The Consequences of Rash Actions

AN: Surprise, surprise, I'm not dead! I've been focusing a lot on college during this time because I'm pretty close to failing two of my classes. This whole online thing isn't easy with the classes I have, and the fact I can rarely leave the house has been causing some serious episodes of low motivation to do anything.

Add on that, I've had the absolute shittiest week imaginable despite it only being Wednesday. With all that, I just decided I needed a break from school and decided to finally, FINALLY finish this little chapter. I'm hoping to keep this rare peak of inspiration rolling for the next little while, so you might get a few more things from me before the end of the month. Anyways, let's just get on with it...

One last thing, though: This chapter starts at the end of chapter 19/ beginning of chapter 20. It sets up a few things that happen in the near future in the main story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire. Faredir and Flint are my OCs.

Moon:

She had begged for him to stay, yet he never stopped walking away. Soon enough, he was out of sight. He's not coming back, she thought to herself despondently. She couldn't even hear his thoughts as they were too jumbled and chaotic for her to understand. Eventually, he got far enough away to where she couldn't sense him anymore.

She just sat there in her own misery with tear-stained cheeks and a broken heart. She knew this was going to happen, she saw it in a dream a few nights before. She had seriously considered not saying anything, but…it wouldn't—and didn't—feel right to keep the truth from him anymore.

She heard whispers around her wondering why she wasn't going with Winter since they obviously knew who she was. However, she didn't let any of that get to her. She didn't care about their opinions.

As time went on, more and more groups of soldiers took to the air. There was only a few groups left when someone approached her. "I realize you probably feel too miserable to do anything, but I can't let you stay here, you know," a familiar voice said.

Moon looked up at her Queen. "What's the point? I messed up. Winter doesn't want anything to do with me now," she said dolefully.

Glory hummed for a moment before replying. "You're right, he probably doesn't. I watched the whole thing," she replied nonchalantly.

Moon, however, was horrified. "Y-You did?" Glory nodded. Moon sighed, "You must think I'm the worst dragon ever."

"One of them," was the Queen's simple reply. "He's my friend, too, and I don't appreciate you hurting him like that," she gave the slightly smaller Nightwing a mildly scolding look. "But," she continued in a gentler tone. "I can't judge you too harshly. I can't imagine what the Changewings put you through. I'm sure Winter will realize that, too, given some time."

Moon was silent for a long moment before releasing a heavy sigh and nodding. "Yeah…okay." So, after that, she followed Glory back to the Rainwing village. The flight itself took about two days, but nothing of note happened other than they regrouped with a large contingent of soldiers meant to keep the Queen safe.

At least Glory wasn't actually angry with her. She was more…disappointed than anything. That, in and of itself, was a hard thing to accept for Moon since she looked up to Glory. However, she shouldn't really complain. Her situation could've been a lot worse without the Queen's understanding.

It was only when Moon landed in the village once more did she realize something else: she didn't have anywhere to stay. She didn't bother fixing her house after her mother was killed in the Nightwing village bombing, and the survivors moved into the Rainwing village anyways. I guess I could ask for a guest hut…

Suddenly, she felt a gentle talon rest on her shoulder. She turned around, wondering who it was, and saw that it was Hope. The large Nightwing pulled her into an embrace which she all too gladly returned. "The Queen sent word ahead," she said. "You can stay with me if you would like." Moon just nodded silently.

Hope escorted her to her house, though the two remained silent during the trip. Once inside the small yet cozy home, Moon simply sat at the table while Hope fixed them some drinks. She gladly accepted the refreshments with a small smile and the older Nightwing sat across from her.

Moon just stared at the drink in her claws for a good while before she actually took a sip. It was quite good, actually. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to lift Moon's depression.

It was probably close to an hour before Hope finally broke the silence. "Icewings are proud dragons," she began. Moon was so caught up in her own thoughts that she visibly jumped at the sound of another voice. Hope chuckled at her reaction before continuing. "Their culture is quite complex. One might even say it is…cold. Pun intended."

"Is there a point to this?" Moon asked softly, though with a little bite.

Hope was silent for a moment as she gazed at the younger Nightwing with pity. "I couldn't tell you how many times Arctic and I got into an argument because he believed I wasn't telling him the truth…or even the whole truth. Though, while I stayed that short time in the Ice Kingdom, I watched him lie through his teeth countless times to other Icewings."

Hope sighed. "As terrible as it is for me to say this, Icewings tend to be distant and arrogant to everyone else—even their own tribe. And their hearts tend to be as cold as the tundra they live in…most of the time," she added at Moon's dirty look.

"I didn't take you for a tribist," Moon snarled.

Hope glared at her for that comment until Moon finally dropped her gaze in submission. "How dare you call me that, knowing what you do about me," the older Nightwing spoke in quiet anger. "I loved my husband and my dragonets. I would've done anything to prevent that stupid war—even so far as to suggest to Arctic that I would have surrendered myself to be a prisoner and appeal to Queen Diamond rather than the two of us run away. I tried to find the diplomatic solution, but it was the Icewings that didn't want to listen." She shook her head in exasperation. "I am not tribist," she stressed. "But I'm not naïve, either. I know how dangerous and unpredictable—sometimes even how unstable—Icewings can be."

Hope took a deep breath to calm herself before she continued. "The point is…even Winter, who has been away from his tribe for almost a decade, is still an Icewing. He thinks like an Icewing because it was how he was raised. There was only one dragon that Arctic opened up to—me. He allowed his defenses to lower around me because he truly loved me…and I loved him. Now, I know Winter has several friends, but answer me honestly: how many of them has he truly opened up to?"

Guilt and shame began worming their way into Moon's mind as she knew where this was going. She could count them all on a single paw. There was Flint, Winter's best friend and adopted brother of eight years—who had also lied to him. That confrontation—Winter's thoughts… She shuddered. How could Winter—Winter—think such horribly violent things? If she hadn't stepped in, she knew he was going to attack him.

Then there was Aurora. Winter's guardian Spirit had lied to him one too many times, apparently. She heard his verbal assault from halfway across the clearing. She knew they both cared for the other—deeper than what should have been acceptable, in her opinion—but that probably made that final confrontation all the more emotional.

Finally, there was her. Winter hadn't hid his emotions from her since the day he left Jade Mountain. He had told her that he loved her that night and then later confessed that his feelings for her hadn't diminished in her seven year absence. Despite all the shit she had put him through, he still wanted to be with her—even if only as friends. Though honestly, he probably wants more.

"Three," she finally whispered to Hope's question. "And we all lied to him. Three moons, I've never seen him so angry and confused. I've heard dark thoughts from him before, but…never anything that violent."

Hope nodded regretfully. "Now you understand. Winter suffers from the same trust issues as every other Icewing, so when all three of the dragons he trusted the most betrayed him—at least in his eyes—well…I don't need to tell you what happened."

Moon slumped, a feeling of hopelessness crashing down upon her. "What am I supposed to do? I don't want him to stay mad at me forever!"

Hope shook her head. "He won't," she declared confidently. "Arctic and I never split up—and we came to blows a few times. If Winter is anything like how my husband was, he'll stew in his anger for a few days before forgiving you. Of course Arctic never acted like he forgave me but I knew he did. And he never apologized for anything because he was too proud."

"You sound so different from each other," Moon observed. She was going to say more—ask how they fell in love with them being so different—but Hope spoke first.

"Can you honestly say that you and Winter are not polar opposites? He's a fighter; you aren't. He doesn't trust easily, but you seem to trust almost too easily. He's a leader; you're a follower." Moon acquiesced her point…again. Hope got up and walked around to her side of the table and laid a comforting talon on her shoulder. "Give him a couple weeks. By the time, he's done in the Sea Kingdom, I'm sure he'll be ready to move on."

Hope squeezed her shoulder gently before leaning down as if she was about to tell a secret. "You want to know the secret to having a successful relationship with an Icewing?" she whispered. Moon nodded. "Their temper and pride is just for show," she stated. "He'll yell and scream and shout, but he'll always come back to you for the same reason he left in the first place: He loves you. He loves you so much that lying to him suggests that you view him as just another Icewing because Icewings are manipulative dragons that hide behind a mask of pride and discipline, so when one begins to show you sincere emotions, he's basically saying that you are the most important dragon in his life. Show him that you view him the same way, and he'll love you forever."

Moon shivered slightly at the emotions those words caused. Winter had told her when she arrived at the sanctuary that his feelings for her hadn't diminished. When they were clawmates at Jade Mountain, he was almost a different dragon, but some of his behaviors remained the same. She remembered how angry he got after she finally told everyone about her powers. There was no doubt that he had been the angriest. And after she announced her and Qibli's relationship, it seemed that she and Winter couldn't be in the same room without arguing.

Back then, she didn't know the truth behind his actions or the depth of his feelings until the night he left. But she hadn't really understood had she? Knowing what she did now, she actually regretted—really, actually regretted choosing Qibli.

She was broken out of her thoughts when Hope spoke once again. "It's late, you should get some rest. You can sleep in Peace's old room."

Moon looked up and saw that it was indeed dark out now. She shuffled off to the oh-so familiar room. She used to spend a lot of time with Peacemaker when she was around the rainforest. He definitely preferred to be outside, but when he wanted to stay inside, the two of them would hang out in his small yet cozy room. Peacemaker liked his privacy as evidenced by the secluded area he planted his strawberry garden in.

Moon looked around the room and headed towards a particular shelf built on the wall above his bed. This was where Peace kept his most valuable possessions, as he once told her. It was all pictures of him, her, Hope, and even a few with Qibli. Peace didn't care about treasure or fame because he believed his friends and family were the most important things in the world.

Moon smiled as she fondly remembered the days and memories captured in his collection of pictures. Some of the pictures were drawn by Peace himself. Moon had commissioned a few of her and Qibli together before he was taken from her.

She sighed and slumped her shoulders. Peace was a good dragon. She may care for Darkstalker too, but he was much too severe and filled with all kinds of doom and gloom. Peace didn't have a care in the world most of the time.

She shouldn't complain, though. Technically, Darkstalker had been her very first friend. He had helped her understand her powers better. The parts after he had been released and tried to commit genocide on the Icewings was a bit unpleasant, but he realized his mistakes in the end.

At some point she had laid down onto the bed but her active mind prevented her from sleeping. Thoughts of Darkstalker suddenly slid away to be replaced by thoughts of her other friends. She hoped Anemone was okay. Turtle would be absolutely crushed if something bad had happened to her. Despite her mutual dislike for Flint, she hoped he and Winter would eventually make up. Flint was a constant in his life, and Winter needed his rock to fall back on if needed.

As for Winter himself…

Hope's words kept playing in her head. It made sense, actually. She had lost count of how many times they had fought but he had eventually came back to her. She also knew that Winter didn't like to be lied to, but she thought that was just something unique to him. Come to think of it, she didn't remember Hailstorm being like that. Then again, she didn't know him very well and he had been a Skywing for half of his life.

She sighed, tiredly. This was going nowhere, and she absolutely was not going to sit here doing nothing for the next couple of weeks. She was going to fly to the Summer Palace tomorrow. If Winter was still angry with her, she could claim that she came to see Darkstalker. She would give her Icewing some space if that's what he wanted, but at least she would be close enough for him go to if he decided to give her another chance.

Moon sighed again—a combination of wistful thinking and anxiety, this time. As she finally began to fall asleep, she desperately began hoping that Hope was right. Because there was nothing she wanted more in this world than to be loved by her Icewing…forever. A smile slowly formed on her face as she finally drifted off to dreams.

When she woke up just before noon, Moon gathered the few things she needed. Hope was out of the hut right now, so at least she didn't have to explain herself. She wrote a short note explaining her course of action and placed it on the table. After that, she left and started her journey to the Sea Kingdom.

She didn't bother telling Glory since she knew Hope would tell her when she found out she was gone. Besides, Glory would only try to stop her, and she wasn't in the mood to deal with that.

Instead of taking the longer—and much safer—route west to the mountains, then north to the Sky Kingdom and finally east into the Bay, she was taking the short way straight over the Mud Kingdom.

Which turned out to be a mistake…

She planned on flying through the night to make it across enemy territory without being seen since she hoped her black scales would hide her in the dark. That wasn't the case, unfortunately.

She had been flying along fine for the most part—her wings were starting to get sore, though. However, she wasn't paying overly close attention to her surroundings as she was stargazing as she was flying. That turned out to be a costly mistake as she didn't hear the wingbeats getting closer to her until she felt something heavy slam into her. The impact stunned and knocked the wind out of her, and she had the vague sense of tumbling towards the cold, damp swamps below before her consciousness slipped away.

She awoke with a groan an unknown amount of time later. The first thing she registered when she opened her eyes were the two hostile-looking Mudwings staring at her. The second thing she noticed was the cage she was stuck in. A moment of panic made her want to scream for help, but that was when she noticed the third thing…

She had been muzzled.

Not only that, but manacles and chains trapped all four of her legs, her wings, her tail, and even her neck. Her eyes widened in both panic and realization that she had been captured and tears sprung to her eyes. Three moons, why didn't I take the long way!?

She didn't even want to consider the horrors that awaited her. Would they use her against Winter? There's no way he would risk her life by resisting their demands if they did. She simply laid down and quietly wept. She knew there was nothing that she could do since she could barely even move.

One of the Mudwings scoffed disdainfully at her. "That was quick," he rumbled. "I thought she would put up more of a fight."

She noticed the second one shake his head. "This one ain't a fighter," he replied with a shrug as if it was a perfectly normal thing. He reached for one of the spits rotating over their fire and began to eat. The one who spoke first wouldn't take his eyes off her, though, and she didn't like the looks he was giving her.

Trying not to look at him, she instead took in her surroundings. They were under an overhang, so they were probably at the base of the mountains—the opposite way she was heading. It was night out, so she couldn't see much other than her immediate shadowy surroundings lit by the flickering flames from the fire. She heard the sound of rushing water in the distance which meant they were close to a river or waterfall.

The two Mudwings were engaged in conversation by this point, but she couldn't read their minds. That, at least confirmed that they were Changewings. She sighed and laid her head back down and cried herself to sleep.

She stayed in that cage with minimal food and water for two more days. Her captors were waiting for someone from the clues she gathered. On the third day, he arrived.

Another Mudwing, much bigger than the others, landed outside in mid-morning. He looked at her with vaguely familiar crimson eyes before sharing a few words with the guards. Afterwards, he gave a simple nod and walked towards her. "Hello, Moon," he said with a frighteningly familiar voice. Flashes of a handsome Skywing attacking Winter in the Skywing Palace assaulted her before she shrunk down and whimpered.

She remembered this dragon. If he was here, then she was doomed. "I take it that means you remember me?" She nodded and tried to make herself as low to the ground as possible.

"Good. Because I have a job for you," he continued. "I'm trying to gain Winter's cooperation to end this endless war peacefully. Unfortunately, though he was willing to listen to me, he ultimately decided to stick with the losing side. Though I didn't initially plan on your capture, it is rather fortuitous in its timing."

Moon just looked at him incredulously. Had she not been muzzled, her jaw would be on the floor. Then he continued, "I want you to convince him to join me. Do so and I promise you a solution for lasting peace between our tribes. We can put this unpleasantness behind us and continue on as allies." He paused as if waiting for her answer before ordering the guards, "Release her."

"WHAT!?" the Mudwing who seemed to detest her very existence shouted in surprise. "You can't be serious! We were specifically ordered to capture her!"

Faredir glared at the disobedient guard with such fury that he shrunk back in fear. "And I am ordering you to release her!" he roared as purple energy enshrouded his talons.

Despite the stupidity of his decision, the Mudwing steeled himself and shook his head. "No, sir. You may outrank the General, but I'm beginning to question your devotion to Master Urfael's plans." Faredir just listened with a passive expression, though if his tensed muscles were anything to go by, he was completely livid. "Winter is a threat that must dealt with, and she is the perfect bargaining chip to gain his surrender! Your orders don't make sense! We should—"

Apparently, Faredir had heard enough as he swung his talons backwards through the air causing a wave of purple energy to slam into the disobedient guard and for him to go flying through the air before crashing into a tree with a groan. The Changewing Lord made another gesture with his claws, a snarl on his face, and another wave of purple energy surrounded the downed guard before being absorbed into his scales.

Screams of agony ripped from his maw as he thrashed and contorted in unimaginable pain. Moon and the other Mudwing watched in absolute horror as this continued on for more than five minutes before the unfortunate victim of Faredir's wrath finally fell quiet and unmoving. Faredir looked at the fresh corpse with something akin to disappointment before turning to the other Mudwing. "Are you going to question my orders, too? Or are you going to release her like I asked?" he asked dangerously.

The Mudwing grabbed the key without a word and began the long process of unlocking the cage and all the chains holding her down. She was finally able to stretch her body after spending so long cramped in that small cage, but she averted her gaze from Faredir when she noticed him looking at her.

She looked east to where the Sea Kingdom—and Winter—was. "You're free to leave if you so choose," Faredir offered. Moon looked at him in confusion before making a few tentative steps away. When he didn't move to stop her, she turned around and was about to take flight when he spoke again. "Of course, if you don't help me, Winter will be dead by the end of the week, I can promise you that."

Moon froze and turned back to him. "If you can kill him that easily, why go through the trouble of getting him to trust you?"

Faredir chuckled at her confusion. "Because I don't want him dead," he replied. "I want his help, but if he won't give it, I'll be forced to do what I have to." Moon looked to the dead Mudwing for a moment and shivered. "If you want to help him, follow me. I'll explain what you need to know on the way to our destination," he finished and turned to walk away.

She followed.

AN: I hope you enjoyed it, short though it was. Leave a review if you so wish. They help. They really do. Especially after the week I've had.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22