A/N: This will be a series of secondary accounts and side stories set in the Xerophilous/Court of Sand universe. It's strongly recommended you read this alongside the "Xerophilous Saga: Court of Sand".

The Following chapter is set during the events of Chapter 10 - "(Part 2) Court of the Jungle".

Flying Fox 1

The day Xero first entered our jungle home started off just like any other back then. Another day of nothing, just the way I liked it. Sun-time was always enjoyable, as was the occasional game or chit-chat with the rest of my kin. Life was predictable, ordinary, same. I could count on my schedule following the same routine without fail: Wake up, forage for fruit, flirt with the cute musicians or merchants in the village square, teach the dragonets how to hide and disguise themselves, and end the night with a hearty dinner and if I was lucky (and I usually was) sharing my bed with my boyfriend.

That's what I was thinking about, when I felt someone nudge me awake. I opened my eyes, and remembered I had started sun-time with Queen Grandeur. I was one of the lucky few she'd deign to nap with, having hatched in the same batch of dragonets so many years ago, and being the closest Rainwing she'd call a friend.

"Do you think we were destined for something greater?" she asked me, and my scales went orange. Spirits, I thought, Not this crap again. Grandeur had been angsting more and more ever since she gave up the throne. I'd been trying to keep her out of her mental funk by making sure she had enough sun-time, even missing out on sessions with Gecko. Some days were worse than others, and I realized to my dread that this was going to be one of those days.

"Can't we at least wait until noon for your existential crisis?" I groaned.

"No."

"Ugh, fine. To answer your question, no, not really."

"But why not?" She pressed.

"Because look at us," I replied, rolling over to face her, "We're RainWings! We enjoy the sun, and we enjoy the fun. No need to go beyond that, right? You're not unhappy, are you, Grandy?"

"No, it's just… I feel like there should be something MORE," Grandeur said, gesturing widely to the rainforest. "All those other tribes we could interact with, and we just ignore them. Surely there's something for us out there?"

"For us? Not really." I said. Truth be told, I didn't really WANT anything more. I was happy in my little rut. No real commitments, no pressing needs. Why would I want to change perfection?

Seeing her expression however, I put my paw over hers. "Look, I know you've been in a funk recently. Fruit Bat said she's gonna hold a challenge today. How about you get ready for that?"

"Fine," Grandeur said, getting up without much conviction.

"Trust me," I said encouragingly, following her, "You'll enjoy it."

"...Out of all the ways that contest could've gone, that was the last thing I thought would happen." I snickered, stretching himself out across the platform. "Gecko, the village historian, now the best drinker too."

"What can I say, darling?" The aquamarine Rainwing gloated, his scales flashing indigo. "I hatched with a gift."

"You hatched with many gifts, babe." I complimented, stroking his frill. "It's why being with you makes me the the luckiest dragon in the Rainforest."

"And being with you makes me the second." Gecko agreed, leaning in for a kiss. I let him in, pulling the drake closer and onto my chest. I could still taste the hints of pineapple, coconut and fermented sugarcane from the night before.

As we made out, our scales flashing pink and yellow with pleasure, I couldn't help but think how amazing my life was. Living in a Tribe where I could do whatever I want, whenever I wanted. Living in a Tribe where I could love and be with anyone, and no one would care or judge me for my choices. Being one of the most handsome drakes in the Rainforest certainly had its perks, and in my younger years there was hardly a drake or dragoness I hadn't flirted or even slept with. But a wise dragon once said that time is undefeated, and once you reach thirty-something, you find yourself no longer having the same energy and drive that you used to. I used to be cool with the casual flings, midnight delights that'd be over by sunrise and never brought up again. But now, I find myself enjoying waking up to a familiar face, sharing a breakfast of nuts and fruit, talking about the silly things their pet sloth did earlier in the week. My tastes were changing, and I was finding myself craving intimacy and emotional connection.

Crazy, I know, but don't knock it 'til you try it.

"Mmm, oh," Gecko said, breaking the kiss to breathe, "I wanted to ask, how're you and Grandy doing? I saw you two enjoying sun-time together." From another dragon, this would be a pretty damning accusation, but from him it was playful teasing, just being a curious, nosy little drake.

"Oh, we're doing just fine." I told him. "She was just in one of her funks. Talking about wanting to do 'more', or something."

"More what?"

"I have no idea. Something beyond snacks and naps, I guess? I think she might miss being Queen. Hopefully yesterday's Challenge cleared her mind." Gecko's scales flashed dark blue, his expression turning thoughtful.

"What is it?" I asked.

His frills flapped, and as his scales turned back to their default color, he asked, "You sure that's all that's on her mind?"

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

Gecko rested his head on my shoulder. His paw found its way to my belly, crawling up as claws "stepped" on each of my iridescent scales. "If memory serves," He mused, "It's been nearly two years since she broke up with you."

"Yeah." I agreed. Any kind of annoyance I might've had with this line of thought was being lost in the feeling of his claws on my chest.

"And we just had our one-year anniversary last week."

"Y-yeah?" His claws were going up my neck. I felt my scales starting to turn pink.

"So you don't think she might be a bit lonely and... I dunno, a little jealous, that you've moved on and found happiness, while she's without her daughters and her crown?"

I considered this idea. I've known Grandy since we were dragonets. I know her better than anyone. She doesn't get jealous - at least, she was better at keeping her emotions in check than anyone else I knew. Spirits, she was the first one to congratulate me when Gecko and I first started dating. At the end of the day, we were best friends before anything else. But I also knew being Queen and leading the Tribe was everything to her. Even as necessary as it was for her to disown her daughters and step away from the throne, it still broke her heart to give up what she dedicated her life to. She spent most of her time now being a backseat Queen, trying to keep what little control she had left and help the others as best she could. Some, like Splendor and Fruit Bat, weren't all that bad. Others, like Exquisite, Dazzling and Magnificent, we thanked the Spirits when nothing important happened when their turns ended.

"Alright," I sighed, "Say that you're right. What should we do about it?"

"What you need to do," He corrected, tapping my nose, "Is talk to her, and ask if she wants to join us."

I did a double-take. "Join us? What, like for a one-nighter?"

"No, goofus!" He chided, slapping my chest. "I mean make this a throuple."

Now my scales were turning orange-purple from confusion. "But... but I thought you were into drakes?"

"I prefer drakes," He corrected, smirking, "But I'm not against being with a dragoness. Especially when they're a strong, confident ex-Queen who's also my boyfriend's bestie. True story, I shipped you two so hard before you guys broke up. Such a cute couple!"

I covered my face with my paws, desperately trying not to laugh. Sometimes Gecko could be such a dork. A loveable dork, but a dork all the same.

"So, what do you say?" He pressed. "Are you gonna do it?"

I sighed. Then an idea crossed my mind, and my paws went down his back, down to his flank. "I can talk to her," I purred, "If you're up for turning our sun-time into fun-time."

Gecko giggled, pulling away from my grasp. "As much as I'd like that, darling," He apologized, "I promised little Orchid I'd help him work on his venom-spitting today. He's been making a lot of progress, and I'd hate to let him down." My thoughts must've been written on my face, because snorted, and continued, "Tell you what, you go and talk to Grandeur, and tonight, we can play a little hide-and-seek."

He leaned in close, whispering in my ear. "I could be anywhere." He teased, hot breath tickling my frill. "The waterfall outside the Village. The Royal Garden. In your bed in your hut. Why, I could even be right... behind...you." His lips touched my neck as he emphasized those words. I shuddered.

"See you tonight, darling!" He chirped, hopping off me and taking to the skies. I growled in frustration, utterly blueballed. I rolled onto my belly, extending my wings out for maximum sunlight, and stubbornly tried to get back to sleep. As much as I knew I should go talk to Grandy, I wasn't going to do it while my hormones were all acting up. She'd think it was a simple booty call, which is the last thing she'd ever want to be thought of.

No Queen's a THOT.

I was just about to enter deep sleep, when I felt a couple dragons approaching me. "Fox, wake up. There's someone here I want you to meet." Recognizing the voice as Grandeur's, I tried to wake up, but the light was still a little too bright. Yawning, I opened my eyes a teeny tiny bit.

"Hey there, Grandeur," I mumbled sleepily, "What's going on?" Then I noticed the dragon standing next to her, and oh my goodness, who was this handsome drake? A Sandwing, his scales and wings of a sandy beige, save for the line of black scales going down his neck and spine, and the dark brown of his fin. His eyes weren't completely black like I heard most of them had, but were normal eyes with shades of reddish-brown. He was bigger and taller than my former Queen, thicker without being too muscular or chubby - by Rainwing standards anyway. A thick, muscular tail ending with a wicked stinger curled behind him, and strong forepaws more chiseled than any I've seen before.

I imagined what he could do with those paws. I liked what I saw.

Instinctively, my mind went to flirt mode. I couldn't help it - I've been in the game for so long, I couldn't not display for an attractive dragon anymore than I could stop breathing. I shifted as I rest my head in one paw, my wings and legs stretched out to give him a good view of my rear. My display scales flickered and flashed a rainbow of colors - a trick I learned from a young age. Other Rainwings thought it was the coolest little trick.

"Hey there, stranger." I said, playful and flirty. "It's been a hot minute since I've seen a Sandwing enter our humble domain. Just who might you be?"

"Flying Fox," Grandeur said evenly, "Allow me to introduce you to Xerophilous, King of the Rainwings, and your new boss."

"Ha! Good one, Grandy!" I laughed. "Dragons can't rule over other Tribes! That would be silly!"

Grandeur held her gaze. I felt my scales shifting to white and green, as I realized she wasn't joking. Then I remembered passing by a couple Rainwings talking yesterday about how some stranger came out of nowhere, caught three mangos at once, and was given the crown by Grandeur herself. I thought they were just making shit up, but now...

"You're being serious, aren't you?" I asked, looking back and forth between them. "Wait, this is the guy who won the Challenge?"

"Hey, I'm just as surprised as you!" The Sandwing admitted, smiling. "This whole things still feels like a dream."

"My King," Grandeur said, "This is Flying Fox, an old friend of mine. Out of any dragon I know, he best represents what I think it means to be a Rainwing. If you need a crash course to learn about our Tribe, he is the expert to go to."

I sat up, opening and closing my mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"Speechless?" Grandeur said, smiling. "That's a first. Now, I'm afraid I must go to inform the rest of the kingdom of our new king. I'll leave you two to get acquainted." Before either of us could protest further, she turned her scales invisible, and vanished from our sight.

Leaving me alone with our new King. Who I just showed my belly and flirted with.

"Oh Spirits." I apologized, bowing deeply as my scales turned dark green. "I'm so very sorry, Your Majesty. Please forgive me, I didn't mean anything by it, I swear!"

"Fox-" He started.

I flirt with everyone, but I don't anything by it, honest! It's just in my nature!"

"Fox..."

"I already have a boyfriend, and things are kind of complicated right now, and I don't know if he'd even be cool with-"

"FOX!" He shouted, cutting me off mid-rant. I stopped. Sometimes, when I get extra anxious or embarrassed, my mind and my mouth tend to run on and on, and I'll keep jabbering like a monkey in a tree until someone cuts me off and shuts me down.

He sighed. "Look, I'm not offended. If anything, I'm kind of flattered."

I blinked, confused. "Oh? Really?"

"Yeah. It's nice to know dragons aren't just into me 'cause I'm a VIP." He winked. "But seriously, I'm new here. I don't know how you Rainwings do things, and if I'm going to do right, I need to know how my new subjects think and live. You think you can help me with that?"

Damn, I thought, He's asking me to be his advisor. I'm getting a promotion!

I smiled and shrugged, and said, "I can try. I've never taught someone outside the Tribe how to be a Rainwing before. It'll be fun. But before we agree to anything, there's something I need to know. Two things, actually."

"And what would those be?"

Well," I asked, "What are you going to do, now that you're King?" His scales turned blue, but his expression wasn't sad, but curious. "And another, why did you come to the Rainforest in the first place? Phyrria's a big place after all, you could've gone literally anywhere. We're not exactly on the way to somewhere important."

The Sandwing paused, looking thoughtful. After a long moment, He answered, "Well, let's just say that I... needed to get away from home for awhile. Change my surroundings, start a new chapter in my life, that kind of thing."

"Rediscover yourself, you mean?" I suggested.

"Something like that, yeah."

"I get it. You're not the only one I know who's been feeling stuck. It happens to the best of us."

"Yeah." He agreed. "As for what I'm going to do... well, I'm not entirely sure yet. All I know is that I want to leave it in a better place than when I found it. You all have been so kind and welcoming, and I want to do right by them."

I tilted my head, considering what he just said. I watched him as he spoke, looking for any hint of being lied to. There wasn't any. Whatever else was going on with this guy, he meant what he said about coming here and helping us. I was willing to give this Xerophilous dude a chance. Besides, worse comes to worst, I was sure Grandy or Sparkling could take care of him if he turned out to be an asshole.

My scales turned dark blue, before turning yellow as I smiled again. "Alright then," I told him, "I believe you. I'll teach you our ways. By the time I'm done, you're gonna be the best non-Rainwing to ever Rainwing!"

He smiled back, and I knew right then and there, we were going to be best friends...