Chapter 15
It felt weird to teleport himself. Hunter almost felt like his entire body was turned inside out and then felt nothing for a second before he appeared in a valley with a stream.
Finally, I'm back home, Hunter thought and lay in the grass for a little bit longer, allowing it to calm him before he pushed himself up and looked around the valley. He saw the greenery of the trees and the many different cave openings that appeared in the ground.
Yep, this is home, Hunter thought. But let's be certain, and Hunter flew up into the sky and to the top of the closest mountain to him. And just as he expected, the Drillwing village was in the valley to the north below him.
"Huh, but I thought to be teleported back to Thunder who still should be in the caves," Hunter said to himself. He then went flying in the air again when he felt a sharp pain in his wings and he fell to the ground. He looked up at his wings and tried moving them but it hurt him to try.
Great, must have been one last parting gift from Queen Ash when she smashed me into the ground, Hunter thought and then looked at his reflection in the water at the other gifts that Queen Ash did to his face. His scar across his blind left eye and his chipped right horn.
I swear, if Ash ever shows her face again, then I will kill her! Hunter thought aggressively. Hunter then pushed those thoughts away as he focused on where he should go now.
Well, I probably should go down to the Drillwing village, at least there I can tell Tulsi what happened.
Hunter started to walk down the mountain to the Drillwing village and he took in the scenery around him. The sun beaming down on the lake, making it sparkle, the deer, bunnies, and other wildlife running around him, the Lavawing that was charging him right this instinct.
Wait, Hunter thought and then quickly rolled to the side just in time before the Lavawing impaled him with the spear he was carrying. Hunter quickly got up and faced his opponent. It was indeed a Lavawing in front of him.
But how is a Lavawing here? Hunter thought before thinking about Queen Ash. Of course, she must have sent one here to kill me.
"Time to meet your end," the Lavawing said and charged Hunter again and kicked Hunter into a tree before he could dodge again.
Ok, so escaping isn't going to be an option, Hunter thought and immediately swept his tail under the Lava wing's claws and tripped him up. He then tried to trap him with his webs but the Lavawing rolled out of the way and kicked Hunter back.
"Argh," Hunter said and then quickly dodged another attack from the Lavawing and swung his claws right at the dragon's chest. But they didn't connect with his scales and instead nicked right off of the armor that he was wearing.
Great, Hunter thought as he continued to try to attack the Lavawing but each one of his attacks was just being stopped by the armor that the Lavawing was wearing. How can I fight against armor like this? Hunter saw the Lavawing smile before flying up into the tree behind him.
Now's my chance! Hunter thought and launched into the tree with him and tackled him out. He fought and rolled with the Lavawing on the ground before getting off of him and going to attack his face, which was the only area that didn't have armor on it. Hunter extended his claws and was about to connect before he then felt something sharp hit his scales. He looked down and noticed that the spear the Lavawing had was impaled right into Hunter's chest. Hunter looked at it for a second before he started to cough up blood and fell to the ground. The Lavawing smiled and took the spear out of him, making his wound bleed even more before kicking Hunter closer to the side of the mountaintop that they were on. Hunter tried to stand up but the Lavawing kicked him back down and forced him to look up at him.
"Any last words?" the Lavawing asked as he was lifting his spear in the air. Hunter looked at the spear and then the Lavawing and saw that one of his claws was close to Hunter's face.
"Yeah just one," Hunter said. "Bye," and Hunter bit his fangs into the Lavawing's claw. The Lavawing screamed out in pain as Hunter's venom was injected into the Lavawing's system. The Lavawing dropped his spear which fell down the mountain and the Lavawing then started hopping back in pain as the venom went throughout his system. He then got close to the edge and with the last bit of strength Hunter had, he pushed the Lavawing off the mountain. Hunter watched as the Lavawing fell down the mountain in agony. The Lavawing tried to correct himself but the venom had already worked its course and he couldn't fly away. Hunter then saw the spear at the bottom, embedded into the ground, and saw the Lavawing falling right towards it. Hunter then knew what was going to happen next and then saw as the Lavawing reached the spear and it impaled him, killing him instantly. Hunter looked at the dead Lavawing for a second before pushing himself away from the edge and looking at the wound on his chest. It was still bleeding heavily and Hunter felt himself start to pass out again.
No… not like this…, Hunter thought. Just please… at least… let me… say my… goodbyes and Hunter started to close his eyes. Hunter thought he heard voices in the distance calling out his name but he wasn't sure. All he saw was the blood pouring out of his wound and then his entire world faded to black.
Ugh…
Ugh, where…
Ugh, where am…
Ugh, where am I? Hunter thought as he opened his eyes and instead of being in the garden where he saw Frisky, he was on a bed inside a hut with curtains all around him. He was confused and tried to look around and get up but he felt a sharp pain go throughout his body and he screamed out in agony. At that instant, a face of a Drillwing appeared through the curtains and she had a happy expression on her face.
"Aw good, you're finally awake," the Drillwing said, walking over to the side of his bed and marking something down on a sheet of paper on the wall.
"Huh, where am I?" Hunter thought. "What happened? Who are you?"
The Drillwing giggled. "Calm down there, I'll answer your questions one at a time," and she walked back to the front of Hunter's bed. "My name is Zern, the lead medical dragon here in the Drillwing village."
"Wait… so I'm… alive?" Hunter asked. "This isn't a dream?"
"Nope," Zern said. "Our scouts with Vala found you beaten up on the top of a mountain outside our village with a dead dragon impaled with a spear at the bottom of the mountain. Say, what happened?"
"First, how did you know I was up there?" Hunter asked.
"Well, Vala was leading the scouts on a morning patrol when a dragon came falling down from the top of the mountain and landed on the spear at the bottom, killing him instantly. They then immediately flew to the top and found you lying motionless on the ground. They said they tried to wake you up but you didn't open your eyes. So they quickly rushed you over here and I helped you heal back up."
"Ugh… I'm still hurting," Hunter said, holding his side.
"Yeah, but don't worry, we will have you better in a day or so," Zern said. "But your friends are wondering what happened to you?"
"Oh, they are all here?" Hunter asked. "I thought some of them were still in the caves."
"They were, but… you know how about I go get them and they can tell you," Zern said.
"That would be nice," Hunter said.
"Then I'll go get them," Zern said. "Just wait here."
And with that Zern left the room, leaving Hunter to ponder his own thoughts.
So Queen Ash must have tried to kill me by sending a Lavawing after me, Hunter thought. That would be the only logical explanation for it. But why not come herself? If she really wanted me dead then why did she send a random Lavawing then coming herself to make sure I was gone? Something doesn't add up about this.
At the end of that trail of thought, Hunter heard the door open and then the next moment felt wings wrapped around him by an all too familiar Cavewing.
"You're okay, you're okay!" Flint said happily. "I'm so glad that you're fine!"
"Yeah I'm okay," Hunter said. "But please stop squeezing me before you pop one of my bones."
"Oh, sorry," Flint said, releasing him from her hug. "I'm just relieved that you're okay."
"Yes, I'm okay," Hunter said and smiled when he saw the rest of his friends walk into the room. Tulsi and Prancer walked up to the side of him as Vala hung back smiling.
"How are you doing best buddy?" Hunter asked Prancer.
"I think I should be asking you that question," Prancer said as he touched Hunter's chipped horn which made Hunter winch and Flint held his claw.
"What happened to you?" Tulsi asked as Hunter saw her examine his injuries.
"Two words," Hunter said. "Queen Ash."
With that Hunter saw Vala's face turn into a fit of rage as she smashed her tail into the wall, making the whole room shake.
"THAT IS THE LAST STRAW NOW!" Vala screamed.
"Vala, calm down," Flint said.
"NO!" Vala screamed. "IF QUEEN ASH EXPECTS TO BE ABLE TO HURT ONE OF US AND JUST BE ALLOWED TO GET AWAY WITH IT, THEN SHE GOT ANOTHER THING COMING!"
"Vala, rushing into this won't help us," Tulsi said.
"BUT I'M DONE WAITING!" Vala screamed. "WE'VE WAITED AND WAITED AND NOW LOOK AT WHAT'S HAPPENED! I'M DONE WAITING!"
"Vala," Prancer said, holding one of her claws. "Please calm down, we don't want you to run in and die."
"BUT…"
"Vala," Prancer said. "We are here for Hunter right now. Please think about how it will affect him if you run in and die when he can't help you."
"BUT… but… but… argh fine!" Vala said. "I don't want my friend to panic."
"Thank you," Prancer said and walked back towards Hunter. "Don't worry buddy, we will make sure Queen Ash pays for what she did to you."
"Thanks," Hunter said, smiling and looking at everyone there. "I'm glad that I have friends like you."
"And we're glad to have you," Flint said. "With your compassion and respect."
"All that came from the heritage of your royalty," Tulsi said.
"And which allows you to care about us more than the regular dragon," Vala said.
Hunter smiled and felt his eyes tear up as he realized that his friends didn't see his royalty as being bad.
And that means that I won't have to worry about what others think about me, Hunter thought. Like what Frisky said, my royalty is good if I make it that way.
"Hey, can I talk to Prancer alone for one second?" Hunter asked.
"Sure," Flint said. "Come on everyone, let's give them both their space."
Flint, Tulsi, and Vala all walked out of the room leaving Hunter and Prancer there.
"So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?" Prancer asked.
"Oh well I know how close you were with Frisky," Hunter said.
"Yeah," Prancer said and walked over and looked out the window in the room. "I wish I had done more, I wish that she didn't die, I… I wish… I had saved her."
"Hey, it isn't your fault," Hunter said. "She knew what she was doing and I think that she was okay with sacrificing herself to protect you."
"I don't think so," Prancer said. "Sure she did protect me, but all I ever did to her was be annoying and not appreciative of her help. I just wish I could have taken that all back, to have a redo, or just to say I'm sorry."
Hunter felt sad for Prancer and got up out of his bed and tried to walk toward his buddy but his legs gave up on him and he fell to the floor. Prancer quickly turned around at the sound and helped Hunter up and held onto him.
"Thanks," Hunter said. "But don't beat yourself up for something that you couldn't control."
"But I could have done something!" Prancer said. "Maybe if I just allowed them to take me then Frisky would still be alive. Maybe if I had just taken a different pathway, Frisky wouldn't be dead." Prancer stopped talking and then turned to face Hunter with hatred in his eyes.
"MAYBE IF YOU NEVER FOUND OUT MY SECRET THEN NONE OF THIS WOULD EVER HAVE HAPPENED!" Prancer screamed.
"What?" Hunter said. "I wasn't the reason for Frisky's death!"
"But you finding out about me not having fangs made us try to figure it out!" Prancer said. "Then Java came looking for me and you told me to go. That led me to Frisky and to HER DEATH! IT'S YOUR FAULT THAT SHE'S DEAD!"
"Prancer," Hunter said.
"SHUT UP MURDERER!" Prancer screamed and slammed Hunter to the ground and then pinned him with his claws.
"Ah… Prancer, you're… hurting me," Hunter said.
"GOOD, IT'S WHAT YOU DESERVE FOR FRISKY'S DEATH!" Prancer screamed and pushed down harder onto Hunter.
"Pra… Prancer," Hunter struggled to say. "Fr… Frisky said to… to… not look back… at the past… but… but to look towards… the… the future. Ple… Please listen."
Hunter felt the pressure on his body grow and Hunter closed his eyes, ready to get suffocated by his best friend. But then he felt the pressure fade away and as Hunter opened up his eyes, he saw Prancer staring at him in disbelief.
"How… how did you… know that?" Prancer said. "Frisky had only said that to me once and that's the first memory I had with her."
"Well it may be hard to believe but I talked to her," Hunter said. "But not before she was dead, only a few days ago did I talk to her."
"But… but how?" Prancer said, helping Hunter up back into his bed.
"Well, I was teetering on the edge of life and death when Queen Ash almost finished me. I guess it just allowed me to see her and talk to her."
"I… I wish I got to talk to her again," Prancer said. "To say how much I'm sorry for how things turned out."
Hunter threw one of his wings around Prancer. "I'm sure that she understands," Hunter said. "Besides she was a niece to the royal family."
"Wait, that means…"
"That she was my aunt and we both are cousins to each other, correct," Hunter said.
"Aw, come here cousin!" Prancer said and hugged Hunter in his wings. "Thank you for being with me every step of the way."
"And you too cousin," Hunter said, embracing the hug for a bit longer before Prancer retracted his wings. They both looked out the window for a bit before Prancer turned back to face Hunter.
"You know Hunter, there is something that we have been meaning to tell you," Prancer said.
"And what's that?" Hunter asked.
"Well, I don't know how to put this," Prancer said. "But oh well, here it goes. Hunter… we have found the lost artifact."