Rain thundered from the sky, striking the rough tiled roofs and flooding the street side gutters – rushing down the mountainside that Observance stood upon. A dark grey mist enveloped the city, veiling the morning sky behind a wall of cloud. This far into the Sky Kingdom, the weather was a familiar friend.
As she lay lazily in bed, a candle burning at her bed side table, her eyes fell to the window. Outside, the comfortably old and weathered stones of her home and city filled her vision.
Observance was a grand and culture-rich place, being one of the oldest standing places. It had thousands of years of history weaved inside it. The buildings themselves were a few hundred years as well, the result of everything being built from the mountains tough granite.
It wasn't just a drab grey however, with the old weathered brick mixing yellows and whites; grass, gardens and parks were also a common sight, adding a touch of colour to the hill.
The blinding flash of lightning opened her vibrant blue eyes, the bellowing roar of thunder trying to separate sleep and consciousness. Phoenix stretched her tired SkyWing wings, curling up in a small pile of coppery-amber scales and trying, in vain, to hold on to her sleep.
Sky Kingdom weather had a separate idea, however.
Knock, Knock, Knock. The comparatively soft sound of talons tapping against the front door was all it took to wake her.
"One second!" Phoenix shouted, dragging her prehensile tail behind her as she crawled from bed. With a pleasure of pops and cracks, she stretched her aching bones and made her way over to the dragon.
This early in the morning though- on a weekend? She had no idea who it'd be- she wasn't expecting anyone. It was a little unnerving to her, considering her work landed south on the moral compass.
Opening the door, she cautious peered out the tiny gap – half expecting to see an annoyed guard or disgruntled dragon. Instead, her eyes locked onto the sandy yellow orbs of a dull-scaled SkyWing, wrapped in a fur coat, soaked through to to her hide. She was the same height as herself, which for a six year old, was about two or three talons smaller then normal.
"Skies above, Ember! What are you doing out- you're gonna freeze too death!" Phoenix ushered her in with a wing.
Said dragon just rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, Phoenix," Ember said. "Your my sister, not mother—your concern is unwarranted."
"Your scales looked whiter then an IceWings," Phoenix argued, closing the door. "You should take your lack of fire more seriously."
"Phoenix, the latter is why my scales are so dull. You know this, don't be so silly," she rolled her eyes.
"Even so- why were you out? You live here, y'know," Phoenix asked. She wasn't sure what Ember would be doing out so early. Unless she was…
"For goodness sake, were you back at the library?" The amber scaled dragon sighed. "They're not going to have any scrolls on RainWings!" Ember had been trying for over a year to research RainWings. Information on them was quite scarce, even after the war. From what she knew, most of them couldn't even write.
"Well actually," Ember smirked and with a flick of her tail, pulled out a scroll from a bag hidden beneath the coat. "I did find something – and you should be more interested!"
"Yes, I know. You think we're part RainWing- you've mentioned a hundred times before," Phoenix huffed. "But- you see- we get enough trouble from dragons for just being 'weird'. I don't need to know I'm a part any other tribe, it'd only make it worse."
Ember frowned, "I know, but I want to make sure. I've only heard mentions of RainWings; I mean, changing scale colour? It seems unrealistic."
"If it makes you happier, I think we're hybrids." Phoenix turned around to light a fire in their living room, warming the room with an orange glow. "And the prehensile tail would suggest we're part RainWing- but I have Firescales! That's a very SkyWing condition."
"But you don't, do you?" Ember said rhetorically. "Dragons like Peril can't turn off their firescales, can they? You can." Ember put on a serious expression and turned to Phoenix. "Look, RainWings can change their scales colour at will, apparently. What if that sort of… works with your firescales instead?"
"Wouldn't that make fire an emotion?" Phoenix laughed.
Ember rolled her eyes, "When I said they show emotions through their scales- I was only repeating what I'd heard." She placed the scroll from her tail into her talons, unfurling it. "This scroll should shed some light on that. You'd probably think breathing fire was a silly idea if you'd never seen it or done it."
"Fair enough," Phoenix agreed. "Anyways, I'ma go make some-"
Knock, Knock, Knock.
"Breakfast…" Phoenix sighed. "I guess not- you expecting anyone?"
She shook her head slowly, "No…"
It was probably nothing to get her mind worried, phoenix decided.
Knock, Knock, Knock.
"One moment!" Phoenix called back, making her way back to the front. Opening the door, she made eye contact with an unfamiliar SkyWing. "Can I help you?" She said innocently.
He was coated from head to tail in steel, his armour blocking almost all his dark red scales. He stood and spoke with the same innocence, but the disdainful glare in his eye deceived his facade.
"Ma'am," He politely spoke, but his voice was laced with impatience. "Just checkin' around the neighbourhood. Lookin for a peculiar- particular—sorry—SkyWing. Anyone else living here?"
The accidental use of the word 'peculiar' immediately sent alarm bells ringing in her head. To her, that meant 'hybrid'. Like what it was worth, she wasn't going to tell the guard about Ember. "No-"
"Yes," Ember walked up behind her, a wing grazing over hers. Phoenix sent her a ruffled glare. "Can we help?" She smiled, nudging Phoenix with an attempt to remove her barely hidden scowl.
"No need, thank you for your time," he nodded a farewell, wandering back out into the falling storm. Phoenix watched him intently as she slowly closed the door, inspecting the steel plate he wore thoroughly.
It was unfamiliar and very rich looking – which was in sharp contrast to what she was very familiar with. "I should of asked him for some identification- or something. I doubt he would of had any."
Ember hummed in agreement, "still best not to question the dragon with the armour and the spear."
"It's worrying, Ember," Phoenix frowned. She fully shut the door, the apparent guard wandering away. "For someone who is supposed to be searching an entire neighbourhood, he sure left in a hurry. Did you see him when you were out? Or anyone like that?"
"Not that I remember- but I doubt anybody would want to be out in that anyways," her sister sighed. "I take it you feel we're in danger?"
"It wouldn't exactly be the first time, would it?" Phoenix growled to herself. Atleast last time they were able solve their problem. "To be honest Ember, I'm not sure I can take anymore of this."
She threw herself down onto a sofa next to the lit fire, the dismal expression of
Despair and fatigue. "Urgh, this is why I don't want to be a Hybrid, Ember. Problems like this."
Ember nodded, "Yeah, I know. There's not much we can do about it though. For now, we just have to live with it."
"Ah, well. I could just turn evil can kill them all, y'know?" Phoenix barked a laugh.
With a roll of her eyes, Ember sat down across from her. "Best save that for someone with animus magic, Phoenix."
"Ack, you're no fun," She gave her sister a playful flick of her tail.
Joking didn't ease her mind, however. The memories of what happened to her old SandWing friend… because dragons simply suspected they were hybrids, they haunted her. Phoenix violently shook the imagery out of her head, turning her head to the outside world.
The rain had slowed down a bit, which she took as an excuse to leave. She had to go find out what that 'guard'
She gave Ember a brush of her wing and a nuzzle, "I'ma go for a walk, I'll be back in a bit."
"It is still raining you know- and a walk? You?" Ember said, disbelief written on her her. "If you're going to go looking for that dragon… just be careful. You know what happened last time you got in a mess like this."
Phoenix looked away from the sullen scales of her sister, "Yes, yes I do!" She growled. "A group of SkyWings came through and attempted to kill an innocent SandWing, Tepid! I remember dragging his almost lifeless body halfway up the mountain to the hospital because the guards refused to help." A tear fell from her eye. "I hurt him so much he refused to see me, Ember. I- I… never even saw him again."
"But atleast he's alive right?" Ember tried to reassure her, rapping a wing around Phoenix, Ember nodded a silent apology. "Sorry I brought it up- but you see why I'm worried?"
"Yes- I… know, I know," Phoenix shook off her wing. "But I'll be fine, I just want to make sure we're not in any harm again. I swear I won't get involved in anything- at the first sign of danger I'll leave. I just want to make sure we're safe."
Ember smiled, "I know. Alright, see you later," She paused for a second." "Actually- couldn't get something from the market, could you? We're running a little low on stuff to eat."
"Can do. See ya' in a bit," Phoenix nodded, stashing a small purse of coins inside of a small pouch, hung neatly around her side. She smiled one last goodbye, before leaving for the soaked streets. With one deep breath, she push her memories aside and began walk about the steep roads.
The rain stopped a short while later, coating Observance in a blanket of light that now reflected off every wet surface. Looking behind her, even with the tall stone buildings trying their hardest to block it, she could see out to the horizon. The Sky Kingdom would of stretched out before her, if the fog set her see that far.
Phoenix stopped her gazing a second later, after another SkyWing narrowly evaded walking into her as he blindly trotted along. She walked on silently, even when the dragon cursed at her.
With the sun out, it seemed dragons had began to start their day. The streets soon became full will life. The number of dragons and dragonets walking about helped her blend in, but the uncomfortable knowledge that that went both ways lingered in her mind.
Though, if she was going to begin her search for whoever knocked at her door, it wasn't unreasonable to find every dragon suspicious. She'd learnt a lot from her previous attempt snooping on some hybrid-hating dragons.
The closest guard barracks would probably be the best place to start, since if he truly was a guard – he'd be going there.
She jumped into the air, landing on the roof of a building. She spotted the large and impressive building a moments walk away. Walking roof to roof, she quickly got closer; Phoenix sat on it's roof not long later, looking down into the streets below.
They were relatively empty, which was a surprise. She knew there were a few businesses around here and about now would be the right time for work.
Phoenix glided down to the streets below, taking a discrete peek through the window of the barracks. There was a single dark red scaled dragon in the reception room, unarmoured and looking bored out of his mind. There didn't look to be anything wrong about the place.
Deeming that it was safe, she lightly pushed open the door and greeted the receptionist with a courteous smile.
"Can I help you?" He smiled back politely, but quickly turned back to whatever he was doing.
That's what she was here to find out. She nodded, "Do you… know any guards who left or came back in full-plate?"
"Not that I'm aware," the guard curiously raised a brow. "Why, is someone bothering you?"
She shook her head, "No, just wondering. There was just a, er, dragon acting kinda suspicious. I was just checking to see if he was a guard," Phoenix explained. "Anyone here own anything like that armour?"
"Not anymore," He apologised, getting back to his work. "I can't disclose who it is though, policies. Sorry."
Phoenix sighed silently. She was hoping her dragon was truly just checking for a certain SkyWing, though this didn't bring her faith. Not that she doubted his words. Just… which SkyWing.
"No problem, thanks for the help." It wasn't much to go on, likely it wouldn't help at all. But atleast she knew the dragon wasn't a guard. It was a start, to something.
Slinking out the door, with her wings slumped at her sides, she raked her brain for any further trails she could trace. Phoenix wished she'd paid closer attention to the dragon, he had to of had something she could look for!
But her mind returned nothing. The only thing she could remember seeing was the plain and grey armour.
"Hey!" A voice yelled out from a shadowed alleyway, a female orange-scaled SkyWing poking her head out. She becked Phoenix over, "Couldn't help me with this, could you?"
Phoenix curiously tilted her head, "What's the problem?"
"Ah, nothing much," She laughed with a cordial smile. "Carrying some swords and spear back here, could use some help. It won't take a second."
Phoenix returned the friendly smile, walking over to help. It'd give her a moment to think of something to do. Plus, it seemed this dragon was a guard – or atleast worked for them. She might be able to help her.
The friendly SkyWing pointed Phoenix to a large create, nailed shut. Grabbing one side, they hauled it up. Phoenix let the dragon guide her as she awkwardly tried to hold it.
Attempting to gain some trust, Phoenix introduce her self between breaths. "I'm Phoenix, by the way."
"Oh, er… my name's… Gale," the orange scaled dragon answered. Phoenix couldn't help but notice the time it took for her to answer her question.
She also couldn't help but notice the lack of clanking metal that came from the weapons she was supposedly carrying. Phoenix guessed they could of just been packaged well, so continued digging for her desired answer.
"So, you work for the guards here?" She asked.
Gale nodded, "Yep, have done for a while now. I doubt I could be of much help if you need it though."
"Either way, might as well ask," Phoenix said. "A dragon earlier came to my door, fully armoured. Say's he was searched the entire street, but left right after he'd finished at our house."
"Oh, it was probably nothing to worry about," Gale gave her a reassuring short smile. "He was probably only given a list of numbers to check out."
Phoenix guessed that made sense. In fact, it made her feel really stupid. She was being way to overly paranoid about nothing; just because it happened a year ago, doesn't mean people were out to get her and Ember again. "Yeah, sorry for bothering you with it, I was just curious." Phoenix played it off.
"Anyways, if you wanna drop it here, that'd be good," Gale dropped her side just outside the back door to a house. Looking around, she could hardly see through the dark alley ways. The sun hadn't risen enough to light the narrow paths.
Phoenix faced the dragon and raised a paw to shake, going to thank her for the helpful information. Gale's talons grazed past a small bag rapped neatly around her neck. Her eyes seemed to fill panic and began to dart across the floor. Her face lit up with poorly hidden nervousness, as she turned her attention back to Phoenix.
"We good?" Phoenix worried.
Gale nodded, "Er, I- yes, yeah. I dropped something, ha-ha! Don't worry about it," she quickly raised her own talons to shake Phoenix's.
Giving her a confused but accepting look, Phoenix turned back around to get back what she was doing. Which was probably going to the market and getting something to eat-
Phoenix came to a sudden halt as she turned the corner, her neck craning back as a dragon stood a talons distance away from her. His face was fully masked with steel, blood red scales hiding behind the armour.
It was a different dragon to who'd she'd seen earlier—but without a doubt, he was one in the same. The disgusted glare that bored into her told her all she needed to know about this dragon's intentions.
Quickly backing up, she tried to spread her large SkyWing wings in the narrow streets – to no avail. Another dragon quickly came up behind her, a spear blocking her only escape..
Phoenix could feel the scorching hot fires burning in these dragon's chests, a fire brewing that rivalled her own. Phoenix backed herself into a corner, letting her the fire consume her airways, her scales a talons length away from igniting in a fear-induced inferno.
She wouldn't let them, however. She promised Ember she wouldn't harm another dragon like that again- let alone kill. The images and horrid sounds of a body ablaze, screaming in agony – crying out for death. Phoenix felt sick just remembering it.
Yet the thought lingered in her mind as a low growl hung in her throat, threatening the armed dragons.
"Three moons, useless kid, she had one job!" One growled to the other.
Gale, they must have been referring to Gale. It didn't surprise her, but she couldn't help but feel angry that she'd fallen so easily for their trap.
The other nodded silently in agreement, pushing a spear closer to Phoenix. He turned to Phoenix, "Come with us," he growled.
"Go drown in a pile of your own refuse," Phoenix hissed. Where wasn't willingly going anywhere with these dragons.
"You shouldn't of followed us, two-tribe," One laughed, venom mixed in his words, readying the spear in his talons.
Before he could do anything, Phoenix leapt at the dragon in a panicked attempt to knock him over and run for the hills.
The enormous bulk of armour and scales was firmly anchored in spot, Phoenix's small weight useless against the dragon.
Her talons failed wildly, in a frenzied attempt to find grip as she tried to sink her razor-sharp teeth between the metal plates.
Phoenix's scales shuddered violently when the dragon laughed at her futile attempts, easily forcing her off with a brutal whack of a wing. Her head smacked hard against a hard stone wall, her vision blurring with pain.
Her eyes fluttered open and closed, Phoenix recapturing awareness and the giant brute approached her.
Phoenix's eyes locked onto the SkyWings', silently showing her hatred as he balled up his talons. He simply grinned with malice, before clouting her round the jaw with a harsh crack.
Crying out, tears fell from her eyes as blood oozed it's way from beneath the broken scales around her maw. Phoenix felt the burning sensation swell up inside her like a tank of stream, pressure aching to escape in an explosive fury. She could feel her scales getting ready to burn if another talon cut her hide. Even the blood began to fizzle away on her scales.
"Not too much mate," Laughed the other assailant. "Don't wanna' end up like our old boss now, ay?"
The other choked out a chuckle, "I guess not." He stood over phoenix, pressing his talons around her neck, holding it too the walk. Not enough to choke her, but enough to hurt. His spear dug into her stomach painfully. "Move or try anything and I'll dig this under your rib cage and turn your half your organs into a bloody shish kebab," he threatened.
"Now, now," A new and elegant voice spoke. It was very refined and ritzy, giving him a semblance of someone very powerful and influential. Phoenix gave him all her attention, inspecting him from maw to tail.
He was a fairly average looking SkyWing, with scarlet red scales and a golden underside, but his scales were pristine to the point of looking fictitious. It looked like he'd never even fallen. He stood without a weapon or armour, but Phoenix feared him the most.
"Let's not take things beyond reason, Phoenix," his tongue slithered like a snake, and filled her with about as much trust. "I'm only here for one thing, there was no need to make things violent. I know you don't want that after… last time. Am I right?"
Phoenix just stared at him with empty eyes. He was deluding himself if he thought he was going to convince her to give him anything.
"Not talking?" He thought aloud, "Well that's alright, your words are valueless anyways. But what's not is something you stole from us last time you visited. I take it you know what I'm talking about."
He waved of the dragon pinning her down, an order they followed with acquiesce.
"Perhaps I could offer you a deal?" he asked. "Because I know your morals aren't shaded by the law. Does a hundred gold pieces for the stone sound good?"
Phoenix coughed up the blood she could feel pooling in her mouth. A hundred? That was probably more then she'd had in her entire life… but she couldn't accept it even if she wanted to—which she didn't.
"Go suffocate, please," Phoenix hissed. "Your stupid stone is probably halfway across Pyrrhia; along with most of your intelligence if you think I'd trust you."
He seemed displeased with her response, a resentful frown marking his maw. "That's… displeasing news. It was foolish to think that you would of seen it's value."
Phoenix slowly got off the ground, her eyes moving back to the spear that was aimed at her. She had a feeling their conversation had just come to a close.
"Right, get rid of her-" Phoenix cut him off with a fierce strike of her wing, digging it's spike deep into the flesh of his front leg. Before the others could even assist, she let a fiery fluid boil in her chest; a second later, the reactive fluid burst from her maw in a cloud of flames.
It roared out at the ground beneath her, bouncing back and flooding the alley way with a deadly orange glow. Her scales glowed like molten amber, the fire harmlessly shooting around her.
In the panic and confusion, Phoenix scrambled for the nearest ledge. She pulled herself up, sparing no glance back beneath her. She didn't need to know what she'd done. With a few strokes of her wings, she took off and flew away.
She landed a short distance away, hiding in an empty alley. She sat against the cold stone walls, panting from her terrified sprint. Her head lay heavy against the rock, tears threatening to fall.
If only because she would of sounded like an idiot, she barely managed to stop herself from breaking out into pained laughter. A few years dripped down her cheeks. Skies above, Ember was going to kill her. The one thing she'd promised her sister; she just did. She just got involved with… whatever it was.
She had no idea what this 'stone' even was, to be honest, though she could still remember it. It was… a crystal, of sorts. A cloudy quartz outside, but with a vibrant blue interior – like the centre of a flame. It looked kinda cool, which was actually why she'd taken it in the first place… but she hadn't seen it since Tepid left, she'd left it in the hospital with him. Phoenix hoped he'd taken it.
Rubbing the tears from her eyes, she took a deep breath and pulled herself up. At this point, she just wanted to get back home – but it made sense to still get something to eat.
Looking herself over and checking her jaw, Phoenix sighed a sigh of relief. She was bruised, but other then a few broken scales, she was unharmed. The bleeding in her maw had stopped as well, only leaving the metallic taste of blood behind.
Phoenix dug her talons into her charred bag, the fabric and leather falling apart at the rushed sweeps of her claws. She came up empty handed, a hole burnt through the bottom of her bag. Phoenix growled in annoyance. She cursed herself, her eyes glaring back at the alleyway she'd just set alight.
A faint pillar of smoke rose from the site, but the orange glow had faded – the stone giving no purchase for the flame. Phoenix jumped to the rooftops and begun a slow creep forward, ears perched high and listening for voices. As she came to look over the ledge, a sigh of relief left her lungs.
All the dragons had gone. A little injured, she assumed – but alive. She was certainly glad it wasn't a repeat of last time.
Her eyes caught a silvery glimpse of metal glinting under the rising sun, charred by fire. The pennies sat in the middle of the alleyway, laying temptingly in the ash of her purse. Despite the torrent of fire, they looked intact.
Looking around one last time, she jumped down and swept up the coins into what remained of the pouch's side pocket.
As she collected her coins, Phoenixes activity came to a rest as her eyes fell on something else laying in the scorched stone. It had a rough shine to it, the steel a dark, blackish, grey.
Holding it between two talons, she inspected it in the light. Washing off the ash, she could see the picture of a dragon engraved into the metal. It looked like an insignia of some kind.
It looked scarily familiar to a face she once remembered; a SkyWing perched high on the top of a mountain, wings spread wide as they looked deep into the Kingdom. He name was Russet, once 'ruler' of the dragons who'd just attacked her. It was a face clearly scarred into her memories.
It wasn't of much use to her, but she put it with the coins anyhow. The criminal gang- or whatever they were- hand long since moved, a stupid badge wasn't gonna get her any closer to figuring out what they were doing-
Or maybe it could be, she hummed. She still remembered the location of the old building – there was a chance there'd be something about where they moved to there. You also needed one of these insignias to get in and probably still did.
Not wanting to wait around in the alley for a second more, as dragons were likely to start investigating, Phoenix jumped into the sky and made flight to the other side of the city.
The house was high up the mountain, hidden behind the many other rich, palace-like buildings. It would of cost an unfathomable amount of wealth to live up here, but nevertheless she was very familiar with the place. She… used to work around here, though not legally. Pocketing other dragons coin had been the majority of her and Embers income, even if she never told her sister about it.
She gently landed on the roof of the old home, a tile slipping from the roof and shattering loudly on the floor below. She ducked down as a few eyes darted in her direction. Climbing down, she let her talons rest on the very edge.
Holding on tightly with her tail, Phoenix hung down of the side of the building. She grab hold of a window sill, before letting go with her tail and swinging around, pulling herself upright onto the ledge.
With barely enough room for half of her, she hastily pulled out the insignia. A smooth cut run evenly through it's centre; which, with a pull of her talons, split the steel object into two pieces. A key was cast on the right piece, which she quickly slipped into the windows lock.
The lock clicked and Phoenix pushed it open, stepping inside into the unlit building. A faint smell of smoke filled her nose, but quickly faded as she began to look around.
For an abandoned building, it sure looked busy – if not very untidy and rushed. Like someone had ransacked the place in search of a single item.
Sunlight lit the otherwise dark room, the wooden floor creaking under her steps. Cobbled stone walls surrounded her, a stairwell and the end of the room. Steel bars lined free rooms, which see recognised as cells. A built-in cupboard was dug in next to the stairs, the door slightly parted.
The familiarity of the place sent a shiver down her spine as she turned to a stack of collapsed scrolls on a shelf. Paperwork seemed like a smart place to start.
'Shipment from…', 'Orders to…', 'Location of…", Phoenix skimmed through the scrolls, none of them providing her with any relevant information. If anything, their contents made her want to leave as quick as possible, with or without anything useful.
Giving up her search in the scrolls, Phoenix walked across the room to search down stairs-
A loud creek had her ears standing tall as her blood froze solid. She was suddenly and acutely aware of the light breathing from inside the cupboard. Phoenix silently crept forward towards the hiding dragon.
When she was barely half a wingspan away, the door shot forward with a loud thud.
Phoenix let out a cry and a grunt as it struck the side of her head. In a panic, She tried to shake her blurred vision clear as she tried to regain her senses.
Her scales flared their fiery amber, threatening to ignite – but the dragon in front of her jumped forward – a shining object in his hand. Having been struck around the head, and the looming darkness of the room she assumed it was a blade.
Blindly jumping toward the dragon, he stumbled backward as Phoenix missed by a talons length. He reared his talons backward, before striking forward with the dagger.
Phoenix attempted to roll out of it's way, but she felt the thin metal dig beneath her scales and into the edge of her wing. Despite the sting pain, the wound felt mild at best, as if the blade had only grazed her.
As she turned and growled toward the dragon, he stepped back awkwardly, his talons empty. Looking at her wing, Phoenix pulled the metallic object out and held it in in front of her eyes.
It was a cylindrical object, with a very thin capillary tube like point and a plunger- a syringe. A cloudy liquid mixed with her blood at it's tip.
Phoenix let the growl in the back of her throat voice its self loudly, laced heavily in annoyance. With weakening legs she hit the dragon hard in his chest, easily knocking him to the floor – despite him standing easily two or three talons taller then her.
She stood over him, struggling to keep her talons at his throat. "WHAT DID YOU JUST INJECT ME WITH!" She roared. Phoenix felt her scales trying to burn- but they couldn't. She could feel them paling as fear overtook her.
"Tranquilliser," The dragon coughed out.
Phoenix would of dug her claws into him, filled with anger – but her ears fluttered open and closed. Consciousness fell away from her as she stumbled off the dragon, falling to the floor.
The last thing her eyes caught were the petrified white scales that coated her. Darkness soon consumed her vision.
…
When Phoenix awoke, the first thing she felt was the coldness that had overtaken her. She felt like an IceWing, her body shivering. She'd never experienced the feeling before – fear began to grow wildly in her mind. Her fire should have been burning hotter then the core of a pyre – but she felt like it wasn't there at all. Was this what Ember felt like? It was… horrible.
This wasn't helped my the rough steel that was wrapped around her wings and paws, rubbing loosely against her scales.
"She-er, she's in the cell," A awkward voice spoke, muffled through the floor. It was same voice that had hit her with the needle. Phoenix tried to listen in to the speaker, but kept her eyes closed and ears down. "She broke in earlier, I… was able to hit her with the tranquilliser Gale left behind."
"Mhmm," Another voice hummed with disbelief. She recognised it as the older dragon she'd encountered earlier. "I'll see for myself. She still unconscious?"
He paused for a second, "She was before I came down to greet you- and most likely still is." He reassured. "It was… a lot of tranquilliser. I'd doubt she'll be up for quite some time."
"It will also disable her from using her firescales, which I'm certain you didn't even think about," he growled his disapproval. "Did you atleast bind her limbs?"
"I- sort of?" He answered. "She was quite small- we didn't really have anything that size. Her wings are bound though-"
"Are you thick? Ever heard of rope?" The older dragon groaned- "Argh!"
Phoenix's ears shot up for a second as a sharp cry of pain left his throat.
"You alright, Father?" The younger concerned voice asked.
"Yes!" He growled. "'Burns hurt like you wouldn't believe."
Phoenix felt a smile attempt to make it's way to her maw, a feeling she had to try hard to suppresses. She could hear the two dragons making their way up the stairs.
As the creaking of the stairs came to an end, Phoenix became aware of the eyes boring into the back of her head – oblivious to her consciousness. When the dragon stepped up to her cell, Phoenix felt her scales freeze.
But he never opened it. "I'll be back later, when she's awake. I have business to attend to at the Golem. Someone their knows the location of the third dragonet."
Phoenix raise a hidden eye at the name. What was the 'Golem'? It wasn't a place or building she was familiar with. Perhaps that'd be the next lead- if she could escape her cage. Actually, she wasn't sure she wanted to push any further. Everything had gone bad enough- was Ember okay?
The sudden thought sent a twitch through her tail, which seemed to go unnoticed – luckily. Skies above, Phoenix hoped she hadn't put her sister at risk.
As the dragon walked away, and she heard the front door close behind him, Phoenix decided to drop her facade.
In a shock, the first thing that greeted her eyes were her pale white scales; there wasn't a spec of red anywhere. Phoenix shot up, sent the still present dragon jumping back in a shock.
"Bloody- you're… awake?!" He wheezed between breathing. "The morphine-"
"What did you do to my scales!" Phoenix demanded with a shrill hiss of her tongue.
He gave her a confused look, "Nothing- aren't you supposed to be a RainWing?"
She growled, "No, I'm a horrid hybrid of the two. I certainly can't change my scale colour; What did you do to me!"
"I gave you Morphine, that's it, I swear!" He defended himself. "Maybe RainWings have a reaction-"
"I'm not a RainWing, nor do I want to be. Stop calling me one." Phoenix demanded.
He rolled his eyes, "Your not exactly in a position to be demanding stuff from me. And to be fair- you hardly look like a SkyWing right now."
Phoenix sat up straight, despite the awkwardness of her binds. She let out a huff of discontent. "Same could be said for you," she insulted.
The SkyWing had shortish wings, not much larger then any other tribe. They stuck out against his otherwise very SkyWing body. Dark red scales, a dull amber underside and golden eyes. To be honest, she felt like her insult felt a little short.
He huffed, tucking his wings against his sides. "If your referring to my wings, that's not a very original insult."
"No surprise there," She gave him a fake smile.
"If your gonna keep insulting me, there's plenty more tranquilliser," He threatened with a bored scowl.
Phoenix immediately silenced herself, knowing that when she woke up – it'd probably be with someone's talons at her throat. Insulting this dragon probably wasn't beneficial to her anyway.
"Sorry," Phoenix apologised, managing to only slightly lace it with sarcasm. "But I appear to have woken up in a cell as a bloody IceWing- I think I have the right to be a little upset."
Yeah that was a lot more sarcasm then she probably should have been using, considering the frown on the dragons face. She certainly didn't care about upsetting him! But… well, she liked being awake. Not to mention, she needed to escape. Perhaps she could try being more friendly. "My names Phoenix, 'case you haven't heard."
He paused for a moment as Phoenix lay back down, contemplating here change in demeanour. "Well, Phoenix… erm- it's good to meet you?" He said with a light chuckle. "I'm not certain you'd feel the same. My name's Welkin."
The SkyWing calmed down quite a bit, clearly much more comfortable when she wasn't at his throat. He sat down at a table in the centre of the room.
With time to look around, Phoenix could spot so many more details now that candle light lit up the building. There were many paintings hanging on the walls, sketches of various obviously important dragons – though she only recognised one.
She didn't let her mind rest on it long, however, sighting a few more well drawn pictures. The faces of three dragons she knew: Herself, Ember and… Tepid.
"So… you're a firescale?" Welkin asked, disturbing her from thought.
It took her a second to realise he'd spoken, "Er- I guess. When my body decides it wants to be- and when I haven't been drugged. Thanks for that. Do you know how strange it is to be this cold?"
"I think so?" He answered like it was a question. "I mean, aren't you just… normal temperature right now?"
Phoenix hummed in thought, "Ack, how do you stand it."
"Are you fireproof then? Like, right now- or atleast normally. When your not actively using your scales," He pondered. He was inspecting her scales over, like a test subject. It was only when she uncomfortably started to hide herself he stopped. "Er- sorry for staring… I'm just intrigued. It's not a very well recorded thing, normally dragons with firescales are killed- obviously."
"Yeah, no worries, I understand. My…" he paused. Should she mention her sister? So far, he wasn't sure Welkin knew she was the dragon marked on the wall behind him. Well, it wasn't like it'd change anything. "My sisters interested in them too – was, even."
"Was?" He hummed his interest, "Something happen."
Phoenix almost coughed out a large laugh, "Yeah, you could say that. Let me ask a question first – what do you know about me?"
"Well- I," He thought for a second. "My father seems to know you, but I'm kept out of his plans. I don't hear much, other then a few times I've eavesdropped."
"Do the names Ember and Tepid come up often?" Phoenix pushed.
Welkin fell silent for a second, "I'm not entirely sure that's much of your business," He cautiously said.
"From what you said- it's not much of yours either," Phoenix gave him a look along the lines of 'Am I right?'. "Plus, there's a solid chance I'll be killed later. Not much of a loss."
A shot of what looked like sympathy shot through his eyes, "I've heard them before, but recently 'Phoenix' came up quite a bit. Father seemed not to like you."
"That's… not surprising," She frowned, tapping her claws against the wooden floor of her cell. She just wanted to make sure her Sister was safe- and Tepid.
Tepid… she felt her wings droop at her side. What did they want with him? "What do you know about Tepid?"
"He's a SandWing… right? Used to live here- moved to Possibility or something," He answered. "Not sure though, nobody here seems concerned about him."
Possibility? Phoenix recognised the name of that place – it was a mixed tribe town in the Sand Kingdom. Phoenix guessed it made sense he'd leave for a place like that – he always seemed more SkyWing then SandWing.
He wasn't quite born in the Sky Kingdom – but he moved here pretty early on, as his mother was a diplomat. As much as you could be under Scarlets reign anyhow. When his mother passed away a few years later, after an IceWing attack, he'd decided to stay in the Sky Kingdom. Up until Phoenix messed up anyhow.
"Your father was looking for something," Phoenix changed the subject. There was a chance that Tepid had taken that 'stone' with him. If this dragon was looking for it—and knew where Tepid was—she owed it to him to atleast find out what was going on.
"Mhmm?" He suspiciously hummed. "How'd you know that?"
Oh right, she was an idiot. He didn't even know that she'd been attack by her father – and that's why his face was burnt. Still… he clearly knew a lot about what was going on. "Well- your dad spilled that information out to me earlier. When I was jumped by a bunch of his friends."
"Ah," He nodded. "And your a firescale- I see what happened now."
Phoenix let out a hopeless laugh. "Yeah, kinda why I don't really expect to live."
Welkin gave her a sympathetic frown. "Can I tell you a secret?" He asked. Phoenix nodded slowly, cautious to his trust. "I hate my father and don't care about all of this. I was actually trying to get accepted into a school. Like Jade Mountain- or more realistically one of the many SkyWing ones popping up."
Phoenix perked her ears up at this. She wondered if he was actually willing to let her out. If they could find out a way to do this without consequence for him- perhaps he would. Still, she should take it slow.
Thinking about what he'd said, she thought about what she knew about Jade Mountain. "JMA… not entirely sure that's the best option- right? I mean… its been open a year and well- Someone set of an dragonflame cactus and what was the other thing? Oh yeah, a winglet woke up a 2000 year old dragon from beneath the earth."
Welkin broke out in laughter and Phoenix couldn't help but laugh a little as well, "Yeah, that's hit it's reputation a little bit. But, to be fair, I don't think you can really blame them for that."
"I've had this conversation before, funnily enough. My sister wanted to attempt to get into Jade Mountain. 'Didn't like the idea at the time – but it doesn't seem that bad compared to this." She motioned to her cell.
The SkyWing looked away guiltily. "I'll… I'll let you out."
"Wait, really?" Phoenix chirped. An internal sigh of relief flooded Phoenix's body. "Thank you! But- you sure you'll be good?"
He nodded, "I can just say you escaped or something."
Phoenix gave him an unsure look. She wasn't going to put his life above hers- but she didn't wanna be entirely selfish. Welkin could seriously be sacrificing a lot for her. "You sure that'll work? We could make it look like an attack or something. You could say my firescales returned."
"That'd… probably work. But how would you of escaped in the first place?" Welkin asked.
Phoenix took a second to answer. "Could say I picked the lock – I'm sure he'd believe it. Considering how much your father knows about me, he probably knows I used to- er, pick pocket and stuff."
"Oh, good," He smiled. "There's no need to attack me or anything- I'm sure my father will believe I didn't attempt to stop you."
Phoenix smiled back. "Is there a fireplace or something? 'Could use the coals to make this more believable."
Welkin nodded, before running off down the stairs. He came up a moment later, holding a piece of charcoal. He threw it passed bars into her talons, before pulling out a key and holding it against the lock. He stopped just before turning the lock. "You won't attack, yes?"
"It wouldn't be very smart, so you're good." Phoenix reassured. He better not take his words back now!
The lock opened with a satisfying click, which she was grateful for. Welkin came inside and unbound her wings and talons.
Continuing her plan, she began to rub a thick layer of the black charcoal again the underside of all for paws. As she stepped around the cell, dark talon prints followed her. It wasn't brilliant – but it was good enough.
Phoenix stepped outside of the cell, keeping her distance from Welkin. A trail of prints followed her.
She stretched her muscles in the light of the window, basking in the familiar heat she was missing. She pulled open the window with her talons, the welcoming sound of dragons and the wind greeting her.
Before she could leave, Welkin dug out a bag from a shelf. "This is your stuff, by the way. I threw away the old one because – well, it was burnt all the way through."
Phoenix gratefully took it from his talons, offering her own talons to shake. He took the gesture, Leaving Phoenix to go. "Thank you, Welkin."
"It's… no problem," he smiled. "Just, er – stay away from here. And anything to do with my father. That stone you mentioned – it seems really important to what he's doing and I believe he'd be willing to kill you – or worse – for any information on it."
"Same goes for my Sister," Phoenix whispered to herself, nodding to the SkyWing. "And Tepid," She thought.
Not wanting to stay a moment long, Phoenix jumped up into the Sky, hovering only a moment to say goodbye. He smiled back, closing the window.
Phoenix darted straight for her house, keeping as low as she could to avoid the any stares. Her still snow white scales glistened brightly in the now setting sun, sicking out like an… IceWing mixed in with SkyWings, she guessed.
To the point where, when she knocked on her own door – It took Ember a second to recognise her.
"Phoenix…?" She asked slowly. Her eyes were scanning her over, worry filling them. Phoenix wasn't going to be able to hide any of the details from her sister – nor did she want to. "What have you done?" Her sister stared her in the eyes.
Looking her back in the eyes, Phoenix smiled with a nervous chuckle. "Well, remember when you said ya wanted to go to Jade Mountain Academy? Now might be the best time to go."
Embers eyes turned away with a sigh, "Your scales… can you?"
"Well…" Phoenix sighed herself, walking inside and laying across the bed. She felt the morphines effect still lingering, her muscles crying out for sleep. She badly wanted to obey, but Phoenix knew she had to explain to her sister. "No, no I can't-"
Phoenix went on to explain everything that had happened, from when she was jumped to getting tranquillised. She explained that her fire had, temporarily, been dimmed and how both of them were at risk.
Ember was silent, lost in thought as the sun dropped beyond the horizon and the sky fell black. She didn't seem upset with her, which Phoenix was grateful for. She expected her sister to be angry at her – thinking that she'd risked away too much and could have been killed. Instead, she just seemed to be planning something.
"Phoenix – this is probably obvious – but what were they after?" She asked.
Phoenix shook her head, "No, it's not that stupid actually. They were just looking for revenge for er- yeah. The dragon was looking for something I look last time we were there: remember that weird gemstone?"
She nodded, "Was it important to them?"
"I have no idea – they didn't really explain their plans. They just asked if I had the stone, then tried to kill me when I didn't have it." Phoenix answered with a yawn. "Most the information I got was from that Welkin, who didn't know much about their plans."
"We- we should leave, shouldn't we?" Ember looked to Phoenix with a sad expression. "As soon as possible."
"It's… why I recommend checking out Jade Mountain- because there's something else as well," Phoenix said, nervously playing with her talons. "I found out where Tepid is living – Possibility. I also think he may have that stone… I wanted to try and warn him. I thought Jade Mountain would be a good to stay- and if we get refused, we can just fly on to Possibility."
Ember nodded slowly, thinking through her plan. "They won't accept to SkyWings…"
Phoenix laughed a little, spreading tired wings. "I'm willing to accept the idea that I'm part RainWing."
"But… neither of us know anything about RainWings, can't we just say we're hybrids?" Ember suggested.
Phoenix thought for a second, before shaking her head. "I don't like the idea of just walkin' in and being like 'Heeeeey everyone! We're hybrids!' - considering how badly that information has had us treated before."
"I guess… we could always just say we weren't born in the Rain Forest, I'm sure they'd believe you on that- what, what do we say about each other? If your a full RainWing and I'm a full SkyWing, we can't be related." Ember said.
Phoenix nodded, "Well… I'm a RainWing brought up in the Sky Kingdom. Could just say I was raised here with you."
"Well, I guess we'll see where this takes us. We should leave as soon as possible," Ember announced. "If you you're not too tired, I'd rather go now."
Phoenix groaned, climbing out of her bed. Her muscles ached and if she were to close her eyes, she definitely would have fallen asleep. "Well… I'm sure the cold air will make me up a bit – let me just go brush my teeth."
Ember nodded and the two separated in silence, worried thoughts left in their heads. When Phoenix walked into the bathroom, the first thing she saw was the strange sight of her snowy scales in the mirror.
By now, she was starting to feel the fire growing back in her scales – however small it was. Spreading were wings, she looked at her scales, hoping to see if they'd change back. They refused to budge, much to her dismay.
She started to brush her teeth, still fixated on her scales.
Phoenix remembered Ember saying how RainWing scales were controlled by emotion. It seemed a little stupid to her but… maybe white scales meant panic- or fear. Making sure Ember wasn't behind her, Phoenix sat down and tried to think of something relaxing.
Her brain settled on older memories of Herself, Ember and Tepid – playing as her parents watched. Tepid was left with them a lot, as her parents were friends with Tepid's mother.
She'd frown close to the SandWing – like a brother. Her sister had described it as very 'platonic'. A word which, at the time, went straight over her head. Ember had always been a bit of a book worm, and she was quite a bit smarter then her.
Phoenix liked to see herself as the 'protector' of their little trio. Perhaps she wasn't the brightest when it came to decision making – but she was certainly the strongest! Plus, her firescales gave her a nice advantage in case of actual danger.
Phoenix opened her eyes slowly, her thoughts coming back to her situation. Turning to the mirror… Phoenix was met with the still white scales of her face. With a sigh, she turned back to the hallway.
But in the corner of her eye, she caught a sharp amber glint. Looking at the tip of her wing, she could a few scales on the edges – like warm copper.
Focusing hard, a few more scales around the area switch back to their SkyWing style. She shifted her focus up her wing- and the amber scales followed.
Phoenix's eyes were wide with amazement – soon all her scales were back to their original colour. She didn't know what to think.
Could she… change their colour? She wasn't even sure what she was doing to achieve it right now… but she attempted anyway. Phoenix thought for a moment, before trying to mimic a sandy yellow.
As she imagined the one SandWing she knew, her scales morphed their colours. In seconds, she looked like the weirdest hybrid she could imagine – but it worked.
"I- Ember!" Phoenix called, a level of joy she didn't even know she still had left filled her voice.
As she waited for her sister, Phoenix stared into the mirror – messing around with her scale pattern with endless enjoyment. Why hadn't she tried this before? Sure- she hated being a hybrid. But this was cool!
Though, she had important things to be doing, she suddenly realised. She finished up brushing her teeth, collecting her bag and preparing to leave.
But the look of surprise on her sisters face when she saw her- Phoenix was sure she'd never forget it.