No. No. No. Bad. No. Stop. No.
Moon didn't like this. She didn't like this at all.
Secretkeeper had a dragonet, and she's been living out here this whole time?
I knew it! She always looked like a traitor!
What are those strange scales by her eyes?
She's never known what it's like to struggle on that volcano.
She'll never be one of us.
Moon gripped her head in her talons, fighting off the pounding migraine in vain. All these voices in her head, all screaming over each other, all at once, never ending, it was a living nightmare.
"Moon, are you alright?" her mother asked, her voice soft and nervous. I've never seen her like this before. It must be because of all these new people somehow, right? I understand her being a little scared, but she almost looks like she's in pain somehow.
"I… am… in pain..." Moon spoke through gritted teeth, desperate for silence. Cedar, currently riding on the top of her neck, reached down and stroked her cheek. A flood of concern from him washed through her at the contact. She didn't like the feeling, but she could feel it faintly muffle the voices all around her, so she embraced it.
"Moonwatcher..." Secretkeeper spoke, lost on what to do. She must have a headache from the thoughts of all these new dragons. Is that right, is that how it works? I should get her away from all this. "Here, let's go look at our new house, that might help take things off your mind."
"That'd… be great..." Moon grunted out in agony. Her visible pain only led to more questioning thoughts from the Nightwings around her, further magnifying her headache.
Why's she acting so weird?
Must've been lonely out in the rainforest with no other Nightwings.
Is that a… scavenger on her head?
Moon slammed her eyes shut. The ancient Nightwing mind readers had to have some way of blocking out all this noise, right? Secretkeeper wrapped a wing around her and Cedar, as though it would somehow silence the voices, and led her away to their new home.
It was a very small hut, and on the edge of the village, but it was the best home the three could ever ask for. It was built of twigs, leaves, and hardened mud; not terribly unlike their old home, come to think of it. In each corner lay two beds, built mostly of whatever materials the Rainwings found "soft", including various leaves and flowers, and kept together by some cloth and vines. It was like sleeping on a cloud for Moon and Cedar, having slept in leaves and on the dirt for the last four years.
Between the beds was a small table with a lantern, illuminating the hut with a warm, golden aura. Two windows faced parallel to each other next to each of the beds, letting in fresh air and keeping the single room cool.
It was like a dream.
The whole thing seems awfully symmetrical… Though, wasn't it designed by that one Rainwing who loved symmetry in everything? It seems weird, but oddly… cozy, in a way, thought Secretkeeper. Moon couldn't agree more. Yes it was tiny, yes it was made of dirt and leaves, but she could finally sleep in an actual home with her entire family, so it still meant the world to Moon.
A shame she couldn't appreciate it fully, what with her pulsating headache.
She suddenly heard wingbeats and the sound of talons outside the hut. She turned to see Secretkeeper open the(unprofessionally carved) door to see the face of a Nightwing she'd never seen before.
"Oh, Deathbringer! What brings you here?" her mother asked politely. What's the bodyguard of Queen Glory herself doing here? Probably just to help me get situated, I'm sure, she mused.
"Secretkeeper. I'm just here to help you and Moonwatcher get settled in, don't worry. Not going to arrest anyone," he joked. His thoughts moved surprisingly quickly for such a laid-back dragon, though they mostly seemed to be centered on the image of a certain Rainwing, probably Queen Glory.
"By the way, where is she, anyway? Been dying to meet her myself," said Deathbringer. Secretkeeper stepped away from the doorway to reveal Moonwatcher lying on her new bed behind her. She stared up at him shyly.
Deathbringer chuckled at her expression. "Hey, Moon, no need to be shy. Can I call you Moon?" She nodded. "Alright, nice." Is this nice enough? Glory already told me to make her feel welcome, but I'm pretty sure a sneeze could scare her half to death, poor girl, he thought. "I hope you feel welcome here, Moon, and come to me if any Nightwings give you a hard time, mkay?" Exactly what Glory would want me to say. Hopefully.
"Alright," spoke Moon, barely over a whisper. Even if they were on the outskirts of the village, the cacophony of voices still rang through her head. Leaf, who had been resting under her wing, noticed her discomfort and reached up to pet her head comfortingly, and-
"SCAVENGER!" roared Deathbringer suddenly, making everyone in the room jump. Leaf's balance was broken by the sudden roar, as he tripped and fell down Moon's neck onto the bed, in clear view of Deathbringer. He had his wings partially unfurled, his talons clenched, his entire body visibly tense.
He glared down at Leaf with what some kind of fear, which Moon could suddenly feel rolling off him in waves. Leaf only stared back; he, too, recognized that it was Deathbringer who was afraid of him. He tried to make himself look as small and non-threatening as possible, hoping to help the situation.
The whole room was dead silent for a long moment, before Moon growled again in agony, the sudden strong emotions reinvigorating her migraine. Deathbringer seemed to realize what he just did, as his wings partially pulled back, and his gazed jumped about the room nervously, trying to look at anything except the scavenger.
A long string of mental curses later, Deathbringer managed to vaguely compose himself enough to make a noise. "U-uh, I-I mean, that… that's, a, uh, v-very nice, ah, scav-er, scavenger there, Moon, ah..."
Secretkeeper began to laugh, surprising everyone in the room. "Not a huge fan of scavengers, are you?"
"Please keep it away from me."
She chuckled again, extending her wing to touch with his. "Aw, don't worry, Leaf won't hurt anyone, right?" she said, looking at the scavenger in question. Despite the language barrier, he managed to get the message and nodded, a warm smile on his face. Deathbringer still seemed uncertain.
"It's not about him hurting me, it's just..." he trailed off. Memories flashed through his mind, dark memories. A vision of a body on the ground, unmoving, made Moon's scales go cold. Leaf wouldn't do anything to Deathbringer, nor could he, but maybe his fear was somehow… justified?
"It's nothing," lied Deathbringer through a confident, yet clearly fake smile. He turned to look at Moon. "Her Majesty actually wanted to meet you herself. She told me to bring you to her once you were settled in." Secretkeeper and Moon's eyes both widened. Her Majesty wants to meet my daughter? Look at her, already moving up in the world!
Moon's eyes bulged. Her Majesty? Queen Glory? Glory wanted to see her, of all people? Why? Did she do something wrong already? No, she couldn't have, could she? Maybe it was about Leaf, was he not allowed to stay in the village? Her mind raced, and she shrunk back, more than apathetic to meet the Queen.
Secretkeeper noticed this, and wrapped her wing around her and Leaf. She cooed, "Aww, don't worry, dear. I met Glory before we moved, she's a great queen! It's thanks to her we have a home here at all," she smiled. Even if she can be a bit stern to her subjects at times…
Deathbringer nodded. "She's right. I'm sure she'll love you! C'mon; if you're all set, we can go right now." Right now? No. No no no no no-
Before she knew it, they were flying, on their way to meet the Queen. Deathbringer lead the way, and Secretkeeper was lagging behind, leaving Moon in the middle of the chain, with Leaf on her neck, holding onto her horns for support.
As she wove between trees and vines, Leaf began to relax further on the back of her head, a sense of euphoria rushing through him and, by extension, Moon. He always did love flying with her. A feeling of warmth came through her. Feeling invigorated, she flew a little faster after Deathbringer.
They soon reached Glory's palace. It was hardly a palace at all, more of a large pavilion, but it seemed regal enough. Deathbringer landed first, with Moon and Secretkeeper following shortly after. He approached a lavish throne in the center of the pavilion, where a lone Rainwing was currently lounging, and bowed before her.
"Your Majesty, I have brought Secretkeeper and her daughter, Moonwatcher."
Glory rolled her eyes at his antics. "Thank you, Deathbringer. You are dismissed."
"But I mustn't leave my Queen so vulnerable and unprotected by hersel-"
"I am just fine, thank you. I still have the Rainwing guard at all times. But if you're going to stay, could you at least cut the formalities? We're trying to make our guests feel welcome and at home, not suffocated by your fancy words." she chided.
"Oh, fine," Deathbringer sighed, moving out of his bow to stand upright.
Glory turned her attention to Secretkeeper. "Ignore him; it's nice to see you again, Secretkeeper. You've been settling in alright?" "I have," she smiled, "and Moon's been loving it here as well. A few headaches from all the noise, but she's been doing alright." Don't let her know the real reason, she told Moon mentally.
Glory looked to Moon now. "Glad to hear you've been doing well, Moon. And don't worry about the headaches; Deathbringer alone gives me more than plenty."
Deathbringer snorted, mock pain showing on his features. "Okay, that was uncalled for. You're just going to throw me under the roots like that? Your bodyguard? Best assassin? Boy-"
"You see what I mean?" Glory sighed, a bit louder than normal. "But don't let Deathbringer - or any of the other Nightwings, for that matter - bother you. They've constantly been on edge since they came to the Rainforest. It's been months now; you think they'd have gotten better about all -"
Leaf climbed a bit higher on Moon's head to get a better look at Glory, which didn't go unnoticed. "A scavenger! Is… is that yours, Moon?"
Moon jumped. She reached up to her head and gently picked up Leaf and lifted him to the ground, without a struggle from him. "Y-yes. This is Leaf. He's… been with me since I hatched." Leaf seemed to recognize that he was in the presence of royalty, and bent down on one knee, his head low.
Glory smiled. "Aw, he doesn't need to bow to me." Moon nudged Leaf back up, who stood tall, still trying to impress the Queen. "You might want to keep him away from Deathbringer, though. He's deathly afraid of the things." If I'd known she had a scavenger, I wouldn't have sent Deathbringer. Oh, great, now I feel bad!
Deathbringer just turned his head, not looking at Leaf. He didn't respond to Glory's comment. Leaf noticed this, though, and his posture relaxed a little, as if worried for him.
"Uhm, d-don't worry about him. He's… he's not going to hurt anyone. I promise." Moon spoke softly. Deathbringer risked a sideways glance at Leaf, who tried to give a warm smile and a wave back. Deathbringer only closed his eyes and sighed.
"I'm sure he's not going to hurt anybody. I'm just… really weirded out by scavengers. That's all." Not to mention, they remind me of… His thoughts grew cold and dark, too dark for Moon to see through. He had to shake his head to clear his mind. "I'll have to inform the Nightwings not to eat him. That'd be bad." Moon shuddered at the thought.
"Actually, why don't you go do that now? There's a few more things I'd like to say to Moon before she leaves," spoke up Glory, cutting through the tension on the pavilion. "Will do," shrugged Deathbringer, eager to put more distance between himself and Leaf as he took off and flew down to the Nightwing village below.
Glory turned her attention back to Moon after he had left. "Moon, your mother and I talked before this, and we figured you might not be so comfortable with all the new dragons you'd be staying with." It was evident; she was so upbeat back in the distant reaches of the rainforest, only her and Leaf around for miles. Now, she shied away from every dragon around her. "And we think," continued Glory, "that we may have a solution for you."
"There's a new school opening at Jade Mountain, to the west of here," Secretkeeper explained. "Dragons from tribes across the continent will be attending. It's meant to help settle tensions between the tribes and form new relationships after the War."
"And we figured," said Glory, "that it might be good for you to attend."
"B-but I can't go!" pleaded Moon. Maybe she could handle school if her mother was there to help her, but when she was just going to be dropped on a mountain with nobody she recognized? There wasn't a chance she could cope. And the noise of their heads wouldn't help her, either.
Moon, Secretkeeper, and Leaf were all back at the hut. Leaf was relaxing on his and Moon's bed, and Secretkeeper on hers across the room. Moon, however, in her stubbornness, stood in the middle of the room, trying in vain to argue her way out of what was to come.
"Moon..." Secretkeeper sighed for the umpteenth time that day. "It's the best way. I know it's a bit much..." A bit much?! "...but it'll help you figure out how to be social, you'll make new friends, maybe figure out more about your, ah, 'abilities', and who knows? Maybe you'll come home with a cute boyfriend~!"
What. Mom. No.
"We'll be leaving in two days for Jade Mountain. If it makes you feel better, you could probably convince the school's Headmaster to let you bring Leaf with you?" Well… Moon hated to admit it, but if Leaf was there, it'd definitely be a lot more bearable being there. But at the same time, would her classmates be so welcoming to Leaf? Moon averted her mother's gaze and looked at the dirt floor, a conflicted crease in her brow.
Secretkeeper rose from her bed and wrapped a wing around Moon to encouragingly. "Hey, don't worry about it! It may be a bit rough at first, but I'm sure by the end of it, you'll have made lots of great memories and friends! You may even want to return for a second semester!" The thought of attending the academy twice made Moon cringe. But at the same time…
If she really did make friends, maybe it wouldn't be so bad?
Suddenly, an idea sparked in Secretkeeper's head, one that Moon wasn't feeling so good about. "Say, maybe you can get some practice in right now! Why don't you go out and try to make some friends with the other Nightwings?" Or if they're really as grumpy as Queen Glory said, maybe you could settle for making friends with the Rainwings instead… She blinked. "You heard that? That, ah, just kind of came out, didn't it? Well, I guess if it works out better for you, you could do that instead."
Apparently, not even the Nightwings liked the Nightwings.
It wasn't long before Moon, with Leaf on her back again, found herself outside, essentially kicked out of the house. She stood still as a statue just outside the door, agitated voices of the Nightwing's thoughts surrounding her. She was petrified, hostility filled the air all throughout the village. It had no sense or direction attached to it; it was more than hatred, it was a chaotic hatred, traveling throughout the rainforest, upwards, downwards, inwards.
Then they saw her. All the fiery hot rage, flooding the forest, floating through the air, was all suddenly pointed at her, pressed against her neck and temples. It was overwhelming; Moon gritted her teeth against the all-consuming headache and fought off tears forming at the insides of her eyes.
Oh, look who decided to come out from under her mother's wing!
Pathetic, she can hardly stand outside her home and not look like she's about to combust.
She's still got that weird-looking scavenger. Deathbringer said not to eat it, right?
What a sad excuse for a Nightwing.
Leaf, pressing his tiny paws against the top of her head, climbed up to see her pained expression. Immediately, Moon felt his worry and sorrow fill her head, his proximity drowning out the red-hot fury the Nightwings felt towards her. A glint of a smile almost appeared on her features; was it wrong to feel better from his pain, knowing the reason for his pain was her pain? She figured it'd be better for her mind to say that she appreciated his concern.
She took a few hesitant steps forward. Stars, there were so many eyes on her. She tried to make herself look small as she continued through the village. Half of her was trying to look for one or more Nightwings that didn't look like they'd immediately yell at her on sight, and the other half was trying to remember the way back to her house should things go sour.
A group of younger Nightwings by a river caught her attention. Hostility rolled off of them in waves, but something had taken hold of her mind, and she couldn't stop her legs from, albeit slowly, coming closer. Her actions were not preceded by reason, but rather were followed by excuses; even if they did hate her, maybe she could convince them otherwise? Maybe Leaf might be able to appeal to them? Maybe her mother would be confident in her social skills by the end of this encounter, and she wouldn't have to be sent off to school for so long?
One of their group noticed her. "Oh, hey, been wondering when you'd finally come outside! Where's your mommy, I thought she followed you everywhere?" he jeered. The other Nightwings giggled at his words, while Moon only flinched and looked down. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea?
No. She couldn't go back to her mother now, not when she'd gotten this far already.
"H-hi, I'm… My name is M-Moon," she barely stammered out.
Another Nightwing stood up and walked to her. Oh, no. "Just Moon? Your mother's smart enough to hide you away for years, but can't come up with a competent Nightwing name? Maybe you were fated to not be one of us!" The laughs of the others grew louder, while Moon's eyes watered. Dark thoughts filled their heads that she tried to fight off, but they only grew in volume with their laughter.
Suddenly, something welled up inside her, some kind of uncharacteristic anger. It was no match for the raw hatred of the other Nightwings, but it was equally undeniable. She whipped her head up to face them, trying to blink out tears from her eyes. "I-it's M-Moonwatcher! A-and… a-and d-don't talk about my m-mother like that! At least she w-was smart en-enough to save me from the vol-volcano!" she stammered out.
Before she even realized what she had just done, the hot rage began to practically rush from them, suffocating her. "WHAT did you just say!?" the Nightwing roared. The others, scowls on their faces, began to circle Moon. Leaf slowly shrunk down and glared at them, as though thinking he could protect Moon from them.
She couldn't back up, she couldn't fly away, she was stuck here. Her heart racing, Moon looked around. All the adult Nightwings either ignored them, or looked on with dismissal or, worst of all, amusement. A soft, terrified whimper escaped her throat. Why were they allowing this? Why did she have to be the victim?
A Nightwing behind her sneered. "That's a nice scavenger there, Moonwatcher," he said, dragging out her name mockingly. "You look like you've taken really good care of it. In fact, I'd bet it's the tastiest scavenger on the continent!"
Instinct kicked in; she reached up to grab Leaf as fast as she could, but it wasn't fast enough. One of the Nightwings snatched Leaf in his talons, while hers only grasped around empty air. She turned to him, her eyes wide with fear. Leaf slammed his fists on the dragon's talons, hoping to loosen his grip, but his efforts were in vain. Another Nightwing poked him roughly, and Moon could feel the sharp pain jump through him, while the Nightwings only felt sick amusement.
She wanted to vomit then and there; this was exactly what she'd been afraid of.
"H-hey! G-give him back!" she stammered, not even trying to hide her tears now. Stars, she couldn't imagine living without Leaf. The thought of the Nightwing bending his head down and trapping him in his jaws… She felt sick to her stomach.
"So what?" jeered the Nightwing. "What's so important about this one? There's plenty of scavengers in the world, you can get another just like 'em!"
"P-please!" she begged, her voice rising in volume and pitch. "L-Leaf's not just any old scavenger! I-He's been with me s-since I hatched! H-he's like a b-brother to me, p-please don't hurt him!"
At that exact moment, every Nightwing around her erupted into a roaring, deafening laughter. Moon suddenly felt small, very very small. "This thing? A puny scavenger is your brother? Aw, that's rich!" "Being alone in the rainforest for so long must've driven her mad!" "Do you wuv your bwuther, Moonwatcher?"
Moon's talons dug into the earth, tears streaming out her eyes. Leaf fought harder than ever, slamming his full weight into the Nightwing's talons, desperate for freedom. She couldn't take this, she wanted it to be over, please, why couldn't it just be over-
"HEY! Leave her alone and pick on someone your own size!" Or even better, don't pick on anyone at all! A voice, young and feminine, sounded through the village. Moon looked up in the direction of the noise. She couldn't see much through her tearful eyes, but she saw a mass of red scales swoop down and slam into the Nightwing holding Leaf hostage.
Several things happened at once. The Nightwing's grip came loose. Leaf, with all his strength, pulled himself out of his talons. He pulled his grapple from his waist and swung it into the air, hooking it around one of Moon's horns, pulling himself up atop her head before anyone could grab him again. He swung the hook in a circle above his head, ready to toss it at whoever made the next move. The Nightwings were furious, but most took a step back. The mystery Rainwing moved closer to Moon, shielding her.
The one she tackled roared at her. "Get lost, Kinkajou, this doesn't involve you!" Though, I wouldn't mind making a bloody mess of you, too! He thought. The Rainwing, Kinkajou, shouted back, "It does when someone's getting hurt! Why can't you all just GET ALONG like NORMAL PEOPLE?!" I mean, I don't think I could get along with the Nightwings after the volcano, but WOW this is too far! From atop Moon's head, Leaf looked down at Kinkajou, an expression of… was that some kind of appreciation? Pride, even?… on his face.
He looked enraged, and got into a fighting stance. Moon's heart skipped a beat; just when he was about to lunge, though, a new, deeper voice reverberated around them. "I believe I explicitly mentioned for you not to eat Moon's scavenger," scolded Deathbringer, flying down behind Moon. The Nightwing's faces of anger and violence were instantly replaced with fear, as the larger dragon raised his wings high, in a show of dominance. "And yet, here we are. What do you have to say for yourself?"
The apparent ringleader took a few steps back. "D-Deathbringer! What're you doing here?" "I'm more worried about what you're doing here to poor Moon." His glare burned holes into him, as panic rose in his chest. "W-we were just… playing! G-getting to know each other!" The others nodded in agreement. Deathbringer only settled his talons on Moon's shoulder protectively.
"And what kind of playing does this?" The Nightwing punks tried to glare, but Deathbringer only glared harder, withering their anger away to replace with fear. "I'm going to report this incident to Queen Glory. In the meantime, why don't you all run off and think about what you've done?"
With one last murderous look at Moon and Leaf, the Nightwings all either flew or ran off. Deathbringer stood perfectly still, watching each and every one of them until they were out of sight. Once they were, he relaxed and bent down to look Moon in the eye, his gaze having softened. "Are you alright, Moon? I only saw the end, but that looked rough."
"NO KIDDING!" screamed Kinkajou, making the two of them jump. "They didn't even try to get to know her or make friends or SOMETHING! Even if they didn't want to talk, that's all they had to say, and ALL OF THIS COULD'VE BEEN AVOIDED." Besides, what kind of unbearable grump WOULDN'T want to make a new friend?! I mean, maybe me, cause, y'know, Nightwing trauma, but all of that was just uncalled for! This Rainwing was… very outgoing.
Leaf looked up at Deathbringer, who retracted his talons a bit when he saw him. His mind seemed conflicted. Dark thoughts began to plague him, but he shook his head. No. I can't let my fears get the better of me. Moon needs my help, not my cowardice. He rested his talons back on her shoulder. Moon's eyes began to water again, but not from pain this time. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around Deathbringer, crying into her shoulder. Leaf barely managed to stay on from the sudden movement, but hugged her neck for comfort too.
A group hug! I can't miss! Kinkajou's mind sounded off, before she wrapped her wings around all three of them. They stayed there for a good few minutes, in the middle of the Nightwing plaza, crying into each other's shoulders in a great big group hug.
Finally, Moon managed to break free. "T… thank you. Both of you." she smiled. Kinkajou lit up in pinks and yellows. "Anytime! I mean, those Nightwings can be big JERKS sometimes, so you just have to learn to cope, y'know? Oh, I don't think we ever introduced! You probably heard, but my name's Kinkajou, what's yours?" Moon giggled. "M...Moonwatcher. But please, c-call me Moon."
Deathbringer looked up in the direction of Moon's hut. "Your mother's probably worried sick, Moon. We should bring you home. And, Moon..." he leaned down, as though trying to prevent anyone else from hearing. "After that, if you don't want to go to Jade Mountain, we'd all understand. It wouldn't hurt to wait a year or two until you're ready."
"Jade Mountain? You're going too?!" asked Kinkajou, enthusiasm in her voice. Moon looked down. "I mean, I-I might be..." Kinkajou hugged Moon. "You should really go! I heard it's going to be AWESOME there! So many new tribes and people! And if you get into any more fights, I can always be there to help you!"
Moon giggled again; Kinkajou's optimism knew no bounds, it seemed. "W-well, when you put it that way..." Deathbringer looked surprised. "Really? You still want to go after that? Some of those Nightwings will probably be attending the school too, you know."
Moon looked up into his eyes and, with more confidence than she'd ever thought she could muster, spoke, "Who knows? It might be worth the risk."
Deathbringer blinked. "Well. I guess that's settled, then. I'll let Queen Glory know of your decision, and you should tell your mother, too. If you'll excuse me, I think I need to reinstate my previous message a bit more firmly," he spoke through gritted teeth, and flew off, leaving Moon, Kinkajou, and Leaf alone.
"Hey, Moon, I have a question!" Moon looked down at Kinkajou, who was about half a head shorter than her. "Earlier, you said you thought of your scavenger as a brother. Is that true?"
Was it? Moon shook her head. Of course it was; he'd always been there for her, and she'd always been there for him. Wasn't that was a sibling was? "Yes", Moon spoke honestly. "He's been with me since I hatched. I can't imagine a life without him." She looked away. "Is… is that wrong? Is it weird?"
Kinkajou looked thoughtful. "Hmm… weird, probably, yeah." Moon cringed a little internally. "But wrong? I don't see why it would be. If he's really your brother, he's your brother."
Moon felt joy rise in her chest at Kinkajou's words. "Th-thank you for understanding, Kinkajou."
"Anytime! That's what friends are for, right?" the smaller Rainwing smiled. Wait… "Friends? You consider me a friend when we haven't known each other for an hour?"
Kinkajou's response was instant. "Of course! I mean… if you wanna be. Do you wanna be friends?" Moon stared at her for a minute, before she broke into a huge grin. "I…O-of course I want to be friends!" With that, they embraced, with Leaf on top of their heads, trying to embrace both of them at once.
"Say, we have a full day tomorrow until we take off for Jade Mountain. Want to hang out then?"
"I'd… I'd like that, Kinkajou."
Oh my god finally.
I know I said I'd try to get this one out faster, but that didn't go so well, did it? If the ending to this seems rushed, that's because I'm going on a trip in a few days, when I'll hardly be able to write at all, and I wanted to push this out before then. Because of that, I'm sorry if this seems rushed or half-assed by any means.
Regardless of my rush at the end, I'm still extremely sorry about the wait.
Some info:
1) I said before this would not be a scavenger/dragon romance fic, but there will still be dragon/dragon and scavenger/scavenger romance eventually. Particularly, this is planned to be a Winterwatcher story. Yes, I know it's a dead ship, and yes, I think the epilogue to Book 10 was awful. Either way, this will be a Winterwatcher story, so if you aren't down for that, this story isn't for you.
HOWEVER
2) I'm not cruel. I'm not going to have Moon and Winter leave Qibli in the dust, he's still going to get someone to love. But, I'm not sure who. I've discussed the matter with my "proofreaders", and we came up with some ideas, some of them a bit more... extravagant than others. I'll have a poll running on my profile(Don't vote in reviews, please), and details on each option are at the bottom of these notes.
3) "Throw me under the roots" is what one of my proofreaders claimed the dragon equivalent of "Throw me under the bus" would be.
4) Did this chapter seem... weird, in any way? I feel like there's especially something funky about the last few bits, but I can't put my finger on it. Hopefully, whatever it is becomes less of a problem in later chapters.
With that out of the way, thank you for reading and for your continued support, and I'll see you in the next chapter when it comes out.
QIBLI SHIPS:
1) Sunny (Qibunny?): Seems like something out of a crackfic, but when you think about it, it's not that weird at all. They're around the same age, give or take, and the only real problem with it is that Qibli would have to tell Thorn that he's dating her daughter. And besides, Clay's a teacher and Peril's (eventually) a student, and they're together, so why can't Sunny and Qibli do the same?
2) Ostritch (Osbli?): While she may not have the largest role in the series(aside from in Book 10), she and Qibli have still both shown signs of affection between them. Maybe it's just a good friendship, but who knows? Besides, since she does become more important in Book 10, if she and Qibli had a more defined relationship it'd give him more motivation for that part of the book.
3) Lynx (Qynx?): "Oh my god, Wrongful's gone mad! There he is, officer, quick, shoot him, shoot him before he can get away!" I asked some of my proofreaders for more people I could ship Qibli with, but one of them thought I was asking about Winter, and suggested Lynx. It was just a miscommunication, but the idea stuck in my head. This one is my personal favorite, just because of how crazy it is(I can still make it work realistically, it's just really funky), but I'm still not certain, which is why there's a vote.