The young princesses bounded through the snow in the courtyard, shrieking with laughter. Glacier watched them silently from her balcony and she spoke several names to Wolf, the latter writing them down hastily on a piece of parchment. Dusk was falling quickly and he still needed to grab his weapons from his room. As he finished writing the last name down Glacier turned her head to him slightly, making sure she could keep an eye on her dragonets. "This shouldn't take you more than a couple of days. When you're finished, go to Blaze's encampment. She requested your presence."

Wolf looked at Glacier and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Why me?"

She looked fully at him, her eyes boring into his. "If you don't think you can do what's been requested I can send Narwhal or Permafrost instead."

Wolf felt a hiss rise in his throat but he stomped it down quickly. He shook his wings out, the end of his tail lashing slightly. "No, Your Majesty, I can do it," he replied coldly.

"Good," was his reply. Glacier turned back to watch Crystal and Snowfall, dismissing Wolf. He tucked his hitlist into a pouch around his neck and lifted off, gliding over to his room. When he got there, Wolf wasted no time in shoving his scattered scrolls off his desk to grab his daggers before gently moving aside a piece of his floor, grabbing several vials of poison from his secret stash.

He placed his daggers in sheaths and gently put his poisons into the pouch with the list. Wolf looked around his room, making sure he had everything, scanning the area just to make sure he wouldn't need any other weapons. That's when he heard a high-pitched "Hi!" come from the door. Wolf whipped his head around, being greeted with the sight of a silver-scaled dragonet no older than three. He narrowed his eyes recognizing Lynx, the daughter of one of his friends.

"Lynx, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to visit you. What are you doing?"

Wolf slowly, and quietly replaced the part of his floor, concealing his stash of poisons. If Lynx's father ever found out that his daughter had accidentally drunk one or brought one home thinking it was something different, he'd have Wolf's head. "I'm actually heading out on a mission for Queen Glacier."

Lynx bounced into his room and Wolf watched as she made her way to his desk, climbing onto it to get at a scroll. "You mean you're assassinating some dragons?"

Wolf blinked in surprise at her bluntness. "Yes." Lynx nodded and grabbed a scroll, unrolling it mindlessly. "Do you need something before I go?"

She started to shake her head but then stopped and nodded. "Can I have this scroll?" she held up the one she'd unrolled and Wolf walked over to get a closer look at it. A History of Icewing Successors.

Wolf nodded and Lynx threw her wings around him. "Have fun reading it."

"I will!" Lynx leapt off his desk and ran out of his room, careful to not wreck the scroll. "Thank you," she called, making Wolf laugh softly.

I will never understand Lynx, and I'm not entirely sure I want to, he thought as he stepped out of his room and made his way out of the palace.

Wolf stretched his wings out and quickly looked at his right one. It had become a routine ever since the healer had managed to save the wing three years ago. On a few occasions, the old wounds would start to ache or cause problems with his flight, so he did a routine check before flying.

Over three years, Wolf had grown bigger, his body becoming leaner and stronger from hours of training dragonets, or testing them before they became real assassins. It gave him an advantage when one of his missions went wrong and he was discovered. His victim, for lack of a better term, would take one look at him, then look at the long scar on the left side, and pale before trying to run.

It never ended well for them.

Wolf nodded in approval as his wing looked all right and took off, flying into the fading light, taking no notice to the long shadows creeping up behind him.

Wolf glided to a river near a cliff face, his joints aching, and back leg bleeding. Dawn was fading into a bright morning, and Wolf was expected at Blaze's camp by midday.

His mission had gone well with minimal problems. Queen Glacier had given him four names, one of which was unknown to him. The Skywing had been his first target. She was a small thing, with a fierce temperament, and quick nature. She didn't go down easy, and he almost felt guilty about killing her.

Then there were the two Sandwings, one for Blister and one for Burn. Blister's Sandwing was the dragon with an unfamiliar name. What he'd done to warrant a death order from Queen Glacier, Wolf didn't know. He didn't bother asking either. He'd gone down swiftly, not even realizing Wolf was there until too late. Burn's Sandwing also led him to his final target, a Seawing. He'd taken the Seawing out first, killing them easily since they were one of Scarlet's prisoners.

But the Sandwing… Oh, she was the one who really got some damage done on Wolf. He'd cornered her just beside the Diamond Spray River and spent a good twenty minutes fighting her. She took a swipe at his chest with her tail which he dodged, causing her to stab the barb into the ground, allowing him a short window of time to breath his frost breath on it and cut it off. Her roar of pain thankfully didn't attract any other soldiers, but Wolf had to be quick with this. In the end, the Sandwing had cut his back leg, set part of his tail on fire, and most likely opened the wound in his wing again, possibly making it worse. He'd finally gotten her by blasting his frost breath into her mouth.

He looked north, then up at the sun. It would take him a couple of hours to get to Blaze, so he had time to clean himself up. What the Sandwing Princess wanted, Wolf had no idea. It could be a number of things, within a varying degree of requests. He shuddered thinking about what could possibly lay in store for him.

Wolf stood in a large tent, waiting for Blaze to walk in, blatantly ignoring the stares of the young Sandwing soldiers near the opening of the tent. Just as he was about to start pacing, Blaze walked in, a larger Sandwing trailing behind her. Wolf and the guard regarded each other for a few tense moments, the heavy silence being broken by Blaze.

"You're Wolf?"

"Yes," he said. The guard gave him a pointed look and he begrudgingly added "Your Majesty."

Blaze fixed the cape's clasp, and quickly checked her appearance before smiling at him. "Fabulous!" she motioned to the guard quickly. "Anubis requested that I call upon you."

Wolf slowly looked at Anubis and narrowed his eyes. "Oh? What for?"

Anubis bowed slightly to Blaze and began to take over the conversation, allowing the young princess to focus on herself once again. "Unfortunately, my Queen doesn't keep assassins around, and the one we did have was murdered on a mission."

"All right, and why do I need to know?"

"We," Anubis began. Wolf sat down, and raised an eyebrow, hearing Anubis mentally change 'we' to 'I'. "need you to get rid of a certain Sandwing who has been on our radar for a while."

Wolf just blinked and inwardly sighed. Of course, Anubis was requesting he go back out and assassinate a dragon. "Fine, who do you need dead?"

Anubis motioned with his head for Wolf to come closer. He stood and walked over, standing two inches away from Anubis. So dramatic… "Her name is Scorpion."

Immediately Wolf felt time slow down, and his heart dropped into his stomach. His breath hitched and he looked away from Anubis. "What did she do to warrant a death order?" a voice asked. Maybe it was his voice, but he wasn't entirely sure. Everything seemed so far away. Anubis answered, but Wolf only caught two words that sounded vaguely like "doesn't matter". Wolf just nodded numbly.

That's where his memory went black. When he finally regained full consciousness, Wolf noticed he was somewhere in the Ice Kingdom, most likely not far from the palace, laying in a pile of snow. Anubis wanted Wolf to kill Scorpion? There had to be a mistake. Maybe there were two Scorpions. Hopefully.

Wolf wrapped the light, dusty brown scarf he'd just bought over his head, shielding his head from the sun, and continued walking through the Scorpion Den, looking for Scorpion.

He'd arrived at dawn, and had spent nearly half the day doing a thorough search of the city. He hadn't found Scorpion, but he did find a few other Icewings and one very nosey dragonet who followed him around for the better part of an hour. Wolf had sighed and eyed the Sandwing warily. "Do you know where a dragon named Scorpion is?"

The dragonet had scrunched up his nose and shook his head. "Don't know her."

"Of course you don't…" Wolf muttered. "Are you going to help me find her?"

"No."

Wolf took a deep breath, stamping down his growing irritation. "Then go away."

The dragonet huffed and stuck up his snout at Wolf. "I think I will. You're grumpy and not fun to be around."

"That's the point." He briefly considered killing this dragonet and flying back to Anubis, lying about killing Scorpion. No, that's too harsh, even for you. Plus, you need to find Scorpion and get her to safety, a voice in the back of his head chirped.

Thankfully, the Sandwing had left him, and Wolf was left alone in peace. Now, he was moving into the oasis, desperate to find his friend. His mouth was getting dry, and his heart started beating faster as the hours stretched on with no sign of Scorpion.

A few Sandwings lingered around, watching him carefully as he stumbled in. A small, wiry, pale sandy yellow dragon pushed past two and strode over to him. She smiled at him warmly and silently took in his appearance. "Hello."

Wolf drew himself to his full height and flicked his tail lazily. "Hi."

"You need something?" she asked, getting straight to business.

He was about to say "no" but stopped as his mind told him that he shouldn't be stubborn right now. Wolf only had one chance to find Scorpion, and he needed whatever help he could get. "I'm looking for someone."

The Sandwing tilted her head slightly. "All right, and who is the 'someone' you're looking for?"

"Her name is Scorpion."

Recognition at the name flashed across her face and the Sandwing motioned for Wolf to follow her. "Why do you need her?" Wolf opened his snout to reply snarkily but she gave him a level glare. "Don't tell me it's not my business. I run this place, so I have every right to know why you need a criminal."

A criminal? What did she do? Wolf just scowled at this strange Sandwing but knew she was right. "I was sent by a Sandwing named Anubis to kill her." the Sandwing snarled at him and Wolf quickly added, "But I don't want to. Scorpion's my friend and I want to find her somewhere safe to stay. So, do you know where she is or not?"

She nodded curtly. "I saw Scorpion fly in the direction of Possibility two hours ago."

"Thank you." Wolf opened his wings and turned to launch into the air but the Sandwing grabbed his scarf, pulling sharply. He slowly turned his head in her direction, eyes narrowed, a low growl in his throat.

"When you see her, tell her that Thorn gives her regards." Thorn then placed a scroll in his talons and stepped back. "Give her that scroll as well, and tell her to pass it along to Nysnö."

Wolf's eyes widened and he snapped his wings shut, turning to face Thorn fully. "You know Nysnö?"

Thorn blinked and nodded softly. "You know her too?"

"She's my niece."

"Well, looks like she's in for a family reunion." Wolf narrowed his eyes further but Thorn just pushed him across the sand lightly. "If you want to catch Scorpion, you should leave now."

He opened his wings again and muttered a small "thanks" before launching into the sky, his wing flaps big, propelling him forward quickly.

Wolf landed in an empty street in Possibility, taking off at a run as soon as he hit the ground. The tails of his scarf whipped out softly behind him, falling as he slowed to a walk, beginning to look for the familiar face of Scorpion. A couple Skywings shot him venomous glances, while some younger Sandwings stepped out of his way.

He followed the smell of meat and bread and soon found himself in a market. He walked through it slowly, looking closely at every Sandwing he saw. It wasn't until he saw a familiar flash of grey-purple scales that Wolf got the first glimpse of hope.

He whipped his head around, following the Icewing who was running southwards to a pile of palm trees. She looked back at him, eyes widening as she saw Wolf fully for the first time. He stumbled over a rogue branch, toppling over into the dirt as he saw the face of Nysnö. Wolf's niece kept running and soon disappeared from his view as he attempted to untangle his limbs.

Two Mudwings stared at him strangely, watching as Wolf stood up and shook the dirt off of his wings and legs. He lashed his tail and continued after Nysnö, racing through the market. He went to fly after her when something, no someone, tackled him from behind. He hissed as he felt hot scales collide with his cold ones, pushing his snout into the ground. A familiar voice hissed out from above him. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Wolf flung the Sandwing off of him, spat out the dirt and spun around swiftly, body tensed up, snarling. In front of him stood Scorpion, her barbed tail raised threateningly. Wolf's stance relaxed once he saw her, and she copied his movements. "Scorpion!" he cried.

"Wolf?" Scorpion stepped forward and tilted her head at him slightly.

He held up a claw to her, standing on his hind legs. "Hold on one second." Wolf twisted and threw himself into the air, flying in the direction of Nysnö.

He found her hiding in the shade of a palm tree, breathing heavily. Wolf landed in front of her, eliciting a shriek from Nysnö. He narrowed his eyes at his niece who took a moment to recognize him. A few seconds later, Scorpion landed beside him and looked between the two.

"Stop screaming, I'm not here to hurt you," he said dryly.

Nysnö sat down, curling her tail around herself as she stared at Wolf's talons. "Says the one who started to chase me."

"I was only chasing you because I recognized your scales. Do you really think Queen Glacier would order me to kill you?"

Nysnö shrugged. "She did exile me, and you're an assassin, so yes?"

Wolf huffed lightly before shaking his head. "I could never do that to you." He pulled the scroll Thorn had given to him out of his bag that was slung across his back. "I have something for you by the way."

Nysnö looked at Wolf, curiosity in her eyes as he handed her the scroll. Her eyes widened and she quickly snatched it out of his talons, unrolling it slightly, quickly scanning what was in it. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Wolf then turned to Scorpion and took a deep breath, attempting to calm the butterflies in his stomach. "As for you," he began.

"As for me?" Scorpion echoed.

"I need to get you to safety."

Scorpion just gave him a bemused stare. "I am safe."

"No, actually you're not."

She laughed bitterly and shook her head. "Oh? Do tell."

"Do you know a dragon named Anubis?"

Scorpion's eyes widened before a darkness settled over them. She grabbed Wolf and hauled him away from Nysnö, making sure they were out of earshot. "How do you know him?"

"He told Blaze to summon me to her camp. Apparently, you've been on his radar for a while, and he asked me to assassinate you."

Scorpion fell silent and began lashing her tail. She snarled and snapped a stick in half, before looking at a rock intensely. "Do you know who Anubis is? Did he say anything about who he is?" Wolf shook his head and Scorpion sighed, her wings drooping softly. She sat down and looked at Wolf mournfully.

He felt his heart twinge and he moved closer to her. "What's wrong?"

She took a deep breath. "Anubis is my brother. We were born to two dragons who fought for Blister. One day, when we were three, maybe four, our father woke us up in the middle of the night, and fled to the Scorpion Den. He wanted to go back and fight in the war, but father wouldn't let him. I wanted to fight as well, but not for any of the princesses, just for myself, which is how I started getting into fights with Burn's soldiers when they would come near the den.

"When we were seven, Anubis flew off to join Blaze's ranks. I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen, claiming that Blaze was the best choice for the throne. A couple years passed before I saw him again. By that time, I had gotten into a bad group of dragons, and we were wreaking havoc within the Sand Kingdom." Scorpion averted her gaze and took a calming breath. "We attempted two assassinations. One on Burn, the other on Blaze. Our attempt on Burn ended…" she grimaced at the memory. "Ended in the public executions of two of my friends. She then declared that the rest of us were criminals and outlaws. Our attempt on Blaze, well, it's what caused Anubis to order my death."

Wolf nudged her lightly and wrapped a wing around her. "What happened?"

"Apparently Anubis had fallen in love. His name was Dingo, and when I showed up with three of the other group members, Dingo was on guard. It was my job to distract him long enough for Carrion, Eucalyptus and Drought to get at Blaze. Well, things quickly went south and I ended up with a broken leg, and Dingo was just as worse as me. He called for help, and I attacked him again. Anubis was the first to arrive and he saw me burn half of Dingo's face before snapping his neck."

Scorpion fell silent, signalling the end of her tale and Wolf stiffened lightly, putting the pieces together. Oh. She had killed the dragon Anubis loved, and based off of why he was here, Anubis hadn't forgiven her, and wanted her dead. Wolf just tightened his wing around Scorpion and took a steadying breath. He looked back at his niece who just shot him a sympathetic look before turning back to read the scroll Thorn had sent her.

"Well, now we really need to hide you."

"I can take her with me," Nysnö offered. Wolf looked back at her and she shrugged. "The Talons of Peace will help shield Scorpion. They've done it before with fugitives and runaways."

Wolf threw his talons into the air, and looked up at the sky as if to ask Shatter "See what's happened to your daughter?" Nysnö touched one of her wings to his lightly and smiled brightly. "You work with the Talons of Peace?"

"Yeah, where do you think I went after Glacier banished me?" she said it as if though it was so obvious. Which it kind of was, but Wolf just shook that thought off.

"If Mammoth ever found out about this," Wolf threatened.

Nysnö narrowed her eyes and stalked past Wolf. "Dad won't find out."

"What about Husky?" Nysnö stopped in her tracks as Wolf mentioned his youngest brother, and her favourite uncle. "Or Snow Leopard?" he used the name of her best friend, which he knew would strike a chord.

Nysnö snarled lightly at him and stomped her back leg on the ground. "Don't bring them up, Uncle. Besides, this isn't about me, this is about Scorpion."

"She has a point." Scorpion stood up and walked to stand beside Nysnö, looking back at Wolf gratefully. "I'll go with her, don't worry about me."

"Just," Wolf hesitated. "Don't hurt yourself."

"I won't." Scorpion looked out at the horizon before turning back to Wolf. "Keep in touch this time, would you? I hate randomly meeting you with no correspondence in between."

Wolf laughed and nodded. "I'll try."

"Good," Scorpion replied, a hint of amusement lacing her voice.

Wolf watched as she and Nysnö flew off, going to a safe haven. He spread his wings and flew the opposite direction, heading back to where Anubis was surely waiting for him. The sun was beginning to set, and Wolf looked up, seeing the first glimmer of starlight. He spotted the cluster of stars that Shatter used to always point out to him, and he could almost sense her casting her silent judgment down upon him as the cold light just winked down at him.