A/N: Alright here's chapter four for your enjoyment!
Sunny gasped awake as soft knocks sounded on the door. A creak followed as it slowly opened. Sunny jumped up a mixture of hope and fear at who was behind it. A candle came into view and illuminated a scavenger's face.
It was Rhina.
Sunny opened her mouth to say something but Rhina shushed Sunny silent with a finger over her lips. She pulled back into the hallway to check for anyone roaming the halls and came into Sunny's room, closing the door with a quiet thump. As soon as it closed Rhina started talking.
"Hi again. Sorry I woke you up and snuck into your room and I'm probably going to keep both of us up but I just had to ask you." Rhina rushed out.
"Um… okay, ask me what?" Sunny said hesitantly.
"First, you never answered where you came from." She said looking expectantly at Sunny. Sunny could already tell that Rhina was a very curious girl and would risk her neck if it meant getting an answer. Sunny also knew that if she didn't answer now Rhina would pester her till she did.
"I don't have any particular home like other dragons, but my egg came from the desert, somewhere near what's call the Scorpion Den. Yet I was raised in a series of caves under a mountain, but me and my friends escaped and have been flying all over since. But I guess I could say I came from the rainforest south of here, that's where all my friends are now." Sunny finished, Rhina listened intently the whole time, not interrupting even if Sunny saw a question on her face.
"Wow. I can't imagine…" Rhina trailed off, amazed at the the idea of Sunny's life as a dragon. "What's it like being a dragon?"
"I don't know, what's it like being a scavenger?"
"Hm, good point, but can't you compare it now that you're like this?" Rhina asked, gesturing to Sunny's new form, making her own good point. Sunny thought for a moment before replying.
"I've only seen a few scavengers in my life, but I have read scrolls about them-"
"Dragons have scrolls? How? I thought they didn't have a language" Rhina interrupted.
"Yeah we do, and you do too right?" Sunny asked unsure, Rhina nodded like it was the most obvious thing but gestured for Sunny to continue. "I read that scavengers were too stupid to have that. But," Sunny added before Rhina, with an angry expression, could correct the statement. "I never believed that. I knew that they were smarter than the scrolls said because their eyes were too much like a dragons." She finished almost wistfully. Rhina paused before replying in a more serious tone.
"I've heard some of the men here talk about dragon eyes being too similar to humans to be mindless monsters. But that just made them hate dragons even more knowing they could be so similar."
"I guess dragons and scavengers are more alike than either know." Sunny said, sounding like Starflight to her slight dismay.
Rhina nodded in agreement and paused, thinking of another question to ask. Realizing she might be here for a while, Sunny made herself comfortable on the bed.
"Oh I know," Rhina burst out, back to her normal self. "I saw you with a woman in that dream with the sapphire. Who was she?"
"When you visited me with the dreamvisitor? That was Flower, she was staying with me the night you visited me with the sapphire. She's in the Sandwing Palace in the middle of the desert." Sunny realized just where she was going and continued more tentatively. "She was captured after the palace guards found her, that night when scavengers raided the palace eighteen years ago. She was left behind." Sunny watched Rhina closely to see her reaction.
"You mean… She's not dead… she's alive? How?" Rhina demanded an intense look in her eyes.
"One of the dragons there, Smolder, he's the leader of the guard, kept her safe from the others and has kept her as a kind of pet."
Rhina had her mouth open in shock but Sunny saw no hint of anger on her face, only revelation at the new information.
"Tha-that changes everything! Kel was so sure that she died, he was heartbroken." Rhina said, then gasped. "We have to rescue her!" She looked ready to charge out into the desert by herself.
"Now? By yourself? That'd be stupid. A scavenger could never make it in, a dragon can't!" Sunny said getting up and grabbing Rhina's outstretched hand, keeping her from rushing out.
"Bu-but…" Rhina half protested.
"I said she's safe. And I trust Smolder to keep her that way." Sunny soothed. "We can tell everyone else tomorrow. It's the middle of the night. We should be sleeping." Sunny reasoned, giving a huge yawn in response to the word 'sleep'.
"I guess." Rhina said dejected, "But I have one more question. Can you tell me more about this war between dragons?" she said gently.
Sunny was surprised at Rhina's genuine interest but was not looking forward to retelling the horrors of the war. She started talking anyways.
"It's horrible. Dragons die every day in bloody battles just because three sisters dragged the whole of Pyrrhia into it. There is so much death. I've seen mere dragonettes killed as soldiers and even younger ones orphaned because their parents died. Hardly any dragon is nice to each other and each tribe hates everyone else. The queens are terrible and cruel but they don't have a choice, they're either threatened into alliance or are too deep in the war to do anything but fight. Some enjoy the bloodshed more than any dragon should." Sunny said, her words growing faster and more passionate as she went deeper in the explanation till she was ranting.
"And then you have the Nightwings who believe they can just make a war between the innocent for their own gain. And my friends and I were raised in a horrible cave with guardians instead of our real parents. We grew up to believe that we were destined to end the war but… it was all a lie." Sunny sat down with a depressed huff, during her rant she had gotten up and started pacing without meaning to. Rhina only stood by quietly watching as Sunny told about the horrible war between dragons.
"I have to believe that me and my friends can still stop this war, with or without a prophecy. We're still the only ones in Pyrrhia able to do so and no one else is willing." Sunny let out another depressed sigh "Including my friends." she added quietly.
"Can you tell me about your friends?" Rhina asked gently, watching Sunny with unreadable eyes.
"They're more like siblings really. Tsunami is really loud and bossy and impulsive but she's really nice too and tries to take care of everyone else. Glory hates that about her and can be kind of moody but she still cares. Starflight is so nice and timid and smart, he knows almost every scroll in the library, he's the one that keeps Tsunami in line. And then you have Clay, he's our bigwings, without him we all would've grown up to hate each other. He's the one that protects us all and keeps us from fighting." Sunny said a smile on her lips. Talking about her friends did cheer Sunny up from talking about the war.
"Now I have a question for you." Sunny said to Rhina, "Why did you want to ride on my shoulder? I thought all scavengers were scared of dragons."
"They are but I'm just crazy." Rhina said with a chuckle, "I grew up hearing about evil dragons. How they burned the old city and killed Magnolia along with so many others. I don't know it just didn't seem like the whole story. I've only heard stories and seen dragons from a distance. I grew curious. And then when I met you, a dragon that didn't kill us on sight, of course I was terrified at having a dragon so close, but... I don't know, it was stupid but I just had to see if I could find the truth. Honestly I was surprised you understood what I wanted." Rhina explained.
Sunny took it all in with utter fascination, this was the first time she could freely talk with a scavenger. Oh if only Starflight were here, he would love to record this.
"Ha, you wouldn't believe the tongue-lashing I got from Jake when we reached our rooms. He was telling me how stupid I was and how he's blaming me for the situation we're in now. But he dug his own grave when he outright lied to Kel's face." Rhina laughed cheerfully. Sunny couldn't help but smile with her, Jake acted a lot like Starflight, it seemed, always following the rules.
"Oh man, I wonder what Kel has in store for us tomorrow." Rhina said with sudden realization, she then turned to Sunny, "Just as some advice, try not to act like… a dragon."
"That makes no sense. I'm still a dragon, I'm just a scavenger right now." Sunny said confused.
"What I mean is just lay low, don't draw attention to the fact that you're a dragon. A lot of people here hate dragons, I think you were lucky that it was me and Jake that found you and then John that found us, we're more tolerant than others. A lot of loved ones have died because of dragons. I'm afraid of what would happen to you if word got out." Rhina explained sincerely, worry on her face as she looked at Sunny.
Sunny understood completely. A few times some of her friends had to stay in hiding or were treated badly just because they came from a certain tribe. Often for the same reason as these scavengers. Sunny nodded in agreement. Only then did she notice just how heavy her head had become.
Sunny yawned as her body demanded sleep. Rhina yawned a moment later. The late time of night caught up to them.
"Alright we need to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be interesting I just know it. Good night Sunny." Rhina said standing up.
"Good night Rhina." Sunny said back and watched as Rhina picked up the light she had set on the nightstand earlier and headed to the door. She checked the hall before looking back, smiled at Sunny and disappeared, leaving Sunny alone in her room again.
Sunny liked Rhina. She seemed like a good friend to have, and she honestly cared for how Sunny was treated. Rhina's warning to lay low rang in her head well after she said it. Sunny wasn't able to think about it much and was only able to spend a moment thinking tired thoughts before crawling back in bed and falling asleep, again.
A/N: Whew that was long! Now that you read it tell me what you think! Do the scavengers react reasonably? Does Sunny? Feel free to give me ideas on what happens next.
SHOUT OUTS! (because I can't thank you in any other way)
frostbite - Yes in a way, if not defiantly in love with each other.
Guest - THANK YOU SO MUCH! I feel so honored that you like it! I have no intentions of killing this fic and hope to keep it going as long as possible.
Everyone else who reviewed - Thank you! All of your reviews mean a lot to me and I hope I can write good enough for you all to enjoy it!