Hey all. This is unfortunately going to be a shorter chapter than the last one. I'll try to make them longer, but there are going to be chapters like this where I just have a good ending point for the chapter, and I can't find anything else to add into to before that ending. Regardless, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I also apologize if my story is going a bit too slowly for liking, but I want to make this a steady pace where I can have a good rhythm for writing this out. in my other stories, I was just writing things out, making it up as I went, but I want to plan this story out so that I actually finish the dang thing. But anyway, please enjoy the next chapter.

I do not own anything for Wings of Fire.

"Normal speech"

"Thoughts"

3rd Person POV Focus: Wither

Wither's mind raced as he tried to think. "Okay... maybe they'll just rest then leave... Yeah, that is possible... I need to hide." He didn't have enough time to get to his cave, they were too close, but far enough that his form might look just like a stone at this distance. He curled up as his scales shifted into his disguise, his eyes only cracked open to watch as the dragons set down on the beach close to them. The Largest Seawing had a worried expression as she looked to Tsunami. "Dear, my grandmother, your great-grandmother, declared this island forbidden nearly 60 years ago. Rumors of some sort of monster living here sprang up and nobody dared to see if it was true. Are you sure this is where you and your friends landed? Who is this dragon you think can help us?" Wither was screaming various curses in his head that should never be said in front of any dragonet.

Tsunami sighs. "I know. We promised we wouldn't drag him into any issues, but... I'm out of ideas. I have no idea who this assassin might be. But this dragon is very resourceful, if the info he's talked about is anything to go by." Wither wanted to scream right now, but tried to stay still, hoping against hope they would all just go away. The larger Seawing, Queen Coral if their conversation was to go by, looked around skeptically. "Dear, this is a very delicate situation. I have no time for games. Not with my dragonet... You're sure the Sandwing can be trusted to care for it?" Tsunami nods. "Sunny would fight tooth and claw to make sure nobody messes with the egg." Tsunami looks sheepishly straight at Wither. "... Sorry, Wither. I... really had no other ideas of who could make sense of what's going on." Coral looked confused, staring at Wither's disguised form, then at Tsunami. "Why are you talking to that rock?"

Wither gave a low groan of frustration, before unfurling himself, stretching his wings to their full length as he stood up, shaking sand off himself. Coral gasped, grabbing the smallest dragonet and holding her behind herself, both the Seawing guards and the Sandwing guards holding spears at the ready as Wither looked down at all of them from his massive height. He settled his talons in the sand, sitting as he lowered his head to be eye level with them all in a bow. "Welcome to my humble abode, Queen Coral..." He didn't even bother to hide his next sneer. "Blister... To what pleasure do I owe this visit from royalty? If I had known you were coming, I would have gathered some King crabs for my... guests."

Coral's mouth was moving a mile a minute. "Who is that!? Who are you!? What are you!? Why are you here!? Have you come to invade us!?" Wither visibly winced as the barrage of questions, rubbing his snout lightly. "Well, to answer some of that... My name is Wither. Who and what I am is of no importance. No, I did not come to invade. And lastly... I own this island. It is my home. Been so for... sixty-five years now. Your grandmother, Queen Waterspout was fun to talk with when we negotiated my purchase of this island." Coral frowned. "My grandmother!?" Blister frowned, looking calculative, before smiling. "Wither, was it? Why have we never heard of you before?" Wither scoffs. "I purposefully isolated myself on this island. I paid extra for the 'Forbidden Island Monster' rumor to start floating about. Even the Nightwings don't know about me, and I would prefer to keep it that way." Blister smirked, to which Wither narrows his eyes as the Sandwing spoke. "Perhaps we can come to an arrangement? I can give you an offer you couldn't refuse." He stared at her, waiting for a long time. Blister opened her mouth to speak again. "I can offer you riches beyond your imagination, treasure abound if you fight for me. Once my sisters are dead, you could even have a home in the kingdom of sand, a palace if you'd like. If you kill Burn for me."

Wither gave her a blank expression, before sighing lightly. "... You might be the smartest of the three Sandwing princesses, but you, apparently, are not the most observant." Blister frowned. "What do you mean by that?" Wither just gave her a blank stare. "I live on an island, I paid to have a rumor of a monster here spread and am trying to stay in as much isolation as possible. So, to debunk your offer one by one. I do not want treasure. Treasure is flashy and draws attention." he mumbles to himself, only Tsunami close enough to hear. "Not to mention I still have a sickening amount stored away." He pulled himself back up, continuing. "I have tried the kingdom of the sand. Too dry and warm for my liking, not to mention... With this big a body, you can imagine getting dry sand stuck in my talons is a nightmare to deal with without access to water at all times. And a palace is even more flashy than a mountain of treasure. So, that's a no on top of another no. Besides, I'm not interested in giving you the side of this deal you want."

Blister blinked, looking offended as Wither settled a bit more. "I became isolated specifically to avoid getting involved in conflict, so the fact that your offer has anything to do with helping you in winning this idiotic war means the answer is again, no. Then again, thinking about it, Blaze is a clueless fool who would spend years in front of a mirror if she could, and Burn is a warmonger with a... unnatural obsession with body horror. Must be honest, not exactly a high expectation bar for the 'smartest' of the three." He turned to queen Coral as Blister looked outraged, sighing lightly. "So... what's this about an assassin?" Tsunami stepped up. "For several years, an assassin has been killing Mother's female dragonets just before they hatch. there's no evidence of a break in or who the assailant was. And someone tried to kill me yesterday, so we know there's an assassin. That's... how we found out one of the current dragonets had... already been killed." Wither frowns, internally feeling sorry for Tsunami and Coral. "... No family should ever have to bear the guilt of outliving their loved ones in that way."

He sighs. "Okay, I can try to help, but I need more info if we're going to figure this out... How long ago did these killings start?" Coral holds the small dragonet close to her. "Around 8 years ago." He pondered for a moment. "... Did anything of significance happen that year?" Coral shakes her head. "No! The only thing was... Orca's challenge." Wither nodded, thinking a bit more. "Your first daughter. I remember hearing about that. Off topic, and pardon my bluntness, but I think the idea of having to kill one's mother or relative to take the throne is a stupid tradition." He waved a talon, before setting it back down. "The royal hatchery. Did anything change about it during that year. Anything that was taken out or added into it?" The queen shook her head. "N-no. Nothing at all! Wait, why do you want to know!?" Blister nodded, having recovered from the insulting insinuation about her. "Indeed. This... thing is prying information out of you easily, Coral. It must be planning something."

Coral frowned as Blister smirked. "Let's just kill him and be done with it. This assassin will show itself eventually, as per Tsunami's plan." Tsunami shook her head. "No! Mother, He helped us after the storm forced us here! He hasn't done anything wrong!" Coral shakes her head. "You will need to learn, Tsunami... Threats need to be eliminated." Wither sighed, knowing this would have come eventually as Blister signaled her guards, their stingers raised as they approached warily. He fixed his gaze on them, then spoke in a quiet voice. "Before we begin this... do either of you have family? Partners? Parents?... Dragonets?" The two guards stopped, looking to each other, a little confused that this being they were being sent to kill was speaking to them as if conversing.

Wither kept staring at them, his night black eyes with blood red stars both mesmerizing and terrifying. The one to the left gave out a shaky voice, obviously female. "I-I have a partner, Dust, and two dragonets..." Wither nods, giving the first truly kind smile Tsunami had seen. "That's good... You've done well for yourself, to have dragons you love and cherish." He turns expectantly to the other Sandwing, who glared up at him. "I have a brother and sister." Wither nods again. "I see... you might be wondering why I asked you that. Please understand, I have no desire for this to end in violence, but I also have an obligation to act in self-defense. If you attack me, death isn't just a possibility. If I fight back, it is a certainty. I know you both are following your loyalty to the one you have put your faith as the next queen in, but is she worth your families losing someone they cherish?" He turns to the female. "Your partner does not deserve to lose their mate, nor your children their mother." His gaze moved to the male. "Your siblings don't deserve to mourn over your grave." He stretches back, gazing at them both. "Neither of you deserve death. You are only doing what you believe is right, but we all get dealt hands we don't deserve. I won't ask you to surrender, but I ask that you reconsider this action. Is Blister truly worth your family's pain if you die?"

He settles, looking between the two Sandwings as everyone else stared on him, continuing. "It is honorable, fighting for what you truly believe, but you must come to the realization that if you die, there will be others who are affected. The death of any dragon will leave scars in this world for those who continue living. Think of it as this. If you die today, for your family and loved ones, it will be the most painfully sorrowful day of their lives to lose someone they love, but not many would notice, treating it as just another day. Life is priceless. I know that you chose your paths, but you also have an obligation to live on. To keep living and keep fighting, for the dragons you love. Don't be so ready to throw it all away. Life is worth more than any amount of gold or jewels can compensate for. A gold coin, you can easily replace. A dragon... is irreplaceable."

Both guards hesitated, his words sinking in as he turned a sly look to Blister, who was fuming. "Afraid to say, Blister, but truth is far more impactful than honeyed words. But, back to business." He turned to Coral. "You're certain nothing in the royal hatchery has changed since before the deaths started?" Coral glared defiantly at him before Tsunami gasped. "Orca! Orca's statue. That wasn't there before the murders started!" Coral frowns. "How could that be of any relevance? Orca's statue was put there in her honor. Orca made it herself!" Wither sighed. "Queen Coral, It might be hard to ask this, but... Did Orca say anything strange before she died?" Coral's eyes widen, before glaring. "How could you know that?" Wither shrugged with his wings. "I had a guess. What did she say?" Coral frowned, before sighing. "She said... I did this all wrong. You should thank me, mother. You're going to rule forever, aren't you?" Wither nodded, thinking as he cracked his joints.

He twists his head, his face now upside-down as his neck popped, before returning to his seated position with a sigh. "My apologies, been quite stiff these last few days. Well, first order of business, whoever killed your dragonets and whoever attacked Tsunami are two different assailants. It is physically impossible to attack Tsunami, get to the deep palace, kill a dragonet, and get away unseen. Not nearly enough time, even if it was a straight shot." He raised a talon to stop Coral, who was about to yell. "I know the distance between the summer palace and the deep palace, not the location. You'd have to be as fast as the sea itself in order to pull off both attacking Tsunami and then killing a dragonet in the deep palace, let alone how much time it takes to get into the hatchery, and being unnoticed on top of all of that." He looked to Coral, a sad look in his eyes. "An now the unfortunate bit... I am well aware of the fact that the Seawing royal bloodline hosts animus magic. My theory is that... Orca was an animus, hid her powers, then created and enchanted that statue to kill any potential heirs just before she challenged you, but her plans fell apart when she lost to you. She was planning to be queen forever but ended up creating an unknown assassin hidden in plain sight to ensure your continued rule until age was the only thing that could claim you."

Coral looked horror struck, holding the smallest dragonet tightly. "Th-that... that can't be..." Wither nods. "I know, it's unbelievable. But trust me, the universe has a way of making what seems to be impossible to be exactly what is going on." He rose from his spot, looking to Coral. "I recommend taking the statue out of the hatchery, then placing someone inside to guard the eggs for the night to see what happens. Other than that, the person who attacked Tsunami... Not enough information to go on that, So I can't help with what is known right now..." He sighs. "I was hoping it wouldn't be the case, but... I think I need to go to the summer palace with you all to work that part out." All the other dragons stopped, staring at him as if he'd grown a second head. Wither rolled his eyes. "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm just stopping by to make sure everything is dealt with, then I'm grabbing everything I have that isn't embedded in stone and you all will never see me again."

He turns towards his cave. "Just let me grab a few things first." He walked off, leaving Coral, Blister, Tsunami and the Sandwing guards alone for a minute. Tsunami looked to Coral. "Mother... I know it's hard to trust him. I didn't trust him at all either when I first met him. I'm not sure if I even trust him now, but he hasn't done anything to harm me or my friends, and... He was the only one I could think of that could help." Coral frowns, looking out as Wither dug out his instrument in the sands, before Headed to the cave he slept in. "I don't know about this, Tsunami... He's the biggest dragon I've ever seen, living so close to my Kingdom for so many years... He has to be up to... something." Tsunami shook her head. "When I and the others landed here during the storm, He let us stay as Clay recovered from a sprained wing... He even caught us some sharks to eat so we could recover faster. He just wants to be left alone." Coral frowned. "I'm still not sure about this."

Wither came back dragging a bag covered with what looked to be his own scales that had fallen off, making it blend into his form, but far too small for him. He nods to them all. "This should be all I need." He pulls out what looked to be a bracelet of wooden beads, slipping it on his wrist, and the effect was immediate. It was like a bubble popped and suddenly, Wither was about the same size as Queen Coral. He tied the beads tightly around his wrist, before noticing the growingly familiar stares at him from all around. "... Animus touched. How else did you think I met with Queen Waterspout? I couldn't exactly fit in the entrance of the summer palace in my true size." he pulled the bag over his head, strapping it to his chest. Coral frowned. "But... There weren't any air pockets back then..." Wither nods. "I've gotten to where I can hold my breath for about as long as a Mudwing when I need to. I've had plenty of practice." He stretched, looking to the sky. "A favorable wind is blowing. If we leave now, we can arrive a few hours before nightfall." He looked to Coral. "That is, of course, if you would allow me, your majesty."

Coral looked down, contemplating for a long while, before Tsunami put her talon on hers. She looked down, Tsunami looking up into her mother's eyes. "Mom... If you can't trust him, then trust me. I don't know what else to do." Wither nodded. "Again, the theory of the statue being animus touched is only a theory. It could very well be something else I haven't thought of." Tsunami nodded. "If he is wrong, Then I'll take the blame for getting him involved, but if he's right... Then that will be your last daughter he's saving. Isn't it worth it, to take a small risk to save her?" Coral conflicted with herself for a long moment, before sighing. "Fine. I'll allow you into the palace... whatever you are."

He nodded, not reacting to the insult, before flying into the air, already going in the direction of the Seawing summer palace. His expression was cold, focused, and maybe dismissive. On the inside however... "Why am I doing this? This is the exact opposite of what I want to do, which is get as far as the moons away from here. Why am I going along with this?"

"..."

"WHY AM I NOT LISTENING TO MYSELF!?"

Well, I felt that was a good enough interaction. I hope I'm doing blister well enough. I read back and there's not more I want out of her, but I feel like I might be bordering on the edge of 'Bashing' material, and as fun as that is to read, I want this story to be a bit more substantial than just curb stomping certain characters. It's gonna be a few more chapters before Wither properly introduces himself, but again, I want this to be a bit more of a slow burn where his actions speak louder than his words. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed, leave a review if you'd like, always looking to improve, and I'll see you all next Friday.