Ozone started to speak, slowly at first and then more quickly as he fell into stride, vocalizing the ideas bouncing around in his still-reeling mind. He knew what he had to say, and so he said it, but his mind blanked out as he shaped the story, and if he had been asked to repeat anything word for word, he wouldn't have been able to.
He told his fellow soldiers about the day of the storm, when he'd gone flying in the rain and met Cornice, who'd been injured. He told them how he'd decided to heal Cornice, how he'd gotten to know the IceWing over time and had begun to think of him as a friend. He told them how he'd shared details about his life with Cornice, knowing that he didn't mean Ozone's tribe any harm. He told them about the cave, which he and Cornice had assumed was abandoned but had now figured out was a meeting place for their attackers, who were likely members of the Tribeless. He told them how Cornice had seen some of those dragons and that some of them had been his friends.
He then mustered up every memory he could think of related to Jackal and the others and described them in detail, including the letter which held the clues to Jackal's group's true identity. He told them how Puddle's choice of words had made him assume that Jackal's group was separate from the Tribeless, when in reality they were most likely one and the same. He confessed that he hadn't realized the danger behind the SandWings' ideas, words and actions, and that he'd been too blind to even consider that Jackal could be the rumored offspring of Famine.
He told them about the battle that had unfolded in their base, how Cornice had seen the invaders and flown immediately to the base to warn him. Ozone explained that the IceWing had fought alongside them, and that he and Cornice had managed to drive their attackers back to the base's entrance, where the Tribeless had retreated rather than let their identities be discovered. He described how Spark had been injured and how Gale had confronted Cornice and how they had put the whole story together.
Ozone looked at the ground as he spoke, too ashamed to look at his friends and too scared to look at Claret. None of the dragons around him interrupted even once. He wasn't sure whether they were shocked by the revelations unfolding in front of them or if they were furious beyond words or if they knew that if Ozone stopped speaking, he'd lose the will to keep going. The fact that Gale and Cornice remained silent as well told him that for once, he hadn't accidentally forgotten anything. It seemed that his friends' betrayal had seared all the memories into his brain like a hot iron.
Finally, he reached the end of his story. He fell silent, feeling exhausted from the effort of first the battle and then unloading all his memories and his guilt in a torrent of words. Once he allowed himself to feel that exhaustion, the pain followed.
His body stung all over with numerous cuts, the inside of his throat felt scratchy from all the smoke he'd breathed in, and his neck ached with quickly-forming bruises from when he'd nearly been choked to death. He felt a pressure beating inside his skull, as if some part of his brain was trying to escape its bone prison. All Ozone wanted to do was go to his cave and sleep away his pain and worries, but he knew that he couldn't.
First, he had to face Claret's judgment.
"Is that everything?" she asked. Her voice had no anger or even disappointment in it. It was just calm, and somehow that was even more frightening.
"I think so," Ozone said honestly. After everything, he didn't have the confidence for a more absolute answer. He wasn't absolutely sure of anything anymore.
Claret's yellow gaze slid to Gale, who nodded. "That's everything we figured out."
"Ozone," said his commander, and then stopped. It was the first time he had ever seen her at a loss for words like this. "Do you understand what you've done?"
He tried to answer and found that he couldn't. He bowed his head.
"I know you didn't mean to bring this upon us," she went on, her voice deep with severity. "But that doesn't change the fact that you did. You've placed your trust in the wrong dragons, and with that trust, knowledge with the power to destroy you. It turned out that one of those dragons—Cornice the IceWing—was indeed an ally, but you did not confirm that before telling him dangerous information. That information was overheard by our enemies. You revealed information outside of a safe area, to a dragon who had not yet been deemed trustworthy. That is a serious violation that I cannot overlook."
Ozone knew what was coming next. He could see it coming from a mile away. He had seen it coming long before this huge mess had even started. He just hadn't known it would be this serious, that his actions would ever cause so much damage to the dragons he cared about. He hadn't realized his actions actually mattered this much.
"Ozone, you've left me with no choice," said Claret. "Your behavior goes against the conduct expected of a SkyWing solider. I hereby expel you from the army."
"I understand," he said, in a voice that was barely more than a whisper.
"You must leave this base before nightfall," his commander continued, her voice as hard as steel. "You are strictly prohibited from divulging any additional information about the location or functions of our base, an offense punishable by the full extent of SkyWing law. Starting tonight, if you are seen within a mile of the base, our soldiers will be commanded to attack you on sight. Do you understand?"
Fighting back tears, he nodded.
"Good," said Claret.
Ozone thought he glimpsed something like regret in her eyes, but he knew better than to beg for mercy. As far as punishments could have gone, this could be considered lenient. And she had warned him that he'd be expelled if he flew off during training. What he'd accidentally done was far worse than flying off.
"In the meantime," she went on. "Your every move will be monitored by Buzzard and Ridge." She glanced at the two dragonets, who nodded. "They will report you if you try to do anything that could be considered suspicious."
She turned to Cornice. "Cornice, you will be pardoned for trespassing because you came through for us in our time of need. However, you must also leave by nightfall, with the same restrictions on your actions going forward from here. If you spread any kind of information about our base, or try to return, you will be judged under SkyWing law as a spy for the IceWings. Is that clear?"
"Yes," said Cornice, bowing his head respectfully. "Thank you."
Claret nodded. "I will contact Queen Ibex and inform her what has occurred here today. Most likely, the base will be relocated to a more secure location, and the SkyWing military will begin preparations for a state of war."
"War?" echoed Ozone, shocked. The battle had been terrifying, but the Tribeless were terrorists, not an opposing tribe or army. There was no one to declare war against, really, other than the ideas their attackers stood for, and even then, that didn't feel like a true solution. The concepts of an elected ruler and one unified tribe hadn't lost their appeal to Ozone just because the dragons fighting for those ideas were extremists.
Claret narrowed her eyes. "We have been attacked today without warning, by an unidentified group of dragons. You have a solid theory, but it's far from confirmed. We do not know the scale, nor the true nature, of the intruders' plan. The whole kingdom must be notified and prepared for any similar attacks."
"That makes sense," he had to admit.
"Good," said the burgundy dragon, straightening up as if taking on a new burden. "Now, I can't tell you anything else. That's classified information, and you're no longer approved to hear it. Please gather anything you want to bring with you and depart from this base. Goodbye, Ozone. I wish you luck."
Bowing his head to express all the gratitude he'd never found the words for, he turned and walked off down the tunnel back to his cave. Buzzard and Ridge flanked him on either side. The pale orange dragonet walked rigidly beside him, as if Ozone were a stranger, but he felt Ridge nudge his wing with silent sympathy. He glanced up at them, taking note of Buzzard's smoldering hostility and Ridge's disappointment.
Ozone didn't have many material possessions, apart from a few small objects he'd collected for their beauty. He didn't have a pouch to carry them in, so he wrapped them carefully in a piece of cloth and held it with one set of talons. That taken care of, he took a single cloak for warmth and decided to head out before he lost his resolve.
"Take care," said Ridge, quietly.
"Don't come back," growled Buzzard.
On Ozone's way back to the entrance cave, he encountered Sard, who canted her wings away from him and said nothing as she stepped aside to let him past.
He took a step forward, hesitated, and then turned to face her. Even though they weren't on speaking terms, this might be the last time he ever saw her. "I just wanted to thank you," he told her. "For being my friend through all our training together. I know I'm not the easiest dragon to be friends with."
Sard looked away silently. It seemed like she wasn't going to respond.
Feeling awkward, Ozone nodded and ducked his head, turning to leave.
Then Sard spoke. "It feels like I never really knew you at all."
Ozone couldn't muster the strength to look back at her again. There was nothing he could think to say, other than I know or You probably never did, so he stayed silent. He'd said everything he needed to, save one last thing. "Goodbye, Sard."
"Goodbye," she said, so softly he wasn't sure if he'd imagined it.
He kept going until he reached the entrance hall, where Cornice was waiting for him. The white dragon looked at him for a long moment and then extended one wing towards him. Ozone brushed it with his own, taking strength from the silent offering of support from the one dragon who was still his friend. An unspoken agreement hovered in the still-smoky air between them—wherever they went now, they'd go together.
Ozone heard voices from further along the tunnel—Claret, speaking softly as she checked Spark's bandages. She might not be as powerful as he'd thought she was, but she was still strong enough to lead them through this. He had to believe they'd be all right.
Goodbye, Claret, he told her silently. Thank you for everything.
He took a deep breath. Leaving the time he'd spent here behind wouldn't be easy. How would he explain all this to his mother, who'd urged him to become a solider so he could do something important with his life?
I guess I'll just take it one step at a time, he thought. I always thought that I had to worry about the future all the time, about how dragons would react to everything I said and did, before the present caught up. But maybe what I really need to do is focus on the moment, on what I'm doing here and now.
He opened his eyes and gazed down at his claws, which were clutching the cloak and the handful of items he'd decided to bring with him. They looked different now that they'd been through battle, scuffed and blunted against scales and stone.
Maybe I need to worry less and actually do more, he realized. Maybe I need to be less a shadow of a dragon and more flesh and blood and bone.
Maybe that's what I've been doing wrong all this time.
"Are you ready, Cornice?" he asked, glancing back at his friend.
The IceWing nodded.
Together they spread their wings and leapt into the sunset-painted sky.
END of PART 1
AN: We made it to the end of Part 1! Thank you for staying with me the whole way!
Just to let you know, I'm going to be changing the summary a little (just making it a bit less vague) to mark the beginning of Part 2 and more accurately represent the story going forward. So if you usually identify this story by its summary, just be aware of that! I might also be putting up a new poll soon, so keep an eye out for that on my profile! Thanks again for reading and see you next time!