Nico and Piper did not stop to rest on their first major flight, no matter how parched their throats or tired their wings. They flew as fast as they could, as long as they could, the ground below whizzing by, as the Jade Mountain loomed close and closer.
Spotting an entrance to the mountain, Nico elbowed Piper lightly, pointing a talon.
"Moon said that the Skywing Queen and her royal entourage, along with Jason are here, at the tallest mountain. They're probably inside," he panted, Piper looked at him as if to say 'I already know.'
Piper gave a slight nod, and they pivoted down, flopping onto the platform ungracefully, and just lay there, catching their breath, letting the aches in their bones and muscles work their way out.
After recovering, they wandered inside the school and were met with numerous dragons milling around, the large cavern decorated with banners and flowers.
Jade Mountain Academy.
Piper smiled at the sight, observing every small detail, from the pouches the students carried, to the symmetrical design of the cavern and the hallways leading away from it. Nico looked around as well but seemed uninterested in the school.
'There!' they both thought.
Nico walked up to the black dragon, who quickly turned to face him with a giant smile.
"Hi there! I'm Fatespeaker, and I can see you don't have the pouch students have. So that must mean you're a visitor. I totally foresaw your arrival. Oh! Look at those shiny scales, they're so pretty! What can I do you for, lovely dragons?" she asked.
Nico rolled his eyes.
'She's just like Kinkajou,' he thought with a mental eye roll.
"I- we're looking for the Skywing queen," he responded.
Fatespeaker gave him a quizzical look. "We can't have random dragons visiting one of the most important dragons in all of Phyrria. I don't even know where she is. All I know is that she is going to the Mud Kingdom to try to identify the decapitated head Scarlet threw," she said.
"Do you know anyone who knows where the Skywing queen is?" Nico asked.
"Probably Tsunami, the principal of the school," Fatespeaker answered.
"What do you do then?" Nico asked.
"Oh, silly old me? I'm just the receptionist," Fatespeaker answered with a giggle.
"Alright. Thanks, I guess," Nico said, before walking away.
Skywing Queen will go to the Mud Kingdom. Tsunami probably knows where the queen is.
Nico walked back to where he thought Piper was, only to find that she was gone already.
"Piper?"
No response.
"Piper!" he yelled.
Still no response. Argh.
Nico started running up and down the halls, eyes looking around wildly, desperately trying to find where Piper had gone to. He bumped scrolls out of talons, knocked students over, but he didn't care. Completely disregarding the other dragons, he came across one of the various exits from the school. Seeing a large red dragon with a crown was enough to stop his rampage. He stopped running, his momentum carrying for a bit. He peeked around the corner once more, and saw, much to his relief, the shimmering scales of Piper blended with the cavern behind her. He looked back at the red dragon with the crown on her head.
The red dragon was surrounded by 5 guards, facing down a black dragon, much like himself, a blue dragon, and a Skywing guard.
"We're going to the Mudwing Kingdom to try to identify this head with Queen Moorhen. Now, before we do that, I order you to provide an explanation for your lightning powers," she said to the Skywing guard clearly isolated from the others, disregarding the other two dragons.
Just in the nick of time. Let's see if Piper and I will need to interfere.
"Your majesty, as you know, I promised you I just needed a day to recollect myself, and now that day is upon me. I hide nothing from you now," he said with a bowed head. "These two dragons are my friends. We are not from this world. We are not dragons. It's the truth, an unfortunate one, but that is why we exhibit these powers. My lightning powers, and his water manipulation."
'Wow. Bending so easily, Jason?' Nico judged.
Ruby raised an eye ridge, then looked right, to the sky with a sigh. Her guards looked and talked amongst themselves in hushed conversations. Their minds were no doubt running like lighting trying to make sense of it all.
"One of my most talented soldiers is not even a dragon, and here I was, thinking I could use this not-Seawing as the perfect antidote to Peril, who I banished against the word of one of the Dragonets of Destiny. What have I become?" Ruby said with a dry chuckle, head no longer held high but lowered in shame. "What do I do with this information? I threatened you with banishment if you do not tell me the source, and now that I know, what of it?"
"I can continue serving in your army, your Majesty, if you wish," Jason said, hopeful to not threaten the status quo.
"I do wish for that, but it is what my subjects say that I do," she replied. "What do you all think?" she asked, turning to her guards.
"Cast him out. He is a traitor, having withheld this information. He is a threat to the subjects, and clearly unstable," one of the guards declared. Much to Jason's dismay, the other guards grunted in agreement.
"It seems my subjects do not want you around," Ruby remarked grimly. On one talon, she wanted Jason's skills and prowess in her army, but none of that would be any good if the other soldiers didn't want to work with him.
"Well, that just isn't fair, your majesty. Your guards do not represent the general population. You-" Annabeth stated before getting cut off.
"Did I ask for what you thought, Nightwing?" Ruby hissed, smoke rising out of her nostrils.
'First Scarlet's death, which I'm actually fine with, but the Mudwing head, animus nonsense, Jason's secret, and my guards being disagreeable,' Ruby grumbled mentally.
"Jason, I hereby banish you from the Skywing Kingdom. You are now a fugitive, an outlaw just like Peril, for high treason. This is not my will, but the will of my subjects," Ruby declared resolutely but conflicted internally. She shoved her doubts aside, assuring herself that she was doing what was best for her kingdom.
"Go on. Your friends deserve dignity," a voice in Nico's head hissed.
"Alright, that's enough bullshit," Nico announced, stepping into the cavern.