DISCLAIMER: I do not own Wings of Fire. It and the characters within (Qibli, Winter, Thorn, Moon, Riptide, Kinkajou, Turtle, Capybara, Cobra, Vulture) are Tui T. Sutherland's. Falcon, Oleander, Arid, Pearl, Moor and Morass were created by me.
First and foremost, thank you to everyone who's been leaving reviews! I try and respond as soon as I can! And to all the guests who I can't respond to, thank you for the feedback! All feedback keeps this story on-track and believable! Last chapter especially! I've gone ahead and re-worked it to smooth things out a bit.
Secondly, I'm sorry this chapter is coming out late! I know I shouldn't try and force myself onto a timeline but I personally appreciate predictable releases so I want to give all of you that as well! So to that degree, I will most likely post the next chapter in 3 weeks instead of two. Life has gotten a bit busy and I feel like I'm losing touch with some of these characters so I'm planning to do a re-read of the series as well as my story. Of course, if I can get out the story in 2 weeks like normal, it'll be up but in case it's not, I just wanted to provide a heads up!
Well, thats enough rambling for now, back to the (delayed) regularly scheduled programming.
His's eyes shot open when he felt a rough elbow in his chest. He stifled a yawn and lifted his chin from the stone lip of the roof. Oh camel lickers! Was I asleep? Winter's miffed expression seemed to say so.
"You know you need to have your eyes open if you want to keep watch." he grumbled as he shifted back into place.
Qibli rubbed his chest sorely. "I was awake!" The second yawn that pressed at the roof of his mouth argued otherwise. He craned back and sat upright, trying to wake himself up. Come on, pull yourself together Qibli. He shook his head mumbling "sorry. Any sign of her?"
Winter nodded his head and pointed his nose towards the streets. Below, he could see a couple SandWings exiting the building, but his eyes were immediately drawn to the strange shaded SeaWing pushing through the crowd.
"We need to know why she's here." he whispered, craning his neck. There was no chance of hearing their conversation from their position.
"We can't go in, being approached by you after meeting with Cobra is too suspicious," Winter reasoned. He shook his head. "No, we'll just watch and see where she goes afterwards."
I know, But we need to know what she's doing there, but it's impossible to find out from here. Would it be too late to grab the Obsidian mirror? As always, his mind fled back towards all the magic he could yield at his talon tips. Or we could ask one of our friends, like Moon. She'd be good for spying on them. Or Turtle, he could do anything, capturing Vulture wasn't selfishly motivated anyways.
A familiar sense of inadequacy drifted back. He glanced at Winter. The two most ordinary dragons ever, well, one ordinary dragon and one sparkly prince against the most fearsome criminal on Pyrrhia. Fantastic.
A low self assuring growl rumbled through Winter's chest as if he had the same exact thought as Qibli. "No, we can do it ourselves."
"But having someone they don't know can be extremely useful. We could ask Falcon?" Qibli pestered, tilting his head sideways.
"I don't want to distract the other Talons of Peace members. They already have their work cut out for them back at Sanctuary." Winter mumbled, his eyes dropping guiltily. "Let's just stake it out, and see what we can learn. We're already here anyway. If I can save myself a flight back to Sanctuary, I'll take it."
So more waiting it is. He felt his talons jittering below him. I can't believe I'm waiting around some more doing absolutely nothing while my grandfather schemes on and on. Maybe I could pretend to be visiting, but that assumes she remembers who I am, and doesn't hate my guts.
He let out an audible sigh, and tried to busy himself however he could. If I can't do anything now, I can at least think about our next steps. So what do we do with her when she leaves? If we track her, we can slowly work our way up the chain of command. If she's a recruiter, she'll be reporting to a supervisor. At that point, they should know how to contact Vulture at the very least. But what do we say? When we can do that, then what?
He knew deep down that there was only one path forward. Either Vulture is dead by the end of this, or he was. Even so, he shied away from thinking about it too much, the thought of challenging his tattooed grandfather horrified him. We have to corner him. Reach out, follow the message, and ambush him. And we hope that when we do, we can catch him off guard.
But how many friends are going to die to do it? He desperately wanted to get help from his old Winglet, or the others at Sanctuary, but he couldn't help but worry he'd lead them to their deaths. But if we do, we'd have the advantage of numbers.
He cut off his thoughts as another pair of guests exited the restaurant below. Another false alarm. It felt like the entire restaurant had come and gone before Pearl's iridescent scales resurfaced. But just like before, she was alone. So there goes the theory that she was meeting someone.
"Quick, we're on the move" he whispered to the lolling heads. He went to nudge his mother but her pale head had already shifted towards the railing.
"You two go first and track down Pearl. I'm going to watch a little more. She might be leaving alone but that doesn't mean she was alone." Cobra spoke quietly as if she was stalking prey.
"Care to elaborate?" he asked her. Aren't we a team? She did not, and before he could ask again, Winter gave a curt nod and leapt to his talons. "Let's stick to the roofs as much as possible. That would be the easiest way to track her."
Even though the buildings were built haphazardly, Qibli and Winter were able to jump from one plateau to another without too much of a racket. They wove through the crisp air past fire prevention mechanisms, and various rooftop gardens full of brightsting cactus. While sticking to the roofs meant that their view was occasionally blocked by various awnings, it still beat slinking through the streets.
As they hopped and rushed on quick talons with barely a sound beneath them, Qibli whispered to Winter. "We need to attack as she enters her home. Then we can interrogate her out of sight."
"We just have to hope no one else is home," Winter added as he dodged under a dusty ornate rug hanging from a rope.
Qibli glanced at the crimson shape below them and glided over an upcoming gap. He made sure to check that the moon's position above them so he wouldn't cast a shadow in Pearl's sight. "With any luck, we can catch whoevers inside unaware. It is rather late, maybe they've gone to bed."
"Or maybe," Winter huffed between hops. "He's also a part of some criminal gang and they're about to meet up for their nightly plot-against-the-world session."
He took the brief moment he was given by Pearl's slowing pace to throw Winter a speculative look. "You really think so?"
Winter glanced below them, then stepped beside him shrugging. "I have no idea. But it's always possible. We don't have any way of knowing what we're getting into."
A clattering sound from the alley drew them onwards. "We could just track her down without ambushing her," he conceded.
"That would be the smart thing to do." Winter said. He looked at him sideways. "Please tell me you don't have something else on your mind."
"Weeeeellll….." I don't want to wait another day! But I do need to be logical…. I can't just jump into random danger without knowing what's on the other side.
Winter let out a snort. "Think of it this way, we're on the offensive now instead of the other way around. We can make sure she's alone, then interrogate her when we know it's safe." They dropped onto a low set of rafters and were both panting from the chase.
Right as they arrived, Pearl was about to push into a small doorway that repeated itself down the long alley. He could hear the creak of the wood as it opened, then clanged shut behind her. So it doesn't look like we're getting in tonight. He glanced around but there wasn't anywhere good to hide. Instead he pinned Winter with a 'now what' look.
Winter obligingly did the same glance around the rooftop, but was met with the same barren scene. Unless they built a shelter themselves, they would be exposed to the full unrelenting force of the sun tomorrow as well as other dragons wondering what they were doing. He ground his jaw and looked around again just to be sure there truly was nothing. "What if we…" he pushed his gaze towards the rows of houses, "found a place to stay nearby?"
"I don't think any dragons are looking to host outsiders, especially if they're here to spy on their neighbors." Qibli said, rubbing his face. We should have just attacked when we could. But wouldn't that make us the bad guys?
"Why don't we just wait and watch her tomorrow from up here?" Winter asked.
"I would hate for you to melt like an icicle," he said sympathetically. "I've grown rather fond of you."
"I'll be fine," Winter snapped, his pride clearly at stake.
"And I can't image how grouchy you might get after a full day in the burning, scorching, terrible sun. Trust me, you'd be doing me a favor." He patted Winter's talon.
"Then what do you suggest?!" Winter growled, his voice echoing painfully across the streets.
"Shhh!" Qibli chastised. In a coarse whisper, he said "do you want her to hear us?" Instead, Winter pinned him with a look that said 'then what do you suggest?!' just as loud as before, but without the need of words.
He pulled unconsciously at one of his horns, unsure himself. Knock on the door? Hope she remembers you? Attack her when she's leaving tomorrow? No, that might interrupt her schedule and cause suspicion. Except we are attacking her which has to be the epitome of 'suspicious.' Waiting till the night would buy us an extra night in case we need to run away since no one would look for her until the next day. "What about we go knock, and my charismatic self convinces her to help out two lost dragons?"
"Ha. Yes, sorry to bother you, but it's past midnight, could you please help two strange dragons who showed up at your doorstep?" Winter sniveled, hunching his back to look as pitiful as he could.
"She was nice the last time I met her…" He trailed off, hopefully.
"Yes, when you met her years ago! Who knows how she might have changed." That's true. If anyone would know the Scorpion Den's potential to corrupt dragons, it's him. He's seen it tear apart families and trust, grind down a dragon's hope, and spit the remains into the gutter. He hung his head. And what have I done about that? I'm the queen's adviser, hasn't this place changed at all? Didn't they of all dragons understand the strife these dragons have to go through?
He felt Winter's soft talon wrap around his and he looked away. "Hey. Not everyone can go through this place and turn out as nice as you."
Qibli closed his eyes and let out a couple deep breaths flush his lungs.
"Or… I'm betting. Since, well." Winter stuttered a bit flabbergasted. "I suppose I don't really know this place. But from what I hear it's pretty… brutal…"
Qibli let out a halfhearted laugh. "Very subtle, say I'm wrong but compliment me at the same time. Now I have no idea how to feel."
Winter stared down to their clasped talons and took a hesitant breath. "If you think it'll be alright, then I trust you. Let's go knock on her door."
What? Qibli tried to look into Winter's face but it was still pointed away from him. He wants to trust me? Just like that? Where's the shouting, arguing, and spiky resolve? He remembered Winter's adamant conviction while they were chasing Darkstalker but there was none of that now. What does he really want? Flitted through his mind. In the end, all he managed to say was "really?"
Winter turned his long neck towards him before responding. "Yes. I mean it. If we're going to be… us… I need to learn to trust you." To top it off, Winter added another faint smile.
"And… you're fine with that?" Qibli asked, still processing Winter's sincerity. That seemed to snap Winter's trance.
He let out a loud snort. "Yes! Goodness! It's like I just dropped down from the moons and I'm speaking a different language,"
"Well, sincerity is quite a foreign concept for you" Qibli mumbled endearingly. That earned him a glare. "I never said it was bad! Just foreign," he clarified, then peered down at the unassuming door. Well, I suppose we should get on with it.
He was about to leap down before Winter caught his leg. "Wait, what are we going to say? Who am I supposed to be?"
"I'll just say I'm here to see her, she was one of the few…" friends seems wrong. Fleeting almost-an-actual-friend-that-I-knew from my childhood more like, "dragons I knew before the Outclaws. I can say I saw her and wanted to see what she's been up to." And maybe apologise for my grandfather all that time ago. What am I doing, she probably hates me, and yet I'm going to casually knock on her door.
Winter looked like he regretted trusting Qibli. "I'll ask again, who am I supposed to be?"
Qibli grinned at him. "My heroic protector! My dashing stoic savior who pulled me from a fierce storm, and into his heart!" He laughed at Winter's distasteful look. "Or, a future trade partner if you really don't like the first one."
"Trade partner it is." Winter decided. "After you partner."
Qibli lept from the ceiling and glided silently to the streets below. He took a deep breath, then rapped his talon on the wooden door. The three bangs echoed down the empty streets hauntingly. He could hear talons shuffling inside so he decided to sit down in order to seem less imposing. Winter touched down beside him and followed suit.
The door then snuck open a crack and a pale snout poked out, paired with squinted eyes. "Who's there?" She blinked her eyes a couple times as they adjusted from the bright interior.
"Hi. I don't know if you remember but it's —"
"Qibli?!" She gasped. Her eyes widened and she pushed forward so she could scan the alleyway before pulling him inside quickly. He stumbled forward and cried out as he fell on his injured shoulder, caught off guard by her sudden reaction. He heard Winter let out a roar and he jumped forward, claws extended.
Before he could reach her, the door shut behind them and a large black dragon appeared in its place, tackling Winter to the ground. Even though the NightWing had the element of surprise, Winter rolled over and slashed at his opponent.
With matching lighting quick reflexes, the other dragon leapt back but let out a pained grunt as Winter's talontips caught his chest. Qibli jumped up ready to defend them but Pearl was faster than him.
"Stop!" She yelled, pushing between the bristling dragons. "They're not the enemy!"
"They could be," the NightWing growled, baring his teeth. Likewise, Winter didn't back down even as Qibli tried to calm him down and show that he was alright.
The tension remained in the four dragons crammed into the small living room as Pearl addressed him. "You're not the enemy, right Qibli?
"I sure hope not," he said. "I'm actually rather nice once you get to know me." He flashed a smile at the opposing dragons and tried disarming Winter again by nudging his neck with his nose. He didn't know if it was working since Winter's growl still vibrated through him strongly, exuding danger.
"See Nightwalker? They're not here to hurt us." Well, she seems just as hopeful as before. He thought. How does she know that we're not here to kill them? Nightwalker still looked angry, but that was probably from the wound Winter had given him. Noticing, Pearl grabbed a piece of clothe and tore it up to bandage him.
He looked Winter up and down before asking "are you hurt?" Besides a light covering of dust, Winter looked uninjured as far as he could tell.
"No," Winter growled. He still pinned Nightwalker with a malevolent glare. I have a feeling he's going to be like this for a while. Ha, maybe he'll tire himself out from sheer anger. So instead, he laid down so he could wait for Pearl to finish bandaging her friend.
When she finally wiped the blood from her talons, Qibli tried to lighten the mood. "I know he's still shooting daggers at you, but he's sorry for injuring you." Nightwalker gave him a curt nod and Pearl smiled at him gratefully.
"Am not." Winter snapped.
"Anyways, I think we all got started on the wrong talon. I suppose introductions are in order. I'm Qibli, and this is Winter," he said, pointing in time.
"And I'm Pearl, and this is Nightwalker," Pearl responded.
"But I have a feeling you already knew that," Nightwalker added suspiciously.
"Clearly" Winter growled just as Qibli said "Not quite." Come on Winter, he thought. "I knew Pearl would be here but we didn't know she had guests."
"Oh really? And how did you know she'd be here?" He questioned. Should I tell them the truth? They don't seem intent on killing me or turning me in to my grandfather. Their looks were beginning to change from murderous intent, to spotting a mountain full of gold.
"Divine intervention." Winter taunted.
"Hey," Qibli tugged on Winter's shoulder then whispered into his ear. "Behave. Please, they might be on our side." He turned back towards the waiting dragons. "I saw Pearl and I thought I recognized her so I, ahem, followed her back here." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Totally not a stalker. "Sorry, that sounds pretty creepy but I just wanted to see what she was up to these days."
"We met a long time ago when I first moved to the Scorpion Den, he was kind enough to share a fish with me." Her eyes were kind but he knew she remembered everything that happened that day.
He let out a laugh. "That's putting it optimistically."
Pearl went to a closet and pulled out various pads for them to sit on so they could be more comfortable as they talked. Winter still seemed grumpy but accepted one nonetheless. Nightwalker didn't. He excused himself and disappeared into an adjoining room likely to rest his wounds.
When they were settled Pearl grew serious. "I know why you're here. It's not exactly hard to guess. First I meet with Cobra, then within the week you show up at my doorstep?"
He stiffened. Well there goes our cover.
She chuckled at his expression. "But don't worry, I'm not going to turn you in to your grandfather."
"Just so it's clear, I appreciate that. But why?!" He asked.
"Because I couldn't give two rat tails about what your grandfather wants." She hissed. "That snake deserves whatever misfortune is coming his way."
"Sorry, you are working for him though aren't you?" Qibli asked, visibly confused.
"Just to get into his network." She replied, waving away his question.
"You're spying on him?" Qibli asked, his maw wide in astonishment. If he finds out, she's dead a thousand times over. Tortured, pulled apart, then killed for good measure. Regardless, he felt a new sense of respect for the SeaWing in front of him.
"Look, you have to do what you must, and after his disappearance, this is what I have to do. Now that you're here, maybe things will finally change for the better."
"What do you expect from me? He's not exactly on the best terms with me. In fact I think he hates my guts."
"That's what I'm counting on."
"Hold on," Winter interrupted. "Why does it sound like you want to use him as bait?"
"Because he'd be the perfect bait?" she said as if it was completely obvious. "If Vulture won't come out of hiding in order to gloat to Qibli's face, then we've truly lost him to the deep depths of Pyrrhia." She does have a point, he realized.
"And what if he won't? Then what happens to him?" Winter yelled. He swiped his talons contemptuously in the air. "So sorry, well, that plan didn't work. Too bad Qibli is now captured or dead!" He has a point as well, I would like to remain very much alive and uncaptured.
"We'll make sure he's safe!" she responded, beginning to get a little heated.
"Oh yes I definitely trust you seeing as we just met. Please, take our lives in your talons. I'm sure nothing bad could happen!" At this point, both dragons were in each other's faces and Nightwalker poked his head back into the room, concern etched in each scale.
"The fact that I'm not on my way to turn you two in right now should be indication enough!" She shouted, shoving his chest.
"But you might when we have our guard lowered!" Winter shoved her back in retaliation, causing her to stumble.
"Hey, look, it's okay" Qibli said, reaching out. "I want to catch Vulture and put an end to all of his terror." Pearl shot a triumphant look at Winter who in turn, pinned Qibli with a poisonous expression. "— in, ahem the safest manner possible, but maybe, with calculated risks."
That didn't seem to pacify Winter at all. "We're not going to risk your life just to catch Vulture!"
Qibli got up and started pacing around the room. "Vulture's mere existence is a risk to my life! Maybe I don't want to live in fear of him! Maybe I just want to move out from this overarching, horrible, good for nothing shadow to finally live my life!"
"That doesn't mean we should stir the hornet's nest!" Winter pressed on. "Nor does that mean working with strangers," he cried pointing accusingly at the other two in the room.
"At the end of the day we do need help. And they're offering to help us! We could have a leg up on Vulture for a change especially with proper inside information."
"We do have a lot to offer," Nightwalker stammered. The three of them turned to him and he quickly backed back out of the room mumbling apologies.
"Look," Qibli grabbed Winter's shoulders so they were square with his. "If you can't trust them, don't. But trust me. If it ever gets to be too much for me to handle, I'll put an end to it. But in order to catch my grandfather, we need to take some risks."
"I will never understand how you trust everyone so willingly." Winter growled then dragged a mat into the corner, burying his head under his wing. Just because it's a good opportunity doesn't mean I trust them. But he kept that to himself so as not to offend Pearl.
"So should I be worried about what you have in store for me?" Qibli grumbled, turning towards Pearl.
She settled back down nearby, relaxing her wings. "No," she sighed. "To be honest, I don't have much of a plan, but I do know that you're probably the only way we can lure Vulture out from hiding. The whole Darkstalker fiasco seems to have scared him to death, but if you were captured, he's bound to reveal himself."
He shivered. Well, I was okay with it in my delirious state of mind. "But it already seems like he could capture me at any point, what's different now?"
"Well, we would need to force his talon." Pearl mumbled to herself. Force his talon? And how would we do that? Go on the offensive?
"Do you mean attacking his hideouts?" He offered. "Cause enough trouble for him to retaliate?"
"I think that would be the best bet." she acknowledged. She disappeared into the next room and brought back a set of maps which she scattered onto the ground. "And luckily for you, I know where those are located."
To his astonishment, the maps were very detailed. But to his horror as well, he realized just how vast Vulture's empire still was. He still had outposts in each kingdom! Now he understood why it would be useless to go after Vulture directly. He could hide anywhere on the continent! "I'm guessing the Talons of Power didn't exactly give this to you."
Pearl nodded her head bashfully. "I've been tracking them for a while."
"Well, it certainly is impressive!" He complimented, scouring the detailed landmarks, organized symbols, and neat labels. But as spectacular as it was, it couldn't distract him from the fact that he's still going to be captured at the end of this plan. "I will admit I'm still a little worried about being captured."
"Would it help if you thought of it as infiltrating a secret organization in order to save the world?" Pearl asked ruefully.
"Maybe a little," he admitted, feeling his spirits rise. "I've always wanted to be a heroic spy, loved by all!" Qibli mimed dramatically, "yet known to no one."
She let out a genuine giggle which made him smile. "Does that make me your valiant sidekick? I can't say I've ever been a sidekick before, but if it's necessary to save the world then I'll make that sacrifice."
"How very noble of you! Truly selfless! But honestly," he said, turning serious. "What's stopping him from just killing me without showing up?"
She paused for a second to see if he was joking before replying. "After all my time in the organization, I get the impression that Vulture's more the dragon who wants to rub in his victories, not just achieve them." She began rolling the maps back up and he noticed that her tail was flipping back and forth excitedly. Wow, she must really want to get to Vulture. What did he ever do to her? It can't just be that scratch all that time ago. As she pushed the scrolls into the corner, he was able to catch a glimpse of her scar.
"I'm sorry, by the way," he blurted out guiltily and she turned to him surprised. "I'm sorry about what happened when we first met, and never trying to see if you were okay after all these years."
"You mean… this scratch?" She twisted and the scar stretched as she rolled her shoulder. "What are you sorry for? It's not like you're the one who attacked me."
"But it was because of me that you were injured. If I had just left you alone none of that would have happened."
Instead of the anger he thought she harbored, she smiled at him. "There's nothing to be sorry for, you were being nice. That's nothing to be sorry for."
"So you're telling me you don't harbor a hate for Vulture just for that?" Qibli asked, surprised. Didn't that moment plague her thoughts? Didn't she want revenge?
She cleared her throat and looked away. "Let's just say there's more to it than that. He's never been my favorite dragon, but that wasn't because of that little incident." More to it than that? Is she linked to my grandfather in some way? What is she hiding? Is it wrong to put my trust in her? As if she was answering his thoughts, she added "but I truly do want to take him down and I will do whatever it takes to do so." She locked her crystal blue eyes on him and he knew that she meant every word.
But is that enough? I think I'm good at reading dragons, but can I risk Winter and my life on what I think? "If we're going to trust you, we need more than that," he said adamantly. What are you fighting for? What are your motives? He speculated in his mind
She scrutinized him for a couple heartbeats before looking away. In a gentle voice, she breathed "Vulture had his talon tips in more than just your family." She turned back to him with glistening eyes. "He had a big wingspan. I'm sorry, but I would like to leave it at that. If you feel like you can't trust us, I don't blame you. But know that I'm sincere."
She got up and swiped at her snout. "You two are welcome to spend the night here. I have matters to attend to in the morning but I'll be back in the afternoon." Her expression softened as she cast one last look over her shoulder. "It is nice to see you, Qibli. I really hope you can change everything for us." And with that, she disappeared into the upper levels of the building.
He let out a long sigh through his nose. That ended quite poorly, very nice job bringing her to tears. Instead of the inevitable pummeling he knew he was going to give himself, he dragged a soft cushion over to Winter. It appeared that the IceWing was fast asleep because Qibli could see his back rising and falling with each slow and peaceful breath. In order not to disturb him, he flopped down nearby and pillowed his head over his crossed talons.
I wish I could just curl up with him and feel the steady cool wash over me, pushing out all my doubts and worries. What he would give just to be rid of the constant concern bombarding him and to give his tired mind some rest. Trust these new dragons? Trust Cobra? Fight Vulture? Am I on the best path? Who am I going to get killed next?
But above all else, what he really wanted to know was what Winter was thinking. I dragged him into my mess. My hectic family saga. He's been through his own and here he is, pulled straight into mine. Is he sick and tired of this yet? Should I listen more to what he says?
I feel like trusting other dragons is the right thing to do, we need help taking down my grandfather after all. But how much can Winter take before he's fed up with my ideas? He couldn't help but feel like this entire journey was putting an unnecessary strain on their relationship. And the question he didn't even want to think about: How much can he take before he inevitably leaves me?
I feel like I need to work on my cliff hangers, what do you think? Too forced? To laaaaaaame? Let me know!