Part II: Upside-Down

Hailstorm was pretty exhausted with the Rainforest Kingdom. Two weeks straight of rain, three bouts of food poisoning, and being investigated for espionage (and/or attempted assassination) had rather taken the shine out of this vacation.

After much oddly optimistic debate from Fatespeaker and Kinkajou, plus a few threats from the Winter Roses, Glory and Deathbringer had issued an official apology and allowed Hailstorm to fly free. Or at least, that's what they claimed. Three not-so-sneaky RainWings had been following him around since then, and while he doubted they would ever actually attack him, they were getting awfully annoying.

For example, Hailstorm was pretty sure that Magnificent (who was "totally not a spy, ha ha, what makes you think that?") was hanging outside of his hut right now. His suspicions were confirmed when Fatespeaker landed outside and cried, "Oh, hey there, Maggie!"

Hailstorm winced as Fatespeaker merrily marched in and shook her wings off inside. It seemed too close to shaking the snow off one's wings - a bad habit he'd been beaten thoroughly for as a dragonet.

But this was the Rainforest Kingdom. And as Hailstorm was reminded about a million times each day, the rules were completely upside-down here.

"Hey, Hailstorm!" Fatespeaker said cheerily. A big raindrop splashed down on her snout as she grinned.

Hailstorm nodded politely, but stayed in his corner, which he had reinforced with some banana-leaf roofing. He hated getting wet. Even here, in the steaming hot rainforest, his IceWing instincts told him that getting wet would mean getting frozen. Another stupid fear that he still couldn't shake.

These huts seemed built to embrace the rain. It poured right in through the loosely thatched roofs and right out through the loosely woven floors. True to their name, the RainWings didn't mind getting drenched. Fatespeaker, who stood there smiling as she got soaked, didn't seem to mind either. After hanging out with her RainWing friends for so long, she must have picked up on their habits.

"How was your morning?" Hailstorm asked formally. He would have bowed, but he was busy trying to hold his makeshift leaf-roof up with his tail. How in the snow's name do RainWings keep these huts together?

"Well," Fatespeaker said, "I just talked to Deathbringer again. I think he finally believes you're not a terrorist. Yay!"

Hailstorm tried to smile. "Yay," he repeated, more icily than he had intended. "That is progress, I suppose."

There was only so much humidity and suspicion that a dragon, even a poised IceWing prince, could take before getting a bit snappish. Hailstorm had also been eating nothing but papaya for about a week straight, as it was the only fruit he was sure he wasn't allergic too. After discovering what coconut and kiwi did to his gizzard, he was not up for another experiment.

"No word yet on what even happened. I mean, how can they accuse you of an attack, then not say what the attack was?" Fatespeaker sighed and shook her head. "I also visited Greatness again!" she went on. She had spoken hopefully about the former princess before. Apparently Greatness was another one of the few NightWings who wouldn't blast an IceWing on sight. "Wonderful dragon," Fatespeaker went on, "but a terribly slow writer..." She shook her head. "Anyway, there's someone I -"

"OOF!" In a flash of pink and a splatter of rain and leaves, a RainWing seemed to appear right out of thin air. "I mean - ta da!" crowed the surprise dragon, flapping polka-dotted wings and flaring a striped crest bright enough to make a proper IceWing faint.

Hailstorm jumped back, stunned. Then he collected himself and nodded mutely, his snout freezing with the instinctual blast of ice that he had just bitten back.

"It's me, I'm the someone!" the RainWing said. He grinned at Fatespeaker. "Sorry, I slipped right out of that tree. It's just so exciting!" Now he turned that sunbeam of a smile on Hailstorm. "Three moons, a real live IceWing!"

"This is Jambu," Fatespeaker giggled. "He's Glory's brother. Or half-brother. Same thing here. I'll, uh..." She paused. "I'll explain that stuff later." She nudged Jambu gently, as he was still staring at Hailstorm with that ooh-a-sparkly-dragon! look in his eyes. Hailstorm had gotten used it. "He's also one of the coolest RainWings ever!" she added.

The impressive spots and stripes faded as Jambu folded his wings, though his scales remained bright pink. Without all the dizzying patterns, the shade reminded Hailstorm of the pretty plumerias that grew under Fatespeaker's home. A sweet color. It made the RainWing seem almost familiar, helped Hailstorm feel almost safe.

"Greetings, Prince Jambu," Hailstorm said. He bowed deeply, flaring his wings as one would to a royal IceWing.

Fatespeaker's little giggle reminded him that the RainWings didn't have real royalty or ranks. Even the queen's brother is a commoner?! he thought, secretly shocked. This is madness.

Jambu stuck his blindingly bright talons out for Hailstorm to shake. Hailstorm held his out accordingly, proud to have gotten the hang of it. The first time he had encountered the gesture, he had mistaken it for a threat. Poor Riptide had been very confused.

"Deathbringer wanted me to sta- uh, observe you," Jambu explained, "so I figured, why not just hang out together? Less sneaking, more fun, you know?"

That plan didn't seem very sound to Hailstorm, but it was certainly preferable to being stalked like an old caribou. "Yes, certainly," he said, nodding as if it were the most brilliant idea he'd ever heard.

"Someone out there is still after Glory," Jambu said solemnly. Yellow flashed through his crest as he added, "I don't think it's you, of course! But someone." He puffed out his chest. "I have a mission now! Gotta protect my lil sis, right?"

Hailstorm nodded again, unsure of how to respond. He, too, had some experience with someone trying to kill his sister, but that story was tangled up in treason and revolution, so he stayed quiet and blank.

"Deathbringer told me to 'keep my snout out of the investigation' for now," Jambu went on, still smiling. "I'm sure he'll come asking for my help as soon as they get a lead."

"Hey, look, the sun coming out!" said Fatespeaker. She pointed a wing out toward the east, where a blue sky peeked out from behind the clouds. "Why don't we get some lunch together? I think Kinkajou's still around." She smiled at Hailstorm. "She makes the best papaya tarts!"

Hailstorm's stomach turned at the thought of papaya, but he kept his face polished and polite. "Yes," he agreed. "Excellent idea, Fatespeaker."

Jambu's wings shifted through a whole world of pinks and purples as they flew out into the sunshine. Hailstorm watched, quietly entranced, and was quite amused to hear the RainWing whisper to Fatespeaker, "His accent is so pretty."

Though the rain would surely start up again soon, for now the sun shined stubbornly bright. All around them, the world bloomed. So many colors, emerging from the shadows.

They flew to one of Fatespeaker's favorite spots, a little grove beside a low waterfall. In an odd way, the waterfalls and pools reminded Hailstorm of the high blue glaciers at the northern edge of the Ice Kingdom. The crystal clear shine and gentle music of the water gave him a sense of serene familiarity. Or at least it did when he came here in the peaceful morning hours. Now, with dozens of RainWings flying and splashing and chattering everywhere, it was a bit less serene.

Still, he tried to enjoy his lunch. He was hanging out now, which was apparently one of the Rainforest Kingdom's finest pastimes. At every hour, some RainWings seemed to be napping or snacking in the treetops. Even in the rain! Hailstorm felt terribly rude and out-of-place whenever they tried to strike up a conversation or share some fruit with him.

Especially that Jambu fellow. In Jambu's scales, Hailstorm would have been scanning the kingdom for suspects. Instead, the pink RainWing seemed more focused finding somewhere sunny to take a nap. "Aaaah, sun time!" he laughed. "Finally!"

Hailstorm was surprised to see the other RainWings do likewise. They lie down in the hot sun for fun?

He was even more surprised when Jambu patted the ground next to him and said, "Come on, Hailstorm!"

It all seemed terribly improper, and rather unhealthy for IceWing. But if this was how things were done here, Hailstorm would do his best to conform.

After the shock of moving from the IceWing Palace to Sanctuary, Hailstorm had considered himself pretty well prepared for all the surprises of the Rainforest. New food, new words, new traditions. He'd been able to take most of that in stride. What he hadn't prepared for was the RainWings themselves.

They were just so nice. Truly, genuinely kind.

While the NightWings in the village all either rushed past him or glared like he had just frozen their lunch, every RainWing he met had embraced him with open (and colorful) wings.

"Hey there!" came a cheerful call as a rainbow of RainWings flew overhead. They swooped down to say hello, easily darting through the trees, some plucking fruit and flowers in mid-air. "Look, it's Fatespeaker's spiky friend!"

One of Kinkajou's more forgetful friends shouted, "Good morning, Tail-storm!"

"Oh my moons!" chirped another. "It's the IceWing! Hello!"

Even Magnificent took some time out of her stalking to share a snack with them, flashing violet across her wings as she scooted Kinkajou out of the way. Another RainWing named Dazzling appeared alongside her, shedding her flawless camouflage for sky blue scales.

Was she following me, too? A nervous shiver ran down Hailstorm's tail as he realized just how good these RainWings' disguises could be.

"Did you know I used to be a queen?" Magnificent told Hailstorm. "I don't mind Glory now. But you gotta admit, I was way more stylish than her."

Kinkajou and Fatespeaker shared a look that said Here we go again. Jambu didn't seem to like Magnificent that much either, as he smiled at her slightly less than the others, but in true RainWing fashion, he shrugged and said, "Yeah, I guess you were pretty cool."

"Hey, I used to be a queen too," Dazzling protested, setting down her chunk of cantaloupe. With fruit and seeds all over her snout, she sure didn't look like Hailstorm's idea of a queen. She took another bite of her melon and yawned, muttering with her mouth full, "Honestly it was kinda boring."

Hailstorm's mind whirled. How many queens can one tribe have?

As Magnificent rambled on, he was shocked to learn how the RainWings chose their leaders. He'd known that they passed the crown down peacefully, but through games? That had to be a joke. Yet Kinkajou and Jambu both nodded along, confirming Hailstorm's suspicion that the IceWings and RainWings were complete opposites.

He had found one similarity: rumors got around just as quickly here as in the Ice Kingdom. Though RainWings spread their gossip with smiles and laughter rather than cold sneers, it still flew faster than a falcon. So most of the tribe knew that Glory was in poor health. The top theories were that she had either fallen ill from a bad mango or sprained her wing during an epic relay race.

Whatever investigation Deathbringer was conducting, it was all kept under wraps. Hailstorm knew to stay far away from it. He'd faced down many a murderous NightWing during the war, but something about Deathbringer's dark glare made him pause. That dragon knew death as an old friend. And not, Hailstorm thought, with a touch of disgust, in the honorable way of a warrior.

Once Magnificent and Dazzling finally flew off, Kinkajou pulled out a sack of persimmons from under her wing. "I had to hide them," she confided guiltily. "Dazzling would have eaten them all!"

Hailstorm tentatively tried one. They were terribly sweet, but at least they didn't make him sick. Well, his stomach did flip when Jambu leaned over to pass him one...

Something told him that wasn't the persimmon's fault, though.

Jambu had flopped across a warm stone. His bright wings were spread wide to soak in the sun. He flashed a big smile whenever Hailstorm looked his way; Hailstorm chalked that up to the ridiculously welcoming ways of the Rainforest. Still, it sparked something something cold and pleasant within him.

"By the way, I met your sister!" Jambu told him cheerfully.

Now Hailstorm really froze. "Icicle?"

"Well, I guess I didn't meet her," Jambu clarified. "She was knocked out, and there were a bunch of grumpy guards around. That was after she, uhhh, attacked Jade Mountain Academy." Jambu winced, then added with a purple flush of pride, "But I made sure she got to the healing huts!"

"Ah." Hailstorm was quietly relieved. If Icicle had been conscious at that time, Jambu would probably be missing a limb. "I must thank you then," said Hailstorm, "on behalf of my family. We are indebted to you."

We may be the face of a traitorous revolt, he reasoned, but we ought to maintain some family honor.

"Hmm... I am going mango-picking tomorrow," Jambu said mischievously. "I could sure use some help with that. Fruit Bat has this secret patch with the best trees." He grinned at Hailstorm again, his scales brightening. "You should come with me!"

Something in Hailstorm squeezed oddly at the thought. Just like the rest of his world, his heart had been turned upside-down. When he tried to reply, Yes, I'd like that very much, the words froze, thick as winter ice.

So, instead, he dipped his head in formal assent. Jambu flashed bright purple. Somehow, the message got across, and they both ended up with a smile.