Dragons Change

AN: Here it is! The long awaited chapter 29! I know I originally said mid-May, but that was before I went back and edited/rewrote a good third of the story. Quite a bit is different within the character interactions, but the story and plot remains the same.

As for this chapter, it focuses mainly on Hailstorm and Horus, the mystery Skywing from last chapter. As in: eighty percent of this chapter is nothing but a massive flashback. I didn't plan that originally. I planned to do a 1k word summary of the events, but then I remembered that some people had asked me to show more and not just tell, so I wrote the whole thing out, and it ended up being about 6.5k words in total. So the main plot will pick back up in the next chapter, and, barring any unexpected additions, s*** gonna get real.

Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire. My OCs Aurora and the Spirits, Faredir, Horus, and Flint belong to me. Cataclysm belongs to her owner BizmuthTheRainwing. Inferno belongs to his owner IceDragon07. Cover art for the story belongs to beyzul on Deviantart.

Chapter 29:

He wasn't even fully awake yet when the pain started filtering back in. He couldn't help but let out a small whine as a stab of pain raced through his entire body. His eyes opened and since he was lying on his back, he tried to lift his head but gasped as the rush of pain intensified dramatically. He was so focused on trying to see his chest that he didn't notice that he wasn't alone anymore.

Gentle talons pushed him back down until his head was lying flat again. "Don't try to move yet, Winter. Just rest," Moon instructed him, clearly upset at seeing him like this.

He resisted and raised his head again. "It—It h-hurts," he whimpered. He scrabbled at his chest plate, wanting so desperately to remove it and make the pain go away. Moon grabbed his talons in her own and held them close to her chest. "T-Take it o-off," he begged her.

She shook her head. "I can't do that, Winter," she said gently.

Every little shift of his muscles made pain race like fire through his chest, and he could feel the harsh metal of the plate rubbing it wrongly. "P-Please!"

"No," she said a bit more firmly. "Faredir said if we take it off before you're fully healed, you could die…" She trailed off before looking down. "…again," she finished with a whisper. He laid his head back down but turned it so he could look at her better. Several minutes passed in silence, and the pain slowly started to recede now that he was being still. Eventually, she looked up and noticed him staring at her. "What?" she asked, cocking her head to the side in curiosity.

A small smile started creeping onto his muzzle. "You cock your head when you're curious," he stated.

Her eye ridges furrowed in confusion and she cocked her head to the other side. "Yeah…what about it?" she asked, genuinely not knowing where he was going with this.

"It's cute," he stated simply. Despite how hard it was to see another dragon blush, Winter noticed the small color change on her cheeks. She looked away bashfully and tried to hold back her smile.

Her smile faded after a short period, and she sighed. "I should go get the others," she said. She made to get up, but their talons were still entwined, and he wouldn't let her go.

"Stay," he begged.

She sat back down, but she seemed nervous about something. "They asked me to get them as soon as you woke. I really should go get them," she tried to explain, but she wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Moon?" he asked her gently. "What's wrong?"

She sighed despondently. "Hailstorm and Flint have been at each other's throats since you got hurt," she explained. "Flint wants to go back to the Sea Kingdom and get you as far away from Faredir as possible, but Hailstorm thinks we should stay."

"What do you—" He was about to ask her what she thought, but he was interrupted by something slamming into the adjacent wall. Then, two furious roars sounded and fighting could be heard in the next room.

Moon sighed again, this time in aggravation. "Not again…" She got up, and this time he let her go. She all but threw open the door, and he could hear her voice even from the other room. "HEY!" The sounds of fighting stopped. "He's awake," she told them.

Within moments, the three of them were at his bedside. One of Hailstorm's eyes were swollen shut, and his wings were slumped as if injured—no doubt from being slammed into the wall. Flint sported a few gashes here and there but otherwise looked fine.

"I'm getting you out of here," Flint declared. "Can you walk?"

"Of course he can't walk! Did you see his injury!?" Hailstorm argued.

"I wasn't talking to you!" Flint snarled back. "I'll carry you back to the Sea Kingdom if I have to, Winter, but—"

"But nothing!" Hailstorm interrupted. "If you take him back there, he'll either be thrown in prison or executed for treason!"

"They wouldn't dare!" Flint argued. He grabbed Winter roughly, and the Icewing gasped at the sudden shift in his position and the spike of pain that came from it.

Hailstorm, seeing this, reacted by pushing Flint backwards a few feet. "GET YOUR CLAWS OFF MY BROTHER!" he yelled. "Touch him again and I'll break your face!"

Winter looked at Moon and saw that she was looking back at him sympathetically. "Your brother!? Then where were you for the last eight years, huh!? You don't deserve to call him your brother!"

With a furious roar, Hailstorm tackled the Mudwing against the front wall of the room. Flint responded by lifting the smaller Icewing and slammed him into the wall again before relentlessly pummeling him.

Winter had watched their entire argument with sadness, but as soon as he saw Flint beating Hailstorm—his real brother—like this, Winter snapped. He summoned a light ball and threw it at the wall next to Flint's head. It exploded with a deafening bang, and the Mudwing had to throw himself down to the floor as dust and parts of the wall rained down on him. Where the wall used to be was now a massive hole that was still smoldering along its radius. Flint raised his head and looked at the destruction with wide, almost fearful eyes. "Get. Out." Winter growled, dangerously.

"I-I'm sorry, Winter! I didn't mean for it to go so far! I was—I was just—" he tried to plead, but Winter interrupted him.

"GET OUT!" he roared, even though it made his chest hurt beyond belief to raise his voice like that. He readied another light ball for emphasis, and the Mudwing decided it was a good idea to evacuate at that point. Flint busted through the door—or what was left of it—and ran down the hallway. However, when he turned to check on his brother, Hailstorm wasn't moving. He was slumped against the wall, and he could see the extent of his injuries from where he was. "H-Hailstorm?" he called, tears already springing to his eyes as he feared the worst had happened.

Moon went over to the downed Icewing and checked him over. "He's still breathing, Winter, but he's hurt bad. I'll go get help, okay?" He didn't react as if he hadn't heard her. And he hadn't. His full attention was on his brother's motionless form. Everything else didn't matter in this moment. Moon left, running the opposite way that Flint had gone.

"H-Hailstorm!?" he cried, a bit more desperately. He still got no response. At this point, he was panicking. He stood despite the blistering pain and made his way over to his brother before letting himself collapse next to him. He pulled Hailstorm's still form into his embrace, and to his horror, felt that his heartbeat was fading.

Flint was an extremely strong dragon, and Hailstorm's injuries showed just how strong he was. His face was almost unrecognizable, and it felt like his ribs had caved in. His arms and wings were broken. Winter cried harder than he ever had in his life when he realized that whatever help Moon brought wouldn't be good enough.

Nobody could survive injuries like these.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he howled in pure despair. He cradled his brother's soon-to-be corpse tightly yet gently against his chest as he sobbed into the subtly-warming scales on his brother's neck.

It was then that a sudden desire within Winter rose up. It was an overwhelming desire to see Hailstorm well again. To live out his days with his brother by his side because saying goodbye…he would never be able to. And he never wanted to. He wanted to be with Hailstorm always.

He felt Hailstorm shift against him, and he looked down in wonder to see that his claws were glowing white. Hailstorm's injuries were slowly disappearing within a soft white glow, and Winter's tears turned from those of grief to those of hope and joy. He looked down at the anchor and noticed the same glow emanating from the device. He closed his eyes and bowed his head. "Thank you! Thank you! Whoever is watching over me, thank you!" he whispered as he held Hailstorm tighter.

He felt another wave of something arise within him, and after he realized what it was, he cried again. It was sort of hard to explain, but somehow he knew that someone was telling him it would be okay—that Hailstorm would always be with him. It was like this instinct he couldn't shake. There were no words or feelings that he could hear of sense, but somehow he just knew that's what it meant.

"Winter?" he heard Hailstorm ask blearily, as if just waking up from sleep. "What's wrong?" He looked down and saw that all of Hailstorm's injuries were now healed, and the white glow was just beginning to disappear from his claws. "What happened?" he asked, confused.

Winter sniffed and rested his forehead against his brother's. "I thought I lost you," he whispered. "B-But I saved you!" Hailstorm just stared into his eyes, though he appeared lost and confused still. "I love you," he said, his voice still thick with emotion.

"I love you, too," Hailstorm responded. "But what do you mean you almost lost me? I wouldn't go anywhere without you," he proclaimed.

Winter smiled, though his eyes were still moist. "I'll hold you to that," he chuckled, a bit emotionally.

It was then that Moon and another dragon rounded the corner to see the two brothers in an embrace—both clearly alive and well. "What…happened?" Moon asked uncertainly.

"I saved him," Winter said quietly. "With my magic." He finally turned to her, a new resolution in his mind. "I want to learn everything I can about it…so I can protect everyone I love," he declared.

She nodded, apologized to the medical dragon—who then left with a bit of a grumble—and went over to a pile of scrolls sitting on the table. None of them appeared to be damaged. "I'm surprised nobody came to see what happened," she said, thinking aloud most likely. "That was a loud explosion. Anyways, Faredir sent these down earlier. They've got all kinds of techniques and skills you can train in."

He cocked his head. "He's not going to train me anymore?"

She stared at him as if he were crazy. "Winter, he almost killed you! He shut himself up in his room and ordered us never to bother him again!" she explained.

Winter turned his gaze upwards to the ceiling. "He…did?" he asked, confused. For some reason, thinking Faredir didn't want anything to do with him anymore hurt more than he was willing to admit. He noticed that Moon was holding one of the scrolls out to him, so he took it with a soft apology. He unrolled it and looked it over. It explained the same shield technique they had been working on earlier.

"That one was on the top of the pile," Moon revealed. "The servant who delivered these said Faredir wanted you to focus on that one first."

"Did you look at any of them?" he asked, still not looking at her. Hailstorm shifted so he was more comfortable and looked over the scroll with him.

She shook her head, "No."

"You can do that?" Hailstorm asked, a hint of awe in his voice.

"Not this," he replied and gestured to his chest for emphasis. "Hence what happened." He looked up at Moon for clarification, "He said to do this one first? You're sure?"

She nodded. "Yeah, the servant was very explicit on which one you should do first. Why? What's it say?" She went over and looked at the scroll with him. When she saw what it was, she looked at him. "That seems useful," she pointed out.

"I'm sure it would be…" he said after a moment.

"Then why do you sound so…hesitant," Hailstorm asked, finally picking up Winter's unease.

Winter didn't answer right away. Instead, he tried to answer that question as he didn't quite know the answer to it. Why did he feel so uneasy about trying this again? It wasn't the technique's fault he was injured. In fact, if he knew how to do this, he could make sure it would never happen again.

The fact Faredir had ordered him to do this one first could mean one of two things. Either he could be simply stating that his progress earlier wasn't satisfactory and he needed to work on it—a more detached message. Or he could be saying that he needed to perfect this so this would never happen again—a message with more concern for his safety.

"I don't know," he finally answered. He tried to stand, but his breath left him in a rush at the spike of pain that shot through him. He took a minute to recover before trying again. This time he was able to stand, but he didn't think he could get very far on his own. The others were watching him, waiting to jump in if he looked like he was about to fall. "Will one of you help me upstairs?"

"You want to do what now?" Hailstorm asked, not believing what he just heard. "I know I wanted us to stay, but I don't think antagonizing him is a good idea," he tried to dissuade Winter, but the younger Icewing's mind was made up.

"Then stay down here," Winter replied. "Moon?" he asked.

She didn't seem too certain about this idea either, but she eventually relented. "Alright, but you should rest for today at least. I'll take you up there tomorrow, okay?"

He sighed but accepted. Though that left the rest of the day with nothing for him to do. He didn't really want to practice his powers since he was still hurting so bad, and that light ball took more out of him than he expected it to. He looked around his partially destroyed room for something to occupy his mind. Moon was picking up some of the debris on the floor. "You don't have to do that, Moon. I'm the one who blew the wall up," he said.

"I know," she said simply. "But I want to," she finished with a smile at him.

He smiled back, but then his gaze landed on Hailstorm. "So…who's Horus?" he asked, curiously.

Hailstorm sighed and glared at him, though it was a good-natured glare. "Should have known you would ask about him," he said. Moon looked up a bit uncertainly and was about to leave when Hailstorm stopped her. "You can stay, Moon. You'll probably meet him sometime anyways." He went quiet for a minute, most likely organizing his thoughts. "Do you remember what I told you about love on our flight to the Sea Kingdom?"

"About it being a fickle thing?" he asked.

Hailstorm nodded. "Yeah…" He sighed again.

A few years ago, there was a time where I lived as Pyrite for almost a year-and-a-half straight. One night, I was sitting in a bar by myself when a few drunk Skywing guards tried to hit on me. There was one Skywing sitting and drinking by himself at the end of the bar who told them to stop, and to my utter surprise, they did. I tried to thank him, but he just shrugged. "As their Captain, it's my job to keep them in line," he said.

The next day, I was walking the markets when the same group of Skywing guards tried the same thing. They grabbed me when I went down an alley…

He paused, and Winter let him collect himself. "I guess that's the one bad thing about being an attractive female," he tried to joke.

Anyways, the same Skywing from the bar saved me. "I'll make sure they're punished for what they almost did to you," he promised as he escorted me back to the markets. Seeing that I was a bit shaken, he offered to escort me home. "If you don't feel safe by yourself, I can escort you back home if you want."

"But I live outside the city," I replied. "I don't want you to get in trouble." I appreciated the offer, but I lived quite a ways away. I didn't think he would be allowed to go that far just to escort someone home.

He shrugged. "I won't, but it's your choice. I get off early today, anyways, and I was probably going to spend the rest of the day in the bar again," he said, a hint of sadness in his voice. "Bad break-up," he explained at my curious expression.

"Oh. Well, I was going to explore the markets today, but…" My eyes lit up with a sudden brilliant idea. "Hey! Why don't you join me?"

"Browsing the markets, you mean?" he asked, and I nodded excitedly. He smiled at my enthusiasm. "Alright. Sounds like fun. I've got another two hours until I get off, but no one said I couldn't escort you through the markets," he said with a wink. "I'm Horus, by the way."

"Pyrite," I replied. I looked around for a good place to start and saw a jewelry stand not too far away. "And I say we start over there!" I heard him chuckle as I ran off, but he followed—just at a much slower pace.

So that's what we did for the day. We browsed the markets, and I bought a few books I thought sounded interesting. He bought us dinner at a nice, little café, and when the day ended, both of us were a bit sad that it had. "I had fun today, Horus," I said with a small smile. "But I should get back home. It's not exactly a short flight."

"I did, too," he nodded. I turned and walked away, but he stopped me with a call. "Pyrite?" I turned, and he walked back up to me. "I know we just met, but I was happier today with you than I've been in a long time. So would you like to join me for dinner tomorrow? At my place?"

I smiled widely. "I would like nothing more," I replied. "But where do you live?" I asked, curiously.

He smiled. "Meet me here tomorrow around dinnertime, and I'll show you."

I returned home with plans to go meet him tomorrow, yet the time between now and then seemed to stretch for a small eternity. I was so excited to meet him again! But finally, it was time to go meet him. I waited for him in the same spot we parted yesterday, and it took about ten minutes, but I saw him through the crowd making his way towards me with a smile. He stopped in front of me and pulled out a bouquet of flowers from his satchel. I gasped at the beautiful red and yellow roses and took them from him. "They're beautiful!" I said, and his smile seemed to grow.

He sighed in relief. "That's good. I wasn't sure what you liked, so I'm glad I picked them. They match your scales," he said. I looked down, and sure enough, they were the same colors as my scales.

I giggled. "Well aren't you romantic! Remembering my scale colors after spending one day together!"

He chuckled. "How could I forget? I couldn't stop thinking about seeing you again," he admitted. Neither could I, and it made me happy to know that somebody was that excited to see me. "Come on. I've already gotten everything I need for dinner."

He started walking towards the more expensive side of town, and I followed behind him. Something he said caused me to think, though. "Does that mean you are cooking?"

"It does," he nodded. Then, his confidence seemed to fade. "I mean if that's alright. But, um…if you'd rather go somewhere, that's fine, too," he said, rather awkwardly.

"Of course it's alright!" I practically squealed with joy. "Flowers and a home-cooked meal? I feel special!"

He grinned at me. "You should. I didn't do this for my ex," he said. "But you…I think you're worth it."

I gasped at the genuine sincerity in his voice and leaned my head against his shoulder as we walked. He draped a wing across my back and looked down at me with such tenderness that it made me believe then and there that Horus was the one.

We arrived at his house a short while later, and I admit I was a bit impressed that a guard Captain had such a large home. We were in the most expensive part of the city, and his house had two stories with a moderately sized courtyard in the center with a nice fountain in the front of the house. There was no actual lawn since we were in the city, but it worked for the area we were in. "Didn't expect that, did you?" he asked with a grin.

"It's a bit bigger than I was expecting, I admit," I started. Then I grinned at him mischievously. "But it's not as big as mine," I said with a wink.

He looked at me with a raised eye ridge, not really believing me. "Uh-huh. I'll have to see it to believe it," he said dubiously. "Anyways, come on in."

I followed him in and couldn't stop the whistle at seeing the decorations inside. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say this was a noble's house," I said in awe. There were all kinds of tapestries with different Skywing house seals and even the royal Skywing crest. There were a few nice plants dotted here and there with a nice fireplace on one wall and expensive-looking furniture. My house may have been bigger, but it definitely didn't have this much stuff in it.

"It was…is. It's kind of complicated," he explained. "My family is an old one. It all started with my ancestor, Comet, who ended up being Queen Carmine's most trusted general. We've been a high-ranking military family ever since. My parents weren't so happy with me only making Captain in the city guard, so they kicked me out of the house right before Queen Ruby took the throne. Since they were devout followers of Scarlet, they ended up dying in the Civil War that followed, so the house passed on to me. The Queen has been kind of leery about giving me a promotion, but I don't mind my position. Honestly, I don't think I could handle the responsibilities of being a general," he finished.

"But you can't be making enough money to afford this house," I pointed out. Houses within the city had to pay a higher property tax than those outside the city because of the size constraints and desirability of being within the city. That tax only increased with larger and more expensive houses. Meaning: this house may be smaller, but the tax was probably triple mine. Then again, I didn't have to pay tax anyways since I've been exempted from it. The only reason I got my house in the first place was because the Queen let me—and no one else was interested in it.

"My family has quite a large amount of money saved up, but…yeah. I've probably got enough for another five years or so," he trailed off. But then he turned back to me with a smile. "But enough about that. Tonight is what matters to me. I hope you like pork!"

I smiled. "Yeah, it's my favorite!"

He stopped and looked at me, surprised, before breaking out into laughter. "I can't believe I'm this lucky! That's two for two, now! I set up everything outside, so we could watch the stars while we eat," he said, so we both made our way to the center courtyard. There was a grill and firepit in the center with a counter with all of his ingredients set up and ready to go. "I'm not the best at making fancy food, but you won't find a soldier in the entire Sky Kingdom that says I don't know my way around a grill," he bragged with a smirk.

We sat and talked as he prepared the food for us. Pork chops and ham steak with grilled vegetables such as asparagus, potatoes, and peppers on the side. Everything was seasoned, and when he finished and we ate, I could honestly say he had a right to brag about his grilling skills.

After eating, we talked long into the night and watched the stars. It was the best day of my life up to that point. Eventually, though, it was time to sleep. He let me stay the night in a room he set up just in case I wanted to.

I came to the city pretty much every day afterwards to meet with him. Most of the time, we would only have an hour or two to talk since he had duty, but every now and then he would have a day off or get off early. Just over a month after we first met, I was waiting for him in our usual spot. I had been there longer than usual, and I was just starting to worry when another Skywing came up to me. "Hey," he greeted. "Are you Pyrite?" he asked.

I nodded, though I was a bit on guard. "Yeah…why?"

"Captain Horus sent me. He got injured on duty today. But he's alright!" he added quickly to my horrified expression. He's up at the palace infirmary. They won't release him yet, but I can take you up to see him," he offered. I agreed.

We walked through the streets towards the palace. We were able to enter without any problems, and he escorted me to the infirmary. I could hear Horus' discontent grumblings from here, and I almost giggled. I turned the corner into his room, and his stony glare immediately shifted to a happy smile. The guard that escorted me up there excused himself, and I walked up to Horus' bed. "I hear you got hurt," I said.

He grunted. "Bastard caught me off guard is all."

At that point, another dragon came in. "Don't play it down, Captain," he admonished, though he sounded a bit snobbish. "If not for our efforts, that poisoned dagger that punctured your lung might have been the end of you."

I gasped in horror and looked to see if the doctor was telling the truth and saw a large white bandage over his chest with a small red spot in the middle. Horus was glaring at the doctor with anger. "And don't try to exaggerate it, either! It barely even nicked my lung!"

"Don't try to be brave for her, Captain. If she's going to be caring for you while you're on medical leave, she should at least know the extent of your injuries," he replied. He placed a vial of medicine on the table along with a few extra bandages. "You'll need to replace his bandages tonight and tomorrow morning and make sure he takes this medicine every morning and night for the next week so any chance of infection is removed," he addressed me. He gave me a small bow before leaving. "Oh!" he stopped and turned around. "Make sure to see the receptionist when you check out," he reminded Horus.

He just glared at the doctor as he left, but when he felt my eyes on him, he turned to me with a sigh. "You told them I was going to be caring for you?" I asked. I wasn't really made or anything, it was just unexpected.

He nodded. "I don't have any family left, and I don't want to stay here longer than necessary. I hoped you wouldn't mind… Do you?"

"Of course not!" I told him.

He smiled at me. "That's good. They told me not to walk or fly too long, though, and my house is practically on the other side of the city. We'll have to hire a stretcher and a few dragons, I think."

Her smile grew at that suggestion. "Well, if we're going to hire dragons, it might as well be to fly you back to my house," I declared. He opened his mouth to argue, but I interrupted him. "I'll pay for it, don't worry."

He looked down in thought for a moment before nodding in acceptance. "I'll get everything ready. Don't move!"

"Ha…Ha…Haven't heard that one before," he said sarcastically.

I went over to the receptionist desk and introduced myself to her. "Hi! I'm Pyrite, and I'm here to check Horus out."

She scanned through the scrolls on her desk, found his name, nodded, and crossed it out. She went over to a scroll shelf and scanned through them until she found the one she was looking for. "Give this to him, so he can take care of it at his earliest convenience."

I nodded. "The doctor said he isn't supposed to fly or walk for too long, and my house is a good distance away. Is it possible to hire a stretcher and some dragons to carry him?"

She nodded. "I'll take care of it for you. The two of you can wait for it out here if you want," she said.

I nodded and thanked her before going back to fetch Horus. It was a short walk to the lobby from his room, but he was breathing heavily by the end of it. "I guess it's worse than you're letting on, huh?"

He nodded, though he didn't say anything. That was okay, though. He probably didn't like it when he wasn't at his best. He was a soldier. We waited for a few more minutes before the stretcher and two dragons arrived. They asked where we were going, and I gave them the general directions and distance. The price for flying so far wasn't exactly cheap, but I could afford it.

Horus and I didn't really talk during the flight, but I made sure to keep an eye on his expression when my house entered his sight. His jaw dropped when he saw my…well, mansion was a better term for it. Actually, it used to be a vacation palace for the royal family, but Queen Ruby sold it to me since she wasn't interested in keeping it.

We landed not long later, and I ran in to get the two dragons' payments. After I paid them, they grabbed the stretcher and left. Horus was looking around in awe. "Didn't expect that, did you?" I echoed his words from when he first showed me his house.

He shook his head. "I'm not even going to bother denying it. This looks like a palace!" he exclaimed.

"Well, it was…is," I said with a grin. He rolled his eyes but laughed. "It used to be a vacation palace for the royal family, but Queen Ruby wasn't using it, so she sold it to me. And she gave me an exemption, too, so I don't have to pay any taxes on it."

"You get your own mountain plateau, lake and waterfall, garden, and palace, and you don't have to pay any taxes?" he questioned. I shook my head. "How in the name of the moons did you get that lucky?"

I shrugged. "Anyways, come on in!" I helped him walk up the stairs and unlocked the front door for him. He walked in, and though the interior wasn't as decorated as his house was, he was no less impressed. "This is the living room, obviously. The library and study—and about four other rooms I don't use—is over on the right, and the kitchen, cellar, and dining hall is down that little hall over there. Upstairs to the left is my room, and there's five more rooms to the right. Make yourself at home!"

He made himself comfortable on the couch, and I went back to the kitchen to make us a quick dinner. When we finished eating our quick deer dinner, I remembered the scroll the receptionist gave me. I gave it to him, and he unrolled it. He read through it with a glower before his eyes flew open, "WHAT!? I-I can't afford this!" He dropped the scroll and hid his face in his claws. I looked down at what I assumed to be his hospital bill and blanched.

"Ten thousand!? You were in there for less than a day! How could it be that much!?" I asked no one in particular.

He sighed from next to me. "That doctor is my ex's brother. This is probably him trying to make me pay…literally. She was only dating me for my money, anyways, and I guess if she couldn't get it, her brother's going to drain me dry."

"Wait. That's illegal," I said. He shrugged. "Aren't you going to do something about it?"

"What can I do!?" he yelled, and I flinched back. He sighed. "Sorry, I'm just… That's almost six months of taxes for me."

I made a resolution then and there. I was going to go into the city tomorrow and tell Queen Ruby about this. I rubbed his shoulders. "Don't worry, Horus. I'll go talk to the Queen tomorrow."

"She doesn't have time for such petty disputes such as this," he argued.

"She has time for me," I said with a smile. "She invites me to her parties, so I must have some influence with her, right?"

Horus stared at me for a long time before bringing me in for a hug. "Thank you, Pyrite," he whispered in my ear. "I'm sorry I had to drag you into my mess."

I shook my head. "It's our mess, now, Horus."

"So that's what I did. The next day, I left for the Palace as Pyrite, though I took off my necklace about halfway there. I explained the situation to Ruby, and she had that doctor pay the outrageous sum he had given Horus as punishment," Hailstorm explained.

"What happened next?" Winter asked.

"Well, Horus spent the next month recovering from his injury…" he started.

After I returned from speaking with Queen Ruby, I told Horus the good news, and he was so happy and relieved that he shed a few tears. I went into the city ever three days for groceries, but other than that, I spent all of my time with Horus. I helped him change his bandages when I needed to and made him take the medicine. He had six weeks off to recover, but by the end of the month, he could make the flight back to the city with little difficulty.

Even though he could make it back to the city now, and he could have stayed at his own home if he wanted to, he decided to stay with me still. I was happy for the company since it got a little lonely all the way out there by myself, and there was no one I would rather have shared my home with than Horus.

At this point, we were officially dating. We spent the last two weeks before he had to return to duty doing all kinds of different things in the city now that we weren't confined to my house the whole time.

It was two days before he returned from leave that we went back to his house. All of his things were here, which meant he needed to start living here again when he went back to work, but after all that time we spent together…

Neither of us wanted to go back to living alone.

We spent that particular day at his house, and I could tell that he wasn't as happy here as he was that first month we knew each other. The sun was beginning to go down, and I knew I couldn't stay much longer. "Would you like me to stay?" I offered.

"No," he shook his head. "I mean, you can if you want, but you don't have to. I'll manage," he said, rather unconvincingly. He sat down in front of the fireplace and just stared into embers, a miserable look on his face. I sat down next to him, and he wrapped a wing around me and pulled me close. "I wish things didn't have to go back to the way they were," he said quietly.

I looked up at him. "They don't have to," I said. He looked down at me, waiting for me to explain. "Would—Would you like to come live with me? You know…permanently?" I asked.

He blinked a few times in surprise by the offer, but then his expression brightened and he wrapped me in a hug. "I would love nothing more! If you'll have me, that is…" He pulled back, waiting for an answer, and I nodded with a smile. He hugged me again, and I knew this was exactly where I wanted to be forever: in the arms of the dragon I loved.

It was at about that moment—the one where I realized I loved him more than anything—that he did, too. "I love you, Pyrite," he whispered to me.

I smiled to myself and burrowed deeper into his embrace. "I love you, too."

So he came to live with me, and we started sleeping together not long after that. Even though it took an hour to fly to the city, and he had to be there at first light to report for duty, he didn't complain. We were happy being with each other in the ten months we spent living together. He was injured twice more during that period, but neither time was as bad as the first. It did concern him, though. "Either I'm getting rusty, or the criminals are getting better," he said after that third incident. "And I think I'd go with the latter. I've noticed a slow but steady increase in crime, and it worries me, Pyrite. I don't know what's going on, but until things settle down, I don't want you to go to the city by yourself."

I looked at him a bit curiously. I don't know why he was worried now, but he did seem genuinely worried. "Alright. I won't, but we need groceries for tomorrow."

"I'll take care of it," he offered. "And I think I might get some stuff for grilling, too." I smiled at him. He didn't do it often, but every time he grilled, it was a meal to remember.

"Steaks this time?" I asked.

"If that's what you want," he nodded. "Anything for you," he winked.

True to his word, he got stuff for grilling, and we had a wonderful evening together, though he seemed a bit distracted by something. The food was still perfect, but he was quiet and reserved the entire night. I was almost worried something I did upset him until he asked me if I wanted to go swimming until the light of the one full moon. I shrugged. We went swimming sometimes, but I didn't think he enjoyed it as much as I did.

We made our way over to the pond, and he grabbed me before I stepped in. "Pyrite?" I turned to him, curiously. "My previous relationship was five years of regret and pain, but you… You make life worth living. You are the funniest, most beautiful, and caring dragoness I have ever met, and every second I'm not with you lasts an eternity." He sat down and grabbed my talons in his. "I love you, Pyrite, with all that I am. I can't imagine life without you anymore. Which is why I have to ask…" he pulled out a small box and opened it to reveal a ring studded with gemstones. Gemstones that perfectly matched my scales. "Will you marry me?"

"What did you say?" Moon asked.

Hailstorm shook his head. "It wasn't that easy! All that time I spent with Horus was probably the best time in my life, but…somehow when he asked that question… I realized that he was living a lie. He loved Pyrite, but Pyrite is just an animus enchantment. I brought him inside, and I could tell he was hurt that I hadn't answered him yet. But I had to tell him the truth."

I brought him inside, tears in my eyes. But these weren't tears of happiness. They were tears of guilt and regret. "If you're not ready, I understand. I just thought…"

I shook my head. "No, it's not you, Horus. I am ready, but…there's something I need to show you. I took the necklace off, and showed him who I really am.

He stepped away in shock. Different emotions flashed across his face: surprise, confusion, anger, disgust. "What is this!?"

"This is who I really am," I answered. I held up the necklace, and he looked at it intently. "Pyrite is just an animus enchantment—one originally created by Scarlet to keep me a prisoner during the war," I explained. "I've changed it since then, but Pyrite isn't actually real…"

"No," he denied. "No, you're lying! Who are you!?"

"My name is Prince Hailstorm of the Icewings, but just because I look and sound different doesn't mean anything, Horus," I tried.

"How do you know my name!?" he yelled furiously.

"I was aware of everything Pyrite did, but she isn't aware of my existence. I swear, Horus, I didn't think things would go this far, but you deserve to know the truth."

He looked down, "A…lie?" he whispered. "It was all just—just a lie?" he snarled. "Everything I ever felt for her, everything we ever did together…A LIE!" He swung at me and knocked me down. "HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO BLIND!" he raged. His breaths were ragged, and his snarl was furious. But his eyes… His eyes were full of pain. He didn't want to believe that the dragoness he loved was actually me.

He roared at me, and I thought he would attack, but he just turned and ran out the door. He took flight into the night sky…and I never saw him again.

"Until two days ago, you mean?" Moon asked.

Hailstorm nodded. "What did you two talk about?" Winter asked.

"About what happened," Hailstorm responded. "When I saw him in the cafeteria that day, he recognized me, too. I asked him if he wanted to talk later, and he agreed…though he didn't seem very happy about it. When he arrived, we didn't so much talk as he interrogated me. He wanted to know about my thoughts on everything him and Pyrite did together. He wanted me to put on the necklace and prove I actually was Pyrite."

He paused for a while, so Winter couldn't help but ask. "Was that it?"

"Well…right before he left, I asked him if we could be friends," he replied.

"And? What'd he say?" Moon asked curiously.

"He said that he'd think about it," Hailstorm replied, rather despondently. They were quiet for a few moments until Hailstorm buried his face in Winter's neck and started crying. "H-He hates m-me!" he wailed.

Winter rubbed his shoulders. "No, Hailstorm, he doesn't hate you. I'm sure he's just confused and hurt by what happened. Give him some time. Or maybe I could try to talk with him?" he offered.

"If you mean that, now's your chance," Moon said. "He's on his way."

Winter stood, though he was stiff and in pain, and limped out the door. Moon took his place in comforting Hailstorm. He looked both ways and saw the same Skywing from two nights ago. He grit his teeth against the pain and walked to intercept him. "Do you have a few minutes to talk?"

Horus eyed him up and down as if deciding whether or not he did have a few minutes to talk before eventually nodding. "Yes. What about?"

"My brother just told me the whole story," he revealed.

"Then where is he?" he asked, almost uncaringly.

Winter narrowed his eyes. "Crying his eyes out because of you," he shot back. At that, the Skywing glanced over at the half-destroyed door. And though the destruction was no doubt a cause for the curiosity he was seeing, Winter also saw a small trace of worry and…guilt. "Hailstorm has been alone for a long time, and ever since Scarlet captured him, he's had trouble remembering who exactly he is. The one thing he does know is that he loves you. I'm not telling you to be in a relationship with him, but I am asking you to give him a chance."

"How can I?" he asked, a bit more animated this time. "He isn't the dragon I fell in love with, yet he has all the memories of our time together? How can I be sure Pyrite isn't the real dragon?"

Winter felt for the guy. He really did. "I know it's confusing." At Horus' unconvinced expression, he elaborated. "My friend Moon had a friend named Peacemaker, but he ended up being an animus enchantment for another dragon—a prison like Pyrite was meant to be Hailstorm's prison. Now that original dragon is back, but I know Moon still misses Peace even though she cares for the original dragon, too."

"But at least your friend knew both dragons. I had no idea your brother even existed!" Horus argued.

Winter huffed in aggravation. "Look. You wouldn't be up here unless you were thinking to give him a chance, anyways. So you need to decide right here right now if you will or not. Because if you can't, you should just leave before you cause him even more grief."

Horus studied him for a long time before finally relenting. "I'll give him a chance," he revealed. "Can I talk to him now or should I come back?"

"You can talk to me now," Hailstorm called from behind him. Winter looked behind him and saw Hailstorm standing there with an uncertain expression. "We could see if that café you and Pyrite liked is open," he tried to joke, though Winter had to wince for the poor taste.

However, to both of their surprise, Horus nodded. "I'd like that."

AN: So there's the full story between Hailstorm and Horus. I know this probably isn't what anyone (myself included) expected for the entire chapter, but that's what we got. Tell me thoughts and comments in a review, and like I said, I'll have a Brighter Future chapter out tomorrow, too.

Also, I thought of this randomly, but what is the most interesting Wings of Fire ship you've never heard of but would be interesting to see explored. Blaze x Winter would be an example, but I've used that one already so you'll have to find another. Rules being, both characters have to be canon, and the ship has never been done before. The one I came up with was Deathbringer and Moon.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22