbringer? No, it wasn’t that either, as there was the distinct clink of jewelry .

“Come out or I’ll burn you from your hiding place.” Hope spoke loud and clear.

There was a small shuffle, as if the intruder didn’t know what to do. Hope turned right to the source, which was a pile behind the stage. She couldn’t see who it was, but her eyes boring down upon their hiding space would doubtlessly elicit a reaction. Especially when flames started to lick her maw.

Finally, a young female NightWing stepped out. She wore old jewelry, some tarnished even, and Hope could not help but feel like she knew this dragon. Black scales, a thin shape… she seemed healthy. Yet she was not one of the dragons who came on the boat, nor was she ever in the Rainforest.

Then, it hit her. She recognized this dragon from her time tailing Darkstalker.

“Your brother wondered where you went, Fierceteeth.” Hope narrowed her gaze. “I see you have helped yourself to the royal treasury.”

“There were no owners .” Fierceteeth snarled back. “I am the Queen of the NightWings now, so it belongs to me . What are you doing in our territory?”

“Did you miss the boat or were you too busy lounging on your throne, ‘your highness’?” Hope indicated with her tail toward the ocean. “You have no claim to a fallen kingdom. Especially since Queen Glory has started to allow us to reclaim the area. If you have an issue with that, take it up with Deathbringer. Rumor has it that he’ll be king.”

Fierceteeth did not like that. Hope really wasn’t sure why she was antagonizing the younger dragon, but after all her grief, she needed to let some of it out.

“A king!?” Fierceteeth barked out a laugh. “There are no ‘kings’ who rule over tribes! Only queens!”

“Times are changing, little one. There is an army of NightWings who plan on exploring the palace tomorrow. I would take the time to alert your ‘subjects’ if you do not want a fight.” Hope shook her head. “Tell your friend to stop sneaking behind me, too. I can hear his clawsteps.”

The clicking of claws on stone immediately stopped. It was a heavier male. Muscular, too. Overweight dragons tended to not be graceful, but this one was.

There were more dragons, too. About six skulking about. Hope felt her old training coming to life, ready to spring into action should she need to. Judging from how half of them picked awful hiding spots, they were amateurs at best. Nothing Hope couldn’t handle. She was used to fighting and slaughtering young IceWings, after all.

That was a statement she did not enjoy thinking about. But, experience was experience.

“If you’re trying to intimidate me, you are only trying my patience.” Hope looked down at Fierceteeth. Before she had a chance to react, Hope picked up a sharp piece of debris and threw it at one approaching. She deliberately missed, but the warning was clear. “I was a commander in my day. Let’s not make this any harder.”

“I was on the Isle. You weren’t there.” Fierceteeth hissed out. Then, her gaze narrowed. “Wait… I recognize you from somewhere. You remind me of someone who… no, that couldn’t be it.”

“What’s going on here?” Deathbringer and a host of NightWings came swooping over the ruined buildings. Big damn heroes, arriving just before things could’ve gotten nasty. No wonder why Glory loved him.

“You have competition for being king,” Hope said dryly, pointing at Fierceteeth.

“Oh, Fierceteeth?” Deathbringer peered down at her. “Wondered where you went! Starflight was looking for you. How convenient you’re here!”

“Great, is he here too?” Fierceteeth spat. “I’m surprised he didn’t fly into one of the buildings!”

“Is that a blind joke? Because that feels mean enough to be.” Deathbringer frowned. “He’s not blind anymore, dumb dumb. You’d know this if you bothered to be a part of society.”

“And be subservient to a RainWing ? Ha!” Fierceteeth, seeing that there was no point in hiding, hopped up to the stage. She would be the only threat here, but even she wouldn’t dare pull anything.

“I mean, she’s allowing this.” Deathbringer shrugged. “While you’ve been living on scraps, we had a nice, lush jungle to build up our supplies and move here with. You’d be invited to join the cool dragonet club if I wasn’t afraid you’d slit our throats in our sleep.”

“They’re holed up in the palace.” Hope gestured to the palace. “If they’re going to be an issue, I’d like to know now.”

“I mean, there’s what, seven here? And we got about fifty NightWings and a few RainWings here helping. Not to mention some SeaWings.” Deathbringer looked at Fierceteeth intensely. “You wanna do this the easy way or the hard way? Cuz we gotta rebuild this place, and if you’re gonna fight us, we can always put you in time out.”

“You can’t just come here and take our home!” Fierceteeth lived up to her name by baring her fangs.

“It’s no one’s home. And if we can do our job, it can be yours too,” Deathbringer said diplomatically. “So, again, I ask if you’d like to live on scraps or if you’d like to be useful to your tribe again? But, I will warn you that killing me is going to have two tribes come down on your head.”

“You’re not leaving me a choice.” Fierceteeth growled.

“Of course you have a choice!” Deathbringer said cheerily. “You can leave if you want. But I am offering you a chance to join the new future of the NightWings.”

“ Fine .” Fierceteeth relented after a moment of consideration.

“See, that wasn’t too hard.” Deathbringer smiled. “Just don’t make a fuss. I’m sure Starflight would love to have you helping.”

“I don’t care what he wants,” Fierceteeth replied bluntly. “I’m doing this for myself and my tribe.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

The little event caused Hope to forget about her grief for a moment, but it came surging back the moment Moon came flying. She had a look of both hope and worry, gesturing for Hope to follow her somewhere. That could only mean one thing:

She knew what happened to Whiteout. 

Be it via a Dreamvisitor or her prophecies, somehow Moon had figured it out. Hope almost didn’t want to know the answer. But, she could not lay Foeslayer to rest until this was over.

Yet… she could not find herself to live up to her new namesake. If she was neither Hope or Foeslayer, then who was she?

“I just got done speaking to Turtle,” Moon said breathlessly upon landing. “This… return of the dead or whatever isn’t just happening here.”

“What?” Hope’s brow furrowed. “So… that means Whiteout is back?”

“And she’s not the only one.” Moon shook her head. “Both her and Arctic are in the Ice Kingdom.”

Chapter Text

CRASH!

Sunny sighed with exasperation as her father, once again, tumbled to the ground after overstretching himself. She knew he couldn’t help it. But, he was going to cripple himself further if he tried to run before he could walk.

Still, there was little the petite, sunny scaled dragon could do to stop his fall. She’d be flattened right underneath.

“Easy steps, dad, easy.” Sunny helped the larger NightWing up. His body trembled and quaked from spasming muscle and sheer exhaustion, but he was able to stand on his own without stilts. There was a long, long way for him to go on this road, but he had made such powerful strides down it.

“Apologies.” He rumbled, panting. “It is as if my body remembers, but my mind does not. Or perhaps the opposite?”

“Turtle did heal your muscles and scales, so that’s probably true.” Sunny nodded. “Regardless, you can’t push yourself.”

“You would assume that with him restoring my body, it would relearn…” Stonemover grumbled as he allowed Sunny to put his stilts back on. “I suppose we can try again in a few hours.”

“Well, I don’t want to push you.” Sunny adjusted the straps so they weren’t too tight. “Can’t have you teaching from the floor, now can we?”

“Why not? That was the original plan.” Stonemover’s tired face formed a thin smile. Sunny narrowed her gaze. “Besides, Boa has agreed to help.”

“Boa?” Sunny raised a brow. “On to short names are we, dad?”

“She told me to call her that.” Stonemover frowned deeply, following Sunny to the Prey Center.

“Uh huh.” Sunny winked, tongue sticking out teasingly. Stonemover shifted uncomfortably. “Oh, stars, are you…?”

“We have a lot in common.” Stonemover’s frown deepened. “We have both been cursed by our powers in ways we cannot express. I won’t share her secrets, but I find her wealth of knowledge… fascinating.”

“And because she’s a SandWing, right?”

Stonemover coughed. “That has nothing to do with it, Sunny.”

“I’m just saying, you may have a type…” Sunny grinned wickedly, trotting over away before he could reply to get some food.

Part of her felt the slightest bit upset that both of her parents were moving on. But, at the same time… she couldn’t exactly blame them. Ten years apart, their lives would change and they’d drift apart. Thorn took comfort in Smolder, which was a bit strange for Sunny.

Smolder was as slippery as an eel and while Sunny knew he had a good heart deep down, self preservation was the name of his game. Perhaps it was that trait that Thorn liked? The Scorpion Den did not lend itself to being charitable, even if Thorn tried.

Actually wait, why would a selfish trait be attractive? Ack, love was so foreign to Sunny…

Still, Sunny had heard quite a bit about Jerboa. If she was as afflicted by Animus as implied, then it made sense that her father would go right for that. If it made him happy, she wasn’t going to complain. So long as they weren’t going to let any lovers quarrel interfere with teaching, anyway.

“Ah, there you are!” Came the voice of Webs, who had shuffled into the prey center. The older SeaWing was starting to show his age, but had certainly become much more lively than the days where he was their guardian.

She hoped that his newfound liveliness would translate over to enthusiasm for teaching. Alas, given what she heard, such a thing had not happened yet.

“Hi Webs!” Sunny greeted enthusiastically.

“Apologies for disrupting the session.” Webs slid his eyes to Stonemover, who had hobbled over to where Sunny sat. “However, young Turtle has arrived and is looking for you.”

“Oh?” Sunny perked up slightly. “Good timing. I needed to head out to Pantala in a few hours.”

Turtle came in a moment later, looking mildly distressed but trying to keep it under wraps. Immediately, Sunny knew something was wrong. Something bad had happened, and whatever it was, it was serious enough for him to come here . Her mind immediately began to think about something terrible at the Sea Kingdom. Were they all right?

“You… may want to stick around,” Turtle said to both Webs and Stonemover. “Because I have no idea how this is going to affect us going forward, and I don’t want any of you getting caught off guard.”

“Did Vulture attack again?” Sunny tried to keep her anxiety in check.

“Not yet. But, the next phase of his plan just swam in.” Turtle sat down at a table. “At least, it feels like it’s related to him. How much do you know?”

“Only what you told me when you took Auklet.”

“Right, okay.” Turtle shifted uncomfortably. “So… I’m going to assume you remember what happened during your first visit to the Sea Kingdom. With the Orca statue.”

“How could I ever forget that?” Sunny bristled. “That was our first run-in with anything animus related.”

“Right.” Turtle nodded. “Um… well, the creator of that statue just swam back to life and is currently in the Sea Kingdom.”

Sunny almost dropped her food at his words. “Excuse me?”

“Wait, wasn’t she dead?” Stonemover rumbled, eyes slanted.

“Yeah, she was. And now she’s back, and it seems to be the real deal.”

Turtle explained everything that happened in the Sea Kingdom. From Orca confronting them, to her ‘virtues’, and so on. Sunny didn’t believe a single word about the statue part; it was straight up evil to her, no matter the justifications.

“Well, it is good that she does not seem keen on the throne… for now.” Webs grimaced. “I remember her well. Be careful around her, because while she has always ‘worshiped’ the truth, she is ambitious. You cannot trust her.”

“We don’t,” Turtle said. His tail was tapping along the floor with anxiety, and it reminded Sunny of the days when he first showed up in Jade Mountain. From his posture, this was far from the only thing that happened.

“We thought this to be a one-off, but as it turns out, three more dead dragons are among us.” Turtle let out a small sigh. “Prince Arctic of the Icewings and his daughter, Whiteout. And…” He looked at both Webs and Sunny. “Kestrel.”

“Oh, moons…” Webs paled almost immediately.

“Kestrel?” Sunny gawked. “W-what? Why? There’s no rhyme or reason for these choices!”

Out of all of them, Kestrel was the one Sunny was worried about the most. She was mean, nasty, and yet… she was the closest thing Sunny had to a mother for years . Sunny didn’t know what maternal love was until she met her biological one. The rest of the dragons of destiny didn’t mourn her loss, but Sunny did.

Maybe it was because Sunny could see the flicker of good through the pain and grief that had consumed her. Turtle kept talking, explaining that Kestrel was at the Sky Kingdom, and that all of them were brought back before the moment of their death. Kestrel was on her way to help them after being tricked by Morrowseer and Blister.

In a way, that made Sunny feel more justified in her mourning.

“Whiteout is the only one not following this,” Turtle explained, his face now stuck in a permanent frown. “I don’t know why.” He tapped his talons on the table. “But, there is a common thread between them all.”

“Is there?” Stonemover raised a brow.

“They’re all dragons who were hated or otherwise outcast from their society.” Turtle said. “Whiteout was never really hated, but I remember Hope saying that she was never seen as ‘one of them’. Arctic never fit in with his new home. Orca, self explanatory. Kestrel was also hunted down by Scarlet.”

“So we have a band of misfits.” Webs mused. “I wonder why them? If someone were to use them as a means to spy, surely dragons more well liked would work better?”

“I don’t know.” Turtle shrugged his wings. “But, it’s certainly caused an uproar from what I heard.” Turtle slid over a Dreamvisitor. “Shoulda done this a lot sooner.”

“Better now than never.” Sunny flashed him a smile. “I wonder if Pantala knows anything about this, because animus can’t raise the dead.”

“Um…”

“Oh no, what now?” Webs sighed with exasperation.

Turtle then decided to traumatize them by revealing the horrors inflicted upon Fierceteeth, as well as mentioning Pyrite and what happened to Peril. How animus enchantments could fundamentally change the body and mind. There was something else he wanted to share, but he was holding back. Something that caused him great anxiety and guilt.

Sunny didn’t push, even though she wanted to. This was a serious matter. But he had given more than enough information for now.

“And nothing seems to break it…” Webs tapped his chin thoughtfully. “This animus spell must have had a failsafe. By resurrecting two powerful animus, the necromancer – we may as well call them that for simplicity’s sake – must have put an additional enchantment.”

“That was my hypothesis.” Turtle nodded sagely.

“Either way, I’ll ask the others when I’m in Pantala. Maybe they have a mythology involving this we can explore,” Sunny said hopefully.

“Anything helps.” Turtle nodded. “I would warn them in general in case Clearsight flies in… if she hasn’t already.”

“Oh, moons, that would be a disaster.” Sunny blinked, a blank look on her face. “Although, imagine if your predecessor came back to life. So many questions I’d like to ask…”

“Well, that just happened with Whiteout. You are a direct descendant of her.” Turtle pointed out.

“That is… very true.” Sunny let out a small ‘huh’. “Does that mean I’m a tribrid?”

“Doubtful.” Stonemover rumbled, brow furrowed. “I have overheard biology lessons. After some point, genetic material would break down. The only thing you possess now is the animus gene, which came from Arctic.”

“I guess I really can ask my ancestors something.” Sunny chuckled. “Oh, by the way, feel free to stay as long as you need to, Turtle.”

“I gotta take off to see your mother shortly.” Turtle shook his head. “I need to give her a Dreamvisitor and a guiding coral.”

“Oh, I’ll go with you then!” Sunny smiled brightly. “Sand Kingdom is on the way to Pantala.”

“Alright.” Turtle returned her smile. “Could use the company.”

“I’ll be fine.” Stonemover reassured Sunny when she turned back to him. “The enchantment on Dinner still works.”

“Ah, right, so it does.” Sunny didn’t know how she ever forgot about that.

“And if I need help, Webs can be useful.” Stonemover added on with a chuckle.

“I suppose I could.” Webs shook his head, smiling. “In case I miss you, have a safe trip.”

“Thanks. Something tells me I’ll need it…” Sunny muttered.

She didn’t know what the future held, but something was coming. But, strangely, she didn’t feel in danger from here. No… something was happening in Pantala. What it was, she didn’t know, but she was about to find out.

***

Clay awaited the outcome with growing anxiety.

He’d done everything he could to alleviate Sora and Umber to mixed success. Umber was much more receptive to his presence, whereas Sora continued to withdraw into herself. Even when their siblings came over to talk to her, she continued to avert her gaze. She was never rude, but she was always half a world away.

“I’ll accept what it is given.” Sora had said multiple times.

Clay had been understanding, yet he could not help but grow angry at it over time. At least, it felt like anger. It was not like him to ever feel angry. Seeing his sister just lie down and accept what happened to her hurt him . Especially when he felt partially responsible for this whole situation.

Indirectly, he and the other Dragons of Destiny caused the deaths of Carnelian and Bigtail. He should have seen the bigger picture. All of them should’ve. The fact that it slipped past all of them helped alleviate his guilt, but only slightly.

“Clay.” Marsh, the only remaining sibling at Jade Mountain, approached. His face was etched with concern, and not just for Sora. “You need to rest.”

“I’m fine.” Clay flashed him a reassuring smile.

“No, you’re not.” Marsh responded bluntly. The past few years had done away with a lot of his fidgety nature, as well as his nervousness. “You’re acting just like Sora.”

Clay tilted his head, confused.

“It’s the exact opposite, but no less similar, way.” Reed stepped up beside Marsh. He was the current BigWings of their unit, and had grown into that role. He was bigger now, and much of his own insecurities had gone away at a surface level. “You’re trying to remain too optimistic.”

“I don’t understand.” Clay frowned.

“Just as Sora is painfully grounded, you aren’t looking at the big picture either,” Marsh said gently. “Sora’s actions may have started another war. And we all should’ve seen it. You’re focusing a lot of what happened in Possibility, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the sentence was harsh due to the threat.”

“Is Queen Moorhen that brutal?” Clay slid his eye to Umber and Sora, the former talking to Pheasant.

“She had massive doubts about the academy deep down. Seeing one her own soldiers do that did not help matters.” Reed averted his gaze. “Imagine if the war was started because of one of her own.”

Clay let out a small sigh. He saw what they meant now. He wanted to say that it didn’t happen, that it was three years ago… but what kind of excuse was that? Three years did nothing to the parents of Carnelian. To Queen Ruby. He didn’t see the parents of Bigtail, but he could only imagine.

“What, then, should we do?” Clay asked them.

“I don’t know,” Reed answered truthfully. “But I see you being hopeful that Queen Glory and Ruby will be kind. Glory, I understand. But I don’t think you realized how badly the death of Carnelian affected Queen Ruby. I only knew because I serve as an honor guard for Queen Moorhen.”

“He’s basically saying to temper your expectations,” Marsh added on. “Hope for the best but expect the worst.”

Right as he said that, however, the queens came back into the room. They wore neutral faces as to not give anything away, calling everyone to attention as they took the stage. Both Sora and Umber were led to stand before the queens. Umber was nervous, Sora solemn.

“Thank you for your patience,” Queen Ruby announced to them all. “This is not a matter to be taken lightly.”

“However, a conclusion has indeed been met.” Queen Moorhen stood over Sora and Umber, casting her eyes at them. Clay noted that she wasn’t looking down upon them, though.

As she said those words, Clay felt Peril squeeze his claw comfortingly. He smiled despite himself, allowing himself to lean into her slightly.

“I would have banished or imprisoned the two harshly for their actions, yet much has been made clear in the meeting.” Queen Moorhen’s gaze turned critical. “There is much we do not know of the mind. Additionally, your actions in Possibility tell me that you are not cowards by nature. However, I cannot abide by terrorism, and neither can Queen Glory or Queen Ruby.”

“Your punishment is this.” Glory narrowed her gaze at the two. “Umber, you are sentenced to two years of community service in either Kingdom or Sanctuary. Sora, you are to spend five years imprisoned. Prison will last one and a half years in each kingdom, with chance for reduced sentence pending information about Vulture.”

“The sentence would have been much harsher had Possibility not happened.” Queen Ruby continued from Glory. “In light of your recent actions, and the clear fragile state of your mind, we have decided to reduce a sentence as long as you serve your time and are deemed mentally stable.”

Sora flinched at that but nodded regardless. Umber rubbed her shoulder soothingly.

“You are to follow me to the Mud Kingdom.” Queen Moorhen nodded at the other queens, who returned the gesture. “From there, we will coordinate.”

With that, the council was dismissed. Before they departed, Clay flew over and landed next to Sora and Umber, who would still have their chains until they entered the Mud Kingdom. Clay didn’t like it, but he couldn’t argue with the queen. He was grateful enough that they didn’t throw the two away forever. Still, five years for Sora...

“Clay, will you be joining us on the flight back?” Queen Moorhen asked as he landed next to Sora.

Clay hesitated in his answer. On one claw, he really wanted to make sure Sora was alright. On the other… he needed to go with Glory and Peril to meet Kestrel. He felt torn. No matter where he went, he’d be disappointing someone.

“You need to go to the Sky Kingdom, don’t you?” Sora spoke quietly. Clay turned to her, surprised. “I overheard a bit.”

“I need to help you, too.” Clay responded, holding her wing talons with his. “I can’t leave you like this.”

“Clay, you’ve helped me more than you could ever know.” Sora offered a faint, melancholic smile. “I have our sibs. I’ll be okay.”

“Yeah, we’ll make sure she’s fine,” Pheasant said reassuringly. “You’re a Dragon of Destiny and all; you need to go where you are needed. We’ll manage, promise.”

“We have a chance to make amends. This is a journey we have to take alone, this time.” Umber added on, butting his horns with Clay’s. “But, this isn’t the last time we’ll meet.”

“No, I know we will meet again, I just…” Clay stopped himself before he could ramble. “Alright. I can sleep easier knowing that all of you are back together again.”

“Of course.” Reed postured himself to look bigger. “As BigWings, I will do everything in power to help them. And when you need us, we’ll come right away.”

“Indeed,” Queen Moorhen murmured. “It is time for us to depart, however. We shall speak soon.”

“Wait.” Clay stopped her. “What If Vulture is caught before she has a chance to reveal information?”

“We will decide then,” Queen Moorhen answered shortly, but not dismissively.

Clay nodded, letting them go. He watched them leave, a faint sense of guilt crossing his mind. He wanted to go with them, but as Pheasant said, he was still a Dragon of Destiny. If the dead were walking, he needed to be there to assess the threat. Plus, Peril needed him as well.

Sora and Umber would be alright. His sibs wouldn’t let anything happen to them.

He turned and went back to the others, finding Glory speaking to one of her guards. He couldn’t tell what they were saying, but the guard did not look pleased at first.

“As you wish, Queen Glory,” the guard bowed respectfully. “But, I must urge caution.”

“And that you urge caution is why I have you around, Shadowedge.” Glory smirked. “After this, I promise I’ll give you leave to see your dragonet and visit your mate.”

That seemed to placate the NightWing guard, who nodded slowly.

“Nervous?” Clay asked Peril, who was fidgeting. Her face was neutral, but her eyes kept sliding to Sky, who had a much harder time keeping his emotions in check.

“Aren’t you?” Peril asked quietly. “I mean, I barely know her. You had to live with her for six years.”

“I am.” Clay admitted. “But, if it is her…”

“Yeah, there’s a lot we need to know.” Peril glanced to Sky. “Especially about what happened to him.”

“What will we do if she… you know… stays around?” Clay asked a bit louder so Glory could hear him.

“We’ll swing from that branch when we get to it,” Glory answered with a hint of irritation. “Ready when you are, Queen Ruby.”

“Then let us be off.” Queen Ruby spread her wings. “The sooner we solve this mystery, the sooner we can get to stopping Vulture.”

***

Tsunami had no choice but to tell some of the higher ups that Orca was back.

The conversation with her most trusted generals and staff went about as well as a drought. General Shark was about ready to spear her, but Tsunami somehow managed to calm him down. To say the rest were unhappy was also a grave understatement.

Anemone wanted to shriek and roar her rage at Orca, but Tsunami kept her away. As much as she wanted to give her younger sister the outlet, she didn’t need Orca running out of patience. No, she had to handle this like a queen. Tsunami wasn’t sure if she could.

But she had to try.

The Summer Palace felt an awful lot like winter despite the bright, sunny skies. Tsunami approached the room where Orca had resided, now under the name Vaquita. To the Sea Kingdom, she was a guest from the depths. It was the only way Tsunami could allow General Shark himself to stand guard over her door.

“She hasn’t come out once.” General Shark reported. His fierce face glared at the engraved door. “My Queen, I must urge caution if you wish to speak to her.”

“She’s an animus. If she wanted to kill us all, she could,” Tsunami answered flatly. “Walking in with confidence is the only way to stop that.”

“I insist on being there regardless.” General Shark hissed out. “I’ve had my eye on her ever since she was born. She is not to be trusted.”

“No. Talking to her alone, with no protection, will placate her.” Tsunami shook her head. “Please, uncle.”

“Are you sure you wish to keep pleasing her?” General Shark raised a brow. “She killed so many of your siblings.”

“Believe me, she will answer for that. But, she is right in that we need to figure out why she’s back.” Tsunami pursed her lips in thought. “I heard back from Turtle. This is happening elsewhere.”

“What?” General Shark snarled with surprise.

“And the only way to potentially figure this out is right through those doors.” Tsunami pointed behind him..

“… Very well. You remember the code, yes?” General Shark questioned.

“I do. You’ll know when I signal you, if I need to.” Tsunami nodded curtly.

With that, Tsunami opened the doors, stepping into a luxurious guest room. The beddings nearly rivaled her own – but not quite – and the spacious interior had room for the guest to walk around. A scroll shelf was stuffed to the brim thanks to Turtle’s bowl. A balcony overlooking the bright blue sea that stretched endlessly was where Tsunami was to find her supposed-to-be dead sister, however.

Orca lay on a cushion she’d dragged out, scroll in claw as she read with furrowed brows. Despite the fierce look, she seemed at peace. Her tail was tapping on the balcony ever so slightly, as if enthralled by the scroll. Tsunami recognized it to be a biography of Queen Coral, which had recently been altered to include her death.

“Cancer.” Orca spoke upon Tsunami’s approach. “After all this time, illness killed her.” She chuckled. “Mother was a fierce dragon. It makes sense that after me, nobody dared try.”

“The SeaWings loved her,” Tsunami responded. “Nobody wanted her gone before and after you.”

“Then things were a lot more dire than I realized at the time.” Orca rolled up the scroll, placing it down. “But, you didn’t come here for a friendly chat, did you?”

“Nope.” Tsunami shook her head. “Other dragons that are supposed to be dead are back.”

Orca raised a brow. “Such as?”

“Prince Arctic of the IceWings as well as his daughter, Whiteout. And… Kestrel of the SkyWings.” Tsunami said the last part with a hint of disbelief. If Orca noted it, she didn’t say anything.

“Are they animus?”

“Arctic is. The other two are not.”

“What an idiotic display of power.” Orca shook her head disapprovingly. “You would think that bringing back animus to create an army would be the goal, but we are left with four resurrections. Two of which feel pointless, unless they have sway by other means.”

“Whiteout, maybe. Kestrel, not so much. Although, she was guardian to us when we were the Dragonets of Destiny.” Tsunami added offhandedly.

“Ah, yes, I read that scroll. You were not lying about being known.” Orca gestured to a neatly rolled scroll delicately placed on a table. “You and your fellow ‘dragonets’ did what I could not and kicked Blister to the sands where she belonged.”

“Because we didn’t do it alone.” Tsunami couldn’t help but say.

“Bold of you to assume I had no allies.” Orca smirked almost smugly. “But, it appears they were either executed or renounced their ties to me.”

“What is your end goal, Orca?” Tsunami gave her a critical glare. “We are at peace. There is no need to make the SeaWings strong when we can already defend ourselves and have alliances the like Pyhrria hasn’t seen in ages.”

“Yes, I have spent a good amount of time catching up on the world.” Orca faced Tsunami, an unreadable expression on her face. “My end goal is to figure out why I am back. Something is brewing, and I know you are not blind to it.”

“And if you find out what it is and are forced to remain in this timeline?”

“I don’t want the throne, ‘Queen’ Tsunami.” Orca added emphasis to the word ‘queen’. “I said I never did, and I meant it. So long as we are not in any danger, you don’t have to fear from me. I’ll not be making another statue if that is what you are worried about.” She looked to the sea, expression softening. “No… I grew up in a war, much like you. I am quite curious to see the world at peace.”

“You’re not escaping what you did.” Tsunami reminded her bluntly.

“No. But I’ll not apologize for doing what I must.” She slid an eye to Tsunami. “My actions, inadvertently, created the peace you now have.”

“Excuse me!?” Tsunami nearly roared. “Your actions tormented mother into near madness! If Webs hadn’t taken me, I would’ve died!”

“And my actions led to a mystery that uncovered Whirlpool as the creep he was, because you were so dead set on figuring out what killed the eggs.” Orca smiled knowingly. “Had I not done what I did, there would be no mystery, and then you would’ve never proven yourself to mother. Then Blister would have still been whispering in her ear. No, my actions created a villain. Was it intentional? No. But it led to a butterfly effect that put you on the throne.”

“That is reaching at best.” Tsunami glowered, a snarl nearly breaking out on her face.

“Perhaps. But that’s not how I see it.” Orca responded with a hint of arrogance. Tsunami let out an internal groan.

“Well, whatever.” Tsunami shook her head before she had an aneurysm. “Now, back to figuring out why you’re back.”

“Yes, three more revived. One of which is an animus.” Orca tapped her chin thoughtfully before a sly look crossed her face. “Say, instead of hypothesizing, why don’t we just ask him what he thinks?”

“What?”

The moment Tsunami said those words, Orca cracked her tail on the balcony, and the two of them vanished with a small pop .

Chapter Text

Suntime in the Ice Kingdom was awful. Honestly, the worst place about it so far. Sure, it was nice and fancy and had wonderous glowy orbs, but the sun was cold here. How was that possible?! Well, to Kinkajou, it somehow was.

The Gift of Diplomacy was the only thing that stopped her scales from freezing right off. The object was comfortable to wear at least, and if she were honest, the cloak she wore was growing on her. Made her look like some sort of dashing hero! Clashed a bit with her scales but hey, it's good that she can always change them!

In fact, before she started wandering the halls, she was mimicking the colors of the auroras. Each change in their hue, she’d follow. They were just so lovely! Kinkajou wanted nothing more than to fly up there and dance among them, but they were a bit too high. She didn’t fancy running out of breath and plummeting.

Oooh, but what a great dance she and Winter would have if they could go up there. For now, underneath them would have to do.

When he woke up, that is. Ever since Arctic and Whiteout came in, he had been trying to figure out any cause until Kinkajou dragged him back to his room. Turtle’s Dreamvisit and the idea that he was coming up to the Ice Kingdom seemed to simultaneously calm and alarm Winter, but he eventually fell asleep.

And now, Kinkajou found herself to be the restless one. And with great restlessness came great curiosity. Not of Arctic and Whiteout – they were tired and also asleep – but one of Winter’s family.

Icicle was someone Kinkajou didn’t like, but begrudgingly trusted to stand beside them. Hailstorm was nice. Queen Snowfall had really turned things around from what Kinkajou heard, and the RainWing would be lying if she said she wasn’t mildly excited to meet her. Crystal was quiet, often with her mate. She hadn’t met Mink yet, either.

But there was one that Kinkajou wanted to scope out. She had heard nothing but negative things. Truthfully, Kinkajou wanted to ambush and spit on her, but no. She had to see for herself just how vile this dragon was.

It didn’t take long to find her. All Kinkajou had to do was leave her cloak with Winter and change her scales to blend in with the environment. The only thing she couldn’t mask was the faint click of her talons on ice, but she did what she could.

Tundra, Winter’s mother, was admittedly elegant in all the pompous and haughty ways. Jewelry ordained her horns and talons, and the necklace of Skywing fangs chattered with each movement. It was chilling how they sounded, and Kinkajou was surprised that she wasn’t forced to remove it given the time of peace.

The larger dragon held a face of cold calculation as she read from a scroll on a desk. What was on it, Kinkajou couldn’t tell. However, she was making notes with her other claw. Something, something, IceWing law and tradition. Proposals for the queen about keeping some sort of order.

On paper, Kinkajou couldn’t see an issue with order. Maybe she was hanging around Winter too much. However, when Kinkajou started reading about marriage and so on, she started getting irate. Tundra was proposing to keep the bloodline pure for nobility. Tundra knew Kinkajou was here. She knew Gharial was here.

And yet Tundra still tried to hold onto this tradition!

“Spying is rude.” Tundra spoke in a sharp, informative tone. Then, she turned right to where Kinkajou stood. “I’ve been in these halls longer than you’ve lived, RainWing. I know when something looks different.”

Begrudgingly, Kinkajou stopped hiding. Tundra eyed her with her cold, stormy eyes that looked so much like Winter’s minus emotion.

“So, you are the one who Winter plans on eloping with.” Tundra continued to speak neutrally.

“I’m much more than that.” Kinkajou responded as calmly as possible. “You can thank me for ending your plague.”

“Yes, I’ve heard your claims through the rumblings.” Tundra did not sound impressed. “Tell me, how did you stop the Darkstalker?”

“Reversed his magic,” Kinkajou answered simply.

“Uh huh.” Tundra nodded curtly. “But you won’t say how, will you?”

“Does it matter?” Kinkajou frowned. Why was she being interrogated over this?

“Yes, it does.” Tundra narrowed her gaze. “Because if you killed the Darkstalker, anyone would want fame. Recognition. The fact that you have a claim but no means of proving it suggests you are a glory hound. Yet, one look at you, and I see something hidden.” Tundra tilted her head. “You didn’t kill him, did you?”

“I said I stopped him. I never claimed that I slew him.” Kinkajou retorted.

“So, the Darkstalker may indeed rise again.” Tundra did not sound enthused, even with her neutral voice.

“No, he won’t.” Kinkajou hissed back. “I and the others made sure of that.”

“And yet you will not impart how you defeated not just the IceWing’s great enemy, but the NightWing’s.” Tundra frowned. “It appears that Winter is dating a liar.”

“I’m not lying!” Kinkajou spat. “And would it kill you to ever refer to him as your son!?”

“He is a prince no longer, and therefore he is not my son.” Tundra paced around the room, not once rising to Kinkajou’s temper. She was, for lack of better term, cool as ice.

“Is that all that matters? Power and nobility?” Kinkajou shook her head. “You’ve missed so much.”

“Perhaps. But I’ll not be made to handle the fallout when your lies are uncovered.” Tundra locked eyes with her. “I know he has said many things about me. But, whatever he told you, I stand by my actions. You may find them terrible, but it is better than lying to his face, of which you do now. Of which you do to me now.”

“I am not lying!” Kinkajou roared back, fins extended. Her fangs were bared before she knew it. Tundra didn’t react. “Darkstalker is gone. He’s never coming back. End of story!”

“To think you would get so irate over simple questioning…” Tundra frowned in thought. “I’ll not be thanking you until you tell me exactly how you did it. And neither will the rest of the nobility on my side. I daresay even the queen may have her doubts. Of course, I am no mind reader, but after two thousands years and seeing what that monster could do in the scales… until I see a body, I would not believe a word.”

Kinkajou was speechless with a flurry of emotions. Anger, disbelief, and deep down… guilt . She knew what she had to do. But she wouldn’t give Tundra the satisfaction of beating her!

“You don’t have to.” Kinkajou said with a ‘hmph’. “But me and my friends saved your sorry tails. And maybe if you treated Winter better, I may have let you in on the truth. But every moment was you actively trying to kill him. The blizzard? Really? At one !? Oh, and how could we forget the Diamond trials? If you had actually killed Winter there, ‘the Darkstalker’ would’ve never been stopped.”

Tundra said nothing. If anything, she looked bored.

“Consider this.” Kinkajou moved to leave. “Maybe your dragonets wouldn’t have been ‘failures’ if you and your mate bothered to raise them properly. Maybe then, Icicle could’ve been on the throne…”

Again, no response. Either she was exceptionally good at hiding her emotions, or she flat out didn’t care anymore. 

Either way, Kinkajou had enough of Tundra. She was exactly as Winter implied. There would be nothing to gain with words, as she clearly had mastery there. No, if Kinkajou wanted to damage her, it’d have to be physical. She doubted that would be welcome, though.

Instead, she wandered back to the heated gift place that she forgot the name of. Where Winter slumbered in their shared bed. Seeing him so peaceful in his sleep only intensified Kinkajou’s guilt. She had to tell him what happened. She needed to.

And yet, standing over him, she became paralyzed. His face was so calm, and whenever he looked her way, he was happy . How could she ever ruin that for him? He’d finally learned to place his trust in others. Finally accepted love. Her love. And what would that do if she came out and said ‘oh hey, I did exactly what Scarlet did to Hailstorm’.

That was another thing. She knew that the moment the others heard, the entire royal family would probably kick her out. Hailstorm still had a form of dysphoria - was that the word? - over the entire incident. Winter described it as the worst thing to ever happen to him.

“Kinkajou?” Winter mumbled, opening his eyes a crack to see her standing over him. “You okay?”

“Y-yes.” Kinkajou stammered, taken aback. She’d forgotten how aware he was, even in sleep. “Well… no, actually.”

“What’s wrong?” Winter lifted his head to look at her.

“Couldn’t sleep. That’s all.” Kinkajou averted her gaze. 

“Did you have a nightmare?” He asked gently.

“Something like that…” 

“About your captivity?”

Kinkajou had a choice. She could say no, and go from there. Or, she could take the easy route, and bury it. She knew what she had to do. She knew what she needed to do to alleviate her guilt and be truthful toward the dragon she loved .

“Yeah,” Kinkajou said before she could stop herself. Her body had disobeyed her mind, and now she had no choice but to run with it.

Winter didn’t say a word, instead nodding and opening his wing up for her to slide in next to him. Kinkajou took the offer, pressing herself against his cool scales. Unlike the chill she normally felt, this felt more comfortable. Sort of like a nice, refreshing dip in the river in the Rain Kingdom. 

“That won’t happen again.” Winter spoke softly. “You will never, ever be left behind.”

Kinkoju’s eyes started to water. How could Tundra ever be so monstrous to him? His entire family outside Hailstorm? After all that abuse, Winter still turned out to be as kind as he was. He was like an egg; hard on the surface, but soft underneath.

And it was that same soft inside that Kinkajou didn’t want to hurt.

But it was worse than that. There was a selfish side to her that had wiggled its way into the back of her mind. She was loved, appreciated, and not left behind . So long as she kept this secret, she was okay. She was in no danger of being hurt around him. Being left behind.

Kinkajou had to tell him. But… right now, she just wanted to snuggle closer and drift away.

***

Queen Snowfall landed before the palace, honor guard in tow with Boa beside her. The Sandwing wore a bracer on her wrist, which apparently nullified the effects of unsavory weather. 

“Like I said, dear old mom was crazy and paranoid. If she needed to hide anywhere, she wanted to be prepared,” Boa said when Snowfall had asked about it.

Upon landing at the palace and walking up the steps, Snowfall found a familiar - and very welcome - face greeting her. Said welcome affection was quickly dismissed when the IceWing threw her freckled wings around her, rubbing her face against hers affectionately. 

Snowfall knew why she did it. All the prudes in the IceWing nobility had dismissed same sex relationships. And while she was dating Hailstorm… well, she was going to get them all bothered by being overly affectionate.

Snowfall didn’t exactly hate it, either. She had gotten used to touch due to Sky being the same damn way.

“How was the sea?” Lynx asked with a bright smile. “Warm? The sea here is all icy. I’d love to see the crystal clear waters one day.”

“ Very warm.” Snowfall shuddered. “But, yes, it was nice.”

“Maybe one day you’ll take me.” Lynx nudged her with a wing talon. “But uh… have you heard the news?”

“About our visitors?” Snowfall responded vaguely.

“Oh, so you have. Good, because I wasn’t looking forward to having to introduce you.” Lynx bristled. “Not sure what you heard, but uh… well, one of them speaks in color, and the other is a wee bit of an icicle if you catch my drift.”

“The dragon, the object, or slang ?”

“Take a guess.” Lynx ruffled her wings. Snowfall laughed.

“If they’re the same ones as before, that makes sense.” Snowfall murmured, motioning for Boa and her guard to join her.

“They aren’t.” Boa effortlessly caught up to them with her long, striding legs. 

“And you are certain of this despite not meeting them?” Snowfall questioned.

“I know animus. My mother was very detailed, and that’s not getting to speaking to other animus.” Boa shook her head, sail swaying with the motion.  “No matter how real they appear, they are not . And if they are plucked from time, do not grow attached.”

Snowfall nodded. She didn’t see herself growing attached to Arctic, but perhaps history was wrong about him. Whiteout… oh, that was going to be an interesting conversation. 

Truthfully, she expected Darkstalker to come storming in the door at any moment. The Jade Winglet never did tell her how he was defeated, but she had no reason to distrust them. Although, she couldn’t help but note that Winter didn’t know.

She came to the throne, where her guard stood outside. Two remained by the throne, and they were sworn to never reveal what happened in this room. None had ever slipped up. As loath as she was to trust others still to this day, she could with their jobs. 

Staring up at the tapestry of her mother, Snowfall felt mixed emotions. Every time she looked at it, hurt flowed into her very blood. Yet, her kind face relaxed Snowfall. She knew that her mother was with the Great Ice Dragon, at peace by their side alongside all the other queens. Including, Snowfall dimly realized, Diamond. Maybe death had quelled the mad queen’s mind.

The Great Ice Dragon most likely wouldn’t let her create the, as Lynx called it, ‘gift of racism’ that was her former crown. Still, that her mother was able to be as calm and level headed as she was despite the crown… it made Snowfall miss her guidance that much more.

Snowfall shifted a gaze to Boa, who also looked longingly at the tapestry. Her face was neutral, but her eyes said all. 

“You’ve redecorated.” Boa turned away, staring at the sculptures. “I don’t like it. Too fancy.”

“You live in a hut, you don’t get to judge.” Snowfall reclined on her throne as Lynx went off to fetch their guests.

“I have everything I need. This is… excessive.” Boa grumbled unhappily. “I feel as if I am going to be drawn into one of those fancy parties. Your mother attempted to bring me to a few. I managed to wiggle my way out every time.”

“That object that teleports you back, I assume?”

“Oh, yes, I kept ‘accidentally’ using it every time it came up.” 

Snowfall snorted out a laugh at the mental image. She strained her mind to see if she’d ever seen the SandWing popping out, but everything before she was Queen was a blur. It was like she lived in the now rather than ever remembering the past. 

After a few moments, Snowfall heard the familiar clicking of talons on ice. Multiple. Probably had the entire entourage coming, which made sense. She had no plans of excluding Winter or Kinkajou, and even Icicle had piqued her interest. She needed to speak to her and Winter once this ended.

Sure enough, the suspects in question came alongside Lynx and the others. Snowfall noted one of her honor guard shift at the sight of Arctic and Whiteout, his eye sliding back to her. Otherwise, he said nothing. In a way, it made Snowfall feel that much more trusting of the guard. They were trusting her judgment but also letting her know that they’d jump in without hesitation.

Arctic was very regal in appearance, and Snowfall felt his judgmental gaze as he examined her. He didn’t say a word, but he was very much on guard. There was a lot of defensiveness in his stance, as if he were waiting for her to order something catastrophic. Given his mother, Snowfall sympathized.

This was not shared by Whiteout. The hybrid looked simultaneously lost in her own world and acutely aware of everything around her. Her eyes darted in all directions, tail swishing almost excitedly. Yet, she kept glancing to Boa. It was as if she recognized the SandWing somehow, or at least realized what was going on. Especially since she shifted her gaze to Arctic before or after looking at Boa.

Strangely, though, Whiteout looked like she had dressed herself in IceWing jewelry and makeup, as evidenced by silver lining under her eyes. In fact, it looked an awful lot like…

“Mink got to her.” Lynx seemed to read her mind. 

“I see.” Snowfall let out a small sigh. “I apologize for my sister’s… insistence .”

“It is okay!” Whiteout exclaimed happily. “The weasyl snuck into my anxiety and ate it.”

So, she does have a strange language… I am not ready for this. Snowfall thought wearily. It was a long flight from the Sea Kingdom, and all the anxiety about meeting them had drained her.

“Am I to understand that you are the current queen?” Arctic’s voice was as sharp as an icicle. 

“I am.” Snowfall nodded. “I am Queen Snowfall. My mother was Queen Glacier. As you might imagine, you and I are very distantly related.”

“Indeed.” Arctic nodded curtly. “To answer your inevitable questions, I do not know why we are here. Darkstalker is not among us. No, I do not know why this is happening elsewhere, as Winter had informed us it was.”

“And have you attempted to use animus to figure it out?”

“You will not trust my words, so I did not see the point,” Arctic answered quickly and bluntly. Indeed, he was hiding something. Given what she heard… it was understandable.

“They’re different.” Boa suddenly spoke. All eyes turned to her. “Something is off. Yet, I cannot say for certain they are engendered.”

“What do you mean?” Snowfall questioned.

“It means that someone tinkered with them.” Boa approached Arctic, eyes squinted. Arctic did not look enthused by this, but kept his mouth shut. “They’re not the originals. Yet, they are.”

“And what, pray tell, does that mean?” Arctic growled back lowly.

“I don’t know.” Boa narrowed her gaze. “When you first arrived, I was told you were quite the loudmouth. Yet, here, you are much more subdued. It is as if someone realized you were acting… strangely.”

“I adjusted to my environment.” Arctic replied defensively.

“True as that may be, someone noticed. You were not known for the outbursts according to history.” Boa shook her head. 

“He was scared.” Winter spoke up. Arctic shot him a glowering glare. “Everything was different. It makes sense he’d posture himself up.”

“Hmm…” Boa didn’t sound convinced, but didn’t push the issue further. “Whiteout, I can detect it less.”

“Does this mean that they are unwitting spies?” Snowfall leaned forward, eyes narrowed.

“I can’t say for certain. But, either way, something is off. I’ll need to consult - ”

CRACK!

Snowfall stood up as two dragons suddenly appeared next to Arctic. She recognized one almost immediately; Queen Tsunami. The other, however, was new. 

This one, Snowfall did not trust at all . There was an ambitious, arrogant gleam to her eyes that suggested just about everyone here was expendable or beneath her. This had to be Orca. Yes, Snowfall could see the similarity between her and Tsunami. 

“What? How did…?” Tsunami spun around before noticing Snowfall. “How did you teleport us here?! You didn’t cast a spell!”

“I did before you arrived,” Orca answered dryly. “Whenever I slap my tail on the ground with a destination in mind, I can travel there with whomever I please. Much more dramatic to disappear with a clap, no?”

“Do not make a habit of that.” Tsunami groaned. “I’ve already had it with animus magic.”

“Indeed, I tire of these games…” Orca slid her eyes to Arctic. “Ah, Prince Arctic I assume? Yes, I can feel the power radiating from you.”

“Who are you?” Arctic’s voice was biting. He dignified his posture, and Snowfall noted him very slightly adjusting himself between Orca and Whiteout. 

“Orca. Princess of the Sea Kingdom. I died over ten years ago.” Orca replied simply. “Much like you, I returned.”

“Violet.” Whiteout murmured. “You are violet. The world is an ant.”

Orca raised a brow, turning to Arctic for an explanation. 

“I don’t know what she means,” Arctic answered coldly. Snowfall didn’t believe him.

“So, three of the four are here now.” Icicle spoke up. “Why not just summon the last? Make things easier on us all.”

“Why should I? She’s not an animus, and therefore not important.” Orca shook her head. “No, if we are going to solve this, it is by magic. Tell me, have you cast spells upon yourself?”

“No.” Arctic narrowed his eyes. 

“Interesting. You are clearly powerful, yet you don’t use it? Not even for simple spells? I guess you and I are largely similar.” Orca let out a sigh. “It does make things rather easy, doesn’t it? No challenge, no reward.”

“IceWings do not flaunt our powers. They are gifts, and we will use them accordingly. It is not to be freely used.” Arctic hissed out icily.

“Is that so?” Orca didn’t sound impressed. “Well, if you will not do it, I will.”

Before anyone could stop her, Orca flashed her scales to read out an enchantment. Tsunami seemed outraged by Orca’s boldness, but whatever the enchantment was, it was not readily apparent. 

“Interesting…” Orca murmured.

“She is the same as these two.” Boa announced to them. “There is something altered.”

“I am not altered.” Orca snarled. Tsunami’s eyes narrowed. Snowfall and her exchanged a look that said ‘we’ll talk later’. 

“Yes, you are,” Boa responded matter-of-factly. “What it is, I cannot say, but it is very clear to me that you had a spell cast on you recently.”

“Who, exactly, are you?”

“Boa. I was an animus. You may recognize me through my mother, Jerboa.”

Orca fell silent, examining Boa with renewed interest. “I have indeed heard of your mother. I’m surprised she is not back.”

“Be grateful. She’d turn you into an egg and step on you.”

Given what Snowfall saw in the vision, she did not put it past that vile dragon.

“Can you summon the animus here?” Winter asked them. “Or, somewhere safe. At the very least, we can get a glimpse as to who it is.”

“I’ve attempted.” Orca let out a sigh. “No matter how I worded it, it did not summon our unseen foe. Even this Vulture did not come. Whoever our foe is, they are smart.” She turned to Arctic. “This is why I want you to join me in our spell. If the two of us cast at the same time, it may prove to be too powerful a summon.”

“No,” Arctic answered after some consideration. “Not until we take every precaution.”

“That is a simple spell, you know.”

“Animus can override if the spell is told a different way.” Arctic argued back. “I will not explain myself further. We must investigate all options before we are to strike.”

“Fine.” Orca waved him off. “I supposedly died from a lack of foresight, so I guess I can take time.”

“I do not want animus flung around in my Kingdom, either.” Snowfall spoke up. She’d been keeping quiet to see how everything went, and now that it ended, it was time to speak. “We will find a place for this confrontation. And we will make sure that everything is properly secure before we consider summoning our foes.”

“Very well.” Orca seemed to relent, but Snowfall had her doubts. She’d need to keep an eye on this one and check if she was, indeed, enchanted. She’d have to write herself a set of checklists.

“Still, this is too clever an animus to be someone recently born.” Boa finished pacing around the three resurrected dragons. “This Vulture was not an animus. No, this animus is someone who either I - somehow - missed with my spell, or they found something.”

“Any suggestions?” Snowfall questioned.

“I’ll need a list of anyone who could possibly come into contact with an animus object. I don’t care how old, how insignificant.” Boa faced Snowfall. “And then we will need to explore every option to its fullest.”

“Wait…” Kinkajou spoke up, brow furrowing. “Hold on. A thought just crossed my mind, and I already hate it.”

“Well, spit it out.” Arctic turned to her.

“Well, since you asked so nicely…” Kinkajou rolled her eyes. “Okay, so, Peril. She has a necklace that removes her Firescales. It was an edited spell that was written, right?”

“No… don’t tell me…” Winter immediately followed her train of thought. Snowfall motioned for them to explain.

“The spell was written by her father, Chameleon. Chameleon, who can shapeshift due to Darkstalker’s scroll. Chameleon, who we never saw the SeaWing or SandWing forms of.” Kinkajou paused. “But he’s an idiot! There’s no way he was smart enough - or brave enough - to edit a spell like that! Heck, we didn’t until recently!”

“Didn’t you take the scraps anyway?” Winter asked.

“Yeah, we did, but maybe he had a brain after all and didn’t keep it on him.” Kinkajou tapped her wing talon under her chin thoughtfully. “Either that, or he ran out of paper.”

“It’s about as good a lead as any.” Snowfall murmured. “Do we know common habits?”

“Treasure,” Kinkajou and Winter said simultaneously. It was almost cute. 

“So, what, we just leave a big ol’ pile of treasure in the middle of nowhere and hope he doesn’t go ‘oh, this is strange’?” Tsunami narrowed her gaze. 

“No, he’ll need a benefactor. He’s too much of a coward to do anything on his own.” Kinkajou shook her head. “Although… he does already have a connection to Vulture.”

“Do you think Vulture was smart enough to mess with the animus scrolls, then?” Tsunami continued her questioning.

“Yes.” Winter nodded. “Chameleon may not be involved, but we know that Vulture is aware of Chameleon’s forms.”

“The Vulture is circling his next feast.” Whiteout suddenly murmured, looking out the window. 

“Any ideas as to where?” Snowfall raised herself up slightly. She’d heard rumors that Whiteout had some abilities, and this may be confirmation.

“My mind is a fog with no lighthouse.” Whiteout shook her head. “It is soon. The fires will rise to the clouds.”

“Hmm…” Orca frowned. “Teleporting to Vulture isn’t working. I suppose we’ll have to wait to see what he does next.”

***

Turtle and Sunny flew swiftly out of Jade Mountain, gliding down toward the Rain Kingdom to avoid the sandstorm in the distance. What a disaster it was for the descendants of Possibility. First losing their town, and then a sandstorm to sweep it away. Fate was unkind.

“How’s Tsunami taking to being Queen?” Sunny asked him on their flight.

“She’s doing as well as she can.” Turtle smiled brightly. “It isn’t easy, especially with everything we’re experiencing of late. But, she’s earning the respect of those around her and has actually been cautious.”

“Tsunami? Cautious? That crown must be enchanted…” Sunny winked, tongue poking out teasingly.

“Ha! Maybe it is.” Turtle let out a laugh. “Riptide should be on his way back to the kingdom by now; stopped by Sanctuary on my way here and ran into him there. So, she won’t be alone. Not that she really is with Anemone and Auklet hanging around.”

“I’m glad Anemone really changed her attitude. Stars, I thought she was going to be a brat the entire semester!”

“No kidding. We’ll see how it goes, though, and…” Turtle looked over Sunny, eyes widening. She gave him a confused look before following his gaze, a gasp escaping her.

They were close enough to the Rain Kingdom to make out the tallest trees in it. If he’d squinted, he’d see some structures. But no amount of squinting could break through the smoke that billowed toward the skies. 

The Rain Kingdom was burning.

Chapter Text

Peril was anxious again.

She hadn’t felt this way in forever. Being with Clay and all her friends helped her grow so much as a dragon. She wasn’t afraid of who she was anymore. She wasn’t afraid to be around others thanks to the firescale necklace. Even before that, she feared no dragon.

Until today.

The closer she flew to the Sky Kingdom, the more she found herself fidgeting. Either with her talons stimming, or fiddling with her necklace. She hated it. She hated feeling this way.

But… this was her mother . Someone that she knew nothing about outside of a few interactions. Someone who raised Clay. Peril knew she was mean and wicked. But how much of that was true? Did she really try to kill Sky?

She vowed to protect her twin, no matter what. Even if it was from their mother. She was supposed to be dead, anyway.

“How are you doing?” Clay drifted over to her as the Sky Palace came into view. It was beautiful, even after all this time. The golden spires, circular shape… her home for eight years was a much grander place than ever before. It still drew a sense of dread and anxiety, but Peril had gotten over it for the most part. Ruby was nice. Cliff was nice.

“How do you think?” Peril tried to joke. She failed. Clay gave her a sympathetic look, and she let it all out.

“I’m feeling the same.” Clay admitted. Peril blinked with surprise. “She’s… well, she’s my mother, too. She wasn’t perfect. Downright mean a lot of the time. But at least she didn’t sell me for two cows.”

That got a laugh out of Peril. “Yeah… yeah, that’s true.”

“I mean, I know it was out of duty, but we’re all affected by her.” He nodded to Glory before drifting closer. “Notice the shade she turns when she’s angry.”

Peril, admittedly, had limited experience with that. She’d seen it, of course. Especially when she and Clay visited during a break. Glancing to Glory, Peril recalled the shade of red she turned. Then, she remembered her mother’s appearance.

“Wow,” Peril said as it dawned upon her. “How did you notice that?”

“I always did.” Clay shrugged. “I just never said anything. You know how Glory gets when someone points out an unconscious action.”

“Sometimes I forget how observant you are.” Peril patted his head. He gave her a confused expression. “Everyone paints you off as the big goofy eater.”

“Well, they’re not wrong …”

“I know, but there’s so much more.” Peril took his claw in hers, squeezing tightly. “You saw me as who I was, not what I was perceived as. Don’t think I’ll ever forget that.”

They landed in the Sky Palace, where some honor guards stood straighter and bowed. They shifted their eyes to her and the others but made no hostile movements. Peril learned to recognize when they were. The guards were simply doing their due diligence.

“My queen.” one of the honor guards approached. He was the captain, as evidenced with his fancier armor. “The… visitor demanded your presence as soon as you arrived. She has made things… difficult .”

“Oh, has she now?” Queen Ruby remarked dryly. “I cannot say I am surprised.”

“Indeed.” The head guard responded dutifully. “I take it that our guests are here to see her?” He indicated to Peril and the others.

“Yes.”

“Shall I escort her here? The guest chambers are quite small for the crowd you bring.”

“That is fine,” Queen Ruby said. The guard bowed his head and left. Once he did, Queen Ruby reclined upon her throne, momentarily holding her claw over her face. “What happens will not leave this chamber. Am I understood?” She asked the guards, who responded with a ‘Yes, my queen’. “Good, good.”

“I’m scared,” Sky whispered to Peril.

“It’s alright.” She smiled comfortingly. “I’m here. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I know, I know…” Sky’s tail swished anxiously. “I wish Wren was here.”

“I’ll escort you to see her myself after this.” Peril promised. Sky smiled gratefully.

The clicking of talons announced the presence of Kestrel and the guards. Peril tensed, making her face as neutral as possible. Her heart thumped. Blood pumped in her ears. The jitters got her good.

Seeing the door open and reveal her mother… so much emotion flowed through Peril. There was no mistaking her rusty red and gold scales, the grumpy expression. Especially the little claw mark scar on her cheek that Peril herself had given her. She walked with a notable hunch, doubtlessly a result of her imprisonment.

Yet, upon the sight of Peril, that grumpy exterior fell slightly. It was subtle, but there was genuine surprise.

And then her eyes drifted to Sky.

“You’re alive,” Kestrel spoke with shock. Sky quivered when she addressed him.

“After you tossed him off a cliff.” Peril wanted to get this out of the way right now. “Did you try to kill him?”

“No.” Kestrel approached them. She was much larger than Peril remembered, easily dwarfing most of the dragons in the room. “Scarlet forced me to throw him over the cliff. But, there was a ravine. I had hoped that he’d survive. I searched for him after and thought him dead.”

Peril noted Sky’s demeanor change. He was still standing behind Peril, but there was a hint of trust in her words. He kept glancing to Peril, as if asking for her approval or if she believed Kestrel.

“Well, good.” Peril relaxed a tiny bit.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s all nice and dandy, but lest we forget that she did attempt to kill me.” Glory interjected. Her scales were, as Clay pointed out, a rusty red in some places.

“Hmph, I did what I did because it was necessary. Tell me you haven’t done the same thing.” Kestrel snorted, her grumpy demeanor coming roaring back. “If it meant peace for the world, one dead RainWing was more than a fair price to pay.”

“The prophecy was a lie. So, you would’ve killed me for nothing.” Glory snipped back. “Jokes on you, though, I rule both the RainWings and NightWings. So much for a ‘useless RainWing’, hm?”

Kestrel flicked her eyes over to Glory’s guards. “It appears I have missed much.” She turned to Queen Ruby. “Are you ready to finally tell me what is going on, or shall I simply start guessing?”

“We have nothing but guesses at this point.” Queen Ruby responded calmly. “All we know is that you are likely not the first or the last that has returned.”

“Do we know who these other dragons are?”

“Yes. A SeaWing named Turtle contacted Peril during one of her naps.” Queen Ruby nodded at Peril. “There is Orca, a former SeaWing princess with animus powers. Prince Arctic of the IceWings, also an animus. Finally, there is his daughter, Whiteout. She is not an animus. And then we have you , who is neither royalty or animus.”

“I have no idea who they are.” Kestrel snorted, tail lashing out with frustration. “I’m still not convinced that everything here isn’t a scheme by Scarlet.”

“Do you truly believe that Scarlet would give up her throne even for a second?” Queen Ruby asked.

“And that is what makes me believe your words, for now,” Kestrel admitted grumpily. “I have no information for you. All I know is that the dragonets made a blunder and I had to go clean up. And then you tell me I was killed by both Morrowseer and Blister. Now it’s four years later.”

“Which makes you the most peculiar of the four.” Queen Ruby nodded slowly. “I believe that you are the key.”

“Really?” Glory interjected again. Peril was about to do the same. “Why would anyone want to bring her back other than to torment us?”

“I have a suspicion.” Queen Glory glanced between Kestrel, Peril, and Sky. Immediately, Peril’s heart sank. She knew what was coming. “Chameleon is involved. Or, as you know him, Soar.” She added to Kestrel.

“What?” Kestrel barked out a laugh. “He was a good lay, but not anything special! You’re telling me he can bring back the dead!?”

“Chameleon used animus to change his form. He was originally a RainWing.” Queen Ruby explained. Kestrel raised a brow. “I know not how he managed to get into the breeding program, but he and Scarlet did work together.”

“What, did she offer him tail? That wouldn’t surprise me at all.” Kestrel scoffed. “Fine. Not like I have any choice but to believe you. We did meet each other outside the program quite a few times, I’ll admit, but then he vanished before the eggs hatched. I assumed he was killed.”

“Hardly.” Peril snorted. “He nearly killed a few of my friends and enchanted me to serve Scarlet at the cost of my firescales. Jokes on him, his enchantment caused me to lose them again. Cut off the loyalty parts.”

“Didn’t think he had it in him.” Kestrel didn’t sound impressed, but she wasn’t condemning it either.

“A lot of things are surprising, really.” The head guard suddenly spoke. “Especially after you get your head bonked.”

All heads turned to the guard as he strode into the center of the room. There was a slow forming crazed smile on his face, and Peril felt a chill go down her spine. That’s impossible. They burned his scrolls. Sure, he may have had an extra laying around, but that would’ve been for a SeaWing or SandWing. And besides, Soar did not look this way.

“You.” Queen Ruby stood right up. “Where is Sparrow?”

“About three miles thataway in a river. I’m sure, if you hurry, you can get to him before a predator does.” The head guard – Chameleon – chuckled.

“Seize him!” Ruby roared, and the guards sprung into action… only to have an invisible force repel them. “What!?”

“Really think I’d make it so easy?” Chameleon tutted. “Really, all it took was one edit of my spare form and poof, I’m an animus. Just as you did it, you think I couldn’t?” He addressed Peril with a wink.

“You brought them back, didn’t you?” Clay spoke. Kestrel slid an eye to him. “Why?”

“Spoilers.” Chameleon made a ‘shhh’ sound. “But, yes, I did. I brought Kestrel back because I missed her so. I’m so glad you thought so fondly of my performance. Scarlet gave me access to her maidens, but you were the best.” He gave her a sickeningly sweet smile. “It broke my little heart when you died, so I just had to find a way to bring you back.”

“We didn’t have that serious of a relationship, idiot.” Kestrel snorted, unimpressed.

“Then why did you meet me again after our one night?” Chameleon asked, face fallen. Yet, Peril knew it was an act. “So ungrateful, you are, after I went through the trouble of resurrecting you.” He shook his head disappointedly. “Oh well, back to business. Say, Queen Ruby, where’s your son? You’d think he’d be here to greet you.”

Ruby immediately stiffened. “What did you do?”

“He’s safe, just about two hours directly north from here in a mountain. Can’t miss it,” Chameleon said. “Like I said, he’s fine now. But, I do think the walls will start to close in on him soon. Crushing loneliness may be his doom. Now, if you want to free him, all you have to do is take Queen Glory with you to the entrance.”

“What’s the catch?” Glory hissed out.

“No catch! He’ll be safe and sound once the three of you get there. Promise.” Chameleon pledged, wing on his chest. “But… well, you got a small choice to make before you just take off. You see, my associate… he’s a lot more direct than me. Right now, the Rain Kingdom is burning.”

“ WHAT!?” Glory roared, her colors once again turning red.

“Yep. And the only way for the fires to stop is if you decide to go there. There’s no time limit, but… well, the forest is quite flammable.” Chameleon shrugged. “I’d make your choice quickly.”

“Why Glory?” Clay demanded. “She never did anything to you!”

“She’s a RainWing. That tribe kicked me out because of my deformity. That’s reason enough.” Chameleon scowled back before grinning. “Oh and… one last thing. I brought back five dragons, not four. It’s either one of the Jade Winglet, or your Dragon of Destiny crew. Or, maybe, it’s one of the ones associated with both! I can’t wait to see your reactions once you figure it out.”

With that, Chameleon disappeared into thin air, as if he was never there at all.

“That bastard .” Glory spat. Her body trembled from both rage and fear. Both queens locked eyes.

One of them would have to sacrifice something dear.

“We must save my son.” Ruby stood up. “I can’t let him die when there’s a chance to save him.”

“My kingdom is burning!” Glory snapped back. “If we save him, it’ll be gone!”

The two began to argue back and forth. Peril knew what side she’d be on; Ruby’s. But, one look at Clay, and she knew she couldn’t just make that decision. Glory was a sister to him.

She stared down at her own claws, fiddling with the necklace. She recalled something Starflight said, and what she herself had said to Clay. Apparently, she should be able to melt stone. She did leave scorch marks on them.

Maybe with an added bit of fire…

Peril spread her wings, taking to the skies.

“Where are you going?” Ruby demanded, turning away from Glory.

“I have to try something.” Peril explained. “I’ll be right back, I promise.”

Before anyone could object, Peril flew out of the palace and down the cliffs. She noted that Sky was behind her, as expected. What she didn’t was Kestrel also following them. She was cold and indifferent, but maybe Clay was right.

Maybe she would start to change, knowing that both her and Sky are alive.

“What are you doing?” Kestrel landed next to them. Sky instinctively reached out and touched Peril.

Unfortunately, he did that right as Peril took off her firescales amulet. Heat radiated from her scales and filled her entire being with fire. She was warm, warmer than the hottest flame. The very air around her turned hazy.

And Sky was still touching her. A yelp came from her twin, and Peril leaped away to break the hold. As she did, her eyes widened.

Sky was no longer pale. Well, he was, but color had flooded back into his scales. His eyes were brighter. Heat radiated from him just like Peril. However, it was quickly fading.

“Impossible.” Peril gasped.

“Hm, so the rumors were true.” Kestrel mused. Both dragons turned their heads to her. “Scarlet was a fool. I purposely kept this hidden to save Ember, but there are legends of firescales being able to transfer their heat back to their twin temporarily.”

“Ember?” Sky questioned, finding his voice.

“That was my name for you,” Kestrel said as if it were obvious.

“Well, I’m Sky now,” Sky answered with a trembling voice.

“Sky? Sky the Sky Wing?” Kestrel raised a brow.

“A human named Wren named him.” Peril jumped in to protect him. She then began to work on a rock, pressing her scalding claws to the surface and breathing flame. It turned bright red, but it wasn’t melting .

“A human? What’s a human?” Kestrel questioned.

“You called them scavengers,” Peril said between breaths. “They’re intelligent, and all the queens said you can’t eat them anymore.”

“What.” Kestrel stared with disbelief. “I have missed much indeed. Explains the name, I suppose.”

Sky’s claw wrapped around Peril’s, and before her very eyes, all the color he’d been missing came flowing back. Within seconds, he looked almost exactly like her. The only differences – outside the gender – were his shorter stature and thinner frame.

His other claw pressed against the rock and his jaw unhinged. A beautiful flare of flame burned in his gullet before surging out. His eyes widened, and the sides of his mouth turned upward as pure happiness radiated from him.

With the both of them, the rock underneath began to melt.

“I looked for you,” Kestrel said to Sky. His eye focused on her. “I kept coming back when I could.”

“To kill me?” Sky spoke with a tad more confidence, although his claw tightened around Peril’s.

“No.” Kestrel shook her head. For the first time since Peril met her – both times – there was an emotion other than indifference and hatred. No, there was… relief . Her face was still angry and curled into a permanent scowl, but there wasn’t a tightness to her jaw anymore. Kestrel’s posture was lax, too.

“I… I see…” Sky averted his gaze. “Wren kept me hidden. We thought you were going to kill me.”

“No. I did what I did to save you.” Kestrel stood up straighter. Her eyes darted all around before focusing on Peril. “Are you going to share to the class what you’re hoping to accomplish?” Her familiar snippy and grumpy attitude came roaring back. Peril didn’t feel as offended this time.

Reminded her a lot of Winter.

“Chameleon said that he was in a mountain. Well, I don’t think he counted on there being a third option.” Peril indicated to the sizable hole in the rock. She could fully step inside, and it only took a few moments to liquify. “With Sky able to channel my firescales, we can literally burn a hole to where Cliff is.”

“… Clever.” Kestrel let out a ‘hmph’. “But how do you know this will work? I don’t know much about animus, but I know it is unpredictable.”

“I love Cliff as if he were my little brother. Not replacing you, Sky, don’t worry.” She added as an aside. “But… Clay taught me empathy. I can’t let a forest burn if I can help it.”

“Hard to hear from someone who was Scarlet’s monster,” Kestrel said in a way that Peril wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be an insult or not. “Fine. Now convince the others.”

“We will.” Sky spoke up, still holding his claw with Peril’s. “But does this mean I can’t generate flame on my own now? I kinda like being so warm inside.”

“No. You will burn out the more you use your flame. You may be able to retain the amount you have, but according to the legends, you must be in contact with your sibling to produce it.” Kestrel shook her head.

“Be careful touching anything.” Peril warned Sky. “You’re literally on fire. You’ll burn anyone and anything that touches you. Except for Clay. Clay has fire resistant scales.”

“Oh, okay.” Sky nodded before jolting. “Oh no! What if Wren tries to ride me again! This is bad. I can’t be all warm if I hurt her…”

“Yeah. Like I said, be careful.” Peril patted his shoulder. “Let’s go.”

The three of them raced back up to the palace where, as expected, Glory and Ruby were going at it. Both looked ready to cry as pure devastation crossed their faces. With a look to Sky, they landed between the two with enough force to create a clap that silenced the two arguing queens.

“What?” Clay exclaimed. “Wait… which one… how did Sky get firescales?”

“So long as he’s in contact with me, he can breathe fire and get firescales.” Peril quickly explained before turning to Ruby, who wore a similarly shocked expression. “We can melt rock easily with our combined heat. Meaning, whatever rock prison Cliff is in, we can get him out .”

Ruby sat up straighter at that. “Are you certain?”

“We just tested it.” Sky affirmed. “It works! It’s like puddy in my claws, though. Very weird. I wish you could touch it.”

“I can confirm this.” Kestrel added on. Peril slid an eye back to her. Once again, that less grumpy expression crossed her face.

“But we don’t know where he is.” Glory protested. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m on board, but I just…”

“We’ll burn a hole right through the mountain if we have to.” Peril pledged. “Trust me.” She turned to Queen Ruby. “He means so much to me, too. I won’t let him die.”

“I trust her.” Clay stepped forward, his head turning between the two queens. “She’ll never let anything happen to those she cares about.”

“… No, she wouldn’t.” Ruby eyed Peril. “I have no desire to see the Rain Kingdom burn, either. If this is true, and you can do this… this is the best way to stop both threats.”

“Agreed.” Glory immediately said before averting her gaze. “Look, I’m sorry for this, but my kingdom…”

“I understand. This is a difficult choice. Had you not fought me, I would have been disappointed.” Ruby spread her wings, shaking the distress off her face. Hope flooded in, and she gave Peril a determined look. “I place my trust in you.”

“Go with her, Clay.” Peril urged the MudWing, who reacted with surprise. “She needs you more than me.”

“Are you sure?” Clay questioned, worry in his big round eyes. Eyes that Peril could fall into forever.

“Absolutely.” Peril gave him a steely look. “Go. I’ll be fine.”

Clay didn’t fight back. She knew he wanted to, but he just as much wanted to go with Glory. The latter shot Peril a thankful expression, and the two took off almost immediately. Once they did, Peril turned back to Queen Ruby, nodding.

“I’m coming,” Kestrel said flatly. “I refuse to be confined in that room again.”

“Fine with me,” Peril said, looking to Sky. “Are you okay with it?”

“Y-yeah, I’ll be okay.” Sky nodded his affirmation.

“Then let’s go.”

They flew across the kingdom, and Peril wished she could take in the sights. But, Cliff needed her. There was no time. Everyone was silent along the way, beating their wings to near breaking point to reach the mountain Chameleon spoke of.

The fact that her father was behind this had just begun to dawn. She was so determined to fix the problem that she had no time to process it. Why was he doing this? He was always cowardly and conniving, but this was insane! It was like a switch was flipped.

Or a rock was dropped on his head…

Did Kinkajou do this? Truthfully, Peril thought the RainWing had killed him. But, instead it seems to have caused massive brain damage and loosened a few screws. That was the only explanation.

The weirder part was that he didn’t seem to have a motivation . Why Cliff? How did he know they were coming back? Was it all to punish Glory for being a RainWing? They never even met! It’d make way more sense to go after Kinkajou, or even Peril herself.

There was no rhyme or reason, either. Especially with him somehow being a necromancer?

And what did he mean by the fifth dragon? There was no way someone was replaced. They would’ve noticed!

Eventually, they came across the mountain in question. It was hard to miss, namely because there was a gigantic arrow pointing into a cave. The twins shot in, their very scales illuminating the dark cavern.

“I’d trail a distance behind.” Peril warned the queen and Kestrel. “We’re turning the rock red just from standing here.”

“Bring my son back alive.” Ruby looked down at the two of them. 

“We will, ma’am!” Sky stood straighter.

Kestrel said nothing, but did give a quick nod. Peril took that as ‘get on with it’, but much nicer. The two ran side by side into the darkness, finding a winding pathway. Peril was sure to mark the walls whenever there was a corner, and sure enough, that proved to be a good idea five minutes later. They were running in circles.

“Cliff!” Peril roared as loud as she could. “If you can hear us, shout as loud as you can!”

There was a faint sound from below. She couldn’t tell if it was Cliff or not, but they didn’t have any other place to check. The twins breathed flame downward, melting the rock and shifting through it with their talons. It was so weird to be able to touch what was essentially lava – it had to be lava, right? – without having anything bad happen to her. Could Clay withstand this? She didn’t want to find out.

Down and down they went. It felt like miles! But, soon, there was a cavern underneath that they could drop down into.

“That was fun!” Sky exclaimed as they touched the bottom. “Oooh, I can’t wait to tell Wren about this! It’s like finding a new snail type. But I think she’ll be more interested in this than a snail.”

Peril went to reply, only to see a familiar red dragonet looking back at them. He was dirty and disoriented, but otherwise fine. There were no markings on him. It was like he was just thrown in here without any lights. Nothing to light, either.

“Cliff!” Peril exclaimed.

“… Peril?” Cliff’s bright eyes opened wider. He slowly stood, wincing. “Wait… where’s mom and Glory?”

“Glory’s not here. You’re mom’s outside.” Peril immediately grew suspicious.

“Oh no…” Cliff visibly paled. “Get out! It’s – ”

The room exploded into flame from behind Peril.

***

Glory raced back to the Rain Kingdom.

She could see the smoke and flames from miles away. It only spurred her to fly to near breaking point. Any faster and her wings would snap right off. If she hit anything in the air, her neck would snap and it’d be over. Poor Clay was left in the dust; she could see his outline a small distance back.

Her RainGuard were even lagging behind. They were the top fliers and fighters, and just as determined as her to get back home. They must hate her for not flying off immediately.

Glory hated herself for not doing that. But if it was the reverse, if it was her dragonet… she’d put up way more of a battle. That empathy caused her to stay, and she was glad she did. She didn’t expect the salvation to be Peril, though.

Whatever happened, she hoped it worked in their favor.

The flames only grew the closer Glory got to the kingdom. The air itself grew heavier, and thermals lifted her high into the sky. She wished they hadn’t.

The Rain Village itself was half gone. The fires, it seemed, started from outside the kingdom and moved inward. Snapping her wings to her side, Glory dove downward at speeds that would break normal dragons. Her eyes blurred. The ground rapidly approached. It felt like her tail was going to fly right off from how it whipped in the wind.

Just as she would’ve smashed into the ground, her wings flew wide. They almost snapped from the force. A gale erupted from her and knocked over nearby objects. As she touched the ground, though, the flames disappeared. Chameleon wasn’t lying.

“Interesting,” A cold, snake-like voice hissed from the smoke. “You would sacrifice a dragonet to save your kingdom. You’re stronger than I thought.”

“Vulture, I assume.” Glory snapped back, fangs bared.

“Indeed,” Vulture answered from the smoke. “I’d reveal myself, but I think we both know you’d simply attack.”

“Damn straight I would!” Glory spat. She’d charge right in there herself, but the smoke was so dense she couldn’t see her own snout. Not to mention choking to death on it. “Get out here and fight me!”

“Afraid I can’t. I have… other plans.” Vulture tutted from the smoke. “Tell me, though, was it hard to leave a mother like that?”

“You forgot about Peril, idiot.” Glory grinned deviously. “She can melt through rock.”

“Oh, can she?” Vulture sounded interested. “I thought Chameleon was lying. Well, it’s a good thing we both thought of that.”

Glory didn’t let her anxiety show at that. “And what does that mean?”

“You’re down a player.”

Glory heard what sounded like whooshing air, and she knew Vulture had gone. She broiled with anger and frustration, but tried not to let it show. Her Rainguard and Clay had landed behind her, pure shock and horror upon their faces.

Glory took the time to soak in the devastation now that she wasn’t talking to Vulture. The Queen’s pavilion was gone, as was half the village. Smoldering embers remained, some breaking out into isolated flames. Rain and NightWings flew about with water buckets, doing their best.

“Grandeur!” Glory shouted, flying up to where the queen’s pavilion once was. It was a smoldering wreck! She couldn’t even see her throne, let alone anything identifiable. But, there were scorched and burned bodies inside. “Grandeur! Jambu!”

Glory, with the assistance of Clay, moved the debris to uncover bodies. Some were in good condition, killed by choking smoke. The others… Glory was never averse to gore, but seeing a half skeletal corpse with a vacant eye socket spooked her. The vacant eyes all seemed to look at her, asking why she wasn’t there. Why wasn't she there to lead them through the fire?

But what could she have done!? This was animus flame, she was certain! With or without her, the rain kingdom would have burned. But maybe she could’ve organized the chaos.

Moving another piece of rubble, Glory let out a gasp.

There, immobile, was a large dragon that only age would have granted. Her pink and ivory scales still remained after death; it must’ve been quick. It didn’t make it any easier to see Grandeur’s corpse. The only consolation was that in death, she seemed to have relaxed, as her face was no longer bunched together in a frown.

Glory felt cold despite the embers that wafted around her. The old RainWing was her most trusted advisor, the only one she could count on to lead the tribe in her absence outside Deathbringer.

Now she had no one to lead the tribe outside herself.

“I’m so sorry.” Glory whispered, stroking her grandmother’s face. “I should’ve been here.”

“Glory…” Clay approached her. “You couldn’t have stopped Vulture.”

“Maybe not. But I could’ve stopped the panic.” Glory’s claws curled angrily as shades of crimson crawled along her scales. “I’ll kill him myself. I’ll burn a hole through his eyes!”

“Glory.” Clay repeated, his voice firmer. “You’ll get your chance. Right now, we need to help those we can.”

“Yeah… yeah, you’re right.” Glory shook herself. “I’m a queen. I have to be strong. I can’t…” She stopped herself. She couldn’t break down. Not here, not now. “Clay… I think Peril’s in trouble.”

“I heard him.” Clay’s face hardened. “But her very name is trouble. I believe she’ll be alright, because she always finds a way out.”

“How can you be so hopeful after all this time? After all of this ?” Glory used her wing to emphasize the destruction. “I thought losing Silver was bad. I was ready for Grandeur to die, too, but not like this… not like this .”

“I don’t know how I can be. I just am.” Clay shrugged. “It’s who I am, because if I wasn’t… well, who would take my place?”

Glory didn’t say anything, watching dragons soar through the sky to douse the embers and clear smoke. More and more of the wreckage came into view. It would take years to rebuild and regrow what was lost. Her eyes narrowed.

That was the plan. Vulture didn’t attack the Rain Kingdom directly. He started the fires outside of it… where the gardens were. Where their food was.

This wasn’t an attack to wipe out the kingdom. The fires simply spread . No, this was to cripple them and make them unable to help with whatever the main attack will be.

“Glory!” A familiar pink RainWing dove down to meet them. Glory visibly relaxed, tears almost brimming her eyes as Jambu swooped down and gave her a gigantic hug. “You’re okay!”

“So are you.” Glory returned the embrace, shaking. “I thought I lost you.”

“No, Pineapple and I are okay.” Jambu shook his head. “We managed to move the eggs before the hatchery was lost.”

Jambu had a serious look on his face, which was so unbecoming of her half brother. He was always so aloof and spacey. But, he had a haunted look on his face that only war could bring. He was never a fighter, so this must have been a nasty wake up call. One that Glory never wanted for him.

“Thank the stars…” Glory murmured. “What happened? How did this start? How many made it out?”

“I don’t know.” Jambu shook his head. “Sunny and Turtle are helping survivors in the Night town. We had to flee there.”

“Sunny and Turtle are here?” Glory perked up. “Take me to them. We need to get a plan together.”

Jambu obliged, and together they flew to the night town. A breath of relief exhaled from Glory when she saw most NightWings were assisting their RainWing neighbors. Glory spotted Moon’s mother, Secretkeeper, helping with medical equipment.

The flames had taken out a fair share of the Night village, but compared to the Rain, it was negligible. Not that it was any less abhorrent, but they could rebuild with fewer resources.

She wished Deathbringer was here. He always knew what to say, how to calm. He was insufferable almost every other time, but she needed him here now. But he was far away, unable to lend any form of assistance.

No, she had to do this herself. She had to lead. Both tribes were looking to her for guidance.

“Glory!” Sunny exclaimed once Glory landed near the center of the commotion. “Thank the moons you’re here! Are you okay?”

“No,” Glory answered truthfully. “My kingdom just burned.”

Sunny grimaced and nodded slowly. “Turtle and I were on our way to the Sand Kingdom and saw the fires. We couldn’t douse it no matter how hard we tried. It’s like the flames themselves were enchanted!”

“They were.” Glory growled before explaining what happened at the Sky Kingdom. Sunny’s face visibly fell when the sadistic choice was brought up.

“That monster…” Sunny murmured. “Good news is that most of your tribe made it. We got who we could, but the fires spread so quickly to the Queen’s pavilion.”

“Grandeur’s dead,” Glory said bluntly. Sunny flinched. “There are others dead, too.”

“What are we going to do?” Jambu questioned.

“Now?” Glory sighed. “Now, we save who we can and count the dead. Once we get a full damage report, and we can start picking ourselves up… we’re going to war against Vulture.”

Chapter Text

“Didn’t think we’d be meeting again so soon, huh?” Tsunami chuckled as she drank from a wine glass.

She sat opposite Queen Snowfall in a private chamber, as Orca refused to teleport Tsunami back. Luckily, she had a Dreamvisitor and was able to get the word back to General Shark and Anemone that she was okay. Auklet was too energetic to reach, however, but Anemone doubtlessly told her.

The private chamber was quite elegant, with icy decoration and crystalline chandeliers. Tsunami should have felt frigid inside these walls, but it was quite insulated. The seating was chilly at first, but her body warmed it quickly. Not to mention all the warm lights the chandeliers radiated.

Turtle really should offer to duplicate this gift of diplomacy, though. Heck, she was queen, she could order him!

“Admittedly, no.” Snowfall shook her head with a smile. “But, I suppose it works out. We can decide what to do with our… guests without worrying about interception.”

“Dreamvisitors do exist, but I get you.”

“Not always reliable. One of us may be shaken awake, after all.” Snowfall pointed out. Tsunami shrugged; was a good point. “Regardless, these guests of ours… what do you make of them?”

“I do not trust Orca,” Tsunami answered directly. “She’s like me when I was younger, only far more manipulative. I think she’ll switch sides when it's convenient for her to gain something. That being said… there is genuineness about never wanting power and protecting the Sea Kingdom. I just worry about how far she’ll go.”

“I don’t envy you there.” Snowfall took another sip.

“What about Whiteout and Arctic for you?”

“I haven’t really had time to get to know them. I arrived not ten minutes before you did.” Snowfall admitted. “But, while it seems Orca is much more willing to use animus, it seems Arctic is much more… reluctant.”

“Yeah, I noticed that too. Jerboa say why?”

“No. She’s unapproachable when she gets into her research mode, so I think we’ll have an answer one way or another soon.” Snowfall smirked slightly. “Whiteout, I am… uncertain about. I think there is far, far more to her than we can ever fully know.”

“Yeah, it’s like when she looks at you, she sees both your past and future.” Tsunami shook her head. “It’s so weird!”

“She was born a day after the Brightest Night. Perhaps some of that power was absorbed in a different way?”

“I know nothing about that. I just know that if our ‘minders’ bothered to put Sunny and Starflight in the moonlight instead of hiding them away, they would have been unstoppable too.” Tsunami bristled. “Can you imagine a Sunny with those abilities? Starflight? I can’t.”

“I don’t know them as well as you.”

“Ah, true. Basically, they’re too passive to do anything. They’d sit on the powers or do mundane enchantments.” Tsunami cleared her throat. “‘I enchant all my scrolls to return neatly to their rows.’ Stuff like that.”

“Given what I know of Starflight, that makes sense.” Snowfall snickered. “But, I suppose the matter is… what do we do with them? It’ll be difficult to hide their appearance, especially Orca and Whiteout.”

“Jerboa said they’re engineered or something, right?”

“Engendered was the term, yes.”

“Right, that.” Tsunami tapped a talon on her chin. “They’re real to themselves. That’s the difficult part. They can be fake or dead or whatever, but you can’t control micro actions. I noticed Arctic immediately move to Whiteout when Orca stepped over to him. If they were static beings, that wouldn’t have happened.”

“Could have been subconsciously guided to act that way.”

“That’s very true.”

“I don’t suppose you and your friends know someone else who can help verify this?” Snowfall asked wryly. “Because between the Dragons of Destiny and the Jade Winglet, you all seem to bring home strays of all types.”

“Like the Pantalans at your door?” Tsunami laughed.

“Like them.” Snowfall smirked.

“Uhh… really, I have no idea. I’d have to ask. Two of the Winglet are here, so we can bother them I guess.”

“That, they are…” Snowfall slid a devious eye to her. “Shall we go and, as you say, bother them?”

“Ain’t got anything better to do other than watch Orca, and really, she just disappears when I try.”

***

“The nobility has changed.”

Winter glanced to Arctic, pulling himself up from his reading. He never liked fiction all that much, but there was this science-fiction scroll about the ancestors of dragons being recreated. The science was a bit wonky, but passable enough for Winter’s standards.

But, mostly, he was here to make sure that Arctic didn’t get lost or have anyone ask too many questions. According to him, the castle has and hasn’t changed. The rows of scrolls had shifted, but the room itself remained the same. Winter wasn’t surprised; IceWings in general were highly resistant to change.

“How so?” Winter figured he may as well learn more about Arctic’s time.

“Commoners are allowed into the library,” Arctic said dryly. His normal voice was that of cracking ice, so when he spoke lower, it came out as a rattling hiss. His comment came across as that much more acidic as a result. “That never happened.”

“Snowfall did destroy the Gift of Order.”

Arctic stared. “She did what?”

“A dragon’s worth is far more than anything ‘order’ can give. Every dragon has the right to prove themselves.” Winter recalled a conversation with his cousin from last year.

Arctic shut his eyes, leaning back slightly. “How does IceWing society function then!?”

“Admittedly, I don’t know all that much. I haven’t been able to keep an eye on home, as I run a mixed-tribe village called Sanctuary. Dragons who have nowhere to go are welcome there.”

Arctic cracked open an eye, staring at Winter with a chilling gaze. “Things truly have changed.”

“Two thousand years will do that.” Winter chuckled. “Two of the nobility are dating outside their tribe.”

“… Indeed.” Arctic averted his gaze.

“Foeslayer’s alive.” Winter reminded him. “Nobody is going to judge you if you wanted to get back with her again. She has Peacemaker, but as far as I know there is nobody else in her life.”

“She wouldn’t want me.” Arctic snorted dismissively. “I was not the best husband for her.”

“Maybe. But you won’t know unless you try.” Winter slanted his gaze. “I never thought I’d be dating a RainWing because of how standoffish I was. I threatened to slice my first crush’s face off. If I can change, you can too.”

“You didn’t have seven years of abuse,” Arctic answered flatly. “We are both guilty of agitating each other and worse.”

“And you’ll just give up then and there?” Winter raised a brow. “Dragons can change.”

“Hmph. Well, I am apparently supposed to be dead, so my history will not change.”

“What? That doesn’t…” Winter shook his head. “A dragon who doesn’t care wouldn’t have stepped in front of his daughter.” He gave Arctic a knowing look. The other IceWing narrowed his gaze. “I noticed it. Dragons that are cruel don’t tend to do that.”

“Two thousand years of torture… would she even want me anymore?” Arctic spoke after a moment. His hissing whisper was much more bitter, although clearly aimed at himself.

“I don’t know. You’d have to ask her.”

Silence.

“How did Darkstalker fall?” Arctic decided to ask. “We are alone now.”

“I don’t know.” Winter admitted. “I was sent away with an animus spell.”

“Your girlfriend knows, but you don’t?” Arctic raised a brow.

“I haven’t needed to ask. I trust her.” Winter frowned slightly. He knew what Arctic was getting at, and truthfully, it did bother him. But he was not going to oblige a clear turn in conversation to escape emotions.

“It is not about trust. It is about me knowing exactly what happened.” Arctic continued to press. “I have a right to know what happened to my son.”

“The son you wished would die?” Winter didn’t look at him when he made that comment.

“Think of me what you will, but I never wanted him dead.” Arctic gave him a chilling glare. “I saw what a monster he would be without restraint. And I was right.”

“And do you think that maybe some of it could have been subdued if he wasn’t raised in a broken home?”

That got to Arctic. He puffed right up, anger clear in his eyes. But, there were no words to be said. Winter had effectively lanced him with a spear and pinned him against a wall.

“… Perhaps,” Arctic, to Winter’s surprise, answered. Winter met the prince’s gaze as he looked away. “Losing Foeslayer put a lot of things into perspective.”

“I lost everything, too,” Winter said. “My friends, my family, my title. The dragon I loved, although it was to another dragon rather than what happened to Foeslayer.”

“No arranged marriages?” Arctic asked.

“I don’t think I was old, or valuable, enough for one. My siblings, yes. But I was the sacrifice.” Winter thought back to the Diamond Trials. He would have died had Hailstorm not agreed to spare him. “My family threw me into a blizzard when I was one.”

“Not even I had that.” Arctic chuckled. It was so weird to hear him laugh, as it sounded like scraping ice on the ground. Not pleasant at all. “I suppose I was too valuable, being an animus. When I finished my Gift, I suppose that would have been a different story.” He frowned, tapping his talons on the table. “Maybe I should’ve just done it and then left. But, I was told Foeslayer was going to die. I know, it’s foolish to throw one’s life away for a dragon you just met, but…”

“I did the same,” Winter said. Arctic gave him a surprised look. “Not one week after knowing my winglet, I lost everything. Granted, a lot of it was out of my control, but I still came back to them instead of trying to reestablish my rank.”

“… You and I are more alike than I realized.” Arctic mused after a moment. “Perhaps that is why I feel strangely comfortable talking to you. You are free-minded. I wish there were more dragons like us back then.”

“There probably were. After your mother, the IceWings became less strict for a while. The previous queen, Glacier, was… kind.” Winter’s claws curled. “She could not do much for me, as it was unbecoming for a queen to step into a noble’s life, but she tried. Snowfall gets a lot from her now that she has grown accustomed to the role.”

“I see.”

“If it makes you feel any better, most of the reason why I gave up everything was because of a NightWing as well.”

That got a loud, uproarious laugh out of Arctic that sounded like booming thunder before an avalanche. Some of the other dragons in the library turned to them, but thankfully did not recognize the resurrected prince. Winter’s own ears hurt from how strong it was.

“I suppose that makes sense.” Arctic shook his head. “I have heard silly nonsense such as opposites attract. There is truth to the saying, it seems.”

“I’m dating a hyperactive RainWing. I have no choice but to believe it.”

“Oh, there you two are.” Snowfall’s voice interjected before Arctic could respond. “I was wondering if we were getting a thunderstorm, only to see it was you two.”

“Yes, just us.” Winter nodded slowly.

“I need a word with you.” Snowfall gestured for him to step out of the library. “Don’t go anywhere.” She added to Arctic, who shot her a ‘where am I going to go?’ look. Once outside, Snowfall turned to Winter and spoke. “Do you have anyone that can verify the integrity of these dragons? I know your winglet brings in all kinds of dragons.”

“We have his mate,” Winter said. Snowfall shot him a questioning look. “She was in the Diamond Trial. I freed her. You weren’t here to hear that explanation.”

“And she’s not a replicant or whatever we are calling them?”

“No. She is real.” Winter affirmed quietly. “If anyone is going to know them, it’s her.”

“Right. Then we need to find her as soon as possible.” Snowfall gestured to his satchel. “Contact her via Dreamvisitor or find someone who can.”

“I know who can.” Winter glanced downward. “Just a matter of her being awake for it.”

BANG!

Both Snowfall and Winter jumped as Tsunami came bursting down the hall. The SeaWing Queen had a look of distress on her face as well as pure, unadulterated fury.

“I just spoke to Turtle. The Rain Kingdom was attacked by Vulture.” She spat out. “Half the Rain Village is ash.”

Winter paled. “I need to go get Kinkajou.”

“Find her, and I’ll make Orca take us there.” Tsunami nodded. “I’m her queen, and I know she wants answers as well as we do.”

“I’m coming too.” Arctic stepped out of the library. All three of them looked at him, confused. “If Foeslayer has a half RainWing son, there is reason to believe that she lives in the Rain Kingdom. I will not sit here and pass up this opportunity.”

“Fine, fine,” Snowfall answered with a bit of a snap. “Get your daughter, then. We may as well bring you both. Meet us in the throne room once you find them.”

***

Guilt wracked Kinkajou’s mind, holding it hostage. She avoided going anywhere near Winter lest she just burst and spill her guts. She wanted nothing more than to tell him. Yet the moment she built up the courage, the instant she went to go find Winter, she retreated.

Right now, she paced outside. If she kept it up, she would carve a path into the ground itself. Her colors were out of sync, flickering between all shades of distress.

Kinkajou couldn’t keep lying. She had to tell him. Yet it felt so much better to live in a lie. Her mind flashed back to captivity, and how nobody wanted to save her. Nobody except Glory. Only, this time the prison was her mind and her savior was Winter. Only, she saw nothing more than him throwing the key into the lava and walking away.

She couldn’t blame him. Kinkajou deserved everything and more.

“Your mind is a snowstorm.” Came a voice that caused Kinkajou to nearly leap out of her scales. Whirling around, she saw Whiteout staring there almost eerily.

“That obvious?” Kinkajou saw no reason to lie. Somehow, Whiteout would see right through it anyway.

“The hue of your scales is a dark rainbow. Clouds rain on you.” Whiteout continued, a faint frown on her face. “Brother’s shadow envelops.”

“You know what happened, don’t you?” Kinkajou averted her gaze.

“That peace is made from his demise?” Whiteout approached. “Yes. His life is anew.”

“Yeah… and it’s my fault.” Kinkajou shifted uncomfortably. “I took away his life. Death would’ve been preferable.”

“You are still azure,” Whiteout instead said. “White would be bad.”

“How can I be azure after everything?” Kinkajou couldn’t help but snap. Whiteout didn’t react. “Sorry…”

“The snow of guilt does not bury the warmth.” Whiteout took Kinkajou’s claw in hers. She was somehow both warm and cold to the touch. Very soothing, though. It’s like touching the hybrid was enough to clear Kinkajou’s mind slightly. “Kindness is colorful.”

“Is it kindness to erase someone? Even so, I changed him to half RainWing. Foeslayer didn’t ask me to do that…” Kinkajou couldn’t look at Whiteout. “It’s like changing who you are. Or me. I would rather die as myself than be anyone else.”

“You are not yourself.” Whiteout tilted her head. “Chaos and change are inevitable. The mind of dragonets die to birth adults.”

“You’re saying that we all change who we are?” Kinkajou took a moment to process what Whiteout said. Said dragon beamed back. “But I’m still in my body. I remember everything. My identity is still intact.”

“Not everything that is taken can be lost.” Whiteout shook her head, then seemed to have an epiphany. “Chaos theory.”

“What… does that mean, exactly?” That was the point where Kinkajou couldn’t follow Whiteout anymore.

“The mind remembers. The body remembers. Magic is fickle and untamable,” Whiteout said as if it were obvious. Kinkajou tilted her head. “Time tells all.”

“Umm… right…” Kinkajou didn’t know what to do with her words. “I just… I can’t tell Winter what we know. Actually, how do you know?”

Whiteout grinned impishly. It was so bizarre to see such an expression on a dragon like her. “A queen keeps secrets.”

“How do you feel about that?” Kinkajou questioned. “He’s your brother.”

“The sands snowed on his scales.” Whiteout looked at the snow. “The blizzard of torment consumed him. Ice would crack and fall. The rage must be quelled.” She returned her gaze to Kinkajou. “Too azure for death. Kindness is in your heart piece. Morality is opaque, but desire is clear.”

“Would you have done the same?”

“I do not know.” Whiteout admitted before her ears perked. “Snowy Winter approaches. You must choose to join the blizzard or fly above.”

Sure enough, running outside a small distance away was Winter. Kinkajou stole a glance back to Whiteout and wondered just how far her powers stretched. If they survived all of this, and Whiteout wasn’t going to dissolve into goo from being fake or whatever Jerboa said, Kinkajou would have to investigate further.

For now, she opened her mouth to speak to Winter, only to see a distressed look on his face. It only made her heart sink more.

“Kinkajou!” Winter skidded to a stop before her. “We have to go to the Rain Kingdom.” He explained breathlessly.

“What’s happening?” Kinkajou’s voice trembled.

“Vulture attacked.” Winter grabbed her wing talon with his, pulling her with him. “Come on, Orca’s going to take us there. You too, Whiteout; your mother lives in the Rain Kingdom.”

Kinkajou didn’t trust anything Orca had to say or do, but right now she couldn’t focus on that. Winter’s words kept reverberating in her head.

The Rain Kingdom was attacked. Winter didn’t explain further. Either he didn’t know, or he was trying to spare her. But if he was trying to spare her, why? It didn’t make sense, especially if they were already going there. Oh, Kinkajou just didn’t know. Her mind was so wracked with guilt and compounding lies that she didn’t even register she was in the throne room until she saw the others.

“Don’t worry, we’ll come back safely.” Lynx reassured Snowfall. “You make sure Jerboa doesn’t forget to eat.”

“I’m putting my trust in you, then.” Snowfall relaxed onto her throne. “Still can’t believe you talked me out of going.”

“Your kingdom needs you as well.” Lynx poked her square in the forehead. Snowfall swiped at her. “So unqueenly!”

“Are we all ready, then?” Orca’s voice cut over their talk. She looked mightily annoyed, as if pulled away from something of great interest. “Good. Try not to vomit when we get there, mm?”

At the slap of Orca’s tail, Kinkajou felt the icy chill of the Ice Kingdom give way to humid heat. What should have been a joyous ray of sun to warm her blood was instead blocked by a thick plume of smoke that billowed to the heavens. Kinkajou’s eyes widened as she took in the devastation.

It was all gone. She stood in what was the main square of the village, reduced to a smoldering wreck. The grass and ground was covered in soot and ash. The very air was hard to breathe. Kinkajou spat out a lungful of smoke, covering her mouth with her wings. Her eyes burned with both tears and smog.

A pained whimper escaped from Kinkajou as she simply… stood there. Bodies of RainWings – RainWings she knew – lay burnt around her. Some looked like they had simply went to sleep. Others were charred and burned, skeletal visages of her former friends staring back with empty eye sockets. NightWings joined them. Kinkajou couldn’t count all the bodies before everything caught up to her.

She didn’t know how, but one minute she stood with the others, and the next she was invisible in a tree. Her tail coiled around her body, and she couldn’t stop shaking the entire branch. Her throat felt sore. Did she let out a shriek? When?

“Kinkajou!” Winter’s shouted for her nearby. She looked up and saw the sparkling dragon in the sky, searching frantically. She wasn’t too far from the destroyed village. Why did she run? She didn’t remember running.

She wanted to call out to him, but her jaw locked. A crushing sense of defeat washed over her like the flames that destroyed her home. The guilty part of her mind repeated that she deserved this. She deserved to lose her home after what she did.

Kinkajou tried to fight it. But all the lies, all the guilt… it won. It finally broke her. All she could do was sit in this tree and wait for everyone to go away.

She didn’t deserve Winter. She didn’t deserve her life after she took away someone else’s the way she did. Kinkajou didn’t just kill Darkstalker, she erased him. If she’d just killed him that would be one thing but she shredded his identity.

Kinkajou purposefully avoided Hailstorm at the Ice Kingdom because of this. She could never look him in the eye knowing she gave another dragon – even one as evil as Darkstalker – the same torment he went through.

“Kinkajou.”

Winter appeared in front of her and scared the invisibility right off her. She was now a depressed blue color, and there was no hiding it from him now.

“Are you okay?” He asked softly. “You shrieked and ran off into the woods.”

“Did I?” Kinkajou responded shakily, blinking as if in a daze. “I… I don’t remember I…”

“It’s okay.” Winter landed on another branch, pulling her close. She didn’t fight him, and she found herself enveloped in his strong arms. “You looked stressed before. I shouldn’t have thrown this at you.”

“No, no, it’s…” Kinkajou couldn’t stop herself from speaking. “I deserve this.”

“Why do you deserve this?” Winter tilted his head.

“Because of what I did to Darkstalker.”

The air went cold. Kinkajou hadn’t realized what she said until that point and froze alongside the air. His grip didn’t loosen, but it was as if he turned into a statue. She couldn’t bare to look at him.

“Kinkajou…” Winter gently lifted her head so she looked at him. His face wasn’t angry, but there was a quiet suspicion in his eye. “What did you do to Darkstalker?”

Chapter Text

Winter had a sneaking suspicion something more was off when Kinkajou fled. He’d noted her distress from talking to Whiteout, and even then there was something from the night before. It was as if she were on the cusp of telling him something but something forced her not to. Be it an enchantment, guilt, or so on. Given that everyone kept asking about Darkstalker, it wasn’t hard to put two and two together.

Nobody wanted to tell him. He’d ignored it, but now that was coming back to bite.

“I… I took him away…” Kinkajou didn’t hide it. He remained silent, waiting for her to continue. “He… he… He was going to kill everyone! I saw it! I knew it! It was only because Foeslayer was there that he didn’t just… do something horrible!”

“How did you take him away?” Winter prompted. Tears had begun to flow from Kinkajou’s eyes. This was eating her alive .

He already knew the answer. But he wanted to hear it from Kinkajou.

“Foeslayer, she had an idea.” Kinkajou sniffled. “She didn’t want to kill him. Instead, she wanted to turn him back into a dragonet. I thought, okay, that’s kinder than killing him. I was four! Please don’t be mad at me!” She added quickly when Winter’s expression darkened. “I didn’t know any better! I didn’t want to kill anybody! So she had me write the spell on a scrap and enchant a strawberry to turn him back into a dragonet.”

Winter’s blood, if possible, went colder upon hearing that.

“I erased him!” Kinkajou wailed as the dam finally broke. She shuddered in his arms, each word coming out with a choking sob. “I didn’t know how bad it was until you mentioned Pyrite and Hailstorm! I didn’t know! I swear I didn’t know! I thought it was kinder than killing him! But no, I erased his very existence! Nobody deserves that, not even him!”

Kinkajou continued to shake and tremble in his arms. Winter didn’t say anything as anger bubbled to the surface. But… it wasn’t at who he thought it’d be.

“Foeslayer made you write this?” Winter asked quietly. She nodded, unable to form words. “Who else knew about this?”

“Moon, Turtle, Qibli, and Anemone were the ones who witnessed it.” Kinkajou found her voice again.

Winter’s claw twitched. “If you thought it was the right thing, why didn’t you tell me when you visited me in Sanctuary?”

“Because I knew how you were highly resistant to animus. I didn’t know the exact depth until Hailstorm came up.” Kinkajou went limp in his arms. “I didn’t know about that ‘cuz I was nearly dead from Peril’s dad. Nobody told me until you did. I swear I didn’t know!”

Winter again went quiet, letting the RainWing sob into his chest. He wanted nothing more than to lash out at her. To berate her over her actions. Yet… she didn’t know any better. And this guilt was clearly killing her for years . She regretted every second of it.

He remembered her standing over him the other night. He knew that she wanted to say something different but didn’t press it. Maybe he should have.

But again… this was Kinkajou. She had no hint of malice in her very scales. He was mad at her. He wasn’t sure if he could trust her for the moment. But he didn’t hate her like he thought he might. Nor did he really stop loving her, either. That was the weirdest part of all.

Instead, all that hatred focused somewhere else. And as luck would have it, he spied a large NightWing with her son flying toward the Rain Kingdom. He also caught a glint of golden scales from a SandWing next to her alongside another NightWing.

The universe was kind today.

“Stay here.” Winter released his hold on her.

“W-where are you going?” Kinkajou looked up at him with those tearful eyes of hers.

“I’ll be back, and we’ll finish this then.” Winter kept his voice as calm as possible. “You’re not to blame for this.”

With that, Winter ignored her cries for him to stay and flew off into the sky. His very blood pumped in his ear and clouded his eyesight in dark blue. He felt hot with rage and tenser than ever before. His old temperament crawled out of his slumber and roared to life as he focused on the object of his aggression.

Nobody had time to react before Winter slammed full speed into an unsuspecting Foeslayer. He heard her yelp of surprise. Felt something crack in her side. It made him grin, especially since he knew she was incredibly used to it.

“Winter?!” Moon shrieked with terror. “What are you doing!?”

“Silence!” Winter roared at her. She immediately shrank. “You have no right to speak to me anymore! None of you do!”

“What are you talking about!?” Qibli got right up in his face. A mistake, as Winter headbutt him away. He retreated, holding a now bloodied nose. “Winter, what…?”

“All of you lied to me for four years .” Winter snarled before focusing his hatred on a hovering Foeslayer, who held her side. She was the one he was most wary about. Sure, he got the jump on her, but now she was ready for anything he might do. “ You , however, are a pathetic excuse of a dragon and a failure of a mother.”

“Excuse me?” Foeslayer snarled.

“ You failed so badly that you had to reset everything!” Winter roared. “If that wasn’t bad enough, you couldn’t even do it yourself! You roped Kinkajou into doing your dirty work for you! Kinkajou, who couldn’t even write ! Kinkajou, whose naivety and kindness you warped to make sure she did what you demanded!”

“Oh, no…” Moon whispered.

“Don’t even speak, Moon.” Winter spat out, glaring at her. “You kept this from me, too. You trusted Foeslayer, who left me to die after I freed her , over me. Oh, did she not tell you about that? Thought not. This explains why you sent me away, too…”

“Winter, it’s not like that. We didn’t have time to specify the spell,” Qibli, still holding his nose, said.

“You left them.” Foeslayer hissed out. “Instead of staying, you went off to kill my tribe.”

“Because they were killing mine through a plague.” Winter snarled back. “My aunt died because of your son. Because you and Arctic both failed as parents, you let loose a monster that still haunts us to this day. In fact, he is right there!” Winter pointed right at Peacemaker, who was frozen in the air with stunned silence. He said not a word. “That little abomination.”

“He is not an abomination!” Foeslayer roared, moving to grab Winter. He charged frostbreath in his maw, and she backed right off. “This is why nobody told you. You react with violence .”

“This is four years of buildup. Four years of lies. Four years of being told that they feel so bad for my brother and that changing dragons is wrong, but the moment it became convenient, all of you became hypocrites.” Winter spat with enough venom to make a RainWing blush. “And the worst part is… I don’t care about what you did to Darkstalker. I hate it. I think it’s repulsive. I think you all failed as dragons. But I would have understood in time… had you trusted me .”

Winter took a deep breath, his shoulders slumping.

“You were my friends. My closest friends. And you let Kinkajou suffer alone, wracked with guilt. You let her pine after me knowing what all of you did. She now thinks that her home burning is some sort of divine punishment.” He glared at each of them. “Did any of you notice? Did any of you care about the strain she was under? Looking back, there was always this fear behind her smile. She’s braver than any of you because despite her fear, despite risking losing me… she told me the truth.”

He turned away from them.

“I guess I was right. You can never trust a NightWing.” He paused for a moment before glaring back. “Unless it has to deal with stopping Vulture, never speak to me again.”

Without giving them a chance to reply, Winter flew far, far away, if only to hide the tears of betrayal and frustration that fell down his face.

***

Hope watched the IceWing go, still holding her side. Something was definitely fractured. It hurt to breathe and each flap of her wings only intensified the pain.

It was secondary, however, to the overwhelming sense of anger that crossed her mind. How dare he ram her and then chew her out like he had any idea what it was like to make such a decision!? She couldn’t bring herself to kill her own son! Of course she had to hit the reset switch! There was no other option!

And yet… why did she feel a crushing sense of guilt over this? She did the right thing! She stopped her son! And it worked out in the end! But… maybe Winter was right about roping in Kinkajou. Yes, that was what she felt guilty about. Hope stole a glance to Peacemaker, who was trying to assess her wound. Maybe she should tell the truth about him…

But not now. Once things settled down.

“Are you okay?” She overheard Qibli ask as the blood from his nose finally stopped flowing.

“No!” Moon snapped back. “How could I possibly be okay!?”

“I know, I know.” Qibli held her in his arms as she continued to cry. “We’ll figure this out. I promise.”

“Mom.” Peacemaker interrupted Hope’s listening. “Should we go after the IceWing?”

“No.” Hope shook her head. “Don’t go after him by yourself, either. It’ll only make things worse for now.”

The lack of reaction to Winter’s explosion from Peacemaker was sure to draw attention. She had to get going before Moon and Qibli started questioning it.

As she flew toward the smoldering Rain Kingdom, more guilt began to claw at her. Winter was right; she did leave him to die when he – for some reason – decided to tackle a living fireball. Then again, she had just been tortured for two thousand years by IceWings and wasn’t feeling too sympathetic. Sure, he’d rescued her, but how was she to know it wasn’t some elaborate IceWing scheme?

And then anger came roaring back when he dared attack her parenting. He had no idea what happened in their home! The fights she had to keep everything perfect! Yes, she could have been far more understanding to Arctic. She admitted as such. But he also didn’t make things any easier!

Urgh… today was not a good day. First, she had to divert from seeing Arctic and Whiteout to stop her home from burning. Then Winter. What’s next?

The damage was worse up close. Hope snarled at the sight. The Night Village wasn’t touched as much, but the Rain… oh, it was not going to recover any time soon. Her eyes drifted to the Night Village again, and she realized a horrible implication.

This fire was not lit naturally. It only went after the RainWings. The RainWings, who ruled over the NightWings symbiotically… for now. She’d heard many muttering of discontent over the years. Deathbringer had managed to redirect it to rebuilding the old kingdom.

And now the RainWings were at a disadvantage.

Foeslayer landed on her back legs, unable to stand properly. Using her wings to keep herself balanced, she slowly walked upright through the crowd. Damn this injury… Winter was a lot stronger than she gave him credit for.

“Foeslayer?”

The one voice that could ever make her freeze did just that. It was one of surprise, shock, and… relief . Hope’s eyes drifted to the source, only to see an IceWing making his way through the crowd. Oh, she’d recognize that face anywhere. No matter how much time passed, no matter if she was old and senile… that face that started everything. The face that she fell for almost immediately.

The face that brought both misery and enough love to make her heart swell.

Arctic stood before her, his face unreadable. He immediately noticed her wound but otherwise didn’t address it. Instead, he postured himself, and strode right up to her. Hope instinctively flinched, but was surprised when a cold set of arms pulled her into the most loving embrace she’d had in years .

Arctic’s chest was buried in hers – she now stood much taller than him – and he squeezed as tightly as he could without hurting her. Hope could only stare down at him in shock. The Arctic she knew for years was never this delicate. They spat and struck at each other, even in bed.

It was never like this. Not since they ran away…

“You really are alive.” Arctic’s hissing voice was quiet. Soft. She didn’t recognize it to be his at first.

“I am,” Hope answered blankly. What else was she supposed to say? “I… I heard you were back, but…”

“I don’t know how.” Arctic pulled away, face guilty. “I just know that I have a second chance now. Losing you to my mother, I… I realized then and there just how much you meant to me all over again.”

“What do you remember?” Hope grew somewhat suspicious. She knew that deep down in his frozen heart, Arctic still loved her and Whiteout. But seeing it? Oh, that was a different story, especially with his mysterious resurrection.

“You took off the earring.” Arctic’s eyes glanced to her ear. “I realized what happened after you didn’t come home. I was on my way to the Ice Kingdom with Whiteout and then I was here.”

Right… that was what she remembered from history.

“Why were you bringing Whiteout and not Darkstalker too?” Hope questioned.

Arctic visibly flinched as guilt crawled along his face. “The hope was for her to carry the animus gene into the IceWings again in exchange for your safety.”

“You would whore our daughter?” Hope’s eyes narrowed. “And abandon Darkstalker to whatever insanity befell him? You knew he was an animus born under three moons. Why didn’t you bother to ask him to bring me back?”

“I realized my error after I had a moment’s calm. I was in a panic and this was the only solution I felt I had.” Arctic didn’t look at her.

“You are a fool.” Hope hissed out before sighing. “But I was, too. I never should have ripped off that earring. I should have known your mother would have enchanted me.”

She didn’t know what to do. She was so, so angry that Arctic would whore out Whiteout to some IceWing for her life. She would’ve suffered another two thousand years to prevent that. But as she said, Hope caused this by being so angry she’d ripped off the enchanted earring. What did she really expect?

“Mother!” Came another familiar voice as a sapphire blue head poked through the crowd. Oh, she’d recognize that face anywhere. Those eyes that often seemed to be staring off into space but somehow took in every inch of detail.

While she had some doubts over Arctic, she did not share them about Whiteout. Nobody could replicate that stare.

Whiteout rushed over to embrace, only to stop and notice her wound. Her face fell. “Winter has come for you.” Before anyone could react, she addressed Peacemaker next, who was standing with confusion off to the side. “Brother!”

“Brother?” Peacemaker questioned as Whiteout lowered her head to stare into his eyes. “Umm… hi?”

“There is much azure in you. Fitting that your name is the maker of peace,” Whiteout continued on. “I can see the other half, too. It pleases my heart piece.”

Arctic shot Hope a questioning look. She signaled for him to ask later.

“Mom?” Peacemaker looked at the two other dragons. “Who are these two dragons?”

“They are… a long story from before you were born.” Hope limped over to Whiteout, gently putting her arms around the hybrid. Whiteout returned it eagerly. “I thought they were dead, but they are my mate and daughter. Your half-sister.”

“Oh.” Peacemaker blinked, surprised. “You never told me about them.”

“Because the memory was too painful.” Hope averted her gaze. “I don’t know how, but they’re back.”

“The blizzard whooshes past us. We are outside the storm yet we are the source.” Whiteout spoke in her cryptic nature. Again, nobody could replicate that.

“Um…” Peacemaker went to interject. “What?”

“The chaos that we breathe is unfolding rapidly. We are the source, we are not.” Whiteout tapped her chin thoughtfully. “The Vulture circles us yet the wizard pulls the strings. We are all puppets.”

Yeah… this was Whiteout. No doubt about it. Which meant that Arctic was also real.

If only she could have Darkstalker here, too. Maybe then… maybe then, away from it all, in a time of peace… she could have had the life she wanted. Her gaze flickered to Peacemaker, who returned the look. But, she looked past his eyes… and met another’s. She knew what it was. Who it was.

But it was past his time. She had Peacemaker now.

“I’m not leaving you ever again.” Arctic folded his claw over Hope’s. “Never.”

That was the prince who spoke to her. Not the creature of guilt and anger that lived in her home. The prince that she loved. He still looked like that ‘creature’ and had his voice. But something behind his eyes changed.

She couldn’t say a word to express how she felt. Only that she wanted to hold onto the three most important dragons in her life now and never let them go. This was potentially a new start. A way to make amends for being the failure of a mother she was.

Only… as she thought that, Winter’s word’s came back to ram her.

She took the easy way out rather than learning from her mistakes. No more. She wouldn’t do that anymore. Hope could not erase Peacemaker, and Arctic would resist bringing Darkstalker back anyway. She had no choice but to accept what she had done and move onward.

Once this was all settled, she’d never let them go again.

***

Moon could barely focus on anything around her.

Ten minutes. That’s all it took for everything to fall apart. From seeing the devastation of her home , to Winter finding out about Peacemaker, to losing him forever. It was a horrible nightmare that only intensified and Moon couldn’t shake herself awake. Not even Qibli’s arms and wings around her could stop the chill that crawled through her veins.

Moon couldn’t be around the crowd. Too many voices, both internal and aloud. Qibli led her away, where they sat under a tree. The acrid scent of smoke burned their nostrils. The cries of anguished lovers and friends still hit their ears. Moon overheard Glory beginning to take charge and saw her mother racing back and forth. She didn’t want to interrupt, as how could this be explained?

“We’re bad friends.” Moon finally found her voice. It was dry and croaky, barely audible.

“… Yeah.” Qibli agreed after a moment. She didn’t expect him to, but at the same time, wasn’t surprised. “I was worried about this. I was just hoping we’d get a chance to explain ourselves.”

“What’s there to explain, Qibli?” Moon shot him a glare. “That we didn’t trust him? I can’t see it going much better than it did. If anything, Kinkajou telling him was probably the best outcome.”

“Maybe so, but we should’ve all done it together.” Qibli flicked a pebble away with his tail. “Peril doesn’t know, either.”

“No… no, she doesn’t.” Moon growled out. “She’s going to hate it, too.”

“Yeah, she is.” Qibli didn’t try and defend themselves here, either.

“We really took the easy way out, didn’t we?” Moon clawed the grass with her talons in frustration. “We knew about Pyrite. Sure, we didn’t write the spell, but we condoned it.” A pause. “Hope said it was the right thing. But was it really , or was she lying to herself?”

“I don’t have an answer, Moon.”

“I know you don’t!” Moon snapped at him before mumbling an apology. “I just… don’t know how to fix this. If we even can.”

“We don’t have a choice but to wait for him to process it and go from there.” Qibli rubbed her shoulders. She leaned into him. “We should tell Turtle. Kinkajou likely told Winter he was there, too. And Anemone, but they don’t really talk… still, she should be warned.”

“Turtle’s here,” Moon said. “I saw him when we were landing.”

“Oh? Well, stay here, I’ll go get him.”

Moon didn’t object. She was lost in her own little world for a moment, cursing herself and her cowardly actions. It was easier to pretend and act as if nothing happened.

What kind of friend didn’t notice the warning signs on Kinkajou? Looking back, it was so obvious! Whenever she shrank down and acted all nervous around Winter, Moon thought it to be purely love. The change was quick as soon as they got into a relationship. Kinkajou was more and more jittery and again, Moon thought it to be just anxiousness.

She wanted to go to her mom and cry in her arms all night. Yet there was no way she could bring up Peacemaker. The moment she mentioned ‘Darkstalker’, all sorts of alarms would go off and she could never do that to Secretkeeper. It just make her all the lonelier.

The only ones she could talk to were the ones involved.

The beat of wings announced the landing of Qibli and Turtle. The latter was grim faced but unsurprised.

“This is the worst time for it to happen.” Turtle let out a deep sigh. “Somehow, though… I think that was intentional.”

“What?” Both Qibli and Moon shot him a confused look.

“Our group is being torn apart now ?” Turtle shifted his eyes between them. “I was thinking something was off about the Rain Kingdom being attacked. I spoke with Glory earlier, she said Chameleon is behind this. Played it off as just hating RainWings, but…”

“Wait, hold on, you’re saying this was to get to Kinkajou ?” Qibli replied skeptically. “That is… such a reach.”

“Yeah, I don’t have a lot of the facts, but this is just too coincidental.” Turtle shook his head. “But, Chameleon did bring back the others. Whiteout and Arctic were there with Winter and Kinkajou. I know that they would have asked about Darkstalker. Maybe that wore down Kinkajou faster than normal?”

Silence.

“That is… fifth dimensional chess, my dude.” Qibli scoffed. Yet, he didn’t seem to toss it right out the window.

“He’s an animus, right?” Moon asked quietly. Both nodded. “Perhaps he enchanted himself with future sight?”

“An animus that actually uses their powers smartly? And it’s Chameleon?” Qibli flicked another pebble. “Come to think of it, screwing with Kinkajou makes sense. She did drop a rock on his head.”

“Supposedly knocked a few screws loose according to Glory.” Turtle nodded slowly. “I’ll talk to Winter. We weren’t as close as you two were, so chances are he’ll be more receptive.” He let out a hollow chuckle and looked down at himself. “Plus, I’m invincible.”

“Your insides aren’t,” Moon said worriedly.

“I’ll be fine, I promise.” Turtle reassured her. “We should try and contact Peril as soon as we can, too.” He added. “I overheard Glory mention that something happened to her, too.”

“Oh no, what?” Moon immediately lurched up.

“I don’t know. But, Vulture said we’re ‘down a player’ and that he and Chameleon knew about a ploy.” Turtle shifted uncomfortably. “I think something bad happened.”

“No… no, that’s not true. If that happened, I’d have a vision!” Moon protested, her brow furrowed. She was right. She had to be! She had visions all the time if something bad was going to happen. “She’s okay. She has to be.”

Both Qibli and Turtle looked like they wanted to say something but didn’t. She knew what it was, and it hung over them like a veil. If Chameleon can have future sight or whatever he used to predict all this… there’s no way to tell if he blocked out Moon’s visions.

They were left in total darkness. And they had no plan to counter him. Winter hated them. Kinkajou was having a mental breakdown. Peril may be dead.

Just like that… only herself, Turtle, and Qibli remained of the winglet.

Chapter Text

To say that Glory was miserable would have been the gravest understatement of anyone’s lifetime.

Somehow, though, she managed to pull through it. It was a lot of willpower – willpower she didn’t know she had, and that was saying something! – but she managed to make it through the day. The dead were not fully counted yet, but there was progress.

Grandeur was dead. Numerous other Night and Rain dragons, too. Others suffering from smoke inhalation and burns. She had no time to bring up half of the other things that happened at the Sky Kingdom, nor had she heard anything back from Queen Ruby. Truthfully, part of her was worried that Vulture was right; that Peril had indeed perished.

But there was no time to chat.

“I will gather what I can.” A NightWing that Glory hadn’t ever expected to step up said. No longer malnourished or cowering under the omnipresent eye of her mother, Greatness had had a remarkable change ever since the crisis. The scar that ran down her chest combined with the NightWing’s natural bulk had boosted her confidence, it seemed.

“Thank you, Greatness.” Glory nodded respectfully. “I mean it.”

“I know.” Greatness offered a small smile, her black eyes soft and kind. “You gave us a berth in the Rainforest. I’ll do my best to protect our tribe. Both sides of it.”

“You going to challenge Deathbringer for the throne one day?” Glory asked both out of humor, and to see just how far this newfound confidence went.

“Oh, moons no. ” Greatness shook her head vigerously. “I don’t want to rule. But as a liaison between night and rain… yes, I can do that. The NightWings still respect my nobility, and if they see me siding with you in this time, I daresay it may quell most rebellious thoughts.”

Glory was afraid of that. Vulture had clearly picked the Rain side of the kingdom, and the NIghtWings were bulkier and bigger dragons. She and her Rainguard were formidable fighters, but against about six hundred dragons, they’d be overwhelmed.

“Deathbringer is likely going to return. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the old kingdom as a result.” Glory grimaced.

“Push comes to shove, I can take over that.” Greatness offered. Glory was taken aback. “I know, I’m surprising myself, too. But after what happened… that was the wake up call I needed. I still love my tribe, and you have been a kind and generous queen. It is time I repay you.”

“Thank you, Greatness.” Glory breathed a small sigh of relief. That certainly made things easier.

The former princess bowed and left Glory, the latter finally separating herself from the crowd to get a small moment of privacy. She’d skipped her Suntime sessions for the day and was paying for it. She needed to tell Deathbringer about what happened.

Finding a secluded place in a tree, Glory held the dreamvisitor and whispered her consort’s name. He came to her moments later, a wide smile on his face. Just seeing him was enough to cause tears.

“Hey sunshine!” Deathbringer greeted with that familiar, flirtatious voice that drove her up the wall. This time, however, it was a source of comfort and she threw herself into his arms. “Whoa, unexpected. Not that I’m complaining.”

Glory said nothing, shaking in his arms as the events of today finally started to catch up with her.

“Hey, are you okay?” Deathbringer’s cheery attitude gave way to concern. “What happened? You missed suntime two times in a row.”

“The Rain Kingdom was attacked.” Glory came out and said it. Deathbringer’s ears perked up as his eyes widened. “Vulture struck without warning. Grandeur is dead, as are dozens more.”

“I’m coming back.” Deathbringer’s face hardened. “The expedition can wait. I’ll tell Starflight, too.”

“Thank you.” Glory relaxed a tiny bit as he stroked her spine. Her body instinctively reacted to the touch even in real life. “I need you here.”

“And I will be there.” Deathbringer offered a kind smile. “Chances are we’ll all be packing up and heading back, but uh… well, we got a few stragglers here.”

“Great.” Glory bristled. “Who?”

“Fierceteeth and her crew. Now, they fell in line, but there is one I am rather concerned about.” Deathbringer admitted, wincing. “Big dragon. Feel like I know him from somewhere, but can’t place it. Quiet, as if he’s studying everything. Fierceteeth says his name is Vision.”

“That’ll be a problem for later. Right now, Greatness is trying to get the NightWing side of the kingdom under control in case of rebellion.”

“Greatness is doing something? Jeez, that attack must’ve been something…” Deathbringer was just as surprised as Glory. “We’ll try and be there in the next few days. Can’t just leave the boat here and all, but I’ll fly there with Starflight and Fatespeaker.”

Glory nodded. “It’s bad, Deathbringer. Chameleon is an animus and is behind the resurrections. Kestrel, Prince Arctic, Whiteout, and Orca are the ones he brought back. Said that there was a fifth, too.”

“For the love of… alright, alright. We’ll deal with it when we can all meet together.” Deathbringer let out an exhausted sigh. “I gotta go get everyone together. I’ll be in touch. Stay safe, okay? I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

The rest of suntime was fitful, but she managed to catch up on the time she missed. By the time she returned, evening had begun to set in, and makeshift huts were constructed. With the Queen’s pavilion destroyed, Glory would have to stay in the Night Village in Greatness’ home. She’d been there a few times; it was rather grand for a building of wood.

“Glory.” Tsunami approached from behind. She had a haggard look on her face, but there was compassion and sympathy in her voice. “How are you doing?”

“How do you think?” Glory snapped back. Then, she sighed. “Sorry. I know you’re worried.”

“Uh, duh.” Tsunami wrapped a wing around her. Glory instinctively flinched but allowed the touch. “The Sea Kingdom will do what it can to help.”

“Right, you’re queen.” Glory somehow forgot this fact. “Moons above, you’re queen…” She added with exasperation.

“You say it like it’s a bad thing.” Tsunami frowned.

“I never pictured you as queen. Then again, I never pictured myself to be queen, much less of two tribes.” Glory sat down in a secluded part of the village. “Funny how life turns out.”

“No kidding. This year has been one heck of a ride and I want off.” Tsunami wore a scowl that cut deep into her face. “This is too much, even for me.”

“Well, four years of peace. Guess that was too much to ask for.” Glory’s wings fell to her side. “I dreamvisited Deathbringer. He’ll be here within the next day or two, hopefully.”

“Are you going to explain what a dreamvisit is?” An unfamiliar SeaWing marched up to them. She was big and reminded Glory a bit of Tsunami in stature. The moment that revelation hit, Glory realized that this was Orca. “Because I keep hearing about it and nobody has bothered to tell me what it is.”

“We can contact each other through dreams with this.” Tsunami held up the star-shaped object. Orca raised a brow at it. “What?”

“Dreams? Really?” Orca gave her a deadpan look. “What happens if they’re not asleep.”

“Well, you can’t contact them.” Tsunami stated as if it were obvious.

“Give me that.” Orca snatched the dreamvisitor from Tsunami’s claws. “Enchant any and all future Dreamvisitors to allow communication regardless of someone being asleep or awake.” She gave it back to Tsunami. “Critical problem solved. Try it out if you don’t believe me.”

Right… Orca was an animus. Glory’s eyes narrowed as Tsunami used it to contact Riptide. “Orca, you can reverse the damage Vulture did.”

“No, I can’t.” Orca immediately shot her down. “Well, no, I can if you want me to be useless for about a week.”

“Explain?” Tsunami gestured for her to continue, putting away the Dreamvisitor. “It works, by the way. Nearly knocked Riptide out of the sky when he heard my voice in his head. He’s on his way here.”

“None of you know how animus works, do you?” Orca let out an exasperated sigh. “I don’t blame you. I had to dig deep for this.” She sat down before them. “Right, so first thing’s first; animus is not an unlimited source of power that you can do whatever with. Not without drawbacks.”

“Albatross, right?” Glory remembered hearing stories of the former SeaWing prince.

“Somewhat.” Orca shrugged. “Point is, animus is based on willpower. My will is strong, but it is also like flexing a muscle. If I tax it too much, it rebounds. I could fix this village, yes, but then I would not be able to use any enchantments for some time. Animus has a mind of its own and dominance is the key factor of it. If you drain your willpower, it will overtake you. Do you want another mad animus running around? No? Didn’t think so.”

“So, Albatross’ will ran out and he went insane?” Tsunami asked for clarification.

“He found out that his wife, Waterlily, had been killed by Queen Lagoon and that revelation broke his willpower.” Orca let out a scowl that eerily reminded Glory of Tsunami. “That is animus untamed. It is wild, it is chaotic. But it is neither good nor evil. It simply… is . And that is why animus users must remain vigilant lest it consume them.”

“And fixing my village will tax this willpower of yours?” Glory didn’t know if Orca was lying or not. It sounded logical, but she remembered how scheming this SeaWing was.

“Considerably. I am making new material. That doesn’t come from nowhere, you know.” Orca tsked. “Enchanting existing objects such as the dreamvisitor and even myself do not tax me much. Even my statue was pre-existing.” Glory noted Tsunami slanted her eyes at the mention of the statue. “Yet, the larger the object, the heavier the toll. Creating something from thin air? Even more willpower is drained from concentration.”

Orca pointed her wing to the village. “Now, I ask you this. Do you want me to expend all my willpower for the foreseeable future to fix a village that may simply be burned to the ground again? Or do you want me to save it so we may have a stronger strike at ones behind this?”

Glory growled lowly. That was a sick choice, but if Orca was to be believed, it wasn’t done from sheer malice. It was the age old question of ‘fight the symptom or the cause’. In this case, the symptom was cleansing the fire damage.

She looked to the scorched food supply instead. Buildings could be replaced. Food, however…

“Fix the gardens.” Glory said to Orca. “We’ll need the supplies.”

“Interesting… I believe I can do that, yes.” Orca smiled in a way that made Glory a tad uncomfortable. “I’ll be unable to cast anything large for a little while, but I figure you need rest as it is already.”

Glory followed the SeaWing princess to the former gardens, watching as the scorched land became lush with life. It wasn’t as big as before, but it would suffice. She had half a mind to get Peacemaker on this; he’d make all the strawberries grow much bigger.

“They won’t wither away and there will always be fresh fruit whenever it is needed.” Orca held her head, exhaustion on her face. “My treat.”

“Thank you, Orca,” Tsunami said before Glory could.

“Why must you sound so surprised whenever I do something kind?” Orca turned to her with amusement. “I’m not evil, you know.”

“You killed my sisters. You’ll have to forgive me if I have a bias,” Tsunami answered flatly.

“Yes, yes, we’ve been over this. We’ll deal with it after this threat is over.” Orca looked just as pleased as Tsunami was at that moment. “That means you can stop hovering over me. I know better than to make enemies of two queens.”

“Until I’m certain I can trust you not to do that, you’re going to have to deal with it. Like it or not, I am your older sister now.” Tsunami responded with a satisfied smirk. Orca rolled her eyes and ruffled her wings before stalking off.

“It is incredibly like you to just antagonize an animus.” Glory said dryly. “She could turn you into one of these melons if she desired.”

“Well, if she does, I win. And she knows that.” Tsunami’s smirk widened. “All that talk of willpower… that was also to get at me. She’s telling me indirectly that she will not be intimidated.”

“Do you think her explanation is true?” Glory ate one of the fruits from the garden. It was perfectly ripe. She then called over some dragons to help distribute the food.

“She’s not a liar, that’s one positive thing I can say about her.” Tsunami tried one of the melons herself. Considering she took another bite, Glory surmised she enjoyed it. “I think she believes what she says. Whether or not it is the truth about animus is anyone’s guess.”

“Speaking of animus…” Glory approached Tsunami, speaking lowly. “We have an issue with the Jade Winglet.”

“Oh moons, what now?” Tsunami slapped a claw to her face.

“I overheard Foeslayer talking to Arctic. Whiteout said Winter attacked her. Moon is horrifically depressed. Both Qibli and Turtle are in distress. Kinkajou’s gone, and if Winter went off the deep end… we have many, many problems. And to top it all off, Peril may be dead.”

“Anything else? Did Starflight go blind again? What about Clay’s leg?” Tsunami asked with exasperation. “You turn your back for five minutes…”

“We cannot afford this,” Glory said snappishly. “I don’t care what we have to do, I will not tolerate this nonsense in my kingdom.”

“No, I agree. I’ll act like their headmistress again if I must.” Tsunami fiddled with her pearl necklaces. “Plus, we’re both queens. They gotta listen to us.” She added cheekily.

“Push comes to shove we’ll send in Sunny and Clay. If they won’t listen to us, they’ll surely listen to them .”

“I haven’t seen Sunny mad in a hot minute. I don’t think they’ve ever seen her mad. Clay either.” Tsunami chuckled. “You got any idea what this is all about?”

“I do.” Glory recalled what Moon had told her when Foeslayer and Peacemaker first came to the Rain Kingdom. “What do you remember of Darkstalker’s fall?”

***

Turtle was able to locate Winter and Kinkajou some time later. Truthfully, he waited a bit before going to talk to them. Winter had a temper, and Kinkajou was a skittish dragon when upset. If they’d gotten any form of rest, this would go a lot smoother.

They were located on the outside of the makeshift camp that had been set up. Upon his approach, Winter snapped his head to Turtle, eyes slitting. He did not make any hostile movements, mostly because Kinkajou raised her head and didn’t seem distressed.

“I know you know.” Turtle thought it best to just come out and say it.

“Then unless you have anything about Vulture, you can leave.” Winter hissed out dangerously.

“I didn’t know it happened either until it was done.” Turtle stated. Kinkajou raised a brow. “I wasn’t in the cave, remember? All of you came out with Foeslayer and Peacemaker. Even if you didn’t tell me and Anemone, we’d figure it out on our own.”

“Is this true?” Winter turned to Kinkajou. Turtle could tell he was quite upset with the RainWing, but his love for her was stronger right now.

“I… I don’t remember everything about that clearly,” Kinkajou admitted, fins drooping. “I just remember Darkstalker asking his mother why this happened.”

“Yeah, that would be traumatic.” Turtle sat down where he was. “Winter, Qibli and Moon were about to tell you what happened before Kinkajou did.”

“Really? Then why aren’t they here to collaborate?” Winter scoffed.

“Because you just rammed Foeslayer and broke her rib. I’m impossible to hurt,” Turtle answered flatly. Winter grimaced at that. There wasn’t any regret on his face, however. “They told me everything they wanted to do. Qibli had a nightmare about Darkstalker forcing his will onto him. Moon felt nothing but guilt. Which leads me to think that this was all a set up.”

“How in the stars was this a set up?” Winter demanded accusingly.

“Whiteout talked to you before this happened, didn’t it?” Turtle turned his attention to Kinkajou, who nodded slowly. “Think about it. Both Arctic and Whiteout show up to Kinkajou . They start asking questions. Her will breaks, and she tells you in the worst way possible; by having a meltdown over it. You get mad. The winglet is separated.”

“Are you saying that those replicants did this purposely?” Winter went to stand up, only to have Turtle shake his head. “Then what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that Chameleon – that’s the animus behind all of this – must have somehow figured out an idea of what happened. He has a grudge against Kinkajou, too. Really, everything’s becoming clearer now.” Turtle closed his eyes and let out a sigh. “My sister is one of the most formidable warriors on the planet. She is constantly looking after Orca. Peril is a fireball and could easily disrupt any and all plans. She now has to worry about her mother. By shattering the winglet that outsmarted him, he knows he can move ahead.”

“He’s too stupid for that. There’s no way he can just…” Kinkajou furrowed her brow, looking more lively than she was a moment ago. “Unless he really lost it, which I guess he did.”

“No idea what his endgame is or what Vulture has to gain from it, but that’s the most logical conclusion.” Turtle nodded curtly.

“Even if this was a ploy, it seriously puts into perspective where I stand with my former friends.” Winter all but spat out. “I remember Moon defending Darkstalker as he was committing genocide on my tribe . And then everyone called me the asshole because I got angry and smashed a vase . Oh, and how can we forget that Qibli decided to make a joke about hypnotizing me into liking him right after I was under animus control. They all knew about Hailstorm and still condoned the action. Kinkajou did not. That is why I am not as angry with her as I am with them , because while she kept this a secret, she acted with no malice or hypocrisy.”

“And me?” Turtle asked pointedly. “I had no part in this other than being told.”

“… You also did not know about Hailstorm.” Winter shut his eyes, taking a breath. “If what you say is true, and that you and Anemone did not find out until after it was done… then I cannot blame you.”

“Oh, there you three are.” Heavy wingbeats announced the presence of Tsunami. “Good, you aren’t going to kill each other. Before you say anything, Glory just told me what happened.”

“ SHE KNEW!?” Winter roared out with enough fury to shake the trees. “She wasn’t even involved!”

“Yeah, well, when you have little Darkstalker in your rainforest, not telling the queen is a bad idea.” Tsunami held her ear. “I’m a queen, by the way, so don’t raise your voice at me again. Even if I completely understand why you’re mad. Really, I’d do the same as you, but we need to nip this in the bud right now .”

“I already said that I’d work with the others to stop Vulture and Chameleon. I want nothing to do with them otherwise,” Winter said more neutrally.

“Good, because we got a group meeting, and we’re not tolerating any amount of that nonsense.” Tsunami shook her head. “I’m not belittling your feelings, by the way, because boy am I pissed . I can’t control what you do after this, nor am I going to get you a ‘get along’ scarf. But can I trust you not to make spiteful comments?”

“I will restrain myself the best I can.” Winter promised lowly.

“Alright, then follow me.”

Tsunami led them to a secluded platform up in the trees. Really, the perfect suntime spot. Must have been Glory’s. It was big enough to hold everyone, and to Turtle’s mild surprise, Sunny and Clay joined the RainWing queen up there. An even greater surprise was Anemone sitting alongside Qibli and Moon. It felt like their whole group was getting together… but, Winter decidedly sat the furthest away from them all and Kinkajou joined him.

Turtle opted to sit in the middle and act as a mediator if needed.

“Alright, we clearly have a crisis on our claws, so I’m not going to mince words.” Queen Glory paced before them. “Peril’s missing. We haven’t heard anything from Queen Ruby. We need to get on top of that immediately , so a group of you are going to the Sky Kingdom led by Clay.”

“Another group is going to follow Sunny to the Sand Kingdom and get Queen Thorn up to speed and help her scour the desert for any clues.” Tsunami spoke next. “We’ll also need someone to watch the replicants.”

“I’ll go to the Sand Kingdom.” Qibli volunteered.

“I figured you would.” Sunny smiled gently. “Moon?”

“Yeah.” Moon’s voice was barely audible.

“I’ll find Peril.” Winter announced to them. Turtle strongly suspected he was going in order to tell Peril what transpired first.

“Kinkajou, are you up for any form of traveling?” Glory asked in a softer tone. She nodded quietly. “Alright. I’ll let you decide what you want to do.”

“Turtle, you can either go with them, or you can stay and watch the replicants.” Tsunami turned to him.

“I’ll watch them,” Turtle said. Really, he didn’t want Anemone to have to deal with Orca or Arctic by herself.

“By replicants, I mainly just mean Arctic and Whiteout, because I know Orca is watching us as we speak and she’ll insist on doing something.” Tsunami continued with some exasperation. “May as well take her with me and Anemone back to the Sea Kingdom and set up a Queen’s Council.”

“No.” Orca, sure enough, landed in front of her. “I will not be your retainer. I will be researching more into animus. And that means going back to the Ice and Sea Kingdoms to gather what I need. The Sand Kingdom also had Jerboa, so I will need their records.” She turned to Turtle. “Meaning that I’ll also need animus, both former and current.”

“On the subject of animus, why can’t you just make us all animus and we can solve this in about two minutes?” Anemone brought up the question Turtle was praying nobody would.

Orca let out an exasperated sigh at the same time as Tsunami before speaking. “Because being born with animus acclimates the body. Artificially created animus tends to leave the wielder prone to more… destructive tendencies and a lack of self-control.”

Turtle stared directly at Anemone right after that. She caught his eye and turned away indignantly. It… certainly explained Anemone’s sudden shift in personality at times.

“I can restore animus to those who lost it, however.” Orca shifted her gaze between them. “I daresay we may need it.” She whirled on Tsunami, who opened her mouth to speak. “I’m not going to place a hidden enchantment on them, my queen . Stop hovering over me like mother.”

Turtle thought back to his conversation with Kinkajou. He did say he’d bring back his animus powers if it meant solving it… but he really didn’t want them even after all this time. The fact that there would be animus running wild again bothered him and it bothered him a lot.

He’d have to be that much more responsible. He’d have to keep Anemone in check before she became an enemy again.

“Animus is a crutch and causes only misery,” Winter spoke flatly, eyes slanted with barely restrained anger.

“Animus is a tool.” Orca countered. “Do you wish to fight this threat with one wing tied? Or do you want to get this over and done with so we can move on with our lives?”

“What’s the point if we cannot even track down Vulture and Chameleon with it?” Winter snarled back.

“… Has your brain melted? Because there is a lot of utility we can utilize it for. Granted, I can’t enchant all of you to be invincible because too many animus enchantments on a non-animus has the same result as artificially creating one.” Orca added as an aside as everyone continued to look at her. “Seriously? Nobody bothered to research animus? Must I be the sole voice of reason and exposition here?”

“We can super power Turtle.” Qibli joked after a moment. “He’s already invincible.”

“Is he? Well, good, he can help me with the replicants. I’ll need them for research.” Orca smiled in a way that made Turtle uncomfortable. “This… Jerboa character also knows a lot. Her and I can figure out a solution.”

“We’re wasting time.” Winter snarled again. “Figure out something and let’s get this over with.”

“Can you teleport us to where Queen Ruby and Peril are?” Clay asked Orca.

“Yes, finally, let us get this show started.” Orca nodded curtly. “Now, how did the groups go again?”

Chapter Text

Clay felt himself whoosh away from the Rain Kingdom to the more chillier atmosphere of the Sky Kingdom. His claws were on rock, and he stood before a cave entrance. Almost immediately, someone bumped into him. His stature made it impossible for him to be knocked over, especially when the one who walked into him was a SkyWing.

“What the?” The SkyWing shook his head with confusion, holding his nose.

“Sorry.” Clay apologized. “Where’s Queen Ruby?”

“Right here.” The Queen herself answered as uneven clawsteps came from behind Clay. Turning around, he saw that the Queen was heavily injured, with burns on her front covered by bandages. The sickly sweet aroma of plant-based ointment filled the air. One of her eyes was shut, a nasty cut above it.

“What happened?” Clay positioned himself as seriously as possible as both Winter and Kinkajou began investigating the rubble behind them. The cave entrance was collapsed by tons of rock, and while the SkyWings had made great progress, it would be ages before they got through.

“I don’t know.” Queen Ruby hissed out as she took Turtle’s rock, most of her wounds healing. “One moment, Peril and Sky went into the cave to rescue Cliff. The next, there was an explosion that knocked myself and Kestrel out.”

“Chameleon set up a trap.” Clay remained as calm as he could. Truthfully, his heart was pounding with worry. “He expected us to split up and devised a trap to take out Peril if she tried this.”

“How did he know this?” Queen Ruby snarled.

“Animus.” Winter approached, his expression dark. “We are dealing with someone who can and will exploit the loose rules of animus.”

“I’m going to assume that is how you three arrived so quickly?” Queen Ruby eyed them.

“Yeah. Tsunami’s resurrected sister kept her powers.” Clay explained briefly. Queen Ruby raised a brow but said nothing. “Have you heard anything from down there?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I don’t suppose you have something to contact?”

“Yeah.” Clay pulled out his Dreamvisitor. According to Tsunami, they didn’t need to be asleep or in a drowsy state to communicate anymore. Saying Peril’s name, he called out mentally to her.

Silence.

Another minute passed, and Clay grew increasingly worried. This time, he tried Sky. He’d met him, so they should be able to talk.

“ Huh? ” Came a voice in Clay’s head. “ Who’s there?”

Clay sighed with relief. “Sky, it’s me, Clay. What’s going on?”

“I can’t move, ” Sky answered with panic. “I can’t feel my legs, either… it’s dark down here. I can’t hear Peril.”

Clay’s stoic stance gave way slightly. “I can’t contact her, either. What about Cliff?”

“Cliff’s alive. I heard him trying to wake Peril. I can’t raise my voice to talk to him.” A pause. “What’s going on up there?”

“We’re trying to get you out.”

“Oh… good. I don’t know how much longer we can stay down here.”

CRACK! Clay jolted as the sound of rock splitting echoed through the night. He saw that Winter had frozen a few boulders and the SkyWings were shattering them. Kinkajou’s venom was also melting through the rocks, but at this rate, it’d be days before they broke through.

There was no way they could get them in time. Not unless Clay could wake up Peril and get the twins to firescales themselves out.

Grip tightening around the dreamvisitor, Clay once again called out to Peril.

***

Peril, wake up! Please!

“Five more minutes…”

You’re dying. You have to wake up!

Dying? Weird. Why was she dying? She was… wait where was she? Her room at Jade Mountain was dark, but not this dark! Nor so cold…

Peril, the three of you are going to die if you don’t burn your way out. You have to find Sky. He’s nearby.

Three of us? Why was… wait. Something was wrong. She felt something warm and sticky all over her body as it shuddered to life. She became aware of sharp, shooting pain in her body that threatened to tear her scales and muscles to shreds. The weight of stone on her chest constricted her breathing.

Opening her eyes slightly, she could see only darkness.

“Peril?” Cliff’s voice came from beside her.

“Cliff?” Peril searched wildly for the prince. “What happened? Where are we?”

“Under a mountain in the middle of a cave in.” Cliff explained with notable relief. “You and Sky came down and then there was an explosion.”

Right… she remembered now. She tried to move, only to have her lower body pinned. Using the glow of her firescales, she was able to see that the rock pinning her was partially melted. She could move it if she applied a bit more strength to it.

However…

“If I move this rock, is the rest going to tumble down on us?” Peril asked the prince.

“I haven’t the faintest.” Cliff shuffled slightly. “All I know is that if we don’t try anything, we’ll run out of air and die anyway.”

That was a fair point. “Alright. Here goes nothing.”

Pushing upward in the awkward angle she lay in, the rock turned to putty in her claws. The moment the pressure lifted however, wracking pain rippled through her form and forced her to drop it. A loud gasp escaped her as both the rock and pain struck her. The good news was that she could feel her legs again. The bad news was that something was stabbing her shin.

“You’re bleeding…” Cliff whispered worriedly.

Sure enough, a pool of dried blood stained the ground underneath her. Multiple wounds reopened from her exertion. Peril felt very faint in that moment. It felt like something was stabbing her heart with each beat!

“Can’t do anything about it.” Peril snarled and pushed the rock off her. With her fiery hue lighting up the cave, she was able to see that her leg was pinned under more rocks. Thankfully, much smaller. She could melt them without much effort, especially since being in contact with her already softened them. Freeing her leg, a bloodied shard of rock penetrated deep.

Removing it would be bad. She remembered Clay’s lessons. Yet standing on it was impossible. Urgh… she’d have to cauterize the wound, but she was immune to her own flame. It wouldn’t work.

And if she wanted to save her strength…

“Sky!” Peril shouted, her voice cracking from how dry her throat was. “Are you alive?!”

There was the faint sound of tapping to her right. It wasn’t rock settling; no, it was too erratic for that. Unfortunately, moving the rocks that pinned her twin was likely to cause a cave in.

“Let me.” Cliff wiggled as close as he could to her. Peril noted multiple burns on his body. He caught her looking. “You threw yourself in front of me to protect me from the flame. We collided briefly. I’ll live.”

Cliff was putting on a brave face. He acted like a noble and never showed his emotions, but the damage she’d inflicted was… bad. Some of his scales were gone. The flesh was blistered. There was doubtlessly more that she couldn’t see.

At least he was alive…

Cliff moved some of the smaller pieces of rubble away, allowing a small hole to be made.

“Peril?” Sky’s voice came from the other side. It was weak and hoarse, but he was alive.

“Sky, reach your claw through the hole.” Peril barely restrained her relief. “If I ignite you, we can get out of here.”

Sky’s claw met her halfway. It was bloodied, and worry briefly overcame her. Yet, she didn’t have a choice. Grabbing it, blood sizzled as his body ignited. Their combined glow was enough to illuminate the area as they melted the rocks to get some breathing room.

Much like her, Sky was a beaten and bloody mess. The two embraced, her tremoring. They didn’t say a word, simply being in each other’s embrace.

“I think we’re near the hole you two came down from,” Cliff said. Getting a better look at him, Peril saw that the left side of his body was singed. It wasn’t as bad as the darkness made it seem, but it was still nasty.

“We got blown forward, right?” Peril asked him. He nodded. “Alright… if we follow the explosion…”

“Peril, you’re injured really bad.” Sky interjected as she tried to figure out where to go. “Like, really bad.”

“So are you.” Peril eyed him.

“No, I mean, you have dark spots all under your scales. I remember Wren saying something about internal bleeding, which was weird because your blood should be in you. But you’re all dark beneath the neck.”

Peril looked at herself. Sure enough, with the better lighting, she was able to see dark purple underneath her chest and stomach. She knew her ribs were messed up but…. Oh, this was bad. How was she still alive?

No time to worry about it. They were running out of air, and they were so close to the exit.

After what felt like hours, a faint hint of light hit them. The hole they’d burned down was there. Part of it was collapsed, but it was negligible compared to what they just had to move.

Only problem was that Peril couldn’t fly. Oh, she tried. Her wings flapped, but the moment they did, wracking pain floored her. Sky wasn’t in that shape, and neither was Cliff. They could get out.

“We’re not leaving you down here.” Cliff shook his head.

“You literally just have to fly up and get help.” Peril waved him off.

“Yeah, but you’re so injured. Leaving you here…” Sky began to protest as well.

“Waiting with me isn’t going to make me recover any quicker.”

That seemed to cut through their nonsense. Cliff followed Sky out, and the moment they went out of sight, all of Peril’s strength vanished. She fell to the side, all of her injuries catching up. She stared up at the light, which only seemed to grow brighter and brighter as her vision dimmed.

She felt oddly comfortable on the stone. Weird. She usually hated it these days. Oh well. A light nap… that’s all she needed. Yeah, just a light nap, and then she’ll be reignited…

***

Clay heard noise from the other side of the collapse. His pace quickened, striking the rocks Winter had frozen to great effect. His own body was starting to wear out, even with a copy of Turtle’s rock. Sure, his muscles weren’t tiring, but his bones were shaking and he was pretty sure he had a fracture now.

“Hello!?” Cliff’s voice was raised to an almost musical tenor, allowing him to be heard through the rubble.

“Cliff?” Clay shouted back. Queen Ruby perked right up at that. “Is that you?”

“Yes!” Cliff’s voice carried through the rock. “Sky’s with me! He’s burning through what he can before his firescales run out!”

Run out? “Where’s Peril?”

“She’s… we had to leave her! She’s not good, Clay.”

Alarm raced through Clay’s body. “What do you mean?”

“She’s dying.”

“How much longer is it going to take to get through?” Queen Ruby demanded of the excavation workers.

“At this rate, about another ten hours.” One of the SkyWings answered. “Even with this shattering, it’s slow going.”

Queen Ruby grimaced. “And there is no way to speed up the process?”

“No, my queen. The workers can only do so much.”

“Is there another path?” Winter shouted into the rubble.

“There’s a small hole further back, but we can’t get through that way!” Cliff responded with increased worry.

Winter’s eyes slanted. “Can you send a signal of sorts as to where it is?”

“What are you planning?” Queen Ruby asked the IceWing.

“If there’s another path, we can potentially get through that way.” Winter turned to her. “Cliff is large for a dragonet, right?”

“Tall, yes.”

“There is one we can send down if that’s the case.” Winter turned to Kinkajou, who had a sullen look on her distracted face. Once everyone turned to her, she snapped back to life.

“What?” Kinkajou shifted her gaze between them.

***

Kinkajou was lost in a storm of thoughts for the longest time. Her venom had run out and really, it wasn’t doing that much anyway. Winter and Clay were doing much more progress than her. All she could do was sit there. It’s all she was good for, anyway.

Her thoughts were a mess. She’d forgotten that Turtle wasn’t there at Peacemaker’s inception. Were there more things that she missed? No… no, she had a pretty good idea of how it went. Foeslayer had approached her because Darkstalker couldn’t see her. Yes, that’s how it went.

It had to be how it went…

So when everyone turned to her, she didn’t know what was going on.

“What?” Kinkajou suddenly felt very small and afraid under their gaze.

“You’re smaller than Cliff,” Winter said. Where did this come from? “If there is another entrance, you can potentially get in.”

Oh. “Um… I’m not sure if I’m the right dragon for that.”

“You’re the only dragon for this.” Winter approached her, his hard eyes looking down at her. She could feel his judgment. His anger. He was keeping it restrained, of course, but she felt like if she didn’t do what he said… she’d lose him.

As if reading her mind, his face softened slightly and he lifted her head so she had to look at him.

“This is not the time for self-doubts,” Winter spoke quietly. “We need you here, with us, and not in the past. When we get a moment alone, we’ll deal with it, but right now you’re the only one who can help Peril.”

“How do you know?” Kinkajou averted her eyes. “I may not be able to fit.”

“Stop,” Winter said firmly. “We won’t know until we try. And if we can make a hole for you to fit in, you can give Peril this.” He gave her Turtle’s rock. “Cliff says she’s in really bad shape. Every second we waste, she gets closer to death.”

“If this was your attempt to calm me, that was poor.” Kinkajou glowered at the rock before taking it. “Shoulda led with it.”

“Kinkajou…” Winter held a grimace on his face.

“Stop. We have to save Peril. I’ll… deal with this after.” Kinkajou shook her head. She knew she was being irrational and snappy. Yet her emotions were just so all over the place and she had no idea how to control them.

She followed Winter, Clay, and the Queen to this other entrance. However, another dragon joined them shortly, one that made Clay incredibly uncomfortable. She looked grumpy and like she’d bite the head off anyone who dared look at her funny.

There was also an uncanny resemblance to Peril.

“I thought I ordered you to rest,” Queen Ruby said to this new dragon.

“I will do no such thing anymore.” The new dragon responded with a flat, barely restrained tone. “Especially if it involves sending a RainWing to rescue Peril and Em - Sky .”

Kinkajou took note of how she said RainWing but was far more fascinated by the revelation that smacked her like a trout to the face. This was their mother! Who was dead and she guessed not now! Meaning that this was this Kestrel that she heard Glory complain about a lot.

Well, Glory was fairly accurate so far…

“Yeah, well, this RainWing has done a lot of death defying things!” Kinkajou shot back indignantly. She needed to relieve this frustration and someone being rude was a good opportunity. “Just watch me! I’ll bring them back, and then I’ll expect a ‘thank you, Kinkajou, forgive me for doubting you’!”

Kestrel gave her a cold glare. “We’ll see.”

The hole in question was tiny indeed. Kinkajou could poke her head in, but just barely. Hard rock prevented it from being widened too much. Even if Winter did that freeze and smash technique, it had the added risk of a cave-in. So, the best they could do was pull and break rock to allow Kinkajou to slither in like a snake. Before she did, Queen Ruby gave her the firescales necklace, as Peril had given it to her before taking off to save Cliff.

Sky and Cliff awaited her, the former still emitting a bit of firescales. Cliff was horrifically burned. Luckily, Turtle’s rock was able to heal most of the burns. Some of the deeper wounds would have to heal the normal way.

“She’s down there.” Cliff pointed down the large hole. Sure enough, Kinkajou could spy a fiery glow down at the bottom. Hopefully that meant she was still alive.

Without a second thought, Kinkajou dove down and landed near Peril and it was just as bad as expected. Placing the firescales necklace on her, her scales dimmed and Kinkajou was able to tell she breathed, however barely. Gently placing the rock, some of the discoloration disappeared, but it was not enough to wake her. Nor was it enough to completely heal her wounds. Luckily, the shrapnel in her leg was cured, as she’d bleed out almost immediately if it didn’t.

Sky and Cliff were able to carry her up, where the issue now became ‘how do we get out?’.

“Remove the necklace.” Cliff suggested. “If touch is all you need for firescales, then you can use it to burn your way out from here.”

Sky nodded as the necklace was once again removed, causing them both to glow. From below, it was much safer to push outward with the flames, and after a few moments they were all free.

Immediately, Cliff was snatched up by his mother. The prince looked heavily embarrassed, but did not protest the affection. Clay was much the same with Peril, taking her into his claws and putting the necklace back on her. Sky just about collapsed from exhaustion, even with Turtle’s rock restoring his muscles.

“How bad is it?” Kestrel asked as she stood over her daughter.

“Bad,” Clay answered honestly. “She has internal bleeding and crush syndrome. She should be dead.” He let out a small chuckle. “Then again, Peril’s too stubborn to die.”

“How do you know all that?” Kestrel demanded.

“I studied medicine. Far from an expert but I know a lot more than the average dragon.” Clay spread his wings. “We need to get her to a doctor right now.”

“There’s a few down by the entrance.” Queen Ruby leaped into the air. “Follow me.”

“Not even a thank you…” Kinkajou frowned as they took off, leaving her alone with Winter. “Glory was right. She’s a mean old hag.”

“Reminds me of Icicle.” Winter mused quietly. Kinkajou slid him a questioning eye. “Frosty and cold on the surface, but clearly cares deep down.”

“Well, I’ll wait to see that.” Kinkajou said with a ‘hmph’.

“Thank you, by the way.” Winter turned to her. “You went in without a second thought.”

“Well duh, I wasn’t going to leave Peril down there!” Kinkajou rolled her eyes before scowling. “Do you think that little of me now that this is surprising?”

She didn’t know why she said that. She wished she didn’t. Winter recoiled as if she’d slapped him. Oh, it hurt Kinkajou in ways that she didn’t know she could hurt.

“No, it’s not that.” Winter averted his gaze. “This selfless nature of yours is why I haven’t left you.”

Kinkajou softened at his words. “… Do you really mean that? Even after…?”

“I’ve said before that you always tried to find the peaceful route. Was it wrong what you did? Yes, and you realize it is. But you had good intentions at heart and that has never changed.” He let out a small huff. “I’m angry. I’m not sure if I can forgive it, and I’ll have a hard time trusting again after you lied to my face for years.”

Kinkajou’s fins drooped at that, her scales turning a dark purple.

“But I am willing to give you another chance because of who you are.” Winter slowly approached. “You took the time to understand and be my friend nor did you justify Darkstalker to me.” He added with a small snarl. “No, you wear your heart on your scales. And that is why I stayed.”

“Thank you…” Kinkajou averted her gaze, tears glistening in her eyes. “I never wanted to hurt you. None of us did.”

“I believe you. I don’t believe them.” Winter’s brow furrowed. “They were my best friends outside you. And they intentionally kept this secret. I will never, ever, forgive them, especially after they abandoned me to Sanctuary whereas you visited. Sure, they sent letters... but letters aren't enough after that traumatic experience. My eyes have been opened. You, at the very least, stayed.”

Kinkajou wanted to argue back that they didn’t mean everything, but she knew it was futile. He was too riled up about it and would be for a very long time. Once she could find a way to forgive herself and fix this relationship, she would try and reconcile the winglet.

They were her family. Her best friends.

She couldn’t just… let it end like this after so much.

Time would tell. And who knew how long it’d be before it did.

Chapter Text

Qibli wished he’d said something earlier. He knew he should have. He had a dreamvisitor, he could have told Winter that he wanted to talk about something important. Yet it just seemed so much better to tell him in person.

What a dumb thought. It blew right up in their faces even worse than they could’ve imagined. Winter attacked both Foeslayer and himself. He was so angry that he was borderline unrecognizable. He’d almost reverted back to how he was when he first joined the Jade Winglet.

This was made worse by the fact that Kinkajou lied. She was the real reason why Peacemaker existed. Yes, Foeslayer collaborated completely. Yes, Qibli and Moon were okay with it. But Kinkajou was the one who came up with it.

There was one explanation for it, and oh it was going to end badly for everyone:

Kinkajou had a false memory born of guilt.

No time to dwell on it now. He had to report to Thorn, and thankfully he wasn’t alone. Both Moon and Sunny joined him on the journey, made considerably easier by Orca all but throwing them at the stronghold.

“It’s been a while since I was home,” Sunny said as they approached the gates. “If there was one good thing about this crisis, it’s that I can see my mother again.”

“Yeah. Provided she’s not ripping apart the place because Vulture keeps eluding her.” Qibli shook his head, glancing at his satchel. Inside, Turtle’s shell clinked. With hope, it’d track down Vulture. If not him, then any of his bases.

“Oh, once she learns about what happened to the Rain Kingdom, she’ll go ballistic.” Sunny shook her head. “We both know what her temper can be like.” She let out a small sigh. “Preyhunter could’ve, too.”

Right… Thorn murdered a NightWing in cold blood. It was one of those things where it took Qibli by complete surprise. It was incredibly out of character for her, and he could tell she felt immense guilt. He never brought it up. Sunny didn’t, either.

As the gates opened to allow them entry, Qibli slowed his pace to Moon’s. She had an emotionless, distant expression as if she were merely going through the motions and wasn’t at all there. Given everything, Qibli understood.

“I’m not okay,” Moon said before he could ask. “I’ll never be okay.”

“We’ll work through it.” Qibli offered her an optimistic smile. “Winter’s mad now, but one day, I’m sure we can reconcile.”

“I heard him talk to Turtle.” She slid an eye to him. “He’ll never forgive us for how we acted in the Night Kingdom. How we both turned on him for being upset that Darkstalker was killing his friends and family.”

Qibli recoiled as if she’d struck him. He remembered how he acted. What he’d said. His body involuntarily cringed at how stupid he was. Why would he have ever said what he did? If Thorn was dying, he’d destroy the whole Kingdom to get to Darkstalker. Yet he judged Winter for being rude to Moon because he was a stupid, hormonal idiot.

“Well… we can’t do anything about that now.” Qibli grimaced as they made their way past the internal oasis and into the palace.

“No, you can’t.” Sunny turned her head back.

“You know?” Qibli’s grimace deepened.

“Glory told Tsunami, who told me and Clay.” Sunny stopped and looked at them. “I won’t lie, I’m very disappointed. I understand the actions, but I’m more disappointed that you didn’t tell your friends. I understand not telling me or Clay or Tsunami. But everyone involved should have known. Secrets like that destroy relationships, as you both found out.”

She let out a small sigh.

“But I won’t berate you over it.” Sunny smiled sadly. “I just hope you two learned from this.”

“We did.” Moon nodded slowly.

“Then that’s all to be done.” Sunny turned back around. “Once we fix this, we can repair anything else.”

The throne room was elegant, but also quite bare for a queen. Bronze trimmings on pillars, paintings, so on. A black and gold carpet led the way to the throne, which was made by Burn’s forces. As a result, Thorn appeared quite tiny on it. Yet, somehow, it worked. Bigger the throne, bigger the effect it had, Qibli assumed.

“Sunny! Qibli!” Thorn rose from her throne, a fanged smile splitting her face. “What a lovely surprise!” She noted the look on their faces. “Although, something tells me that I’m not going to like the reason for the visit.”

“No, you’re not.” Sunny shook her head before explaining what happened in the Sky and Rain kingdoms. As they hadn’t heard back from Clay about Peril, that thread was left dangling. The fact that the Rain Kingdom was so grievously attacked by a SandWing nearly caused Thorn to explode from rage from the expression on her face.

“I’m going to kill him,” Thorn said flatly before taking a deep breath and turning to her honor guard. “Get Six-Claws and tell him to send guards to the tunnel. I don’t care if he has an animus warping him around, one day he’ll use it to funnel something , and I want it stopped.” She then turned to another. “You, get some supplies and send a platoon to the Rain Kingdom. I’m not letting the Rain Kingdom fall. Send another to the Sky Kingdom, too. I want Vulture to know that I am onto him, and I will not rest until his head is hanging from my walls.”

“Jeez…” Qibli blinked with surprise. “Is Burn’s ghost haunting you?”

“Perhaps I spoke too harshly, but I needed to get my point across.” Thorn reclined in her throne a bit. “ Nobody messes with friends of my dragonets and gets away with it.” She drummed her talon on the armrest as Qibli felt a warmth flood through his body at her words. “It appears I must break the glass for this emergency.”

“Mom?” Both Qibli and Sunny questioned. Moon immediately stiffened, looking even more worried than before.

“I have to bring in some of the more… unsavory dragons of our tribe.” Thorn hissed out with effort. “That means your biological mother, Qibli.”

“Um… what?” Qibli pretended to clean his ear. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you right.”

“Enough,” Thorn answered snappishly. “I like it just as much as you do. But right now, she is estranged from him. If anyone knows how he operates, it’s her.”

“You’re going right for the extreme option, mother.” Even Sunny was taken aback by this. “Surely there is another way other than bringing in… her .”

“If there was any, I would have taken it.” Thorn gave them both a sympathetic look. “But what all of you reported on top of Possibility burning to the ground forced my claw. I will not have another town or kingdom be destroyed. If that means dealing with Cobra, then I will.” She focused her black eyes on Qibli. “I understand if you feel betrayed by this. I… had hoped the next time I sought her out, it was to arrest her. But if Vulture has disowned her, then there is the possibility of her wanting vengeance. We will handle her afterward.”

Qibli was torn. He did feel betrayed. The fact that Thorn was willing to work with the one who abused him, who gave him his scar… that hurt in a way he couldn’t articulate. It was like his high esteem of his adopted mother was shattered at that moment. Misery and repressed memories came surging up to his mental walls, threatening to break them down.

His breathing accelerated as everything became muted. He felt fear. Anger. And a tiny bit of karma. Like he deserved to be thrown in front of his abuser after all the secrets he kept.

It was only when a warm claw and a set of wings wrapped around him did he refocus. Moon said not a word, instead resting her head on his shoulder and holding him tight. The walls that threatened to crumble resolidified in that moment.

“I knew he’d react that way.” He overheard Sunny speak hushedly to Thorn, who had gotten off her throne to approach. “You could have handled it better than just dropping it on him!”

“No matter how I said it, this would have happened.” Thorn’s voice was thick with guilt. “It was better to rip off the bandage. I’ll do my best to keep the two of them separate, but he needed to know before I sent for her.”

“Still… is it really worth it?”

“For me on a personal level, no. For the good of Pyrrhia? Unfortunately, I am inclined to think yes.”

“You… how dare you!” Moon snapped to the surprise of everyone . Tears welled up in her eyes as frustration clawed along her face. “Do you know how long I spent trying to get his mind safe?! Do you know the trauma that he suffers? He’s already vulnerable after what Vulture just did to him, and you bring in his abuser !?”

“There isn’t a choice.” Thorn didn’t raise her voice back.

“Yes there is!” Moon growled lowly. “You could have at least talked about it with him before making the decision!”

“As I said, I don’t like it any more than you. But I must use every tool at my disposal if we are going to win this.” Thorn’s eyes narrowed. “Vulture is using dirty tactics. I must as well. Moral high grounds do not win battles, Moon. I’ve learned that the hard way.”

“She’s right.” Qibli found the will to speak. “We have to use every asset. We didn’t survive the SandWing sisters by skipping out on crucial dragons or utilities.”

“Qibli…” Moon’s eyes widened.

“I hate it. I hate all of this. But I know Thorn would never do this unless there was no other way.” Qibli shook his head. “She rescued me from Cobra. She’d never bring her into the fold willingly.”

And now I know what Winter feels like . Qibli thought darkly.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Sunny asked him.

“No. And I know Thorn isn’t either.” Qibli took another look at the queen’s face. “But Vulture and Chameleon have to be stopped. The enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that.” He paused for a moment. “The question is how we are going to find her, and what’s the game plan when we do?”

“The shell will find her.” Sunny indicated to his satchel.

“There’s really going to be one thing she’ll want. Well, two.” Thorn tapped her talons on the floor in thought. “First is a complete pardon with a substantial fee. And secondly, she’ll want revenge for being abandoned. That makes me think it’ll be easy to recruit her. It’s the first part I have an issue with.”

“Can’t promise to pay later, she’ll know something’s up if we do that.” Qibli added, brow furrowed. “No, we need to be upfront with the gold. The only good thing about her is that she doesn’t break a contract once it's signed.”

“Even for a greater sum?” Moon asked dubiously.

“She’ll just kill the target and take their offering.” Qibli shrugged. “Seen her do it.”

“Well, that’s a relief…”

“Plus, father or not, Vulture was her previous employer. She does not like it when an employer screws her.” Qibli shook his head with a nervous laugh. “We may as well kill her if we plan on double crossing her.”

Both Moon and Sunny gave him a worried look. Thorn’s was neutral.

“Outclaw law says we look after our own first. No matter the cost.” Qibli deflated slightly. “No matter what lines we had to cross. Thankfully, there weren’t a lot, but the world isn’t nice.”

“Sometimes I forget what environment you grew up in.” Moon’s tail flicked anxiously. “And what type of place the Sand Kingdom is.”

“It’s better than it was.” Thorn reminded her.

“I don’t like it one bit.” Sunny ruffled her wings. “Not at all. The ends can’t justify the means all the time. This is a slippery slope and I don’t want anyone to fall down it.”

“Sunny, you forget that the Sand Kingdom is one criminal empire ruling over another.” Thorn came out and said what was obvious to Qibli. From how Sunny and Moon reacted, they did not consider this. “My Outclaws are a gang. We’re better than the others, but I’ve been down that slope time and time again to know when we don’t have a choice. We need every asset. Every dragon. This is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. If Vulture takes over the Sand Kingdom…”

“And what happens when we win and we have fallen all the way down?” Sunny responded with increased distress.

“Whatever the cost of winning is will pale to the outcome of losing.” Thorn touched foreheads with her daughter. “I know you need to see the bright side of everything. But not every choice is good. Vulture is threatening dragons I love. I will do anything to save them. And I know you know that I explored every other option.”

Sunny let out a frustrated sigh before slumping her shoulders. “Do we really not have much of a choice?”

“I wish we did.”

“Then if Qibli is okay with it…” Sunny turned her head to him.

“Again, no choice. I’ll work with her, and we’ll deal with her after,” Qibli said with resignation. “I’ll follow Thorn’s judgment.”

Part of his mind flared up and he remembered that night before he and Moon went to Pantala. All of his worries were laid out to her. She’d helped him strengthen his barriers and become more independent. Yet the moment Thorn came out with a suggestion that he absolutely despised…

… he didn’t put up a fight. He trusted her, yes. But this was his mother . The one who sold him out, even if it was to a better dragon. Qibli had gotten over his need for her approval… or so he hoped. Part of him would always yearn for the affection that never existed.

He just hoped that everything would be done before it got too late.

***

Boa knew that it would be quite soon before she’d met the replicants again but she didn’t expect Orca and the SeaWing queen to teleport right in front of her. The wind from the sudden arrival blew scrolls off shelves and toppled smaller objects. Boa let out a small sigh; at least it wouldn’t be her fault if the library was decimated.

Luckily, she was the only one here this late at night. She had a nice cup of tea that she’d brewed for herself and just taken it off the table that was now toppled over before her. Precognition, or just luck?

“Really, Orca?” Queen Tsunami shook her head. “Is there no way you can just… not cause everything to blow apart when we appear somewhere?”

“The space we occupy has to be accounted for. I’m sure you know what it’s like to throw a rock in water.” Orca snapped back. Already Boa was ready to clap both their ears and yell at them if this was going to be a common thing.

“Oh, hello Jerboa.” Queen Tsunami addressed her. “Sorry about the intrusion.”

“I’m used to dragons showing up unannounced these days,” Boa answered with a hint of annoyance.

“Let’s get this over with.” Orca grumbled at them. “All this animus casting has left me a little worn out, and I need rest if we’re going to be ready.”

“Ready for what?” Boa flipped the table back over and put down her tea.

“We need to figure out why I and the others are alive. What purpose do we serve? And on top of that, figure out a way to track down this… Chameleon, was it? Vulture, too,” Orca said as if she were three. Reminded her a lot of mother dearest…

A brief hint of panic crossed Boa’s mind at that. Only Snowfall knew that Jerboa the First was buried underneath her hut in a slab of ice. Orca could very easily resurrect her, same with Arctic.

If that was the case, Boa would ensure that they never find out. Even if she had to let the world burn, it was a preferable outcome to what insanity mother would do.

“She’s trying to ask where Queen Snowfall is.” Tsunami shot Orca an annoyed glare. “And that if possible, you accompany us back to Jade Mountain. We’re repurposing it and later Sanctuary as our bases while we deal with this.”

“Those are literally the first places Vulture will look.” Boa gave them a deadpan look. “Unless you are playing some sort of mind game, I highly suggest otherwise.”

“Arctic and I can make them safe.” Orca waved off her concern. Great, her arrogance grew in the day or two she was away. “With both of our willpower combined, we can shield the area from harm.”

“Ah, so you figured out the willpower part.” Boa had to admit, she was a tad impressed. “But is it stronger than our animus’?”

“It is better than nothing.” Orca rebutted. “Now, pack your things. We’ll also need you back as an animus, which I can do easily once I stop warping around.”

“I’ll have to decline that offer.” Boa finished her tea.

“Why would you ever want to remain normal in a time like this?” Orca snapped back. “You and Turtle can go back to being your normal boring selves after this, but right now, refusal is idiotic.”

“Orca, enough.” Tsunami interjected with a snarl. “She won’t help us if you keep insulting her.”

“Tell you what,” Boa leaned forward, “if you can fix what mother dearest did to me, I’ll consider it. But her willpower was much stronger than yours.” She fiddled with the seashell necklace. “If I cast an animus spell, I lose a part of myself. I will die in a few more casts. Unless you can break her unbreakable spell, then I will not turn back into an animus.”

Orca regarded her with interest. Too much interest. “My, now that’s quite the challenge… care to share the specifics?”

Boa removed her necklace. Tsunami winced, whereas Orca’s eyes grew wider.

“Interesting…” Orca murmured. “I can restore your missing parts, for now.”

“You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t trust you with that.” Boa placed the necklace back on. “You have that same power-hungry gleam I saw in both my mother and Darkstalker.”

“I don’t desire power. I have it.” Orca’s eyes narrowed.

“You do. But sooner or later, your research or whatever it is you’re doing will twist your mind even further.” Boa shook her head. “You’ve already considered enchanting dragons to do what you want. I can see it in your posture. You’ll do it soon, if you haven’t already.”

“Hardly surprising either way.” Tsunami continued to glare at her replicated sibling. “But before you two kill each other, I need to speak to Queen Snowfall. I’d like it if you two join me.”

“Very well.” Boa stood up. “I need to bring this back to the kitchen anyway.” And to keep an eye on you, Orca.

Once they came back to the throne room, Boa noted that Icicle was speaking with the queen. The large IceWing was someone Boa mistrusted, but she had also heard what happened at Possibility. She should be dead, too.

It was sheer luck that Thorn got to her in time. Boa’s eyes slanted. She couldn’t detect anything fake about Icicle. Yet… the doubt lingered in her mind. Four dragons were resurrected as far as she knew. Wouldn’t surprise her to learn there were more.

“I’m not really sure what you expect from me.” Queen Snowfall rubbed her temple with exhaustion. “You’re banned from the Rainforest indefinitely.”

“I’m aware.” Icicle’s voice was laced with pure irritation. “But I cannot sit back and…” Icicle trailed off as she noticed they had company.

“How is the Rain Kingdom?” Snowfall asked Tsunami.

“Destroyed. It’ll be a while before we can rebuild.” Tsunami admitted as she explained everything, including the identity of their animus attacker. Boa wasn’t entirely sure that was the wisest idea. She doubted that Snowfall would ever invade, but the NightWings were there. That level of opportunity wouldn’t present itself again for a long, long time.

“And let me assume, there was no one to apprehend?”

“Nope.” Tsunami shook her head. “I’m planning on gathering a Queen’s Council. This is going to affect way more than us in the long run. We may need to get the Pantalans involved, too.”

“All of us in one location?” Queen Snowfall raised a brow.

“Orca is going to ward Jade Mountain and Sanctuary. We’ll be safe there.” Tsunami nodded at Orca. “But that leads me to another point; we’ll need to take Jerboa there. If we can crack the code on why the dead came back, we can potentially figure out their next move. Even if we can’t, having an answer is going to give us peace of mind.”

“I see…” Snowfall slid an eye to Icicle. “Take Icicle too, then. She will act as my liaison. I think her actions in Possibility have made her… earn a chance. Mink, too, as I fear attacks here.”

Tsunami did not seem thrilled by this. Neither did Orca. However, they did not object. Boa was surprised by the lack of action by Orca, but she looked almost ready to teeter over from exhaustion. A brave face will fool many, but not Boa.

“Alright.” Tsunami accepted the terms. “I’ll keep you in the loop as to what we’re gonna do.”

“Please do.” Snowfall nodded curtly.

“Oh, by the by, you don’t need to be asleep to use Dreamvisitors anymore.” Tsunami tossed one to Snowfall. “Orca made it that you can just use it to telepathically communicate.”

“… Makes you wonder why this was not the original idea behind it.” Snowfall caught it effortlessly. “Regardless, this will be most useful.”

“Heck yeah it is. I nearly made Riptide fall from the sky.”

Snowfall smiled at Tsunami’s words. Boa saw the mischievous side of her for the first time in a hot moment. No matter how many regal words she spoke or postures she made, she was still a dragonet at heart deep down.

Boa hoped that may never go away.

“Before you depart, I wish for a moment alone with Boa,” Snowfall said. Boa raised a brow, but the other dragons seemed to accept this. Orca muttered something about ‘hurrying up’ but otherwise didn’t complain.

The large SandWing approached the throne, a questioning look on her face.

“You’re worried,” Snowfall said flatly. “And not because of what’s going on.” She paused. “You’re worried your mother may crawl out of her grave.”

“Sometimes I forget how perceptive you can be,” Boa responded dryly, not bothering to hide it. Snowfall was one of the very few dragons who knew exactly what happened to Jerboa.

“My paranoia simply needed honing.” Snowfall smiled, a bit of fangs showing. “The Sand Kingdom is much more in your face with its criminality, but the Ice… well, you know.”

“Indeed, I do.”

“Whatever is happening, I want you to keep me in the loop. Icicle will officially be my voice and act as a coordinator for the Ice Kingdom, but this animus nonsense… I trust you with that.” Snowfall gave her a serious look. “And if they are discovering your mother… do what you must.” Her eyes slanted. “Although, the fact that Chameleon was able to create life much like Jerboa…”

“The thought has crossed my mind, but she is still entombed.” Boa shook her head. “I will dig her out myself and throw her into the sea before I let them get anywhere near her.”

“If that happens, let me know, and I will help you.” Snowfall offered a kind smile.

“A queen getting her talons dirty moving a body? I expect this from SandWings, not IceWings.” Boa barked out a laugh at the mental image.

“Yes, well, I’m sure mother helped you with things like this, too.” Snowfall let out a quiet chuckle.

“Oh, like you wouldn’t believe. She wasn’t Queen Glacier with me. Just an IceWing who happened to be queen.” Boa turned to leave. “Remind me to tell you more stories one day.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

***

Being back in Jade Mountain again should have been a pleasant reminder of the good times. And for Turtle, it somewhat was. Yet, there were no new students or classes. Sure, there were younger dragons such as Peacemaker, Anemone, and Auklet, but that was it. Plus, there weren’t any classes. It was just a matter of ‘well, we can’t keep them home because Vulture and Chameleon will target them to rip them apart’.

Everyone was scared. They spoke in hushed voices, waiting for the next thing to blow up. Sanctuary would’ve been the best bet, but there were too many innocents there to make it a permanent base. Jade Mountain had an easily defensible location and they could fall back to Sanctuary for… well, sanctuary.

However, it meant that for the foreseeable future, there would be no new students or anything. What an absolute disaster.

Still, for Turtle’s curious mind, there was plenty to do. And his first thing was trying to figure out what in the world Whiteout was saying, as she just noticed him.

“Fathom!” She hybrid bounded up to him and threw him into a tight embrace that surprised Turtle. NightWing and IceWing bulk came in strong here. “My mind worried about your departure.”

“I’m not Fathom.” Turtle wheezed out. “My name is Turtle.”

Whiteout pulled her head back, head tilted. “Oh. My arms apologize for squeezing, then.”

“It’s alright, it’s not the first time I’ve been mistaken for Fathom.” Turtle let out a nervous chuckle.

“Brother?” Whiteout asked sympathetically.

“Yeah.” Turtle nodded slowly. “Lot of… repressed rage, I’m sorry to say.”

“Betrayal runs deep in his wounds. The fault is not yours,” Whiteout said.

“Yeah, he… did a lot of bad things, I’m sorry to say. I’ll spare you the details.” Turtle fidgeted uncomfortably.

“My imagination knows the horrors.” Whiteout tapped her head. “The sins are deep. His soul is peaceful, at least.”

“Right, you know.” Turtle had forgotten with all the moving around. “If there was another way… I would’ve thought of it. We all would’ve.”

“The chance of amendment may soon come. The choices of many will light the path,” Whiteout responded optimistically. Turtle felt dread and almost reached for his stick at her words. “Brother will be different,” She added, as if reading his mind.

“I… will take your word for it.” Turtle did not, in fact, take her word for it.

“Lies are unbecoming.” She gave him a dubious look.

“I mean, you have powers, you have to know what happened.” Turtle averted his gaze. She tilted her head. “Lies are unbecoming, as you said. You clearly have abilities. Not animus, but you are a seer and the way you see through others, you can read minds. Or, at least, emotions.”

Whiteout, to his surprise, smiled brightly. “Do you believe in chaos theory?”

“That all seemingly random things are governed by deterministic laws?” Turtle raised a brow.

“Yes!” Whiteout’s smile intensified. “You understand!”

“I know the theory, but I don’t understand what you mean by it.” Turtle shook his head. “Are you trying to say that things are happening, but they aren’t as random as they seem.”

Whiteout vigorously nodded up and down. “Yes!” She repeated.

Turtle frowned in thought. That… makes sense. “I did have an idea that you all weren’t brought back randomly. Everyone who was returned was either rejected or didn’t fit in with current society.”

Whiteout nodded again. “We are squares fitting into circles.”

“But there’s more to it, isn’t there?” Turtle had a jolt of realization. “Kestrel was coming back because Chameleon missed her. That’s fine. Orca was a powerful animus… a very powerful one, as we can see. I wondered why Albatross wasn’t brought back, but he was too unstable I guess. But, Orca was the next best bet.” He focused on Whiteout. “But you and Arctic… oh, now it makes sense.”

“You are beginning to reach the threshold.” Whiteout motioned for him to continue.

“He was trying to bring back Darkstalker, but couldn’t.” Turtle paced back and forth in front of her. “So, he brought back you and Arctic to figure out what happened to him and why Orca was brought in. Orca was stronger than Arctic, but even she could not bring him back, and so he sent her to… actually, I have no idea why he kept her around.” He looked Whiteout dead in the eye. “Everything is because he couldn’t bring back Darkstalker under his control.”

“And thus the Chaos Theory is explained.” Whiteout breathed a sigh of relief. “The wheels of fate turned to us in brother’s wake.”

“But why not bring back Clearsight?” Turtle’s brow furrowed. “She knew him best outside of you and your parents. Unless… she couldn’t be controlled due to how powerful her visions were? She always knew what was happening.”

Whiteout simply shrugged. “Unknown.”

“But he wouldn’t simply let all of you go…” Turtle frowned deeply.

“The chameleon changes his colors often,” Whiteout answered him. “We are the alpha, not the omega.”

Turtle’s blood ran cold at that. “There are more coming?”

“Chaos theory dictates this truth. The zombies are not known, as are the purpose. We have fulfilled ours and are loose ends.” Whiteout averted her gaze. “We will be vanquished again.”

“No… that’s not it.” Turtle dismissed her last sentence. “He’d simply get rid of you if your purpose was over. He brought you back, he can get rid of you.”

“What is our purpose?”

“I don’t know, Whiteout.” Turtle sat back down. “I really, really don’t.” He offered her a kind smile. “But, you helped us solve a gigantic mystery.” Turtle scanned the area for Peacemaker, finding him nowhere nearby. Foeslayer was talking to Arctic on the other side of the room, though. “We have to make sure he doesn’t get his claws on Peacemaker, though.”

“Well, well, how the turntables…” Whiteout smirked playfully. “The protection has reversed.”

As if on cue, Foeslayer’s voice raised and could be heard by them: “You have to cast the spell!”

“No.” Arctic responded with slanted eyes. “I will not cast animus again.”

“Not even to protect this place!?” Foeslayer snapped back. Whiteout let out a disappointed sigh.

“Every time I cast animus, something goes wrong. It is better that I do not,” Arctic admitted through clenched fangs.

“The words Orca wrote are fine . I think if you recite them the same way, you won’t cause any side effects!” Foeslayer seemed to realize that they were being watched and made her voice a bit more gentle.

“And do we trust her? She throws magic around just like Darkstalker and it’ll catch right up to her the same way!” Arctic bit back, but more out of worry than genuine anger. “I’ll not lose myself again. Never.”

“You will be fine . You’re aware of the issues now.” Foeslayer approached, pressing her forehead to his. “If you cast the spell, Orca can strengthen it. But anything will help us here.”

Arctic averted his eyes before slumping his shoulders in defeat. “Alright. I don’t trust myself… but I promised I’d listen and trust you more.”

“And I trust you with the enchantment. I’ll be right here with you.” Foeslayer nuzzled him gently.

Arctic nodded and sucked in a deep breath. “I enchant Jade Mountain Academy to repel entry and attacks by Vulture and Chameleon as well as any of their allies. I also enchant Jade Mountain Academy to be immune to any further enchantments except from myself and Orca, SeaWing Princess. I enchant the barriers around Jade Mountain Academy to only allow entry from those we consider allies and are not double agents.”

Turtle’s brow furrowed. On paper, the enchantment seemed good. But something about it was off. He couldn’t put a talon onto what it was, however. Sanctuary was not listed in the enchantment, too. Probably too much of a hassle to word it correctly so Sanctuary itself could still function and would be fixed later.

“I am… drained.” Arctic grumbled under his breath. “I think Orca may be right about willpower.”

Whatever they said next was muted, kept to whispers. Yet, Whiteout seemed pleased by this outcome. Given what Turtle knew of the family dynamic back then…

CLAP! A booming echo reverberated off the walls as Orca appeared with Tsunami and Jerboa. What Turtle didn’t expect to see was Icicle and Mink with them.

“Unless someone important is dying, do not wake me.” Orca growled at Tsunami, notably much more grumpy than usual as she stalked off toward Arctic. “Did you cast the spell?” She demanded.

“I did,” Arctic answered as neutrally as he could. Turtle could tell he was ready to snap at her for ‘disrespect’.

“Good. I told you that there was nothing to worry about.” Orca’s fanged smile came and went before she took off towards the dorms. Tsunami watched her go with a shake of her head.

“Sometimes, I wonder if that’s a front.” Turtle admitted to Tsunami as he approached her.

“Part of it is,” Jerboa answered instead of Tsunami as she too stalked off.

“Agreed. I know, deep down, she cares about our tribe. I just think she feels betrayed in some way. Talking about mother to her is almost asking to be snapped at.” Tsunami shook her head. “I gotta go back to the Sea Kingdom whenever she gets up. Make sure that I leave everything going before I get this Queen’s Council off the ground. Snowfall’s on board, by the way.”

“I figured.” Turtle indicated to Icicle and Mink, the latter staring at everything with wide-eyed wonder. Her big, round eyes were as wide as a feline’s.

“I’m sure Thorn will get involved. We both know Glory will.” Tsunami added with a chuckle. “It’s Moorhen and Ruby that I am concerned about. Moorhen tends to keep a pretty closed border. Although, maybe after Chameleon directly attacked her, Ruby will be more on board.”

“Pantalans?”

“Uh… well… about that…” Tsunami shifted uneasily. “Riptide spoke to Blue and… they’re not going to be able to help us.” She indicated for him to follow her out of the Great Hall. Once they were clear, she continued speaking. “Wasp escaped, the LeafWings are in civil war, and the SilkWings were attacked by Wasp’s forces. Queen Luna just lost her mate in the attack.”

“Swordtail?” Turtle briefly recalled meeting the SilkWings a few times.

“Yeah. Things are… not good, to say the least.” Tsunami growled lowly. “We can’t go over there yet, and they can’t send anyone over here. I was thinking of sending Riptide over there but…” She averted her gaze.

“You need him here.” Turtle filled in the answer for her. She nodded slowly.

“Not a word.” She hissed out quietly. Turtle chuckled. “I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I lost Riptide or any of you this way…” She added with a gloomy expression. “I just hope that whatever happens, it won’t escalate any further.”

“And if it does?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Chameleon and Vulture take advantage of it.” Tsunami snarled. “We’ll play it by ear, though.”

“No charging ahead across the sea this time?”

“Ha, ha…” Tsunami cuffed him lightly behind one of his ears. “Saw you standing near Whiteout, by the way. Learn anything interesting? Everyone says she’s hard to talk to, but really, you’d be the one to understand her.”

“Uh… well, about that…”

Once Turtle started explaining what he realized from talking with Whiteout, Tsunami had to sit down before demanding answers he didn’t have. She eventually calmed, running her claws down her face with pure exhaustion and irritation. Turtle almost wanted to do the same.

“Okay… okay, okay, okay.” Tsunami shook herself back to reality. “So, everything – after all this time – still goes right back to Darkstalker. And Peacemaker is him. They’re going to go after Peacemaker once they find out.” She let out a loud huff. “And to think we were just going to let him walk right into Jade Mountain…”

“To be fair, he doesn’t know he is Darkstalker. He’s a completely separate dragon.” Turtle reminded her.

“… Okay, true, but you get the point.” Tsunami cricked her neck. “I… need to go process this. And talk to Foeslayer, because there is no way I can just bring this up and not have it come crashing down on her.”

“Good luck, especially with Arctic right there.”

“Oh don’t even remind me…” Tsunami stood up and went to move past him. “I was right, though. You understand Whiteout way more than anyone else. If she really does have powers, I think you’re going to be the only one who can decipher her.” Another pause. “Figure out why she isn’t old and wrinkly, because last I checked, she didn’t die when she was six. Sunny wouldn’t exist if she did.”

“I don’t think she knows, either.” Turtle frowned slightly. “But I’ll do what I can.”

“I know.” She patted his shoulder. “I’m going to get some sleep. You should, too. Somehow, I feel tomorrow is just going to bring more disaster, because we haven’t heard back from Clay yet…”

Chapter Text

Peril wasn’t getting better.

Clay knew that this would be the case, especially so soon, but he couldn’t help but fret anyway. As the night went on, it was discovered that indeed she had Crush Syndrome. Not only that, but a good number of her bones were either fractured or broken. Massive amounts of internal bleeding, too. It was a miracle she still breathed. Turtle’s rock may have been the only thing that saved her.

And yet, at any second, Clay knew that Peril could just up and die from any form of embolism in her blood. She was stubborn. She may as well be immortal half the time. But everyone had limits, including her.

Clay didn’t want to leave her side. He knew he couldn’t do anything. None of the doctors really could. Yet he felt like the moment he left, even if it was for a second , she’d pass away. He knew that she gave herself strength whenever he was around. As a result, he felt like if he left, it would just fall away.

And so he was stuck. Clay needed to find more clues about Chameleon and Vulture. When had the former killed Queen Ruby’s captain? Better yet, how? Sure, animus played a part, but it couldn’t be the end all of everything. Especially since the dragon was slashed.

Clay briefly recalled Tsunami’s words about willpower for animus. It certainly explained the intermittent times it showed up from Chameleon. Also explained his chaotic tendencies.

Still, this was good news comparatively. It meant that Chameleon would be forced to have downtime. The problem was trying to get to him and Vulture.

“He’s greedy, power hungry, and also subservient at the same time.” Queen Ruby had said when they got back to the Sky Palace. “It makes me think that Vulture calls the shots while Chameleon is his lackey. Yet, at the same time…”

The Queen had trailed off, but the implication was clear. From what Peril had told him in the past as well, he tended to play all sides ‘so he could come out on top’. Which meant that he could possibly be manipulated into fighting against Vulture…

But that was way out of Clay’s league to try and do. He was too earnest and honest to ever be manipulative like that. The best he could do was protect his friends and allies from whatever came next. And really, that wasn’t such a bad thing.

But it sure sucked when someone you love is dying right in front of you and there is nothing to protect her from.

“Still no improvement?” Came a harsh voice that announced the presence of Kestrel. Clay still had no idea how to process the fact that his adopted – not by choice – mother was back from the dead. She was just as he remembered, but even she had worry driving her actions.

“There won’t be. Our medical expertise isn’t strong enough for this.” Clay shook his head. “The Pantalans gave us a boost, but it isn’t enough.”

“Useless, all of you.” Kestrel spat. Clay didn’t wince as he thought he might, and was more confused as to why she didn’t question ‘Pantalans’. “What even is this Crush Syndrome? And why didn’t anyone bother to enchant that rock of yours to heal all injuries?”

“You ever lay on your leg for too long and you can’t feel it?” Clay asked her. She nodded curtly. “Imagine that but ten times worse and your blood supply is actually cut off. The surge of blood flow may kill the heart. We’re lucky that didn’t happen but the things in the blood like fat may cause a blockage anyway. She is always one breath away from death and there is nothing we can do to stop it without a miracle.”

“… Where in the blazes did you learn this?” Kestrel raised a brow. “You weren’t this smart when you left the cave.”

“I left the cave and learned new things.” Clay shrugged. “I wasn’t stifled anymore.”

“I fail to see how someone who tried to murder his fellow dragonets turned out this way.” Kestrel let out a scoff.

“I didn’t try and murder them.” Clay felt anger rise for the first time in a while. “You knew nothing of MudWing culture, so you failed to learn that BigWings like me helped their siblings out of their eggs. It’s instinctual.”

“Ah yes, smashing your siblings eggs before they’re ready to pop out on their own. Excellent instinct,” Kestrel said dryly.

“Look, I know you are upset and are lashing out, but if you want to stay I will ask you not to argue.” Clay replied firmly. “Otherwise I will ask you to leave.”

“You will not stop me from being near my daughter.” Kestrel shot back.

With a sigh, Clay stood up to full height. He was now a good head taller than her now. Not to mention his mass.

“I will not repeat myself.” Clay stared her down. “Peril can hear us subconsciously. I will not fill her mind with this when she needs support.”

Kestrel seemed to realize that he was both bigger and stronger than her now. She did not accept it quietly though, simply going to the other side of Peril with a loud huff and glowering.

“So, you’re a doctor then,” Kestrel spoke up after a moment. “Glory’s queen of two tribes. What else did I miss?”

“Tsunami is also queen, although hers is more recent.” Clay was relieved at the topic change. Kestrel raised another brow. “Starflight is the librarian at our academy, and is probably the most normal one of us outside me. Sunny’s half NightWing and her mom is the Sandwing queen, though.”

“She’s what?” Kestrel asked blankly. “Oh, that explains her runty nature and why she was so deformed. I suspected, with her facial features, but the only NightWing I had contact with was Morrowseer.” She let out a cold sneer. “How’d he bite it? No way he’d let you all run off without dying.”

“He died in a volcano eruption,” Clay said simply. “The NightWings were living in a volcanic hellscape.”

“Wait, wait.” Kestrel let out a harsh laugh. “Are you telling me he actually died in a fire? Ha! That’s a joke told by dragonets, and that’s how he died!?”

“Yes.”

“Absolutely pathetic.” Kestrel continued to laugh. “And to think that he had such swagger and weight to throw around! And he didn’t even die in a dramatic way.” She shook her head with a tsk. “Had I known then, I would have simply laughed him out of the cave!” She slowly stopped laughing. “And Scarlet was defeated by her daughter. Really, all of these ‘big, scary dragons’… and they roll over and die. What about the SandWing sisters?”

“Blaze is still alive.” Clay began as Kestrel rolled her eyes. “Blister was destroyed by an animus object. Burn was bitten by two dragonbite vipers as a trick from Blister.”

“… I cannot decide what is more pathetic. The death of Burn, or Morrowseer.” Kestrel shook her head. “All of this for nothing . Cheap deaths that any of us could do.”

“Anticlimactic as it is, I’m happy we were able to resolve these as quickly as we did.” Clay couldn’t help but feel a tad irritated at Kestrel’s words. “I didn’t want to kill anyone, but we had peace for four years.” He gripped Peril’s claw lightly. “Four wonderful years.”

“And now you’re dating my daughter. What did I ever do to deserve this?” Kestrel grumbled. Clay shot her a look. “Should’ve seen it coming. I know lovesickness when I see it.”

“Which reminds me…” Clay loosened his grip. “Chameleon brought you back because of that.”

“Yes, what of it?” Kestrel motioned for him to continue. “I’ll not be raising my tail for him or seducing if that is your plan.”

“What? No!” Clay recoiled. “I was trying to say that if someone like him can act like that… well, it stands to reason that it doesn’t have to end in the way we all think it will.”

“Sociopaths can love in their own twisted way, Clay.” Kestrel growled lowly. “Look at Scarlet. She ‘loved’, but the moment they outlived their usefulness or someone better came along, they were laying in a ditch.” She shook her head. “If he ‘loved’ me, then he wouldn’t just abandon me here or whatever the term is. He’d keep me by his side. No, he may ‘love’ me, but I am a pawn, just like Peril. She is his daughter, you know, and look what he did.”

It was a fair point. Clay let out a small sigh. As much as he disliked Kestrel’s blunt and cruel attitude, she wasn’t really a liar about these things. Clay knew exactly where he stood with her, as did everyone else.

A clicking of claws served as an alert before Kinkajou and Winter showed up. Clay was expecting Sky, but the poor dragon was so wound up he ended up passing out not too long ago.

“How is she?” Kinkajou asked.

“No improvement… but not anything worse, either.” Clay turned his attention back to Peril.

“We need to get her out of here.” Kinkajou’s brow furrowed. “Because there are two ways to save her and I don’t like either of them.”

“No.” Winter snarled as if realizing what she was saying. “Don’t you dare bring up what I think you are.”

“Are you willing to let Peril die !?” She snapped back. “Whatever curse that coin has, it’s a heck of alot better than watching a best friend die!”

“And what if she dies as a result of the coin?” Winter shot back.

“Whelp, we’ll die alongside her, so no real time to regret it.” Kinkajou hissed with such ferocity that Clay was taken aback by it. He knew the two were going to have… trouble given what he’d just learned but it felt like he was watching two dragons about to come to blows.

“He will.” Winter pointed at Clay.

“Can you let me hear it before we come to any decisions?” Clay interjected at that point. May as well come out and say what he’d been avoiding all along, too. “Peril’s not going to wake up either way.”

“What do you mean, not going to wake up?” Kestrel snapped.

“Her body is so badly damaged that it’s doing everything it can to stay alive. Unless something can fix her, she’s going to remain in a coma until she dies.” Clay let out a reluctant sigh. “This isn’t the first time I’ve seen it. It’s why I know so much about it…”

“… She’s actually dying?” Kinkajou’s voice was quiet.

Clay let his shoulders slump. “It’s a matter of days. The fact she hasn’t died yet is a testament to her character.” He pointed at her ribcage, where the darkest splotches were. “Look at the indent on her ribs. It’s going right into her lungs. And this one…” he pointed to another, “is piercing her heart. Look at the direction. It’s not deep, but it’s enough to cause more bleeding. But even that can be recoverable. What killed her was getting Cliff and Sky out of the cave.”

“Then we don’t have a choice.” Kinkajou’s eyes narrowed. “We either need to get an animus to heal her… or use that coin that Qibli stole. And we know the coin can heal this. Remember your ribs?” Kinkajou poked Winter’s side. “You were dying, too.”

“Not as extreme, but I get the point.” Winter begrudgingly admitted. “Fine, I admit, we must use animus… but I don’t like it at all. This will come back and bite us and bite us hard.”

“That’s a problem we can deal with when everyone is alive .” Kinkajou’s voice grew softer, but her firm tone remained. “I’d much rather have Peril here with us than watch her die a miserable death. Whatever curse animus is gonna place on her is a problem for tomorrow, because right now, there’s a good chance she won’t make it to tomorrow.”

“I know,” Winter said. “The problem is that Thorn has the coin. I do not trust Orca with assisting, either. Which leaves Arctic.”

“Jade Mountain is a few hours away…” Kinkajou looked off to the direction of the academy. “If we leave now, we’d get there by morning.”

“No need.” Clay held up the Dreamvisitor. “Tsunami’s there. She can get Orca to teleport us there.”

“She won’t be happy about that…” Kinkajou shook her head. “But I don’t care. Peril’s dying.”

Clay reached out to Tsunami, who answered immediately. In fact, from her tone, she’d been waiting to hear back for some time now. The moment he told her about Peril, she went silent and at first he thought she somehow disconnected from the visitor until a flash erupted nearby.

“When I said not to wake me unless someone is dying, I did not think this literally.” Orca’s snappish voice growled as the SeaWing stalked over to Peril. “Oh, perfect! I’ll be useless for weeks if I cure that!”

“Arctic?” Winter questioned.

“Oh, he’s drained too from erecting a barrier.” Orca shook her head, annoyed. “I can’t cure this if you want me around to help with the much bigger problem . And, sadly, neither can Arctic.” She looked everyone in the eye. “May as well say your goodbyes now unless you have a clever idea.”

Winter swore loudly as Clay’s shoulders slumped.

“I take it you do, then.” Orca turned to Winter. “What is it?”

“There’s a coin that Qibli stole from Vulture that heals any and all wounds. There is no way there isn’t a curse behind it if he took it from Vulture.” Winter’s tail lashed out angrily.

“Quite the coin…” Orca mused. “I’d very much like to see it for myself. Where is it?”

“Queen Thorn has it, and I don’t know where.”

Orca frowned, turning her attention back to Peril. “I can retrieve it easily. But if it is as cursed as you say… I’d rather not touch it without knowing what it does fully.” She shook her head. “I can summon it here so it is placed on top of Peril. Doing so will drain me of my power for some time, but nothing compared to what I’ll lose healing her myself. Meaning no teleports. No anything.” She eyed them. “Are you willing to lose that for the time being?”

“Why no teleports? You already enchanted yourself.” Kinkajou questioned.

“Because it is still animus . It’s a force that I must always control. Like I said, too many enchantments on a weaker willed dragon and there are side effects.” Orca glowered. “Now, I ask again, are we willing to lose this?”

“I’m more surprised you’re asking consent rather than just doing it.” Kestrel approached, glaring at the SeaWing.

“Enchanting dragons is far, far more dangerous than enchanting objects. The more you enchant a dragon, the more unstable they become. This coin, if it does what it says, is a powerful enchantment. Meaning that I will be very limited in what I can do for them after this.” She eyed Kestrel and Clay. “I am willing to accept those risks. I simply do not want to be yelled at again.”

“Do it.” Clay nodded slowly. “We can figure out the rest after.”

“Agreed.” Kestrel readily agreed, to Clay’s surprise.

“Enchant the coin that Winter spoke of to appear over Peril.” Orca spoke without hesitation as a golden coin dropped onto Peril’s chest. Almost immediately, the wounds she suffered began to heal themselves. Clay could hardly believe his eyes!

“Oho, I can feel that.” Orca stared directly at the coin. “Oh, yes, I would very much like to study this.”

“Can you tell what the drawback of it is?” Winter questioned.

“Nope, but whatever it is, it’s strong and insidious.” Orca grabbed a bucket from nearby and tilted Peril so the coin clattered into it. “Someone better tell Thorn what I did, by the way. I’d rather not deal with another queen.”

“Why hasn’t she awoken?” Kestrel demanded of Orca.

“Just because she’s healed doesn’t mean she’ll spring awake.” Orca gave her a deadpan look. “Even if the body is healed, emotionally she is doubtlessly strained. And speaking of that, I need a room, because I am forced to stay here tonight.” Orca looked at all of them. “And I will need at least five hours of sleep if you want me to have any form of stamina. So, this time, even if someone is dying… don’t wake me, I’ll not be able to help.”

“Thank you, Orca.” Clay said gratefully. She gave him a strange look that he didn’t know how to react to. “I mean it.”

She instead gave him a curt nod and left with the bucket, and Clay turned his attention back to Peril. She was warm to the touch, and she breathed much easier now. Not caring that he wasn’t alone, he curled up next to her, wing draped over her body.

“I hate animus.” Winter grumbled under his breath. Kinkajou turned away guiltily at his words. He noticed, and the tips of his talons brushed over hers. There was some sort of silent conversation between them, but Clay decided not to read into it.

“Hmm…” Kestrel touched Peril’s claw. She said not a word, instead shifting her gaze between Peril and Clay. Then, she quietly departed.

“I hope this is worth it,” Winter said as he turned to leave. “I mean it. Because more than half of us have been touched by it.” He indicated to himself and Kinkajou. “Qibli was also healed. Four of the winglet, and we know that he has a vendetta against us.”

“We can’t let Turtle and Moon touch it, I agree.” Kinkajou nodded vigorously. “Not unless we have to.” She turned back to Clay. “We’ll leave you here with her. Although, don’t be surprised if Sky wakes up and comes running into the room.”

“Ha, I expect it.” Clay smiled widely. “And whatever this curse is on that coin… we’ll beat it. We’ve overcome everything thrown at us before.”

“True that.” Kinkajou grinned widely. “Goodnight, Clay.”

“Goodnight, Kinkajou and Winter.”

***

“That makes thirty RainWing deaths and thirteen NightWing.” Greatness concluded her report as Glory slid her talons down her face from exhaustion.

“So forty-three in total, with a hundred more injured.” Glory bared her venomous fangs in frustration.

“Unfortunately so.” Greatness pursed her lips with the same frustration. “Rebuilding will take a long while, too.”

“This is one of the few times I am glad Mastermind is around.” Glory hated herself for saying that. “He’ll know how to rebuild it. Did it before, he’ll do it again.”

“And what will you do, my queen?” Greatness sat down on the opposite side of the table.

Greatness’ home was about as large as the Queen’s pavilion. The main room, where they sat, was quite spacious and definitely reeked of royalty. Yet, it was modestly decorated. Sure, there were vanity items such as NightWing paintings, but certainly not as stuck up Glory imagined. Just a tad too drab for her liking, as the colors seemed washed out and darker.

“Now?” Glory tapped her talons on the table. “We prepare for war. Vulture has struck our home, and I will not take that lightly.”

“Then I must ask how you plan to fight against a foe we cannot track.”

“Where did you get all this insight from?” Glory raised a brow.

Greatness smiled widely and laughed. “Although I had no desire to rule, I observed both Morrowseer and my mother. I learned from them how to strategize. But, I understand you would not like the more… underclaw methods they moved about with.”

“Nope, not at all,” Glory answered flatly. Then, she thought about it. “Depends, actually.”

“It’ll take a while before we have any concrete ideas. Vulture was mostly a Sand Kingdom threat, and sharing information will take time.” Greatness forewarned.

“As expected.” Glory still didn’t like it. “Queen Tsunami is trying to get a Queen’s Council going. We’ll see how it goes from there.”

“Alright.” Greatness nodded. “I’ll get back to you soon.”

With that, Greatness left for her room, and Glory’s head thunked onto the table. She felt positively murderous toward Chameleon and Vulture, but as Greatness said, he was mostly a SandWing threat until now. There had to be a way to track him.

But how? His stronghold was completely abandoned according to Queen Thorn and Turtle. Thorn would’ve also raided other outposts or at least been aware of a good number of them.

Glory’s eyes narrowed. The Dragonflame Cactus bombs came from the Sky Kingdom. Which meant there was a supplier there who knew how to safely retrieve them. She doubted Queen Ruby knew about this, of course, and the Sky Kingdom was great in range.

Sanctuary was a good bet to start. There were all types of unsavory dragons there… but at the same time, invading such a place wouldn’t look good. Winter was already about to blow a gasket and she also didn’t want to piss off Tsunami by questioning her boyfriend’s town. Although… the two of them could start their own investigation.

Her mind drifted to Sora. She bombed twice now, although the second was not of her own will. Sora may know about potential dealers. If no one else…

Using the Dreamvisitor, she reached out to Sora. Her mind brushed against the remorseful MudWing, and Glory was overwhelmed with a strong sense of… peace. Like Sora’s mind was finally calmed and in a place of acceptance.

“Sora, it’s Queen Glory. I am contacting you via Dreamvisitor.” Glory spoke into the star-shaped object. “This is not a dream or you going insane.”

“Oh.” Sora’s voice echoed in her mind. “That’s good.” Another pause. “What can I help you with?”

“I need to know if there are any dealers who sell dragonflame bombs. I know the plant grows in the Sky Kingdom, but someone must know a great deal about the plant to extract them carefully,” Glory said. “And I need to know what type of powder was used to make the explosive.”

“Hmm… yes, there were a few black market dealers in roaming locations. I don’t know where they are now, but they travel randomly and send out encrypted letters to frequent buyers. Last I heard, they were in the Sky Kingdom, but after Possibility they might have moved.”

Glory swore under her breath. “Do you know what to look out for, then?”

“Admittedly, this part is… spotty for me. Either the enchantment I was under did not allow me to retain memory, or I… repressed it . There was a notable amount of guilt on the word ‘repressed’. “But, I remember their symbol. Look for a marking that looks like two eyes, with a hidden third above them. I can’t recall if the two eyes are closed or not. Be careful, Queen Glory… they are not nice dragons.”

“No, I imagine they wouldn’t be.” Glory shook her head. “Thank you, Sora. I will let you know if it pans out.”

“Good luck, Queen Glory. I cannot say how deep Vulture’s operation runs, but from what I saw… he has ears in every kingdom.”

Glory didn’t reply to that, simply leaving Sora’s mind. She suspected as much. It didn’t make it any more pleasant to deal with.

She let her head fall onto the table again, a low groan escaping her lips. Who would’ve thought being a queen would be so… dismal? She never wanted the throne, not really. It was necessity, not preparation or desire, that forced her talons. Nobody wanted to take it away.

And really, given the nature of most RainWings…

Ugh, she needed a break. She couldn’t sleep with her mind flapping a thousand beats a second. Maybe Jambu would calm her. He was really good at that. Absolute sloth brain, but when it came to relaxing and ‘chilling’, he was king.

Didn’t take too long to find him. Pineapple’s hut was relatively unscathed by the flames, and they had moved in together some time ago. Knocking on the door, said yellow faced RainWing answered.

“Oh, hello Queen Glory.” He greeted with surprise. “Is everything alright?”

“Nope,” Glory answered bluntly. “But I wanted to see Jambu. I… need to relax or something, and he’s good for that.”

“He’s with the egg in the other room.” Pineapple jerked his head to another door in the hut.

“Egg? He actually kept it this time?” Glory stepped inside after Pineapple motioned for her to come in.

“Well… we had cold wings after the whole um… midsummer night .” Pineapple shifted his gaze. Glory rolled her eyes. Much like the MudWings, RainWings tended to have a night where they had a festival . If it was there before she became queen and nobody cared, well… Glory wanted no part of it but saw no reason to discourage it.

“However, the fire really set our priorities straight.” Pineapple knocked on the other door. “We wanted to be parents so badly that it scared us… and now a different fear overrode that. Jambu even went to the festival to make an egg for us. I’m not into girls, else I would’ve, but…”

“I understand.” Glory smirked slightly. Pineapple was a skittish one when it came to interpersonal relationships. Ran his mouth a bit too much… like right then.

“Oh, hi Glory!” Jambu’s pink head poked out the door. “I heard you talking to Pineapple. I’ll have you know I breed excellent frogs for licking. They calm me right down.”

“I… don’t think I want to get high, Jambu.” Glory bristled. “Deathbringer and I tried it and never again .” Then, her eyes slanted. “Wait, you breed them?”

“Uh, yeah. No rule says you can’t.” Jambu shrugged, coming out with the egg. No marks or anything off with it. “I trade them for fruit. Easier than gathering.”

“… but breeding frogs is drastically more work!” Glory could only stare. “You have to care for them, feed them, make sure they don’t escape…”

“Easier than learning to farm.” Jambu shrugged again.

“Lazy dragons find the most productive way for progress.” Pineapple chuckled. “In this case, Jambu makes sure we never starve by watching frogs.”

Glory couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of this. She didn’t know exactly what Jambu did in his spare time, what with being queen and all, and to find out it was this !? She should be concerned that her brother was all but a drug dealer in name only, but it was by far the least harmful thing he could be pedaling.

“Ugh, maybe I will end up taking another frog one day.” Glory shook her head. “Don’t fancy licking them, though.”

“Oh, that’s fine, I got the stuff that makes you all loopy in vials,” Jambu said so casually that Glory burst out laughing again. “What?”

“Jambu, if you weren’t so lazy, you could be one of the most brilliant RainWings.” She shook her head. “Seriously, you extracted the oils on the frog, breed them to make them good or whatever , and then sell them. If you had applied any of this to something like, I don’t know, farming or science or something, you’d be brilliant.”

“… But I like frogs.” Jambu frowned.

“That’s my point, sloth brain.” Glory flicked his forehead. “But if it’s not harming the tribe at all, I don’t mind this before you ask.”

“Outside of knocking out a RainWing for a few hours during Suntime, nope.” Pineapple shook his head. “They just stay there extra long.”

“Oh, so normal RainWing behavior.” Glory rolled her eyes, her fins flaring.

“Can’t all be queen.”

“No, no you can’t.” She eyed the egg. “But if that’s a girl… maybe she can one day.”

“Or your daughter can,” Jambu said offhandedly. Glory coughed on air. “What?”

“I’m not pregnant!” She snapped.

“Are you sure? You’re getting a little…” Jambu quickly stopped talking when Glory bared her fangs. “Could be nothing! But I’ve been around the tree, y’know.”

“I’d know if I am.” Glory calmed slightly. Wouldn’t she? It was past her cycle… although she and Deathbringer did… oh moons, she better not be. Her scales paled at the thought.

“You okay?” Pineapple asked worriedly.

“I think I’ll take a frog after all.” Glory groaned.

***

Deathbringer didn’t know what he expected when he came into view of the Rain Kingdom. He knew it was burned. But he just didn’t expect a massive patch of blackness that rivaled the volcano. Although no fires raged, it was a vivid flashback to that traumatic time as an assassin. Where his name meant everything. He could have changed it upon his new life but…

… he could never forget where he came from. Everything that made him who he was.

So to see that his new home was a smoldering wreck, it filled him with rage and fear. He stopped in the air, feeling as paralyzed as he did when he watched his mother die. It felt like everything was happening again, even if consciously he knew things were different. Glory was still alive.

And yet…

“Are you alright?” Fatespeaker showed up beside him. He snapped right out of his trance at her words.

“Perfect.” Deathbringer flashed a thin smile. “Just, y’know, watching my home explode again.”

“Yeah…” Fatespeaker gave him a sympathetic look before looking behind her, where Starflight and their group of stragglers caught up. Although Gloomblade could handle Fierceteeth, he wasn’t so sure about this Vision dragon.

Oh, he was massive. Too big for the age he appeared as. He spoke very little, but his youthful eyes had the wisdom of elders. His scales were black upon black, making him blend in perfectly with the night. Despite the name, Vision had no foresight powers nor mindreading… that he let on with.

But somehow, Deathbringer doubted that would be an issue. And really, it reminded him of one dragon:

Morrowseer.

But outside the size and dark scales, he looked nothing like the former all-but-leader of the NightWings. Plus, this dragon was about the same age as himself, maybe a bit older. Given how many NightWings came and went on random assignments, it made sense that Deathbringer missed this… incredibly large dragon that moved around like an assassin.

Deathbringer knew this dragon was trouble almost immediately. But he simply couldn’t articulate how he knew this. And from Fatespeaker and Starflight’s aversions to him, it wasn’t just a feeling he had. No, it was better to take this dragon along and keep an eye on him.

Especially since Fierceteeth seemed quite endeared to the large dragon. Size difference preference, or something more? Questions for later. It didn’t seem romantic, either, as Strongwings was often affectionate with her and she returned it.

“Huh, you were not lying.” Fierceteeth hovered beside them, a frown on her face. “Even I ain’t pleased with this.”

“Really?” Starflight raised a brow.

“Of course! Our tribe was affected!” Fierceteeth pointed at the Night Village. “That demands reproach.”

“Hm.” Vision’s eyes narrowed at something, his voice like a rumbling mountain. Deathbringer couldn’t see what he was looking at.

“What?” Fatespeaker asked.

“Reminds me of the volcano.” Was all Vision said before he slowly glided down. Deathbringer followed, trying to find Glory in this mess. Or anyone he recognized, really.

Luckily, he did rather quickly. Mangrove was mustering an organized group of Night and Rain, acting as a commander. He was one of the few RainWings to be active in the Kingdom and not lay around all day. His consort, Orchid, was nearby as well. She wasn’t much of a fighter, but she had been taking lessons to not be taken again.

Her and Kinkajou had a lot to relate to each other about.

“Ah, Deathbringer.” Mangrove gave him a curt nod. “Queen Glory said you’d be coming back.”

“Of course I would.” Deathbringer pretended to be wounded by his words. Mangrove rolled his eyes as Orchid snickered. “But uh… can I ask a favor while I go check on her?”

“What is it?”

“Watch them.” Deathbringer indicated to Fierceteeth and Vision. “StrongWings, too. Something’s going on and I didn’t have time to investigate, nor could I just leave them behind.”

“… Indeed, there is something uncanny about Vision. Like I’ve seen him before.” Mangrove frowned deeply. “Queen Glory is staying with Greatness for the time being.” He shifted an eye to Deathbringer.

Deathbringer nodded and together with Starflight and Fatespeaker took off to the large building. It was impossible to miss, and they were there in no time at all. Opening the door gently, Deathbringer expected to see his queen furiously making notes and writing up plans.

He did not expect to see her half passed out on the table with a vial of frog oil next to her.

“Um, Glory?” Starflight cleared his throat. She lifted her head groggily. Her vision was out of focus and she looked miserable . Which was completely and utterly understandable.

“Oh. Dammit.” Glory grumbled as she stretched her wings and back. “Had hoped that it’d wear off by the time you all showed.”

“Honestly, if you weren’t freaking out about this, I’d be much more concerned than you licking frogs.” Deathbringer approached, giving her a tight embrace that she surprisingly made no snide remark to. No, she simply went limp in his arms and rested her head in the crook on his neck.

“Not the only thing I’m freaking out about.” Glory mumbled to him. “Does my stomach look bigger?”

A brow raised, Deathbringer looked down at her. “Erm… no? Hard to tell at this angle but I’m not seeing anything off. You’re still tight and sexy to me.”

“Oh thank the moons.” Glory let out a sigh of relief. She didn’t even smack him! “Jambu made a comment about being pregnant and we… y’know…”

“Oh.” Deathbringer felt her lower stomach. “Uh… firm as ever. Again, very hard to tell. I’d have to get a very close and personal look.”

SMACK! Her tail struck his face.

“Ah, there it is.” Deathbringer rubbed the area with a large smirk.

“You’re insufferable.” Glory pulled away from him and stood up, stretching like a feline. “Alright, alright, I think it’s wearing out.”

“What, exactly, happened here?” Starflight questioned, stepping up to the table with Fatespeaker. “Deathbringer basically said ‘there’s a fire, everything burned, get your shit and let’s go.”

“Animus,” Glory answered with near monotone from how angrily she said that word.

The next few moments were spent explaining what led to this. From the trial, to the events of the Sky Kingdom, to now. It was hard to believe that in the span of a few days, everything would be flipped on its head. It kind of felt like the exodus to the Rain Kingdom, only now it was time to go back to war.

“They’re gathering at Jade Mountain?” Fatespeaker questioned. Glory nodded. “Well, I hope that warding enchantment has enough willpower or however you described it.”

“I know nothing about it other than Orca telling us and really, she could be telling us a half truth.” Glory bristled. “She’s not lying. But she keeps secrets.”

“Given what we know of her after our time in the Sea Kingdom… yeah .” Starflight shook his head. “Probably has a statue around to keep watch on us.”

“Where would she get it?” Deathbringer questioned. “We don’t have statues.”

“It was a joke, Deathbringer.”

“Sorry, just so unused to it.” Deathbringer shrugged. Glory slapped his shoulder lightly, earning another grin.

“Right, well, there are many guest rooms here.” Glory indicated to the upper floors of the manor. “Get rest. Tomorrow, we’ll need to figure out what we’re going with all of this. I have a few leads I want to pursue, too.”

Glory went up the staircase, Deathbringer following behind. Once inside her room and the door shut, she turned right around and gave him the most passionate, loving kiss he had in the longest time. She all but threw herself at him!

Not that he complained.

“I missed you.” She murmured out. “Moons, you have no idea what it was like without you here…”

“I have an idea.” He held her tight. “I’m not leaving again.”

“… Even if it means giving up the throne?”

“A king can come later. My queen needs me now.” Deathbringer pressed his forehead to hers.

“… That was so sappy that I kind of want to shove you out the door.” Glory let out an annoyed sigh, pulling away and going to the bed. Deathbringer only grinned and followed.

“In all seriousness, if the tribe is in danger, this is where I’ll be.” Deathbringer lay next to her, wrapping his wings around her.

Glory only nodded, and she stayed quiet for a moment. “Deathbringer?”

“Hm?”

“I… if I really was pregnant… I wouldn’t mind it.” Glory turned her head from him, a flash of pink coming from her face.

“Really?” Deathbringer asked without any hint of sarcasm or joking, genuinely taken aback. She nodded quietly again. “… Well, if you are, I wouldn’t mind it either. Let’s just hope that if you are, we solve this before the egg is laid.”

Glory snuggled closer to him, her claws on his chest as she put her head up to his heart. She was a formidable queen and warrior to the world, and that was true even in private. Her ferociousness and bravery were what allured him in the first place. But, these tender moments like this were what Deathbringer looked forward to the most.

He really was the luckiest NightWing in the world.

Chapter Text

The time came for Qibli to set out to find his mother.

He wasn’t alone, thankfully. He had Moon right beside him and Sunny to his left. And above, like the guardian she was, Queen Thorn. They also had a few Outclaws to keep them safe. It was Qibli’s decision to keep going, and he knew it was. He held firm to Turtle’s shell, letting it guide him to the outskirts of the Sand Kingdom.

His heart thumped. His body twitched, tail coiled around itself with anxiety. He doubted that he’d run into his siblings here, but they did fail in killing him. Vulture didn’t take failure lightly. Yet, at the same time, it was as if he planned for the failure.

Qibli tilted his head to Moon. She caught his eye and smiled reassuringly, brushing her wingtips against his.

Her confession as to who her father was calmed him a lot . Winter’s family sucked, but they didn’t cause so much pain and suffering. Turtle’s mother was… well, not nice, but not evil. Moon’s father? Oh boy, was he a massive twat and she turned out to be one of the best things in his life. It reassured him that he never had anything to worry about.

Now that he knew who was working with Vulture, he would make a point to ensure Peril felt the same. He felt a much closer kinship to her now than ever before. Once they met up again at Jade Mountain, it’d be one of the first things he did.

For now, they approached the town of Sanddune. It bordered the Ice Kingdom and was a frequent trading spot between the two tribes. However, so far away from the queens of both, a lot of under-claw deals took place. Which meant a lot of assassination contracts from both sides. IceWings wanted someone dead? Hire a SandWing, and vice versa.

Despite the seedy nature, it was a rather pristine kept town. Icewings typically avoided anywhere not at least somewhat pleasant to look at. Many of the buildings were made of limestone and other sandy rock, but some were damn near crystalline! Unlike Possibility, though, a SandWing ruled these parts.

Once everyone caught wind that the Queen herself arrived, space was cleared. Qibli paid them little mind, following the shell as it practically tore his arm off. He didn’t know what that meant. Was she moving? Probably. Cobra was smart enough to realize when a commotion was happening.

A bar was where the shell led them. With a resigned sigh, Qibli stepped in with Thorn.

Almost immediately, every head turned right around. Some paled. Others were curious. Some more were ready to strike. Yet, the sight of Thorn’s Outclaws – and doubtlessly Qibli himself – made them pause. It wasn’t dirty, but it certainly wasn’t a place for well off individuals. Rounded wooden tables were chipped and in some cases on wobbled legs from bar fights. The bartender herself had a few scars.

One of the dragons that looked, in a corner, made his heart freeze. She was sipping a drink, a perpetual frown on her cowled face. Yet, she did not attempt to flee. Nor did she react with any fear. No, she seemed to be expecting this day for a long time.

“Well, you found me. Took you three years.” Cobra gave them a sardonic look as they approached. “Come to arrest me again?”

“No.” Thorn growled out. Cobra’s black eyes glittered with interest. “Your father is running amok and you know how he works.”

“I heard about that.” Cobra let out an empty chuckle. “It’s when I expected to find you at my doorstep, so to speak. No point in hiding as a result. And really…” She grinned, her fangs shining in the light, “you just confirmed that you need me.”

“We don’t need you,” Thorn answered crossly. “You are simply the best option for finding Vulture. If you’d rather be taken in again, we can arrange that instead.”

“An ultimatum already?” Cobra frowned, but she didn’t seem all that threatened. “Things truly must be dire.”

“He’s working with an animus,” Thorn spoke lowly. That caught Cobra’s attention again. Moon’s brow furrowed a second later. “You may remember him as Bog.”

“Him? Really?” Cobra sighed. “Desperate times indeed… but if he is an animus, why didn’t he ever show it before? Or was this a new development? Suppose it doesn’t really matter now.” She leaned back, grinning again. “Now, if you’re going to hire me, I want two things.”

Qibli and Thorn exchanged a glance, the latter with a barely restrained groan.

“I want a fee. Pretty substantial, as you know.” Cobra twirled a talon in her drink lazily. “And if I am successful, I want a pardon.”

Like clockwork… Qibli grumbled in his mind.

“Or, as I said, I can arrest you here and now.” Thorn shook her head. “And we both know that Vulture will one day come for you again.”

“Doubt that last part. I’m dead to him.”

“He wants me to succeed him.” Qibli suddenly had an idea of how to resolve this. The fact that it didn’t hit him sooner was shocking.

Sure enough, as soon as he said those words, a vein just about popped in Cobra’s eyes. Her claws curled and her black tongue snaked out. It was there that he knew he pressed the right button.

“ You !?” Cobra snapped out viciously. “He wants you !? What did you ever amount to that he wants you to succeed him!? You are a runt, a failure! You oppose him at every obstacle and haven’t the faintest idea of how his operation works!”

“Clearly not a failure, because he wants me over you.” Qibli kept his calm but couldn’t resist throwing in that small jab.

“I see how it is.” Cobra snarled and downed the last of her drink. “I fail him once and it’s game over. You fail everyone and suddenly you’re the best? Pah! He’s doing that to get at me. Explains why he took Rattlesnake and Sirocco with him, too. They were only good for being thugs.”

“And I beat them easily.”

Cobra eyed him up and down. “Hmm... it does seem like you bothered to train yourself. Doesn’t surprise me if that’s the case. Tell me, is it true that you went toe to toe with dear ol’ dad?”

“I did.” Qibli instinctively felt where the wood penetrated his side. “And as you can tell, I survived.”

“Interesting, very interesting…” Cobra smiled coldly. Moon went rigid, looking ready to speak before Qibli gestured not to. “I now see why he chose you. But if you were intending to rile me up, you have succeeded.” She placed a few coins on the table for the bartender. “I still expect a fee, but I cannot deny that I relish the idea of slitting his throat.”

“I take it that you won’t be cutting ours in the night, then?” Thorn narrowed her gaze.

“No, no…” Cobra shook her head before with one, swift motion, grabbing Qibli by the neck and yanking him over to her. Her sharp talon was on his pulse, a wicked grin splitting her face. “But I could slit his. That would really piss him off.”

Every guard plus the queen herself, Moon, and Sunny just about jumped her. But they couldn’t without getting Qibli killed.

“Really, Thorn?” Cobra frowned disappointedly. “Bringing Qibli here? Letting him spout off that nonsense? This would be the only way to draw Vulture out if what Qibli here says is true. All it’d cost is the life of your son. Fair trade for world safety and all that, right?” She tsked. “Now, we can go on to negotiations, hm?”

Moon. Qibli subtly removed his skyfire. She’s bluffing.

What do you mean, she’s bluffing? Moon shot back worriedly.

Look at her posture. She’s holding me hostage, and she is still negotiating a fee. If she really wanted to piss off Vulture, she’d have just killed me. She knows that Thorn won’t ever trust her now. She’s looking for an escape.

Qibli didn’t ever want to think that his own mother would be too scared to fight Vulture, but there it was. Then again, Vulture was a scary dragon even without animus. He and Cobra never quite got along and she always bowed her head. Qibli began to wonder if he intentionally told her to get pregnant to produce an heir.

Which, of course, led to degenerate theories that Qibli dared not think too much about.

Then you can just wiggle out. Moon thought with some hope.

No, she genuinely will kill me if I try anything. But you can. Qibli gave her a subtle smirk as Thorn and Cobra talked. Sunny will help you. All you both gotta do is creep up from behind her. If memory serves me right, she has a neck injury that doesn’t respond well to pressure. Between the shoulders.

And if she reacts by slitting your throat?!

Not if you hit dead center between the shoulders. Like I said, she has an injury there and it has her arms go limp for a second. It’ll probably be padded, so you’ll have to hit really hard. Not that you have an issue with that, miss muscles.

Moon gave him such a deadpan stare that he almost gave away his plan by laughing. From the way Sunny’s face scrunched up, Moon was communicating with her telepathically.

“Not one muscle.” Cobra’s eye slid to Sunny as she started to move. Moon, by this point, was behind another dragon. “He may be my son, but right now, he’s a valuable hostage.”

“Love you too, mom.” Qibli muttered as Moon started to move again.

“Shh dear, the adults are talking now.” Cobra’s sharp talon poked at the vein at his neck. “Now Thorn, you pulled an ultimatum on me. I think it’s time I return the favor.” She grinned. “I want… at least one million, plus a full pardon. I also want full command of a section of Outclaws. I’ll need them if I want to find him anytime fast.”

“Do you really think I’d let you off with a full pardon after this?” Thorn did not rise to the challenge. Rather, she seemed fully aware that Moon had crept over the counter and into the seat behind Cobra.

“You won’t have a choice if you want Qibli alive.” Cobra shrugged.

“And then Vulture will kill you.” Sunny piped up. Cobra’s head turned to the smaller dragon. “You’ll make him angry enough to burn this place to the ground and put your head on a pike.”

“I’ll be long gone by then.” Cobra chuckled. “I hear Pantala is nice this time of year.”

“As if he wouldn’t have you summoned back by animus.” Sunny pointed out. Cobra’s face immediately fell. “There’s nowhere you are safe if you do this.”

“Perhaps not. But it would be worth it to see his smug face fall.” Cobra sneered cruelly. “I’d get the last laugh even if I am flayed alive.”

WHACK!

Moon struck at the base of Cobra’s neck, between the shoulders, with her tail. Sure enough, Cobra’s arms went limp, and Qibli was able to get out of her grasp. As he did, he nicked her thigh with his stinger, giving her a tiny dose of venom. It was nowhere near enough to kill her, but she was stunned long enough to be captured and thrown to the ground.

“Y’know, it didn’t have to go this way.” Thorn mused as Cobra’s limbs were bound. “I did truly intend to hire you. But, I suppose a bounty is good enough. Either way, one threat solved.”

Qibli went to speak, only to have Moon rush at him and plant her lips on his. His sail instinctively raised at the affection.

“Do that again and I’ll be striking you between the shoulders.” Moon muttered into his ear.

“Do what again?” Qibli questioned.

“As if you didn’t know she’d use you as a hostage. I know you saw her leering at you, and I read her mind. You saw me do it.” Moon gave him a cold glare. “That was a gambit I never want you to repeat. Understood?”

A claw smacked him upside the head,. “She won’t be the only one to punish you.” Thorn hissed out.

“I won’t hit you, but I know other ways to deter you,” Sunny added on, giving him a stare that scared Qibli far more than anything else today.

“Oh, now that’s interesting.” Cobra chuckled weakly. “A mind reader NightWing? I heard rumors, but none I met had that power.”

“She’s one of a kind. Well, for now.” Qibli smiled brightly at Moon, who rolled her eyes.

“Well… then she can know that I am telling the truth when I say I’ll work with you for now.” Cobra turned her attention to Thorn, who scoffed. “I’ve been beaten. Plus, that whole protection thing… mm, I’d rather be on the winning side, and right now, you’d be it.”

“Moon?” Thorn tilted her head to the NightWing.

“She’s not lying.” Moon let out a reluctant sigh. “So long as we’re ‘winning’, she’ll stay on our side.”

“Then there will be no negotiations.” Thorn smirked and bent her head down to Cobra’s level. “You will be under my rule. You will do what I say. And one little deviation will land you in a far worse prison than you lay in before. Am I understood?”

“Yeah, yeah…” Cobra shook her head before laying it on the ground. “Unfortunately, Qibli seems to have clipped my wings for now. So… which one of you is carrying me?”

***

Winter held the dreamvisitor in his claw, tapping it with his serrated talons. He knew what he wanted to do, but doing it was another thing altogether. He once again made sure that Kinkajou was asleep before making a final decision, finding her snuggled close.

Ever since the revelation, she had shifted between clinging to him and removing herself far away. Winter didn’t know what he preferred at the moment. He loved her company. He loved her . But at the same time, despite knowing her intentions, he found it hard to meet her gaze. It was one of those things where no matter what happened, he felt like he simultaneously lost and won.

Winter never wanted to leave her. But he didn’t want to hurt her more by staying. He didn’t trust his own snippy remarks sometimes. He didn’t want to get tired and say something he’d regret. Yet, leaving one of the best things to ever happen to him was just not possible.

But, there was one who could relieve part of his indecision. He never wanted to bring it up again.

With a reluctant sigh, he whispered the name ‘Hailstorm’.

This time, he was transported right into his brother’s dreams. He was back in the Ice Kingdom, where he was dreaming of the training ground. His subconscious tended to go here often, Winter had noted over the past few years. Maybe it was the relief Hailstorm got from training and hitting something. Being under Pyrite’s spell left a lot of pent up frustration.

“Oh, hey Winter.” Hailstorm noticed he was there. “How are things in the Sky Kingdom? I wasn’t really privy as to what was going on, but Glory told Lynx and I about an animus.”

“About as well as you think it went.” Winter forced a smile.

“That bad, huh?” Hailstorm shook his head. “Especially if you’re visiting me. Haven’t done that in a while, have you?”

“Not as much as I’d hoped.” Winter sat next to him. “But… I have to ask a question. A question you’re going to hate and I need to know if you’re up for it.”

“Pyrite?” Hailstorm’s jolly demeanor fell.

“Yeah.”