My god, I'm so damn lazy. Sorry for the long wait, I blame myself. Anyway, here is the next chappy. It's fairly long, so ya'll should be satisfied. I hope to update next week, but I can't promise. So here this is. Hope you enjoy!
-Saiba
"So, who is it you work for?"
Kauwari busied himself with questioning Clovis as his friends hunted. Wait a minute, friends? Already?
Maybe I am going insane. Kauwari thought. Maybe those darts were hallucinogenic or something.
Whatever. For right now, Kauwari had to focus on more urgent matters.
"A group called the Nightcrawlers," Clovis replied, watching the other dragons frantically chase prey around in the afternoon sun. "We're based in Possibility, basically a bunch of vigilantes. My father is... well, he's pretty high up in their ranks, so if you want some help getting back to Ontegal, he would be the person to go to."
The thought of Ontegal made Kauwari's mind whirl. 'Home... I might be going home!' He thought in glee. A ghost of a grin appeared on his face.
"So, could you take me to him?"
Clovis jumped, head snapping back to face his interrogator. "What, right NOW?" He exclaimed. "But, my father's probably busy, cleaning up after petty criminals and stuff, y'know? I mean, I could send him an inquiry, but it'd be a week or two before it gets to him, at least. Plus, he told me not to leave the academy. Gave me the whole 'dire consequences' speech and everything."
Kauwari scoffed, lashing his tail as they sat in front of the small lake next to Jade Mountain. "Well, you're his son, aren't you? Can't he make an exception?" He growled, tossing a piece of goat meat into his mouth.
Clovis stopped in the middle of protesting. His gaze traveled down to his claws, and he played with his feather charm as his brow furrowed in thought. Suddenly, his face brightened, and when Kauwari looked back at him, he was smirking deviously.
"Well, I've never been one to disobey my father," Clovis chuckled. "He doesn't want to me to turn into some sort of CRIMINAL, right?"
Kauwari raised an eye-ridge, surprised by the dragon's sudden change in attitude. "Sooo... what are you thinking?"
"Y'know, I've always wondered what it's like to go against the law. Guess it's time to find out," he laughed. Then, he turned to Kauwari. "I don't know yet, but I'll see what I can come up with. If we try to leave now, the Dragonets will send a search party out after us for sure. They don't want another Jade winglet getting pulled."
Kauwari irritably shook his head at the words 'Jade winglet'. "Y'know, I keep hearing the Jade winglet thing getting thrown around," he said, frustrated. "Why? What happened?"
Clovis looked at him, clearing his throat nervously. The 'incident' was not normally something that Pyrrhians were comfortable talking about. "Well... let's just say that if it wasn't for them, we'd all be very, VERY dead right now." He stood up, stretching his legs and shaking out his tail.
Kauwari gave him a puzzled look, but dismissed the explanation as an overly dramatic show of horror. "Why are you telling me all this, anyway? What's so special about me?" He questioned.
As soon as he posed the question, Clovis' face froze. "I… to be honest, I don't know. All my orders come from my father, and I usually don't like to question him. You know?" Clovis chuckled, staring at a butterfly as it landed on his talons. "But I would. Tell you, I mean. If I knew myself what exactly was going on."
Kauwari eyed him suspiciously. Now I know he's hiding something. But, he decided against pressing further. For now, he just wanted to let his mind rest. His purple irises scanned the mountainous landscape, and he managed to spot a slender, sky-blue dragon winging her way towards them.
"So, are you guys having fun chatting over here?"
Jasmine chimed as she flew up to them, landed, and began to munch on a wild boar she had caught.
"Well, Clovis dreamed something up, but he hasn't told me what it is yet." Kauwari cast a suspicious glare at the Sandwing, who threw his claws up in defense. "Hey, I haven't worked out the details yet, ok? So chill. But I promise I'll be able to get you guys out of here by tonight."
Jasmine's eyes widened in alarm. "Tonight? But what about Gale?" She stuttered. "I haven't visited her yet, so I still don't know how she's holding up. We can't just leave her here alone!"
Kauwari sighed. He had forgotten about that. "Ok, look. You guys figure out our 'plan' with Clovis, and I'll..." he paused, all the possible consequences of the action he was about to make flashing through his mind. Taking a deep breath, he tried to shake off those thoughts. "I'll go talk to Gale. And Jasmine,"
The aforementioned dragon turned her attention to Kauwari. "Hmmph? Whath ith it?" Her voice was muffled by a mouthful of food, but still decipherable. "I promise I won't mention her brother." Jasmine nodded as she swallowed. "That... would be great."
Upon hearing her response, Kauwari jumped up and took off, quickly making his way back towards the Academy.
"Gale? Are you awake?"
Kauwari called into the infirmary, poking his head inside. Upon finding none of the Rainwing nurses present, he rounded the corner and walked in. 'That makes sense, they're probably at lunch. But I should still make this quick.'
He began pacing down the room, checking each bed for glittering silver scales. There were also a bunch of other patients there as well, he noticed. Mudwings, Skywings, Rainwings, dragons of all kinds, and only a few seemed to acknowledge him. Some saw him, and their eyes widened with curiosity. Others groaned in discomfort, glassy stares fixated on the warm lamps hanging above them. Most just continued to sleep off their drug-induced stupor. But there was something that stood out about each one of them.
Kauwari stopped as he came up to another bed, occupied by a snoozing Mudwing. He scanned her wood-brown body, trying to decipher what might be poking his brain.
Eventually, his eyes came to rest on a set of three bloody gashes, which lay parallel to each other across her left shoulder.
'It's their wounds,' he said, drawing in a sharp breath. 'They're all clearly made by other dragons. Scratches, bruises, burn marks...'
A sigh escaped him. 'It must be difficult, getting dragons who used to be enemies to work with each other.' There had never been any major conflicts back in Ontegal.
Kauwari shuddered as he remembered why he was here. That was the reason he had been caught so off guard when they were attacked. Everything had seemed so peaceful and ordinary. And yet, for him… life fell apart quicker than Kauwari could have ever imagined.
Suddenly, Kauwari was snapped back to reality as a loud groan was uttered a little further down the line of stone beds. The voice was clearly female: one that Kauwari easily recognized.
'Gale!' He thought. 'That must be her!'
As he dashed over, just a few spots down, lay the antisocial Icewing. Gale appeared to be just waking up. Kauwari put his paws on her back and shook her gently in an effort to speed up the process. "Hey, Gale! Wake up, it's me, Kauwari!"
Gale rolled over, but when she saw him, her face morphed from one of tiredness to one of horror. "Get away from me, monster!" She hissed, and lashed out with her claws as she jumped up and drew back.
Sharp pain shot through Kauwari's cheek, and he quickly recoiled. "OW!" He could feel warm liquid start dripping down his face, and it tasted of metal as it seeped into his mouth. "What the hell was that for?!"
After a moment, Gale seemed to process what had just happened. "S-sorry," she mumbled. "I just...I thought you were my brother."
Kauwari sensed her distress, and his face softened. Her hopped onto the bed. "I think I should be the one apologizing, actually." He said. "I shouldn't have startled you like that, knowing what you've been through. I'm sorry, if I had just -"
"No, no, stop," Gale said, shaking her head. "That… was my fault. I forced you to do it. My request, my responsibility."
He didn't know why, but Kauwari felt a strange twinge as Gale glared at her talons in distress. He thought it strange, but this was no way to give first impressions. He needed to reconcile. Even if he had only known her and her friends for a few weeks.
Tentatively, he placed his paws on hers. Gale flinched, barely looking up at Kauwari. He felt his cheeks heat up, and looked away. Gale was no doubt having the same reaction. "You know, I used to know somebody who did something bad to me. But even though it was an accident, she still felt like she had done something wrong. I hate it when somebody hates themselves for something, even though I don't… we're not perfect you know. Everyone makes mistakes."
He sighed. "But I just hope my new friends don't end up the way she did." He said softly, his voice caring a dark tone as he mumbled the words.
The Icewing finally looked up, and Kauwari was pleasantly surprised to see a grin on her face. "F-friends?" She inquired. "Sounds like you've been pretty busy while I was asleep."
"Yeah, I guess I have," he said, gazing at his claws, which lay unmoved from their spot on Gale's. "Oh, that reminds me! I need to tell you something. There's been a recent... development, while you were out. And it's pretty important."
Gaze raised an eye-ridge. "Really now?"
Kauwari nodded his head, before getting up and jumping off the bed. Gale also got up, since it was pretty clear they were leaving.
"C'mon," he said. "We don't want the others to get bored."
Gale smiled. "Yeah. They tend to get in trouble when they're bored." She laughed. Then she dashed after Kauwari as he headed for the exit, and the infirmary was silent once again, save for the occasional expression of pain.
"So, let me get this straight," Gale said. Kauwari had taken her to meet up with the rest of the Silver winglet, which was back in the same cave the old Jade winglet normally went to.
"Kauwari, you're on a mission to save Pyrrhia from the evil 'Golden Dawn' guys. Clovis, you're actually a member of a shady vigilante group in Possibility, and Kauwari needs your help getting back to Ontegal. And your plan is..."
"I'm going to take Kauwari to my father, in Possibility. The influence of the Nightcrawlers is pretty extensive, so I imagine they've already found out about Ontegal, and have a way to get there," Clovis explained, waving his talons in the air. "And were not 'shady', by the way."
Jasmine, who was sitting next to Gale, piped up. "But what about us? You don't expect to leave us behind, do you?"
"That was the plan," Kauwari replied.
"No way," Gale protested. "I'm coming with you."
"But you CAN'T. It's way too dangerous, and you guys don't know Ontegal at all!"
Gale squeezed her claws into a fist. "Too bad. I need to find my brother. I know he's still alive; I can feel it. No way in hell am I going to waste an opportunity like this."
"I'm with Gale," Jasmine said. "Just because it's dangerous or whatever doesn't mean we can't help."
"No. No! You're not going. None of you are," Kauwari growled.
Jasmine laughed. "What are you gonna do, stop us?"
The Chromawing opened his mouth to reply, but no sound came out. 'She's right,' he thought. 'What can I do?' He gritted his teeth. 'Nothing, I guess.'
"Well, what about the others? Shale? Peregrine? ... Bonehead? What do they think?" Kauwari questioned.
Jasmine snickered. 'Bonehead' was good name for Blackfang. "I don't know. Let's ask them." She got up and walked over to the edge of the pool, where Shale, Blackfang, and Peregrine were playing. "Hey guys, we need to talk to you."
"Aww c'mon," Shale whined, dodging a splash of water. "Five more minutes!"
Jasmine sighed. "It's urgent."
Peregrine gave Jasmine an inquisitive look, and swam over to Blackfang. She grabbed his shoulder, and started paddling over to the shore.
"H-hey!" Blackfang exclaimed. "What are you doing?"
"It's Jasmine," Peregrine replied, catching the stone edge with her talons. "She says it's important."
Blackfang didn't argue. "Alright. Let's go, Shale."
Shale groaned, irritably slapping the water with his tail. "You guys are no fun," he mumbled.
When the rest of the winglet joined them, Kauwari, Jasmine, Clovis, and Gale resumed their talks.
"Where's Lagoon?" Kauwari noticed the Seawing wasn't with them, and was looking around in confusion.
"She asked to be transferred to a different winglet," Peregrine sighed. "I think you traumatized her."
The ebony dargon rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Er, sorry. I didn't know it would be so effective," he chuckled nervously.
"Doesn't matter, she was a wimp anyway." Blackfang said. "What's this important thing you needed us for?"
Jasmine took a deep breath. "We're thinking about joining Kauwari on his journey back to Ontegal."
Shale's eyes widened, and he did a somersault. "You want to go on an adventure?" He squealed gleefully. "Count me in!"
Jasmine ignored Kauwari's scowl of annoyance. "That makes three, then. Peregrine? Blackfang? What about you guys?"
Peregrine took a while to answer. "Well, if were helping to save Pyrrhia, then I guess I'll go too." When she finished, she turned to Blackfang and gave him an expectant look.
Blackfang seemed reluctant to say anything, but after a minute or two of Peregrine's stare, he gave up. "I'll go," he said. "But only because she forced me to." He pointed a claw at Peregrine, who seemed pleased.
Jasmine smirked, and to face an incredulous Kauwari. "I guess it's settled, then."
Kauwari glared at her. "I guess it is," he hissed.
"Did you already take care of the search parties, Clovis?"
The Sandwing nodded. "I don't think they'll be bothering us anymore," he said.
Jasmine smiled. "Then let's go. Pack your bags, everyone," she said.
"We leave for Possibility tomorrow."
