Glorious Politics

AN: Here we are with another chapter, and this one has some important stuff in it. I won't say too much, but there is a character cameo in this one. Nightwing OC submissions are still open, but they'll be closing soon. If you have a Nightwing character you want a little scene with, send me a pm or leave the details in a review.

Disclaimer: I do not own WIngs of Fire. Mistral and Diamondback are my OCs. Abyss belongs to his creator, Churrozard.

Chapter Eleven:

It was a quiet trip back to the rainforest, or it was for Glory, at least. Moon and Qibli were catching up on what they'd been doing during their time apart, but the Queen was deep in her thoughts during the entire time. More specifically, she was worried about her Icewing problems—both of them. If she couldn't contact Winter with the dreamvisitor, she had no idea what to do, or even think, about his disappearance. What if he actually was...dead. Forgotten in some unmarked grave somewhere...

She hadn't known Winter very well, but she knew him well enough to say he was a troubled dragon with a kind heart. And he was very close to many of her friends' hearts. Moon and Qibli, especially, had taken his leaving quite hard, and even now the former Icewing prince was a sore subject for them. Turtle would just sigh when he was brought up, and Kinkajou's normally bubbly attitude would go away for a while afterward. They all felt guilty for not helping him more—if there was anything more they could do for him.

Seeing all of her friends turn sullen upon his mention made even the normally stoic Glory feel a small twinge of sadness. And she knew she wasn't the only one. Clay, Tsunami, Starflight, and Sunny—especially Sunny—all felt as if maybe they had failed the Icewing in some way. They were his teachers, after all. After years apart and scant contact between him and his former friends, however, everyone had seemed to take the hint. He wanted to be left alone. So they did...and look where that had gotten them.

Other than the guilt, shame, and regret she felt for not keeping up with Winter as well as she probably should have and her concern for his safety, Mistral was another Icewing of particular concern. She still had to wonder if maybe she had made a mistake keeping him around. What if he blamed her for his demotion and took his anger out on her? He had already been hostile, so what if this made everything worse? With no idea on what his reaction might be, she was a bit nervous—even scared, though she'd never admit it—about facing him again.

It was only when the dry heat of the desert transitioned to pouring rain that she realized she was already back to her Kingdom. A giggle from behind made Glory look back to see Moon laughing at a thoroughly miserable-looking Qibli. The poor Sandwing's sail had nearly flattened with the amount of water hitting it, and part of it was covering his right eye. She snickered at the sight, getting an unamused look from him. He flung his head in a way that launched a decent amount of water straight into Moon's face, who simply laughed even harder when it was his left eye that ended up covered by his sail. "I'll never understand how dragons can live in a place where it's almost always raining." To emphasize his point, he lifted a claw and flung some mud off of it with a grimace.

"So you're saying the big, tough Outclaw can't handle a little water?" Glory smirked.

"Not the falling kind," he immediately shot back before walking again. "Can we just get somewhere drier, please?"

Moon giggled at him a bit more before following, Glory following behind them. The rain didn't bother her. In fact, she actually liked the rain. It was a rather refreshing feeling as it traveled down her scales, cleaning away the dust and dirt that had gathered on them since the previous shower. The mud, however, was something she could agree with the Sandwing on. And she was pretty sure that's why most Rainwing buildings were built in the trees.

An odd sight greeted them once they made it back to her pavilion. Mistral was sitting outside on the platform with his eyes closed as the rain cascaded down his body. At first, she was so unprepared for seeing this odd behavior that she couldn't help but ask, "Why are you sitting out in the rain?"

"It feels good," he answered simply, his eyes still shut. Moon and Qibli shared a shrug before looking to her, yet they walked in without her when she motioned for them to. Mistral sitting here, though, bothered her. She had expected him to either be working on his investigation, waiting for her with a glare and a few choice words, or simply not be here. But this?

She enjoyed the rain, too, but she had no idea why he would. However, when she studied him a bit more, he did seem a bit more sparkly than she remembered. A small, "Woah..." left her, unbidden, when she noticed the raindrops flash freezing upon impact with his scales before melting again immediately afterwards. It must be a nice, cool sensation for him and a nice break from the humid heat.

The phenomenon was so entrancing that she jumped a bit when he actually spoke. "You asked Snowfall to let me stay. Why?"

His gaze bored into her own as she thought. "A few reasons," she admitted with a shrug. When he didn't say anything, she realized he was patiently waiting for her to explain. "Thorn spoke highly of you and suggested I maybe give you a second chance. And...I guess I sympathize with your current...problem."

Though, the statement was vague, he seemed to understand what she meant. He looked away with a nod and then a sigh. "You didn't have to do that. This demotion, while unfortunate, at least grants me more time to figure this out." Glory rolled her eyes. Here she was doing the guy a favor and— "But you have my thanks." She blinked at the unexpected gratitude, staring at him skeptically. "And my apology," he continued, not looking at her. "I was...unfair to you, Queen Glory."

"You were." She didn't even bother arguing that. His poor attitude had been the source of much stress and worry over her personal safety. The only reason she was out here with him was because Qibli and Moon were just inside. The Nightwing would be able to tell if something was going wrong, and the Sandwing would be out here in seconds if Mistral tried anything. "So will things be different now?" she questioned him sternly, acting the part of the Queen she was. "Or do I still have to be concerned for my own safety?" Normally, she wouldn't admit that, but she wanted him to know just how deeply his behavior had affected her—just how much faith she was putting into him by giving him this chance.

He sighed and bowed his head, closing his eyes in what seemed to be sorrow as he looked to have an internal struggle with himself. Eventually, he spoke, his voice quiet yet still audible over the rain. "My friend, Frost, and I served in the military together. That's where we met. Being brothers-in-arms is a strong bond on its own...but saving each other's life? We served for five years together before leaving the military. He became a merchant like his father while I threw myself into Snowfall's world of upper-class nobility. I've been a foreign dignitary for the Sand and Sky Kingdoms, I've been the Secretary of Defense for the Ice Kingdom, and I am Snowfall's advisor—one of them, at least.

"I was top of the second circle, but I never broke ties with Frost, who was only near the middle of the fourth. We'd been through too much together to ever forget our friendship. I saw him off on his last journey to the Sky Kingdom. I gave him a hug and wished him safe travels after he said farewell to his wife and son." Mistral took a deep breath, and as Glory watched him, she could almost guarantee that not all of the droplets falling down his face were from the rain. "And then a week later I learned he was murdered by a Nightwing. I was—am—angry about losing my best friend. I—I haven't even been able to face his family." He was quiet for a long time after that, but Glory never moved or said anything, too captivated by this sudden outpouring of emotion from a dragon who had previously seemed cold and distant. When he finally did speak again, his statement gave her chills. "I was supposed to go with him..."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, now knowing the source of his anger: survivor's guilt. It had to be. She could imagine the sort of questions and 'what-ifs' he was asking himself. What if he had gone with? What if he could have done something to save his friend? What if they had taken him instead?

She watched as a shiver went through his body, and she watched with growing surprise and concern as he seemed to silently sob next to her. "I-I haven't even been able to mourn him yet..."

Glory was no stranger to loss. One of the few dragons she had ever been truly open with, Grandeur, the former Rainwing Queen and her grandmother, had died from old age a few years ago. It may have been a peaceful death—if death even could be peaceful—but she still felt that loss. It had hit her particularly hard, having happened less than a year after Dea—after Jackass'—betrayal. The loneliness from being rejected by the dragon she had feelings for coupled with losing one of the dragons closest to her had been...difficult. While different situations, Glory still regretted the time she hadn't spent with her grandmother and wondered what else they could have done together before her time had ended.

In that moment, she felt compelled to give Mistral the one thing she had sought after experiencing her own loss. His body tensed and his breaths came to a shuddering halt when he felt the smaller Rainwing embracing him, but he eventually returned the gesture. Sunny, Starflight, Clay, Tsunami, Moon, Qibli, Thorn, Kinkajou, Turtle, Secretkeeper, Hope, Peacemaker, Fatespeaker, and so many others...she had simply wanted comfort from everyone. Yet here, surrounded by dragons he didn't know or wasn't close to, Glory decided to at least be his someone. "I lost my grandmother," she spoke quietly. "So I know what you're feeling right now, and I won't ever judge you for missing your friend."

"You have a kind heart, Queen Glory," he said once he'd calmed down a bit. He pulled away from her, and Glory dropped back down onto all fours, having had to reach up a bit to hug the much larger Icewing. A small smile worked its way onto his muzzle in appreciation of her kind gesture before it fell once again, his expression now one of shame. "I'm sorry for scaring you before, and for being an overall horrible dragon. I promise things will be different now."

Glory nodded at him appreciatively, the rain beginning to slow down around them. "We'll find the ones responsible for these murders, I swear. Should we get back to work or do you want to wait until tomorrow?"

"I—I need some time, I think." Glory nodded in understanding as he turned and left, though she wondered briefly why he was heading in the almost exact opposite direction of his hut.

"He's heading back to the Sand Kingdom, it looks like," Qibli mentioned from the doorway to her pavilion. She turned to look at him curiously before realizing Mistral's current direction would take him back to the tunnel. "Probably to talk with Hailstorm." The Sandwing came up and sat beside her, Moon sitting on his other side. "You alright? You haven't mentioned Grandeur in a long time."

Glory narrowed her gaze at the Sandwing. "Were you eavesdropping on us!?" she all but snarled, furious at the blatant show of disrespect.

"No," he replied calmly and with a shake of his head. "We wondered what was taking you so long to enter since you were right behind us, so I came to see if you were alright. I just caught the tail end of it is all."

She glared at him suspiciously but didn't say anything further, instead turning her attention to Moon. "Can you go by Kinkajou and Turtle's place to see if they're back yet."

"They are," Moon instantly replied, and Glory had to wonder how she was so confident in that answer. "There's a package for you from Jade Mountain on your desk," the Nightwing explained.

Glory blinked, having not expected that, and then rushed inside to see that, indeed, there was a small case sitting on her desk. She unlocked the latches and opened it to see the sapphire star-shaped animus treasure she was waiting for. Grabbing it carefully, she gazed into the softly glowing gem for a moment. It was strange how something created for such an innocent purpose could be used for great evil in the wrong hands, but then that seemed to be the case with animus magic in general. "Who are you going to dreamvisit?" Qibli asked as he and Moon watched her curiously.

"That's no concern of yours," she snapped, making the Sandwing recoil at the unexpectedly hostile tone. Like she told Hailstorm, she didn't want to bring up Winter's current situation to anyone unless absolutely necessary. "Now go home, both of you," she dismissed them, and they left after a few seconds. They were curious, and rightly so, and she really hoped Moon hadn't heard her thoughts. The Nightwing usually knew better than to peak into someone's mind without permission—especially her Queen's.

With Mistral gone for the day, there wasn't much for her to do for the next few hours. She did have a backlog of formal complaints to deal with, though, so she decided to work on those. It was mostly simple stuff, but there was a theft report that she needed to take care of. Of course, Jackass was nowhere to be seen again—probably avoiding her—so she needed to find someone else to help with that. "I swear I have no idea why I still keep him around," she groused to no one in particular.

Which is why she was more than a little surprised when someone actually answered her. "Who?" Snapping her gaze to the door, she sighed at seeing her brother there. "You're not talking about me, are you?" he asked, looking genuinely concerned.

"No, Jambu, I'm not talking about you," she reassured him, and he smiled widely in relief. "What brings you to my pavilion, though? I haven't seen you for a while."

He shrugged before walking over to Mistral's desk and staring at all of the papers still lying atop it. Knowing he still couldn't read, she didn't see a problem with it. Eventually, he mumbled something that she couldn't quite catch. Asking him to repeat what he said, he smiled shyly at her. "Can I have some money?"

"What for?" she raised an eye ridge at him skeptically. While she didn't mind giving some to him if he had an actual need, she had made the mistake of not asking once. Yes, the Mudwing band he hired for her hatchday was enjoyable, but they were a lot more expensive than she was comfortable with.

"Well...Pineapple and I wanted to go to the Sky Kingdom for some Pineappletime," he explained sheepishly.

She blinked at the response. "So you and Pineapple are going on a date?" He nodded. "Why the Sky Kingdom, though? Why can't you just stay here and do something together like you normally do?"

"It's our anniversary," he replied, and she sighed at the softy. She supposed she could spare some coin to let her brother have his special 'Pineappletime' in the Sky Kingdom.

She went into her bedroom for a moment and opened the safe where she kept all of her money, putting a hundred coins in a pouch. That should be enough for a day or two of fun as long as they used it sparingly. The only reason she didn't give her brother more is because she knew he would spend everything she gave him, no matter what. She returned to her office where Jambu was pretty much vibrating with excitement. "Be careful...but have fun." He took the pouch with a nod, gave her a quick hug, and then took off.

Jambu's energetic behavior made her huff in amusement before she sighed in frustration, remembering her original problem. This was normally something she would delegate to someone else, but since her 'help' was nowhere to be seen, she supposed she'd have to handle it herself.

This particular trip took her to the Nightwing village once again, and she ended up outside a rather small hut. She knocked on the door, and it was answered moments later by a Nightwing that seemed to be around her age. In fact, she remembered him from the interviews yesterday. His scales were dark grey rather than black like most Nightwings, and his underscales were a dark blue that matched his eyes, that widened comically when he realized just who had knocked on his door. "Q-Queen Glory? How can I help you?"

His voice was quiet, and she could tell that he wasn't used to being the center of attention. Her gaze immediately dropped to the necklace he was wearing, and from the looks of it, it matched the description of the item she was looking for. "Where did you find that necklace, Abyss?" she asked, giving him the benefit of the doubt in case she was wrong.

"I-I found it in the Arboretum yesterday. It was just sitting on the ground, so I took it." Then, he blinked a few times, a worried expression beginning to form on his face. "D-Did I do something wrong?"

"If you give that to me, I'll say no. Its owner saw you with it yesterday and wants it back." She held a claw out in a silent demand for it, and he immediately took it off, giving it to her with an apologetic look. She noticed a rather large scar on the back of his claw, and he twisted it out of her line of sight once he noticed her looking at it. She took the necklace with a thanks, and he shut the door behind her with another apology once she left.

With the necklace secured, she made a quick trip to the owner's hut, a Rainwing who was really happy to have it back. After that, she returned to her pavilion, the day starting to come to an end. Upon seeing the two Sandwings stationed outside her pavilion, she sighed in minor annoyance. If she had waited a bit longer, she could have gotten one of them to do that errand for her.

While she didn't recognize either of them, she did recognize the Sandwing waiting inside for her. "Lieutenant," she greeted him with a respectful nod.

"Queen Glory," he saluted back. "Apologies for taking so long, but I had to select my squad personally. It...took a while."

"I imagine. Status report?" He nodded, and she sat at her desk as he delivered his report on his new squad. All in all, there were ten Sandwings here to help with security—eleven counting Qibli—in the event she actually needed it. Two would always be stationed outside her pavilion, and eight of the Sandwings were assigned rotating shifts for that position. Diamondback and his second would take turns keeping an eye out from inside her pavilion, and the Sandwings not guarding her pavilion would either be resting or on standby in case she had any jobs that needed to be performed—like the one she just did. "Well, it'll be nice to have some more help around here. And your squad is a permanent fixture to my Kingdom, Thorn said?"

"Yes, Your Highness," he nodded. "Queen Thorn and I decided on rotating the guards every two months. It'll give the dragons here a chance to go home and be with their families for a while." That was thoughtful. Then again, this was Thorn they were talking about. "But, seeing as I don't have family of my own, I'd just as soon stay here the whole time if you'd allow me."

She smiled appreciatively at him. "You can stay as long as you want, Lieutenant, and you're more than welcome to go back to the Sand Kingdom whenever you want." A flash of Qibli's miserable rain-soaked face came to mind. "I know Sandwings aren't big fans of rain, and this is the rainforest."

"I'll survive," he grinned. Glory liked this Sandwing. Gruff and grumpy he may have been when they first met, but it almost seemed like his time here had made him...happier almost. Maybe he just needed a change in scenery? Maybe she'd ask him later once they got to know each other a little better.

A flash of black scales from her pavilion's entrance had her frowning again. "Jackass! Get in here, now!" The Nightwing sighed his signature sigh and walked in, standing at attention next to Diamondback. "Where were you?" she asked, her tone full of restrained fury. He had been gone all afternoon, and she had been forced to go do an errand on her own. The Rainforest may be a safe place, but she was no fool. As he was always keen to remind her: anything could happen. Yet he was nowhere near her when she needed him.

"I was keeping an eye on the Icewing," he immediately responded, making Glory's eye twitch.

"Mistral is of no concern to my safety when he's halfway across the continent," she snapped, and he sighed, having been caught in his lie. "You were avoiding me because of how I yelled at you this morning. Well, good news for you: you're fired!" That caught his attention, and his dumbfounded gaze found her livid one. "Diamondback here will be taking your place since he's loyal, reliable, and around when I need him!"

"But—" he tried to defend himself, but she cut him off when she stood with a hiss, her scales turning crimson and baring her fangs in warning. He stepped back in surprise.

Her heart beat painfully in her chest. She knew why. She knew it was wrong to treat him this way four years later, but she couldn't help herself. It hurt to always see him because it always made her feel that same pain she did when he first betrayed her heart, and she wanted him to feel that same pain. This was a grudge that would probably never go away, but she was tired of reminding herself of it every day. "Just leave me alone, Deathbringer!" she screeched, his eyes going wide at her use of his actual name. "You've hurt me enough! I-I don't ever want to see you again, alright?" Her voice had dropped to but a whisper by the end, and she couldn't meet his gaze.

After a few moments, he responded, and Glory could tell he was holding back tears. "W-Where am I supposed t-to go?"

"I don't care. Just go there." Diamondback had watched the exchange, and while he seemed to pity the Nightwing, he never spoke against Glory. He gently guided the stunned Nightwing out of the pavilion. Wingbeats a few seconds later told her that he was gone.

For some reason, she didn't feel as good as she thought she would.

"Permission to speak freely?" Diamondback requested once he came back in.

"Granted," she mumbled, already knowing what he was about to say.

"I can't claim to know what happened between the two of you, but that seemed a bit harsh to me." Thankfully, his tone was judging. It was more matter-of-fact than anything else, as he was just giving her his opinion.

In response, she simply laid her head down on the desk and allowed her scales to camouflage, as if that would somehow prevent the world from reminding her of what she just did. This would no doubt haunt her for a long time to come, even if she still thought that it was best. 'Familiarity breeds contempt' is what they said, so maybe she'd finally be able to forgive him after a few years apart. Moons help Snowfall if she ever finds herself in my position, she thought to herself. She really hoped the Icewing Queen would eventually wise up and see what she was obviously blind to before she inevitably got hurt. No one deserved the pain from that kind of heartbreak.

She must have fallen asleep like that because the next thing she knew, it was dark outside and Diamondback was gone, replaced by another Sandwing that looked about the same age as him. Maybe she'd introduce herself later, but she just shuffled into her room, though not before grabbing the dreamvisitor. She laid down in her bed, thinking of the Icewing she wanted to talk to.

What felt like a few minutes later, Glory opened her eyes to see a familiar landscape. This looked like Jade Mountain, though there was no one in the various classrooms or hallways. In fact, the whole place was eerily quiet and still, though she did hear a voice after a few minutes of exploring. Going farther into the abandoned academy, she saw two familiar dragons sitting next to each other, sharing affectionate grins and laughing at each other's words.

The first dragon was a Nightwing with silver teardrop scales, and based off of her green scales and eyes, Glory recognized her to be Moon. The other dragon, an Icewing of average height and build, held nothing but warmth in his eyes as he gazed at the Nightwing. Seeing their tails entwined and the clear love in their eyes for each other made Glory's heart break a little more. Even after all this time, Winter was still smitten with Moon.

"I know it's a delusion, Glory, but I can still dream, can't I?" His voice was full of sorrow and regret, Moon's eyes becoming worried before the Nightwing disappeared in a puff of smoke. Winter met the Rainwing Queen's gaze with his own, a small smile on his face. He then huffed in amusement at seeing her surprised expression. "It's about time someone tried to find me."

AN: Winter's alive! But I can't spoil all the secrets in one chapter, can I? We'll find out a bit more at the beginning of the next chapter about his situation. Also, we've got a bit more background on Mistral. It seems Glory's decision to spare him earned his respect, and he opened up a bit more to her.

And DB is gone...for now. He'll be back, don't worry.

I'm on Wings of Fire Roblox every Saturday from 6-7 pm Central US time. Come join us in the dining hall if you want to chat.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22