Sins of Our Loved Ones

Though he could not see it, Starflight had no trouble hearing the battle.

The furious beating of wings, a flurry of currents through the air. Jambu's panicked screaming, fading into the distance as Tsunami's authoritative voice took control. The flutter of birds as they took to the sky, startled by the impending clash of the sky's alpha predators. Roars, distorted by the trees and distance. The hiss of flame, the sharp screech as claws skittered along hardened scales. Cries of rage, fear, anguish—the sounds of pain and struggle renewed.

War had returned to Pyrrhia. Starflight was almost glad he was blind. The Skywing arena, the Mudwing battlefield, the burning Seawing Summer Palace—none of those were things he wished to see again.

"You OK, Star?"

He felt Fatespeaker brush his left wing, both guiding him through the trees and showing her concern. They bobbed unsteadily in the air, their arms laden with as many scrolls as they could take from the library treehouse. Starflight nodded, the flaps of the blindfold brushing against his ears as the wind blew past them.

"I'm alright," he said. "You?"

He sensed a slight tremor pass along her wing as he touched it.

"Nervous. I didn't think they'd get here so soon. I'm worried about Tsunami—what if something happens to her? What if something happens to the Rainwings? What if the Sandwings find our village?" He heard her gulp. "So many things can go wrong…"

Starflight was just as scared. Always he'd been the one on the sidelines, watching his friends risk scale and wing to protect him and Sunny. He had always wanted to be brave like Tsunami or loyal like Clay, but every time danger reared its ugly head, its cousin fear would paralyze him. He tried so hard to fight it, but every time the mind-numbing panic would win. He despised his cowardice, hated how it robbed him of the one thing he was proud of: his smarts. Without his brains, without the founts of knowledge he'd gathered over years of reading scrolls, Starflight was nothing more than a helpless dragonet. A burden, a disgrace. A failure, as Morrowseer had so bluntly branded him.

Fear was his constant nemesis. Sure, he'd won a victory over it when he saved his tribe from a volcanic death, but still it dogged his every wingbeat. However he did learn one thing. Running from fear would never make it go away. Hiding from it would not make it disappear. Only confronting it would force its paralyzing tendrils from his mind. Now, more than ever, he and his friends needed to face their fears.

"I'm scared too," he admitted, "but I can't let that stop me from helping my friends. We need to get these scrolls to safety, make sure they don't get damaged or stolen by Blister's troops. I have faith in Tsunami—she and the Rainwings have been training constantly these past weeks. If there's anyone who can take on Blister, it'd be her."

Fatespeaker didn't reply. The humid air of the rainforest whisked by, making a soft whistling sound as it passed over the dragons' wings.

"It's OK to be scared, Fatespeaker. We'll make it through this, together."

They flew on in silence. Before long Fatespeaker guided Starflight down with a tap on his wing, saying, "We're here. Careful on the landing, the ground's coming up."

His claws met the soft, mossy turf with a muffled whump. He wobbled a bit, a couple scrolls spilling out of his grasp. He heard the rustle of paper as Fatespeaker bent to retrieve them.

"Thanks."

He felt her still outstretched wing touch his shoulder momentarily. "Let's go. We should store them in the library hut. This way."

They made their way through the village, Fatespeaker guiding him through the crowd that had gathered outside, wondering what the commotion was. He heard whispers as they passed the various huts and lean-tos.

"It's one of the dragonets. The blind one…"

"Mastermind's son—"

"—with that Fatespeaker dragonet—"

"Why do they have so many scrolls?"

"Moons-begotten traitors. If it weren't for them…"

"…wouldn't be stuck with a Rainwing for…"

He and Fatespeaker had made several trips back to the Nightwing village over the past weeks to reorganize the scrolls and check in on things. Their reception was always frosty at the best of times, though thanks to the Rainwing guards stationed around the area nothing hostile ever occurred. Starflight and Fatespeaker ignored them—defending themselves never went anywhere with the stubborn elders of the tribe. They simply pressed on towards their goal, a small storage hut situated near the edge of the village.

"Well. Look who's decided to pay his tribe a visit."

The voice came from directly in front of him, laced with spite and contempt. Despite her name, Starflight had never found his sister to be fierce in any way, yet still he shied away from her voice.

"Fierceteeth," he greeted. He'd had a few run-ins with her since they'd caught her and Strongwings nearly a week ago. He heard the shuffle of claws and guessed that the Rainwing guards flanking her were preparing for a possible scuffle.

"What brings you and your little lovebird today? Another scroll run, by the looks of it?"

Beside him, Fatespeaker tensed, her claws digging into his scales where she held him by the arm. Starflight touched her tail with his, before continuing.

"Blister's troops have attacked."

"They've what?" Fierceteeth practically shouted. He felt the gazes of a dozen dragons turn toward him, their attention caught at this disturbing news.

"Some of her troops just stumbled on the Rainwing village a few moments ago. Tsunami and her troops are fighting back. We're not sure if the village will hold, so we've gathered the most important scrolls and taken them here where they should be safe."

"Blister found us?" said someone from behind. "How? Shouldn't the Rainwings have scouts out watching the borders?"

"Of course they wouldn't," said Fierceteeth. "They're Rainwings. They care little enough for their own safety, let alone ours. I'm surprised they didn't sleep right through the attack."

"By the moons, is this what we get for protection?" said another dragon, his voice raspy with age. "That cursed dragonet can't even keep her own tribe safe. How is she supposed to protect us? If the Sandwings reach us we'll be doomed, again!"

"Tsunami and Glory have the situation contained," said Starflight, turning to address the dragons around him. "Just stay calm and keep going about your business. We'll keep you up to date on things as they happen."

"Will you now?" Fierceteeth's voice dripped with scorn. "So you've suddenly decided to start caring about your tribe again?"

He bristled. "I've always cared about the tribe, Fierceteeth. I cared so much for the tribe that I convinced Glory to let us live in the rainforest instead of leaving us to die on the island. Things may be harsh now, living in an unfamiliar area with another tribe's queen ruling over us. But I firmly believe that this is better than dying in a volcanic blast. I of all dragons should know." He nudged Fatespeaker gently. "C'mon, let's go. We don't have time to waste."

They trudged on past Fierceteeth, the village silent as it watched them go.

"You have no idea what you've put us through, Starflight," he heard from behind.

As they moved out of earshot, Fatespeaker growled quietly, "I hate it when she does that. Just goes and ruins your day, all because she hates Glory. I wish she'd stop blaming you for the Nightwings being here."

Starflight shook his head. More than anything Fierceteeth frustrated him with her stubborn refusal to accept the Nightwings' situation. At first he was glad that Glory hadn't been forced to remove her and Strongwings from the rainforest. Now, he wondered if the tribe wouldn't be better off without her constant talk of opposing Glory's rule. All she was doing was creating a bigger rift between the Rainwings and Nightwings.

Still, Fierceteeth was family. Despite her attitude toward him, he felt a small ounce of hesitance toward outright disowning her.

"She's just having a hard time adjusting," he said half-heartedly.

"We all are. That doesn't give her an excuse."

"Just give her some time. She'll realize sooner or later that the tribe needs Glory."

Fatespeaker sighed. "I hope so. Here's the library—watch your step going up the ramp."

Finally. Starflight's arms were getting tired under the giant bundle of scrolls. He was positive all this constant scroll-carrying was making him stronger. It was about the only form of exercise he had, regrettably.

"Alright," he said, gently laying the stack on the wooden floorboards. "Let's see about getting these scrolls sorted."

They set to work organizing their load into the rows of scroll racks; Fatespeaker read the scroll titles out loud and Starflight figured out where they should go. They hadn't had time to grab all the scrolls, just the most important ones: intel reports on Blister's movements, rumors from across Pyrrhia, and warfare tactics and strategies. Hopefully they wouldn't lose anything vital in the Rainwing village.

Halfway through the process Fatespeaker stopped. "Oh, hi there! Are you looking for a scroll?"

Starflight turned toward the entrance of the hut. He barely caught the quiet, nervous reply.

"U-uh, actually, I wanted to return…one…" It sounded female, a young dragonet likely. The soft rustle of paper on scales greeted his ears.

"Great! Hope you enjoyed reading it." He heard Fatespeaker unroll the scroll to look at its title. "Ooh, Tales of the Nightwings. This one is Starflight's favorite—though he says we need to rewrite it now and correct all the mistakes in it. Say, I haven't seen you around here much. What's your name?"

Silence. Claws scraped against wood, as if the dragonet was about to bolt.

"Wait, don't go! You're not bothering us or anything, we're just sorting scrolls here. Boring work, really. My name's Fatespeaker. What's yours?"

"Moon…uh, Moonwatcher."

"Well, thanks for stopping by," said Starflight. "The scrolls in here are for everyone, so feel free to read any you like so long as you return it. You come by often?"

"Y-yeah. I, um, like reading."

Fatespeaker chuckled. "Well, you're in good company. If there's anything you need just give us a holler, alright?"

"Erm, OK." Talons thunked on wood as Moon abruptly turned to leave.

"'Kay, bye! It's been nice chatting with…you." Her voice dropped off as the patter of the dragonet's claws faded into the distance. "Hope she's OK. She looked really scared, like we were going to hurt her or something."

"Hmm. Let's keep an eye out for her. Seems like she'll need it."

They finished up their task, stashing the sensitive information in a few racks near the back of the hut, before heading out the entrance. The midday sun beat down on the two, their black scales absorbing the strong light. Between the heat and the humidity, Starflight found himself panting. Perhaps there was one thing the Nightwings would have a tough time getting used to—the rainforest's warm, muggy climate.

"Tsunami told us to stay here," said Fatespeaker. "But I'm worried about the others. Do you we should go back and check on them?"

Starflight held up a claw. "Before we do, I want to meet someone really quick."

"Who?"

He turned away from her inquisitive gaze. "Glory said she had my father locked up in the village after the night our tribe got here. I haven't spoken to him since then."

He sensed Fatespeaker's affirmation. "Glory had a small prison built a bit away from the village. I'll lead you there, it isn't far."

She led him down a dirt path that meandered through the trees. Ferns brushed his legs as the sounds of the Nightwing village faded, replaced with the howls and calls of monkeys and toucans. Starflight sniffed, and stuck his tongue out to scent the air. It was hot and muggy as always, though it bore the faint, sweet scents of flowers scattered around the path.

It wasn't long before Fatespeaker brought him to a halt. "Here we are. He's in a lean-to set next to a big tree—Glory had the Rainwings put some thick bamboo stalks in front to keep him in. There are two guards here at all times. They take shifts to watch him, and give him food and water every morning and night."

"How long will he be in there?" asked Starflight.

She hesitated a moment. "Glory hasn't decided yet. She's been too busy managing both of the tribes to deal with Mastermind. For now she'll keep him here until she thinks he's ready to be released."

"Halt!" said one of the Rainwing guards, who might have been intimidating if he hadn't sounded so chipper. "Only Her Majesty and her friends can see the prisoner."

"We are Glory's friends," said Fatespeaker, quickly introducing herself and Starflight. "He wants to see his father really quick before we head back to the Rainwing village."

He heard the guard gasp. "You're Starflight? The blind dragonet of destiny? This is super exciting, I never thought I'd meet someone so impor—"

"Ahem," said the other guard, "Pay attention, Tangerine. They want to see the prisoner."

That voice sounded familiar. Could it really be…?

"Orchid!" said Fatespeaker. She bounded forward out of Starflight's reach. "It's been so long since we've seen you. How have you been? You look so much better already."

"It's good to see you to, Fatespeaker. I've been alright—a little weak the first couple days, but Mangrove nursed me back to health. And it's good to see you too, Starflight. I'm sorry about what happened to your eyes," she said quietly.

Starflight dipped his head in acknowledgement. "No worries, I'm fine. What are you doing here? I thought you'd want to be with Mangrove."

"Well," she began, "with everything that's been going on, Glory has been too busy to really bother with this one." Starflight imagined Orchid's scales turning a shade of red. "I wanted to repay her for rescuing us, so I volunteered to help keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't escape and do anything else to us. It seemed fitting to be his jailor after being his prisoner for so long."

"I'd still like to speak to him. Privately," he said, emphasizing the last word.

"Alright. But make it quick. Let's go, Tangerine," said Orchid as she and the other guard left them.

Starflight and Fatespeaker stepped up to the bars. Unexpectedly, he heard the sound of a scroll rolling up.

"Ahh, Starflight. And Fatespeaker," said Mastermind. His voice halted as Starflight felt Mastermind gaze at him, noting the blindfold that permanently signaled his disability. "It's good to see you both."

"You have a scroll?" said Fatespeaker. "How'd you get your claws on that?"

"Well, what else do you expect me to do all day? I requested to be let out multiple times just to stretch my wings a bit, but the guards have always turned me down. So instead I asked for a scroll and ink, and surprisingly Orchid found me some. And no, the irony of her being my jailor is not lost on me." Starflight heard him sigh irritably.

"What do you do all day?" Starflight asked. "Do you just write?"

"I mostly jot down my thoughts, in keeping with the daily log I used to have back on the island. I also take notes on all the life forms I can see from in here. It's fascinating! This rainforest truly is a scholar's dream—so many diverse organisms living in such a complex, yet balanced ecosystem. I can only see a small portion of it from inside this cage, yet I've already filled lengths of this scroll with observations. Ahh, if only I hadn't lost all my equipment when we fled the island. The research I could do, the experiments I could conduct…"

"Father," said Starflight, an edge to his voice, "you know that your research is what landed you behind these bars in the first place."

Mastermind sighed loudly through his nose. "Yes, I do. Not a day goes by that I'm not reminded of the things I did to the Rainwings in pursuit of science. I know you don't approve of what I've done, Starflight, and I understand why."

"Do you, father? Or are just going to say it was all 'for science' in the end, like you always do? Stop looking at everything like they're test subjects waiting for you to experiment on. You imprisoned innocent dragons—had them kidnapped from their homes—just so you could figure out what made them tick. You did it just to satisfy your selfish curiosity and fill the Nightwing library."

Starflight paced back and forth, his claws digging deep into the silty earth, muscles tense.

"But, Starflight—"

"Ever since I was a hatchling I imagined what my parents would be like. We all did, the five of us; how could we not? All the scrolls I read under the mountain said that Nightwings valued education more than any other tribe in Pyrrhia. You can probably guess that I imagined my parents to be brilliant scientists, going out and making amazing discoveries that they shared for the benefit of dragonkind.

"When I first met you, father, it was my dream come true. I thought I'd finally found the one place on the Nightwing island where I could fit in: working and learning beside my father, a scientist just like in my dreams. Do you know how many nights I spent fantasizing about it?"

Starflight stopped. His voice came out shaky.

"And then I saw what you were really doing. I saw what your 'science' truly was. I saw you hurt dragons just so you could learn how to counter their defenses. I didn't want to believe that the father I'd been dreaming about my entire life would do something so horrible." He shook his head sadly. "But what kind of a coward would I be if I denied something so obvious? No. I'm sorry, father, but I can't look at what you've done and call it 'science'. It's a crime, through and through."

He sat still, blindfolded eyes gazing in Mastermind's direction. For a long time he didn't speak. Only the sounds of the rainforest's residents could be heard.

"Being behind bars gives a dragon a lot of time with his thoughts," said Mastermind. "It lets him look back on his actions, see them from every angle, shine them in a different light. I've certainly had plenty of time to think over my actions, and I see now how harmful my research has been. I've kept from making further notes on the Rainwings—it's mostly meaningless, but I feel that it compensates a little for the things I did to them."

He sniffed, shifted himself slightly.

"You've grown so much, Starflight. I must be honest, I'd also dreamed that our son would be smart, that he'd continue the Nightwings' tradition of scholarship. And you've more than fulfilled that dream—it's certainly more than I've ever been for you. If only Farsight could see you now. Your mother would be so proud of you. As am I, Starflight."

Starflight fidgeted, wrapping his tail around his rear talons. "I don't need your pride, father. I need you to promise, to me, that you'll never experiment on Rainwings or any other dragon tribe again. You can ask them what you want, learn anything you want about their lives and culture. But you will never treat them like lab rats again. Understood?"

"Understood," said Mastermind solemnly. "Not that I could conduct experiments even if I had my stuff. This 'prison' is hardly big enough to keep me dry. Any word from your friend on how much longer I'm to stay in here?"

"No," said Fatespeaker. "Glory is a bit busy right now. I've heard that she's thinking of letting the Rainwings vote on how long you'll be imprisoned."

Mastermind barked out a laugh. "Then I'm not getting out of here anytime soon. Fair enough, I suppose. I wish you and your friends luck on fighting Blister's lackeys."

"Thanks, I guess," said Starflight. "Let's go, Fatespeaker."

"You know, for what it's worth, I never believed that Morrowseer's plan would work," said Mastermind as they turned to leave. "Too many variables, needlessly convoluted, and it all hedged on the one Sandwing sister who was too smart for her own good. I said as much to Morrowseer when he asked for my opinion. That was the last time I was ever invited to speak at the council."

Despite himself, Starflight smiled. "You didn't like Morrowseer either?"

Mastermind scoffed. "He's as insufferable as the rest of the old geezers that populate the council chamber. Too high and mighty to actually step back and take a look at what he was spouting out of his muzzle. Small wonder I spent all of my time down in the lab—less noise down there, wouldn't you agree?"

Starflight nodded. "For once, father, I do."

They headed back down the path, passing Orchid and Tangerine on the way. Starflight thanked them for letting him speak with Mastermind and told them they could return to their posts.

"Pardon me for asking," said Orchid, "but you still seem to be on speaking terms with your father."

He shrugged. "Family is family. I guess I haven't completely given up on him yet."

She humphed. "I see. You two have a good day now."

As they headed back to the Rainwing village, Starflight wondered why he hadn't given up on Mastermind and Fierceteeth. What kept him tied to a father and sister who had never been there for him? Was he a coward for not disowning them? Certainly any of his friends would have done so by now.

Or would they? Starflight thought of the examples he'd seen so far. Glory didn't know her parents, while Clay's didn't give a vulture's squawk about him. Neither one seemed to have problems accepting that their parents didn't care about them. But Tsunami loved her mother despite the fact that she imprisoned them all at Blister's persuasion. And Sunny absolutely loved her mother. Her father? Less so, though she certainly didn't hate him.

When you really think about it, he thought, none of us have perfect parents. But that hasn't stopped us from at least reaching out to them.

It wasn't cowardly to accept imperfect family, he realized. It was brave, actually, to stick with family members who didn't measure up, and try to turn them around instead. It was faithful, loyal—things Starflight had wanted to be for so long. Mastermind was already making attempts to change, and while Fatespeaker would take a bit more effort, Starflight wanted to at least give his close-minded sister a chance.

He hoped he could prove her wrong. He hoped he could show her that Rainwings and Nightwings could get along, and rise up stronger together.

If they couldn't, the fight against Blister would be much, much harder.

A/N: Shorter chapter this time, but hey, it's a bit of downtime from the hectic action of last chapter. Don't worry, we'll be getting back to the others soon.

I was kind of disappointed that Starflight never really tied things up with Mastermind in the main books. Sure, there was that final bit near the end of The Dark Secret, but that was still barely there. I also feel like Mastermind, whose name suggests he has more than a few cells in that noggin, seemed uncharacteristically oblivious to what he was doing. Surely he would have realized what he was doing to his test subjects, even if he didn't fully care about them. Instead he simply says "it was all for science" and such, before Sutherland tosses him out of the story. (Speaking of which, I know that in Winter Turning it's mentioned that Glory imprisoned Mastermind in a pit of quicksand. I've decided to give Mastermind a more traditional incarceration in my story because a) it's more convenient, and b) how on earth do you imprison someone in quicksand without killing them? Makes no sense...)

We'll be seeing a bit more of Fierceteeth later in the story. Moonwatcher? Eh, sorry, not so much. I just thought it'd be a nice cameo to see her stumble on Starflight and Fatespeaker, and perhaps be treated nicely by members of her own tribe for once. She may appear later - I have some ideas of her interacting with Mastermind, but nothing is guaranteed.

Well, that's a wrap for tonight. It's currently 2 AM as I'm writing this, and I have work again tomorrow. }:( What is it with me always updating in the middle of the night? Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.

~SpicyDog99