A Brighter Future Ahead
AN: So I finished this chapter about a week ago but forgot to post it...oops. Sorry about that. I also wanted to say that the lack of updates is due to an even worse school schedule this semester. I'm on campus about three times as much than last semester which means I can't work on my writing during that time. Therefore, for now, I'm going to focus more on this story and hopefully get one chapter out every weekend for the foreseeable future.
ALSO, IMPORTANT: For those of you reading Dragons Change, I am officially requesting help... I have had writers block on this particular part for waaaaay to long, so I need your help. I need ideas for a nightmare that would shake Winter to his core. Not just scare him or make him upset, but terrify him to the point that he's afraid to sleep again. That sort of nightmare. Credit will be given for suggestions I use, obviously.
Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire. My OCs Copperhead and Cobra belong to me.
Enjoy...
Copperhead:
He had followed the others into the Queen's hut when they followed after Darkstalker. He sat quietly to the side with growing apprehension as his mother and the Nightwing animus argued. She can't actually be planning to use them as weapons, right? She wouldn't do that!
He noticed his mother glancing over at him and when she noticed him staring back at her with no small amount of uncertainty, her expression softened somewhat. He smiled wanly at her before his attention was diverted by Darkstalker's menacing growl. "Do you honestly think you can control me? You may have another animus under your control, but I guarantee that they aren't as powerful as me!"
Anaconda wasn't fazed in the slightest when she answered, "Perhaps…and maybe I can't control you directly. That's why I'm giving you—all of you—the chance to talk, rather than simply arresting and torturing you." She turned away and looked out the window when she next spoke, "I love my tribe. I'm sure you can understand that."
She looked back at the Nightwing and when he nodded ever so slightly after a lengthy pause, she smiled, this one much kinder than her previous ones, and continued. "I do everything I can to make sure the enemies I have made outside this rainforest stay outside." She paused and shook her head, "It's a delicate balance. I must make them afraid…but not too afraid. All while making sure my tribe has an air of…danger and mystery. Make sure that said enemies have reason to fear us but not reason enough to attack us.
"Cobra doesn't understand this. I fear that if she takes my throne, the Rainwing tribe will be doomed to fall. I am not afraid to get my talons dirty, but for the first time in my life, Darkstalker, I don't know what to do. How am I to kill my own daughter?" She looked at him, as if awaiting an answer.
Copperhead realized it at the same time Darkstalker did apparently. "You want me to kill her," he stated matter-of-factly.
She nodded, "Do this for me…and perhaps a few other small things later, and I will permit you to stay." He stared at his mother in complete horror now that he knew the truth. Yes, Cobra was a pain-in-the-tail but she didn't deserve to be assassinated.
"What's the catch?" Indigo finally spoke up. Darkstalker glanced over at her before turning his attention back to the Queen and nodding. He wanted that answer, too.
"The only catch is that if I tell you to do something, I expect it to be done. Your tenure in my forest hangs on my goodwill, after all." Copperhead had heard enough by this point. He turned and darted out of the hut barely hearing his mother calling after him.
Cobra may not have been his favorite sibling—or even his favorite dragon—but she was still his sister. He remembered a time when she wasn't as cold-blooded. He remembered the tender-hearted dragoness that took care of him and held him when he was a young dragonet barely out of his egg. It saddened him to remember because the reality of what she was now hurt.
He had to find and warn her. Maybe Cobra could talk their mother down, convince her that she didn't want the throne. As he ran, flew, and tree-glided through the village trying to think of where to find Cobra, he was so lost in his thoughts that he was unprepared for another dragon to tackle him.
He rolled with the momentum of the attack and popped back up onto his feet, immediately going into a defensive posture before he paled at seeing a furious Darkstalker standing in front of him. "Going somewhere?" the Nightwing challenged. Copperhead began backing up. I can't run from him, but maybe I could hide? Darkstalker's eyes narrowed. "I don't think so," he stalked forward with a murderous glare. "You aren't going anywhere."
Copperhead's muscles locked up suddenly, and he looked at the Nightwing in sheer terror. He was beginning to see why half of Pyrrhia was terrified of him. This dragon wasn't afraid to punish those that pushed him too far…and he wasn't afraid of the consequences of using his powers. "How did you… You didn't even say a spell!" he yelled in both confusion and fear.
Darkstalker walked around and behind the frozen Rainwing. Copperhead's eyes tracked the Nightwing as far as they could without moving his neck. There was silence for several moments before the Nightwing whispered maliciously in his ear, "Are you afraid of me?"
The Rainwing tensed immediately, "Y-y-yes!"
He felt a claw grab his face and yank him around to look into the Nightwing's eyes. His breath caught at seeing the shear amount of anger and hatred that Darkstalker wasn't even trying to disguise. "Good," he snarled. "It'll make this more fun."
"W-what?" he stuttered. I'm not sure I even want to know the answer.
Darkstalker smirked—a cruel and twisted expression if he ever saw one. "Wouldn't you like to know," he taunted. "I wonder, though…It's clear Cobra holds a high level of disdain for you. Why would you care if she dies—especially since you aren't her biggest fan either? If Anaconda," he all but spat her name, "is right. The Rainwings would be better off without her."
Copperhead bristled with anger. "Maybe she is overzealous about protecting our borders. Maybe she questions our mother too much, and maybe that hasn't made her the most popular dragoness in the village, but she doesn't deserve to die!"
Darkstalker began pacing back and forth like a predator judging his prey. "Give me one reason," he challenged.
"BECAUSE SHE'S MY SISTER!" he screamed at the Nightwing. His outburst caused him stop suddenly. Copperhead noticed and took this chance to push his new advantage, "Despite the fact that everyone thinks she's crazy, I still love her, and I would do anything for her." He snapped a glare back to Darkstalker, "Is that such a crime!?"
He noticed Darkstalker's sullen posture. The Nightwing was silent for several minutes before he sighed heavily. "Go," he whispered.
Copperhead's muscles unlocked and he flopped down on his stomach at the sudden unexpectedness. "W-why?" he chanced a question.
Darkstalker began walking away, but the Rainwing was able to catch what Darkstalker mumbled, "Because you reminded me of my own sister."
AN: Leave your thoughts in a review if you so desire and I will catch you all again over the weekend.
Until Next Time
AdmiralCole22
