Hey guys, Sol here.
First story, yay!
This is a collection of short stories that are backgrounds to my wings of fire dragons. Each will allow a little insight into their talents, weaknesses, abilities, and secrets, regrets... Well, with that in mind, Here's Cherry's backstory. Hope you all like it!
So without further ado, welcome to "Dragon Scales"!
-Sol
"Gotcha!"
Cherry caught the small bird as it fell, looking it over. It was bright blue, no bigger than one of her talons. She scowled at the nightwing dragonet who had caused the near misshap of the poor tiny feathery creature; it's small chirps echoing through the rainforest. She was in a small field clearing, in collecting herbs and aloe for her newest remedy for hornet and wasp stings that would draw out infection while healing the wound.
"Shame!" The rainwing scowled again. "It's a baby, just go eat something else?"
"What's it matter to you, defect?" The nightwing snarled. His green eyes pierced through her like a spear; cold and daunting. He leapt from his treetop perch and got in her face, so close that they almost touched noses.
"You're nothing in comparison to us! Just because your false queen rules us does not mean you can boss us around!" He barked loudly. Cherry blinked, taking a step back. She was offended, greatly.
"Queen Glory is AMAZING I'll let you know!" She said, her scales turning to an unpleasant red color, spiked with green stripes of anguish. "You just need to get a clearer head! If she HADN'T let you stay here,, you would all be left out somewhere with nowhere to-"
She yelped as the nightwing brought his claws over her face. She shrieked and fell over, rolling out of the way of his next swipe.
"Don't, you DARE," the nightwing roared, slamming his tail over Cherry's head.
"EVER, COMPARE US TO YOU!"
Cherry's scales shot white from the pain, and she held the tiny bird safely in her claws, desperately trying not to squash it as she dodged the nightwing's raging attacks.
"You are NOTHING, and we had it all, we could have rebuilt our own empire!" He tried to charge at her, and slammed into her shoulder. Cherry flew backwards into a nearby tree. Several large birds flew from the tree, yelling high-pitched shrills and tweets of distress.
"We're here because your so-called "Queen" Forced us too!" He howled, baring his fangs. Cherry protectively cradled the small bird, and rolled quickly to dodge the nightwings next head-butt. He slammed into the tree and screeched loudly.
"I didn't mean to hurt you!" She called out. Hidden in the bushes on the other side of the clearing was her medical bag. If she could just reach it, she could end this whole thing quickly...
Cherry rolled and tried to make it seem like she had headed in that direction, when he smashed into her from behind. She was sent flying several meters forward, pain shooting through her back. Cherry fell on her shoulder, and rolled a few meters forward. She gently rammed into a tree, right beside her bag.
The rainwing looked at her attacker, and he was looking away from her, saying things like "Nightwings didn't need help" And "Stupid Glory...", all terrible things. Though Cherry didn't have time to listen.
She took this chance to look around her, and an idea formed in her head.
A small way to the nightwing's left was a bunch of tight-kit bushes, filled with thorns.
Verium Roses, she thought. The thorns cause itchiness and rashes beyond average repair... Still looking, she finally noted the deep scarlet flora growing near the Verium. A cluster of red berries that were about the size on nan-king cherries were growing in bundles, the red flowers in full bloom.
That's jackeye's berry, its toxic to anyone who eats or smells it close enough, and it's berries resemble that of ground cherries! Perfect!
Cherry began quickly running over a scenario in her head and swiftly, as to avoid being seen, reached her tail into her bag and rummaged around; feeling for something.
At last, she withdrew a small, yellow leaf pouch tied with grass. Cherry quickly tucked it under her wing, and set the baby bird behind the tree as to avoid it getting trampled. It chirped meekly and flew away.
Cherry pulled herself to her feet just in time to catch the nightwings last sentence. "So," He growled, slowly walking to her. "Are you going to surrender, or do I make this painful to prove how superior we are to you venom-spitting snails?" He snarled fiercely.
Cherry however, didn't cower. Instead, she smiled kindly, her scales turning back to her standard teal and pink. She circled around him, so her back was to the Jackeye and the Verium.
If he runs at me with just a little more force, I'll be good... I just need to figure out how to "blind" him.
"I think," She said, in a quiet calm tone. "That you need to really rethink your whole legacy, after all... I thought the nightwings were known for their lies, after all."
This snapped her opponent.
The nightwing paused and seconds later he was charging at her faster and with more force than before. Seconds before the impact, Cherry threw herself to the side.
The black dragon, unable to stop himself, crashed into the verium roses and hollered loudly.
Cherry walked up and swiftly grew a lime green powder from the pouch. She held her breath, and tossed it in his face.
The nightwing took one whiff of the mixture and began thrashing loudly, coughing and hacking as the green spores filled his nose and mouth. He tried to sneeze, but it was no use.
"This is Amua," Cherry said Quietly, sitting a safe distance from the withering nightwing. "It's a poisonous air contamination that won't leave any traces behind, because it even soaks through scales... making it impossible to escape from when provoked." The green was already fading quickly. The nightwing choked briefly, and fell over again after trying to stand. Cherry continued.
"It's definably toxic, and is similar to the reaction dragons get when eating Jackeye berries." She slowly smiled. The nightwing gave her one last look with a green eye, before doubling over; unconscious.
The rainwing waited a few muinets till she knew the spore had soaken into his scales, before going back to retrieve her medical bag. She felt a guilty lump form in her throat, but who could blame her? She hated using those types of powders, especially on dragons.
If she hadn't however, she probably would have been dead by now. He wasn't willing to listen.
She sighed, and walked back over to the attacker, who was still mangled in the brushes. Cherry quickly applied some ointment from a coconut shell to the scratches on her face and body, and after a while they cleared up easily. Happy that the damage wasn't too sufficient, she looked at the nightwing, making sure he was still breathing. Thankfully, he was.
It's alright Cher, after all. Sometimes peace requires a little push forward.
A few seconds later, she heard wingbeats.
Cherry looked up to see Pineapple and Terrace land behind her. Pineapple was frowning and Terrace looked scared. Cherry wasn't sure if they had seen the ordeal, but she kept a straight face. Her heart was beating faster than it had before
"What happened?" Said Pineapple, cautiously approaching the nightwing. He looked at the bushes and back to Cherry, a worried expression on his face. "Did you find him here?"
Thank goodness.
Cherry almost gave a sigh of relief, but held it in. She kept a straight face and frowned in concern. "I was out here looking for some herbs and aloe leaves, when I found him totally wiped out." She lied, her scales changing to a concerned yellow-green color. Cherry hated lying, but in the end it would be beneficial to both herself and the nightwing in the end.
Terrace approached the nightwing and sniffed. "He must have eaten the berries," He muttered, eyeing the Jackeye.
"I thought the same." Cherry's expression saddened. She was sad after all, if the nightwing has simply accepted what she had said, none of this would have happened. Pineapple looked at Terrace.
"Go tell Glory what happened, I think we'll need to send in a few rainwings to talk to the nightwing dragonets about the dangers of the berries. She needs to know this happened. We figured it would at some point." Terrace nodded and took off into the sky. The sunny yellow and green striped rainwing looked back to Cherry with a calming expression.
"Don't worry about it." He said, putting a wing over her. She nodded.
"Um, Pineapple..?"
"Yes?"
Cherry shuffled little and looked at the older dragon. "Can, can I fix him?"
Pineapple looked at her and nodded, seemingly taken back by any other idea. "Of course!" He exclaimed, pulling away. "You're a great healer Cherry, I don't know what we would do without you! And since you found him, it only makes sense.." He paused, and turned to take off. "I'll go back to the village to get help getting the poor guy outta there." He nodded to the Verium rose bush" So, want him in your hut?"
"Yes please. Thank you Pineapple!"
Pineapple gave a cherry salute. "No problem! I'll be back soon! Wait here with em for me would'ja? Thanks!" He flew off in the direction of the village. Cherry let out a huge sigh of relief, and smiled at the nightwing.
"Don't you worry, I'll fix you up. Then, maybe we can talk a little more civilized..."
It was almost evening when Spectral woke up.
He felt sore all over, through his bones, his skull... The nightwing groaned and rolled over, only to find his body was covered in various leaf wraps and bandages. Spectral was lying in what seemed to be a grassy nest for dragons. He tried to stand up, and yelped; falling back onto the nest.
"Please," Said a calming voice that he recognized. "Don't move. You'll only make it take longer."
Spectral peered open one emerald eye and saw the rainwing he had attacked sitting a ways in front of him, just like that day. She was wearing a strange headdress, or...was it a crown?
It was made with the most beautiful blue lilies and feathers, with golden berries attached to decorate it. Silver leaves and willow branches had made the frame of the headpiece and a matching necklace.
Looking around, he recognized the rainwing hut almost instantly. There were shelves and baskets, all lined with various items he assumed were for medicinal purposes. A slightly bitter smell lingered from a pot a small distance away. The dying rays of sunshine filtered in through the hut ceiling and walls, as well as through the nearby window in which he lay, completely useless.
He went to roar at her, but instead of voice he felt phlegm fill his lungs.
He coughed loudly and hoarsely, and the rainwing held a gourd in front of him. He seemed reluctant at first, refusing the rainwing's help at every cost, but finally coughed into the cleaned out fruit carcass. The rainwing smiled.
"There you go, isn't that better?" She said sweetly. The nightwing made a face at her.
"You.." He said meekly. She smiled again, and walked over to a shelf, surveying the contents on it. "I what?"
"You did... this..."
He managed to wheeze out the words, and breathing was an issue. He managed to muster a small, weak growl. "You poisoned me, you could have killed me-"
"No, actually." Cherry interrupted, plucking a jar from the assortment of powders and other various medicines from the shelf. It was filled with a light blue sparkly powder. She shook it and opened the cap slightly and took a small sniff. She turned to him and gave a sad smile, putting the jar back on the shelf.
"It wouldn't have killed you. It's rather toxic yes, and it's a bother, but that doesn't make it lethal. There's a major difference." She went back to rummaging around her shelves, and went through some baskets too.
"Whatever." The nightwing grumbled. "I'll be telling you what you did, all of them." He turned over to face the side of the wall, listening to Cherry rummage around her hut. He heard her small "aha!" Of success and snorted.
"I don't think that's wise." She advised, pulling out a cattail from a nearby basket and grabbing two jars; one filled with a whitish-powder, the other a shimmering sparkle dust. The healer sat down and pulled over a hollowed out acorn squash and added the powders, whisking them with the cattail.
"You don't want to be known for attacking one our own, right?"
"You aren't one of us."
Cherry sighed, dribbling in a small amount of gel into the mix along with some crushed winterberries. "We are now, even if we don't like it." She grabbed a firmer stick that was shaped to look like a small broom but attached at the ends, and started mixing the powder-gel mix.
"It'll only be best for us to work together. If we do anything but... It'll just put more at risk."
Cherry stopped mixing the silvery gelatin, and pushed it off to the side. She grabbed two more powders, a dark blue one and a simmering red one. She tipped small amounts into a pineapple filled with water, and stirred it with a different branch. She looked the nightwing in the eyes, her pink to his green. They paused, and he turned back to face the other way as she knelt to continue stirring.
"We are all valuable, in our own ways, and I think nightwings and rainwings would make an amazing team." She said happily, adding a few drops of what seemed to be nectar into the water. It turned a sparkling yellow color.
Spectral gave a snort. "Why's that? All we've ever done was treat you trashy. I thought rainwings were supposed to be lazy and not helpful. Which, you guys aren't. By the way." Cherry looked at the silvery gelatin, and slipped a tiny portion into a coconut shell. The rest she slid into a different glass jar, and stuck a small silver leaf on the outside. Cherry placed it on the shelf with the others.
"I like nightwings. You guys are so mysterious, and you know a lot." She paused, and poured a small amount into the coconut shell. "Also, way better fighters than us. Plus super cool history and such, though I don't fully get it."
Spectral grumbled. He wasn't buying it at all. Cherry sighed. "Look," She said. "I'm just trying to be nice. AT least give me a little credit?"
He had already rolled over in disgust.
She set down the coconut shell beside him, and after a few seconds smiled. "Drink that. It'll help you out a little. Don't worry about it." She looked outside at the cascading darkness that had unfolded over phyrrea. "I need to get some rest," She announced suddenly, as if an audience was there. Spectral rolled his eyes. Stupid quirky rainwings.
"I'll be back in the morning to check on you, but for now stay put. We can talk more about our feelings and acts against each other tomorrow, alright?" Cherry trotted to the entrance of the hut and looked back. "I'll even let you tell me how terrible I am!" She joked. Sliding off her necklace and headdress, she set them on a grassy post near the entrance to the hut.
"Goodnight, get some rest. Maybe you'll have a different view on things for tomorrow."
With that, she took off into the sky to her nightly sleeping quarters. Spectral grumbled again, and pulled the mix close. He sniffed it cautiously. It smelt like... honey? Almost? Whatever it was, it tasted decent, he would give the rainwing that much. He drank it, and almost instantly the burning in his chest subsided. He also felt fairly lightheaded. Deciding it was an aftereffect of whatever she used, a sleeping drug he assumed; like the ones the rainwings used in their darts, he curled up and went to sleep.
Morning came slowly for Cherry as she flew down to her healers hut. She had been called in by Glory that morning to talk about the "incident", and they had both agreed that a talk on berries and such would be useful for both tribes.
Landing outside the hut, her breath was held. Did it work? Did he trust her enough to drink it? She slipped inside, pulling on her headdress and necklace.
Thankfully, the nightwing had taken her remedy. Cherry sighed happily. "Oh good..." She mused, looking at the silvery gelatin. It sparkled dimly in the slow sunlight, making it seem to glow wondrously. A smile shone on her face.
Now, to see if it worked.
She started to tidy up her hut, sorting through the baskets, putting powders and medicines away, and cleaning her tools and bandages off. She cleaned off the cocnut shell he had drank from as to use it when he woke up next.
As she was washing her bamboo "whisk", she heard Spectral stir in his sleep. The nightwing rolled over, and gently pulled into a curled up ball, blinking his eyes sleepily.
"Huh.." He muttered, "Wh...where am I... what happ... happe...ned..nd?" The nightwing looked at Cherry, who was smilling as brilliantly as the uns rays.
"Oh good, you're awake!" She cried happily, her scales flushing bring yellow and pink from her excitement. Spectral blinked again, and rubbed his eyes.
"Wh-who are you again? We met, right?"
Cherry giggled, and shook off the whisk; tossing it into the basket with her other tools. "Yup! I'm Cherry. I helped you recover."
"Recover from.. what? God, my head.."
Cherry poured a small bit of water into the shell and handed it to him. The nightwing took it, with a small "Thanks."
Cherry frowned with a worried expression. "You ate some berries that cause extreme swelling and are usually really poisonous." Her frown vanished though into a relieved smile. "I'm happy I found you, or else you would have been sick for ages! You fell into some fearsome bushes too, which is what those are from." Cherry gestured to the cuts and scraps that had been bandaged.
The nightwing blinked, drinking the water. "R-really? I don't recall... well, no, I was in the rainforest yesterday..." He said, lifting his head as to look at Cherry. "Don't remember why I was there though."
"That's ok!" Cherry laughed, and walked over to him. "She pointed to his bandages. "You were probably hunting and saw them thinking they looked edible, which I don't blame you. They taste good, till the poison kicks in." Cherry sat down. "
I patched you up just fine, but I would like you to stay a while, to make sure the injuries don't extend or end up being infected. Though they shouldn't. It's just to make sure."
The nightwing smiled slightly. "Gee... thank you."
Cherry patted his head. "You're welcome!~" She sang out, turning around. "You probably went to hunt, I found a birds nest close to where you fell over." She paused slightly before continuing. "You know that if you want meat, it would be better to have the adults right? Besides, the babies wouldn't sustain you at all. Besides eating babies is kind of cruel, isn't it?"
Spectral Blinked again. "Oh! That makes sense!" He nodded eagerly. "Yeah, of course. I'll be careful. I'll tell my friend too once I'm back."
Cherry smiled gratefully. "Thank you, um..."
The nightwing held out a claw. "Spectral. That's my name." He grinned. Cherry took his claw and shook it. "I'm Cherry, nice to meet you!"
"Likewise, you're really good at the whole healing thing."
"Thank you, after all, it's what I do!"
Cherry looked out into the sun-filled rainforest. "Say, I'll bring you back some food from this morning, alright?"
The nightwing thanked her again and curled up to sleep off the rest of the poison. Cherry flew through the trees, her scales warm and happy from the sun.
It was times ;like these that helped peace.
Even if it seemed unfair, it helped in the end.
It made everyone happier, and it was one closer step to bonding the tribes together.
Cherry laughed and did a barrel roll in the sky, diving into a nearby watermelon patch.
Oh, today's going to be a good, good day!