Deep within the Skywing territory, inside of a smaller mountain, a cave was being used for something much different than a Skywing base.
Kestrel hissed furiously at a cowering blue-green dragon, her brilliantly red scales seeming to glow with an inner light. The smaller dragon opened his mouth as if to speak, but a murderous glare from orange eyes shut him up. Curls of smoke escaped from her nostrils, accompanied by the hiss of fire breath. The Skywing roared in frustration.
"You mean to tell me," She said threateningly, her red horns glinting. She bared her sharp fangs far too much to be normal. "That when I very specifically told you to find another Skywing egg to replace the broken one, you thought it'd be best to grab a RAINWING?!"
The dragon shrunk closer in on itself, a weak luminescent light flashing on his tail three times.
"There's no right answer to that question." A sandy colored dragon said wryly, walking in slowly. Black horns curled above his head before shooting back like a sword. He favored his left leg, which was only slightly more than a stump. His face wincing slightly every time he put weight on it. He used a thick tail that ended in a barb to keep his balance. His face, though, was full of nothing but open-ended honesty.
"The five eggs are ready, sitting by the fire. They're definitely ready to crack open. The Mudwing's already shaking." He repeated in a louder voice, his black eyes flicking from the downed Seawing to the furious Kestrel. "We just need Tundra to bring the Icewing." He twitched his tail, drawing it closer to wrap neatly around his hind legs. The barb rattled softly on the stone floor.
The red dragon roared again at Webs, a burst of liquid fire shooting out from her jaws and slamming into the wall across from her. A wave of heat flooded the room, making Webs flinch. The fire scorched the rock, leaving a thick black mark.
Kestrel abruptly left the blue dragon, striding with her wings stiff past the Sandwing into the room beyond. Her whole form radiates frustration.
The dragon looked curiously at the Seawing, head cocking almost innocently to one side. "Did I… miss anything?" He added suggestively, waggling his right wing. "Are you getting lucky, Webs?"
Webs choked, his thin body doubling over as he pushed himself to his webbed feet. "Dune!" He croaked, his voice hoarse. "Don't do that!"
The Sandwing's throaty laughter followed him as Webs darted off to find Kestrel, the scales on his cheeks burning.
Another dimly light passage and soon he was passing a dark spot, several glowing strips by his eyes lighting up to help him see the way. They made an eery green glow that made strange, whirling shadows across the walls. They were dim, but seeable.
He still stumbled at least twice.
The flaming red dragon was standing by the open door to their cave, the giant boulder that kept them safe rolled carefully away. The night breeze ruffled his wings, and the stars were brilliant. The forest was dark, with the buzz of crickets loud against the peace.
"Kestrel!" Webs hissed. "We need to close it! No Skywings can see us!" He darted right next to her, his claws already reaching out to grab the stick to pull the boulder back. His eyes darted over to her, desperation filling them.
"Webs." The Skywing's voice was peculiarly soft, carrying a strange undercurrent of worry. It was a far claw from where she had been moments before, and Webs could feel the scales on his back prickle with fear. What had gotten into her?
"When has Tundra ever been late?"
Webs stopped short, his arm freezing. The stock was within his grasp, but now his mind was racing, shooting to conclusions he was liking less and less. He thought back and back and back to everything that he had ever done with the admittedly speedy Icewing. "Never," He finally said. "I've never seen him late in my entire life." Come on, Kestrel! Come back inside!
"The moons will finish rising in just a few hours, Webs," Kestrel said, tracing a red claw on the trail of the shining silver orbs. Webs could almost see an after image, a burning path of flame from moon to moon. "He agreed to be back well before now." She turned to face him, her face blank but her eyes glowing.
"Do you think we could do it? Without Tundra?"
Webs froze. His mind raced.
It was no secret that Kestrel hated Icewings with a burning passion, from something deep within her past. He could still remember the day Tundra had joined them.
She had been frozen, fire dropping from her maw when the Talons of Peace decided that they would be paired with an Icewing. Her claws had left gouges in the stone that were still there, probably forever.
If you only had five dragonets you three could do it were their words. But six is too much. Tundra will be joining you. Then a surly Icewing had been shoved in their midst with no warning, only a couple of days to finish getting the cave ready.
The companionship between her and Tundra had been strained at best, but at worst they would fight, letting loose horrible deep cries as they tore at each other, fire breath and frost death outlining their howling forms.
The next day they would ignore the other, often going to great lengths to avoid being in the same room. Kestrel was worse, but both were bad. Webs was just glad that there wasn't a Nightwing here. With all this tension, Kestrel - or Tundra, he added dryly - would have killed them already.
"Yes," Webs said carefully. "But we need him to bring the Icewing egg. All will be lost without it."
"Not all, Webs." She said, her face uncaring but her voice soft. "If we can do this with a Rainwing for a Skywing, we don't need to have an Icewing, do we?"
He winced. He imagined a young Icewing exposed to Kestrel, forced to live under constant bullying and even torture that her anger would bring. The fear that that dragonet would have could infect the others, making them hate everything to do with their guardians. Then those dragons making the choice of the Queen?
It would not be good.
"I think we could do it," Webs said. His claws shook, his horns ached, and his back burned but he still agreed, ignoring every sign that this was a bad idea. "We could make it work."
After all, the Icewing's life would be much worse here.
But maybe Webs wasn't quite as right as he thought.
Miles away, a black shape stood over the downed body of a pale white Icewing, dark blue blood dripping hideously slowly from the slits in its neck. Its blue eyes were frozen open, fear and panic in the full blown irises that would never close again. The shimmering wings lay useless on the ground, twisted and broken. The black dragon looked carelessly down at it, before snorting and turning away.
Morrowseer hissed in disapproval at the navy blood coating his claws. He sunk them into the snow drift nearest to him and watch with satisfaction as they returned to him much cleaner. He wiped them through the frozen snow several times, just to be safe.
The Icewing twitched, just the tiniest bit, and Morrowseer casually used a clawed foot and shoved the corpse away, making it roll once before stopping several feet from him. A thin stream of blue blood marketed its passing.
He stretched, extending his wings to their fullest extent before curling them back up and pressing them to his sides. He took a quick look around, searching for any approaching dragons. Seeing none, Morrowseer glanced down to have a look at his prize.
He smiled wickedly.
He stooped over, his wings spread to keep his balance in the frigid place. His claws reached for something just out of the dead Icewing's grasp.
A shimmering silver egg, perfectly oval and shining. It seemed to bask in the light of the rising moons, like a moon itself. Tiny starbursts could be seen, cracks spreading like spiderwebs.
Morrowseer picked it up rather delicately, clutching it in both talons. He turned it slowly, checking critically for any life altering damages or cracks. Seeing none, he snorted a puff of white mist into the air, curling around his muzzle before disappearing into the cold air. He slid the egg into a small, ready-made pouch that was slung over his chest, carefully making sure it didn't make itself too uncomfortable for him. Seconds later, the egg was tucked safely inside, the weight light and almost unnoticeable. He took a few steps, checking his balance. It was fine.
He smiled. They were one step closer to bringing Blister and himself to the rulers of the land.
And with that, he crouched and threw himself into the air.
A black shape detached itself from the dark sky, gliding down with scales that looked like the night itself. A few light beats of wings splattered with silver and it was lined up perfectly with the ground. It landed with a soft thump on the hard packed soil, carefully settling on its hind legs first.
Morrowseer shook from the neck down, taking great pleasure in watching tiny flecks of water soar off his scales. The clouds were wet today, which meant rain.
And a soaked dragon.
The egg shifted, and he groaned but stopped shaking, the rattles of his prize cooling against his scales. He flicked his thick tail once more to clear the last of the water, before settling more comfortably and facing forward.
He scrutinized the sight before him, his black eyes keen. His night vision was better than most dragons, but nothing was perfect. Soon he was adjusted to the dim light from the three moons rising slowly.
A towering mountain, complete with several small streams and waterfalls and a depression that looked almost like a cave, but was too shallow. He smirked at it, his lips twisting.
Just big enough to avoid, but small enough to make others lose interest.
Perfect.
He curved his neck around, looking down at the bag across his chest. It was small, but still the perfect size for its precious cargo. A tiny glint of silver shone in the rising moonlight. His grin widened, before slipping off his face easily.
Morrowseer yawned mightily before striding forward, his claws sinking a bit too deeply for his tastes into the fresh mud. With a sigh, he spread his wings and took off, soaring closer to the mountain and the secrets it held.
He landed lightly in the depression, the tiny roof sinking the space into an inky black. He swiped his claws around on the stone, searching quickly.
He gave up and pounded his talons against the rock.
A second passed. Morrowseer's face began to twist downwards.
The stone ever-so-slowly began to glide open, the sound of grating rocks muffled to avoid attention. The hisses and crackles of a fire reached his ears, and a soft orange light began to filter from the opening. The passageway gave off a feeling of ice, from thousands of pounds of cold stone surrounding everything to the flickering shadows.
He shouldered past the moving rock and stepped inside, his claws clicking on the stone. He stopped once he was barely inside, noting with satisfaction as the door began to immediately slide back. He flicked his tail out of the way, before looking around, making sure to look nonthreatening.
A black shape peeled itself off the dark wall and strode towards him, slowly revealing wings and a tail.
Another Nightwing, though this one was smaller than him.
It was male, with curving black horns, and had a peculiar pattern of orange-red stones outlining his wings, like imprints of flame. His black eyes gleamed with an inner light.
Duskfire smiled toothily at him.
A voice echoed from somewhere to his right. "You're late." It hissed, soft and deadly.
Morrowseer turned toward it, his face neutral. But he broke into a grin when he saw the dragon beside him.
A lithe, dark golden form, with a whip-thin tail ending in a poisonous barb that rattled on the floor like a snake. Twin black horns were as sharp as any daggers, and polished claws gleamed like swords. And two little diamonds framed onyx black eyes like stars.
Morrowseer's smile widened.
"Hello, Cobra." He purred back.
Couldn't resist! Here's a new chapter!
So now the story is beginning to take form, and the characters are starting to be revealed!
So, I have a little challenge for you people! If you can guess the egg's name, (It's an Icewing, by the way) then you can earn a preview of the next chapter! Guess now!
So please review your name guess!
Or just review. Either one, please.
Frost OUT!