Hello everyone. Welcome back to this week's chapter. This time, we explore a bit more of the Rainwing society and begin the investigation of the strange disappearances that have been occurring. Thank you all for reading this far. It's nice to know that I am able to make something that People actually enjoy, and it gives me drive to continue it, even though I have somewhat felt the desire to slow down like my other stories, but knowing there's those of you who want to see this story more makes me not give up. I'm tired of starting something and never finishing, so I'll do my best to keep updating in my weekly schedule. But for now, enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own wings of fire.

"Normal speech

"thoughts"

Wither groaned as he washed his now drained talon in some clean water. The blister had been drained, but there was still the black poison in the veins around the puncture. It was simple enough, drain and clean. While slow, it wasn't so bad. Then one of the Rainwings poured pineapple juice, a fruit which is highly acidic. He had nearly torn the offending Rainwing's head off after his talon stopped feeling like it was being eaten from the inside. He sighed, his talon feeling much better, but far more painful, the raw skin under the blister having become hypersensitive. He limped to a spot where he could sit comfortably, cradling his talon as Sunny walked over to him. "Feeling better?" Wither rolled his eyes. "Pretty sure the whole rainforest heard my opinion on that." Sunny giggled, before frowning lightly. "Anything we could do?" Wither shook his head. "Afraid the true cure is in the kingdom of sand. Even from here, that trip will take days, and this is already taking a toll on me. I've been getting tired far more quickly than I usually do."

Sunny frowned more, settling down. "Well, maybe one of us could go there for you?" He shook his head again. "Too dangerous. Any of you could be caught, and I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if any of you died for my sake." Sunny smiled, looking to him. "... I hope this isn't prying, but... you mentioned in your sleep, someone named... Celeste?" Wither froze, staring at Staring at her for a while, before lowering his gaze. "... I'd rather not talk about that. Not right now." Sunny nodded, giving him a shy look. "Sorry. I shouldn't have asked." Wither sighed. "I think Glory is a bit more important right now... This poison isn't anywhere near enough to kill me, but it is annoying, and I don't plan on resting for a month for it to purge itself again." He looked up, watching the Rainwings sleeping on their platforms. "...Glory deserves to know more about her cultural origins... Though, there's quite a bit I feel she isn't going to like." Sunny giggled. "There's a lot she doesn't like."

Wither sighed. "... I just hope it all doesn't hit her too hard. Sun time will help her calm down, but there's more going on than just an infuriating queen... Though, it has been quite a while since I've been here... Maybe some things have changed." he chuckled. "Perhaps she's already been chosen by a new pet?" Sunny blinked. "Pet?" Wither gestured to a sleeping Rainwing on a platform nearby, and Sunny spotted a sloth draped across the dragon's neck, a serene smile on its sleeping face. "Aww! It's so cute!" She looked around, spotting more sloths on dragons. "... Think I could get one?" Wither barked a small laugh. "I don't think sloths come in a color that would go with your scales."

Starflight came in with a pile of fruit. "Mangrove got some food for us. No meat though." Sunny smiled. "That was nice of him." Wither sighed. "No strawberries though. Those only grow in the mountains. Trust me, I've checked." He picked out a star shaped green fruit, sliced off a piece and popped it in his mouth. He chewed before hearing mumbled shouting from outside, seeing gummy fruit juice spill from Clay's lips and drip down his neck. Wither chuckled. "Careful with that one, Clay. Takes a good twenty to thirty minutes to finish chewing one of those." Clay gave a small mumble of sorrow through the gummy fruit. It was his first fruit of the meal.

Glory and Jambu came flying down, Glory landing semi-gracefully due to tree branches in her way while Jambu landed easily. Wither took a deep breath, locking eyes with Glory. "Feel better?" Glory looked at him for a long moment, before sighing. "... You were right. I was caught up in my emotions. I was frustrated from traveling for nearly a week in rain, then dealing with... Magnificent." Wither nodded. "... Take the rest of the day to learn more about your people. We can go over what Mangrove knows about these missing dragons." Tsunami gave a low hum. "Huh. I'm impressed, Wither. You managed to get Glory of all people to apologize." Glory's head snapped to her. "Excuse me?" Tsunami gave a playful smirk. "You almost never admit that you're wrong." Glory frowned, before looking to Jambu. "Where do you store your eggs? I'd like to know what it's like, since I was stolen." Jambu shrugged. "Sure. We've got three main hatcheries; I can take you to the nearest one."

Glory nodded, before a small, warbled voice came from her back. Sunny blinked, before looking excited. "Oh my gosh, did you get a pet sloth?" Glory blinked, before giving a rueful smile. "Apparently." The silver furred creature poked its head around glory's neck, giving a slow, tired wave as it yawned. Sunny couldn't help but squeal. "It's so cute!" Glory nods. "Can't argue with that... You know, since I am going around to learn a bit more... Take care of it while I do that?" Sunny nodded vigorously. "Of course!" Glory pried the small creature off, the sloth giving a low whine as it was separated from her, before Sunny took it in her talons. It looked up at her, before nodding as if to say "acceptable."

Glory waved as she flew off, following Jambu. Wither watched them go, before sighing. "You four don't need to stay with me. I'll be fine until we find a safe way to the Sand kingdom." Sunny shook her head. "No, you're sick, so you need some company." Wither failed to hold back a snort. "And when did you become the parent of this little band of misfits?" Sunny giggled. "I just want to make sure you're alright." Wither nodded. "I'm fine, really. Just... tired. A long trek with that blister was not exactly fun. A bit better now that it's drained, but I still need to be careful until the poison is purged." He looked up, seeing the Rainwings starting to wake up from their sun time. "How about you all go explore? It's been a long time since I last visited the rainforest, so it would be nice to know what's changed in the last couple of decades." Sunny perked up. "That sounds great! But... I don't want to leave you all alone..." Starflight sighed softly. "... Go on ahead. I'll stay behind." Sunny frowned. "... Are you sure?" Starflight nodded. "Yeah. I had some questions I'd like to ask Wither anyway." Sunny looked unsure, before Tsunami rolled her eyes, piping up. "Let's just see what's going on, Sunny. Let the scroll-worm and know-it-all ask his questions." Starflight frowned. "Hey!" Tsunami chuckled. "What? It's true." She got up, Sunny following suit as Clay still chewed to try and get down the fruit that was gumming up his mouth, the three dragonets taking off.

Wither smiled knowingly as they took off, Sunny cradling the sloth in her talons as she flew. "... You were lucky to end up with those three as your friends." Starflight smiled. "Yeah... Um... Nobody's known, but I have a feeling you do... Could you... Tell me what the Nightwings are like?" Wither blinked, before nodding. "I assume your interaction with them... doesn't go very far, does it?" Starflight sighed. "All I know is that Morrowseer wanted me to convince the others to choose Blister." Wither nodded. "Well, that is concerning. As we discussed before, them choosing a side means there's another player in this war... I can't tell you much, but I can tell you of the Nightwings I interacted with. Though, that was a very long time ago." Starflight nodded with a hopeful expression. "Please?"

Wither took a breath. "Well, for one thing, Nightwings... there is a common misconception of their ability to see the future. They don't see definitive futures, just... possible futures. Nothing is set in stone until it happens. Nightwings are just like most other dragons, in that they have individual thoughts and desires. But the Nightwings have been cold and distance for quite some time... Morrowseer... I haven't met him myself, but by all sounds of it, he has far more arrogance than any other Nightwing I've ever come across. Honestly, his whole involvement in this war has been a little... suspicious to me. His timing seems too convenient now that we know he and the other Nightwings have chosen a side." Starflight frowned. "... Were they always like how they are now? Is it... Because I'm not like them that I never developed my powers?" Wither looked to Starflight, seeing the downtrodden expression on the Nightwing dragonet. "Well...Yes and no. They weren't always this... cruel, but their pride runs strong as ever, even though it's creeped more into arrogance. I can say with certainty that there is nothing wrong with you, Starflight." Starflight blinked lightly, before smiling. "Thanks... Do you know much about the night kingdom?" Wither shook his head. "Only as much as the dragons I've listened in on. But, by conjecture, it would have to be isolated. I've made a few educated guesses, but I've never turned up anything solid. Did end up discovering a few abandoned ruins, but I never did find out where their kingdom is now."

Starflight paused for a minute, before frowning lightly. "... What do you mean by where it is now?" Wither blinked, internally sweating. "Ah. Let that one slip..." Wither sighed. "I... think I came across the ruins of their original kingdom a few decades back, but I can't be certain." Starflight kept looking at Wither for a long moment, the older dragon looking up to avoid his gaze. Wither decided it was probably a good idea to try and change the subject. "If I were to name one main difference between Nightwings now and the ones I knew, it would be the fact that not many Nightwings are interested in astrology anymore." That got Starflight to perk up. "Astrology?" Wither smiles, looking up at the sky. "The study of the stars. Ancient legends say that before the power of prophecy appeared in the Nightwings, they would read the stars, believing that they held a record of our world's future and past. But, unfortunately, the Nightwings of present have all but abandoned the practice." Starflight frowned, looking towards the sky as well, before Wither gave a smile towards him. "I know a few basics and constellations, if you wanted a hobby you could pick up and take with you." Starflight's expression became bright. "That sounds awesome." Wither couldn't help but chuckle. "The first step to a good hobby is enthusiasm. I'll show you some starting tips tonight."

Wither looked to Starflight, giving a small smile. "I wish there were more Nightwings like you, Starflight. Ones that weren't so eager to play into the whole 'mysterious and all-knowing' persona they try to keep." Starflight blinked, tilting his head. "Not sure I understand what you mean." Wither nodded. "The main thing that separates you from the rest of your tribe, Starflight, is that you have been free of the unmoving pride they instill upon their young. You might have some pride in your tribe, but your pride hasn't become fanatical. You don't let your pride blind you from seeing things as they are. And you don't let your pride keep you away from the dragons you see as friends... or rather, family." Starflight gave another questioning look to Wither, before Wither chuckled. "You can't say you don't see those other four as family. Yeah, you might be friends, and you all have different colored scales, but you'll stick together no matter what. You all are family in everything but blood." Starflight thought for a long moment, silent as his head worked out those words, settling. Then, he smiled. "... Yeah... You're right."

Wither nodded as he settled. "... For now, be there for Glory. I have no doubt she's going to find more to infuriate her today, so she'll need you and the others to keep her calm." Starflight nodded. "Yeah... Glory isn't... the most open dragon." Wither chuckled. "Yeah, but it's that kind of reserve where you know she cares, but she'll never admit it herself, right?" Starflight snorted. "Pretty much, yeah." They both chuckled for a little bit before Sunny came back, the sloth wrapped around her neck. "This place is amazing! All the dragons are really nice, and there's so much fruit. Everything is so pretty!" Wither nodded, chuckling. "Yeah, that was my first take when I first came here but be careful. Every rose has it's thorns." Sunny smiled, settling down next to them. "How do you think Glory's doing?" Wither frowned lightly. "If they're going to the hatchery, and if Glory is looking for her parents... I'd say about five minutes from clawing someone's face off." Sunny frowned. "Why?" Wither sighed. "Because... ever since the current queen arrangement was established, the eggs of the royal family were placed with all the others... Sunny... They don't do the concept of family here. Whoever Glory's parents are... It's impossible to find out who."

At the hatchery

Wither was quite correct. Glory was livid. Her scales were almost entirely red as she glared Jambu down. "What do you mean nobody checks on the eggs!? They aren't separated for their parents!? Doesn't anybody care!?" Jambu was shrinking back from the furious Rainwing dragonet. "We've never lost any before, and we usually just treat everyone the same. Geeze. What difference does it make if we're family? The only way we can tell anymore is the Venom test." Glory growled loudly. "What venom test?" Jambu took a nervous breath. "Well, if two Rainwings are related, when they shoot their venom and it makes contact, the venom of a family member neutralizes it." Glory took a few, deep breaths to calm down. "... Alright... could we try?" Jambu smiled. "Sure!" He went to a large leaf on the tree they were on. He unhinged his jaw, spurting a single drop of his venom onto it. It sizzled on the leaf, starting to melt through it. Glory unhinged her jaw, then accidentally drenched it with her venom, burning nearly straight through the leaf and branch. Jambu grimaced. "You... haven't practiced this much, have you?" Glory gave a frustrated growl before Jambu pointed excitedly. "Hey, look!" Glory focused, seeing the part Jambu had shot venom on had stopped burning. "That means we're brother and sister!"

Glory... didn't know how to respond to that. She looked over the bright pink Rainwing as he shot more of his venom to counteract glory's. She looked at his lazy eyes, bright smile and thought of his happy attitude. In the end, Jambu wasn't bad per say, just... weird. She sighed. Maybe Wither was right that she shouldn't be too upset. But she couldn't help it. She had heard every beratement and insult of the guardians, every jab and hurtful thing they said. She hated that every single one of them were true. Lazy, fruit eating Rainwings, wasting their days away. She sighed, rubbing her snout. "... Let's head back to Mangrove. I want to know more about these dragons who are missing." Jambu stopped her from flying away, putting a talon on her shoulder. "Okay, I know I'm not the best at talking or dealing with these kinds of things, but it's obvious you're upset about something, and I don't need to read scales to see that... What's wrong?" Glory glared at Jambu but was too frustrated to argue. "... I wanted my tribe to be more than this. To be... fierce and proud, to be a great tribe capable of more than just lazing around in hammocks all day." Jambu thought for a moment, before sighing. "I can't say I'm not guilty of the same thing, but..." He scratched the back of his rough. "Well, it's been a bit of a mess ever since Queen Grandeur made the term system. She's the only one of the queens who talks about back when our tribe had warriors and such. Back when some of us actually saw some battle. But it sounds like that was around eighty or ninety years ago."

Glory sighed, sitting down, staring towards the rainforest floor as her scales turned a muted color of indigo. "... They all insult us, you know? Every single tribe outside the rainforest. They all see us as useless, lazy fruit eaters... I had to listen to those insults every day, and... I'm so tired of pretending that it doesn't hurt." Jambu stared at her for a moment as a dark shade of blue slipped through her scales, Jambu recognizing their tribe's color for sadness. "I'm... sorry you feel that way. But... well, by the sound of it... everyone else is worse off, right? We're at peace. No war here. Isn't that a good thing? That we've avoided it this long? I think that makes us smarter than them, not getting into a fight that isn't our own." Glory paused, letting those words sink in. "... Maybe... but I... it's still hard. Our guardians basically drilled every insult imaginable into my head." Jambu gave her a smile. "Hey, don't worry about it too much, sis. They can say whatever they want, but why should that matter to us? We have plenty of food, plenty of sun time, and no dying dragons. I'd call that a win." Glory growls. "Because I got dragged into it." Jambu bit his lip lightly, thinking. "Yeah, true... Well, you're here now. And... I know it might not be much, but I'm glad you're here." Glory stopped for a moment, before smiling. "... Maybe you aren't half bad, Jambu." He smiled. "I try my best. Now, let's go see Mangrove." Glory nodded, smiling as a bit of pink and dark purple started to spread through her scales. Jambu laughed lightly. "Careful, your pride is showing." Glory blushed lightly, before whapping him in the face with her tail. "Let's go before I decide to denounce you as my brother." He chuckled, before they both took off back to the healer's hut.

In the healer's hut.

Wither looked at his talon for a long moment, gazing at the place where the blister had been. It was still poisoned, and he felt it eating away at his energy. He was much quicker to fatigue now that the poison had spread past his talon. He sighed, setting it down. "I would try to help with this missing dragon problem, but I'm worried that I would pass out before I would be any help." Sunny gave him a worried look until he waved his other talon. "Not dangerous, just... Tiring. I already feel like falling back asleep." Sunny smiled at him, Starflight joining her in the sitting area. Glory and Jambu landed down on the platform, Glory's scales notably brighter than when they had left. Glory looked around, scanning the area. "Where's Mangrove?" Sunny smiled to her. "Giving Tsunami and Clay a summary of what's safe to eat around here. Mostly Clay."

Glory had to stifle a laugh. "Sounds about right." Wither looked to Jambu. "Just out of curiosity, there... still hasn't been a worthy queen candidate found yet, has there?" Jambu shook his head. "Nope. Queen Grandeur hasn't found one yet." Wither perked up. "She's still kicking? That's... good to hear." Jambu blinked. "Do you know her?" Wither grimaced lightly. "Well... yes, I know her, but It's complicated. She... sort of chased me out of the rainforest some eighty years ago." Jambu stared at Wither. "Woah. You're really that old? You sound only... what, like thirty or forty years old?" Wither chuckled. "As I told the others, you wouldn't believe me if I told you my age." Jambu shrugged. "Well, would that end up being a problem if you ran into her again?" Wither stared at his talons for an uncomfortably long moment. "... I'm praying to the moons that I don't."

It was at that time that Clay and Tsunami got back with Mangrove, Clay happily munching on a couple of coconuts. "This place is great. The food is amazing." Glory laughed lightly. "I knew you would say that." Mangrove grumbled. "Can we move on to finding my Orchid now? I've already wasted enough time." Glory nodded to him. "Alright. Where was Orchid last seen? Is there anywhere out of the ordinary she would go?" Mangrove frowned. "We were both gatherers, put to the task of collecting fruit. We would sometimes fly a bit further from where we normally collect to try and find something different from our usual harvest... There was one spot where activity seemed to be very low that we would go to sometimes. I can show you all where it is." The dragonets looked to Wither as he waved his good talon. "You all go ahead. I need to rest. Be sure to come back and tell me all about it." He gave them a knowing smirk. "I want details." Glory nodded. "Alright." They flew off, following mangrove off the platform as Wither settled his head down, closing his eyes. "Those five are going to drive me crazy, I just know it..." He sighs, his mind thinking back to the Nightwings, and especially of the recount of Morrowseer. "... Celeste... You'd weep if you saw what they have become... I only hope it's not too late to set them straight."

Mangrove led the Dragonets down to the rainforest floor, the air seeming to drop on temperature as they approached a strange clearing near a small waterfall. the water splashed down into a tiny steam, but the land here had an uneasy feeling to it, like something was very wrong here. at the top of the waterfall, a creepy, dead tree leaned into a Boulder on the other side of the mouth of the waterfall. Sunny shivered as they touched down. "This place gives me the creeps." Starflight nodded. "Yeah. it's too cold... and something smells rancid." Glory took a sniff, almost gagging. "What in the moons smells that horrible?" Sunny followed the smell to near the waterfall, before gasping. "Oh no!" The others approached cautiously, peering to see what Sunny found.

Laying there on the ground was a sloth, but with a horrid bite in it. The blood matted its fur but seemed to have been dried for days. the wound was nearing black in color, and they could see maggots wriggling inside of it. The sloth gave small, weak noises, the dragonets realizing to their horror that it was still alive. Starflight started having a tough time not throwing up. Clay winced at the sight of it. "Poor thing. it must be in so much pain." Sunny frowned, gently nudging the sloth, causing it to warble in pain. The sloth on Glory's neck tightened its grip, clinging onto her as if hugging for support. Starflight winced, still fighting back the bile in his throat. "I don't think there's anything we can do to help it... that wound is heavily infected."

Sunny looked like she was holding back tears. "There has to be... something we can do to save it, right?" Starflight shook his head. "It's already too far gone..." Sunny looked at the sloth helplessly, tracing a claw on its face. her heart broke at the soft, pleading look in its large dark eyes. Tsunami grimaced. "... All we can do is... kill it so it doesn't suffer." Sunny couldn't stop her small tears from falling. "No!... Th-there has to be another way, right? We can save it... if we can't... How are we supposed to stop a war if we can't even save one sloth?"

They were all silent, before surprisingly, Clay turned to Mangrove. "Do you have any sleeping darts right now? To use on it so we could take it back to the village without hurting it?" All four of the other dragonets stared at Clay like gaping fish as Mangrove nodded, pulling one of the darts out of a small pouch that hung from his neck. Tsunami couldn't help but speak up, picking her jaw from the ground. "Guys, am I dreaming, or did Clay just come up with a good idea before Starflight did?" Clay gave a frown at them. "Hey, I'm smart... Sometimes..." Sunny couldn't help but hug the bigger Mudwing. "Clay, you're a genius! We can take it to the healers!" Tsunami scoffed. "If they don't faint like when Wither showed his blister." Mangrove handed the dart to Clay, who carefully took it, before tenderly stabbing into a part of the sloth's shoulder, near its neck. The poor creature garbled, before it's dark eyes quickly drooped, closing as its breathing softened. Clay tenderly picked it up in his large talons, giving them all a bashful smile. "I'll take this little guy back while you guys investigate. I'm no good at searching for things anyway."

Clay flew off, leaving the others at the small stream. Glory gazed around, looking up to the odd formation on top of the waterfall. "... If there is some sort of monster around here, we need to figure out what it is." She felt something... off about what was up there. She couldn't place her talon on it, but the sight gave her a weird feeling. She sighed, before realizing something. "... Something bit that sloth and left it here. It wasn't eaten... which means, whatever did that left it on purpose." Starflight grimaced. "The only explanations would either be that it was a trap, which we would have been caught in if it was, or... they wanted to eat it later... But I can't think of any animal that would willingly eat... Carrion." Sunny gave a disgusted expression as Mangrove frowned. "This was the last place I saw my Orchid. We come here sometimes in search of rare fruits that don't grow anywhere else. Do you... think something happened to her?" Glory frowned, looking at the spot where the sloth had been before an idea popped in her head. "If it left the sloth here to eat later, then let's stake this area out. Tsunami, You and I can keep watch here. We'll need you to be able to see in the dark for when this monster comes back."

Tsunami couldn't help but smirk. "Oh, the independent Glory, who would never ask for help, needs me for something? I guess I might be convinced." Glory growled. "Well, excuse me, your highness. Oh, wait. What's that new name you like now?... Oh, right. Squid brain." Tsunami growled indignantly. "How dare you!" Sunny sighed, before yelling. "Guys!" The two warring dragons turned to face her as she continued. "Glory, this sounds dangerous. What would we do if either of you got hurt or worse? If you're going to do this, you both have to work together. No fighting!" Glory thought for a minute, before sighing as well. "... Alright, I see your point, no fighting until this is taken care of... But only if Tsunami agrees to do the same." Tsunami frowned, but reluctantly nodded. "Alright, fine. We wait for this... Rainforest monster." Glory smiles softly, before Starflight swiveled his head. "... Did any of you guys just hear a branch snap?" The others blinked, looking around at the still foliage. Tsunami shrugged. "Probably just a sloth or monkey or something." Starflight sighed. "... Alright. You two should probably station up in the trees, out of sight."

The other dragonets nodded, oblivious to the small shuffling as something, or someone, slinked away from them, darting further away from the dragonets. "S-so close... Mom, where are you?"

Back in the Rainwing Village.

Wither snored lightly, before blinking awake as wingbeats grew closer. He creaked his eyes open just as Clay touched down, holding... He had to hold back his growl at the sight of the poor sloth. His eyes met Clay's, before sighing. "What happened?... Please tell me you didn't find Orchid like this too." Clay shook his head. "Just this little guy. We were hoping the healers could do something." Wither grumbled as he got up, shuffling forward for a closer look. The blackened wound was old, at least a week. He grimaced, seeing the maggots wriggling inside of the bite mark. "... We can at least get rid of the maggots. Come on." He dragged his pouch to one of the makeshift tables the healers had, pulling out what looked to be a small clay jar. He popped the cork on it, before pouring a foul-smelling clear liquid into a bowl, before motioning clay to it. "Place the sloth inside so the wound is submerged. I normally use this for disinfecting wounds, so it should kill the maggots." Clay nodded, settling the sloth in the bowl. The sloth wriggled in its sleep as its wound was submerged, filth and dirt already polluting the liquid, but after about a minute, the wriggling inside the wound ceased. Wither gently pulled the sloth out, before tenderly pinching one of the maggots he could get at, pulling it out of the wound, making sure it was dead.

He nodded, looking to one of the healers who had just walked in. "Could you and your partner help this sloth... and NOT pass out at the sight this time?" The healer looked at the sloth, his face morphing into a horrified expression, quickly taking the sloth in his talons. Wither nodded. "The maggots are already dead, just need to be cleaned out." The Healer nearly threw up then and there, but held it back, carrying the sloth to a resting table. Wither took a deep breath. "Any news on Orchid?" Clay shook his head. "Not yet. All we found was the sloth, and... We think something left it there on purpose." Wither frowned. "... As a trap?" Clay shook his head. "Starflight said it might have been waiting to eat it later." Wither looked confused. "Okay... Couldn't be vultures, they have nowhere near a big enough bite. Don't think there are any scavenging lizards or any other kind of animal big enough to have that big a bite radius... I'll be honest, I'm stumped on this one. There's no animal I could think of that would do that." Clay frowned, looking at where the sloth lay. "... Wither, I know I'm not the smartest, but if there's anything I'm good at, its eating..." Wither nodded. "... Do you think you have an idea?"

Clay nodded, looking up to Wither. "I know because I've seen that sort of bite pattern before. From us... The thing that attacked that sloth was a dragon... And I don't think it was any of the rainwings."

There you have it. I plan to make it so each of the dragonets have these sorts of one-on-one sessions with Wither just so they can talk things out and so that I can expand on each of their individual characters. And this chapter marks where I start taking deviations from the original storyline. Things will be quite different in the coming chapters, especially in the order of events and what happens. Those who have read the series might already have an idea of where I'm starting that path, but no spoilers for now. Thank you all for reading, Review if you would like, constructive criticism is always appreciated, and I'll see you all next week.