Chapter 4
An explosion of gold scales fills his vision faster than he can think, or even react. Quickly finding himself knocked to the ground, straight to his back with wings splayed out. Was he being attacked? Was the rainforest being attacked? What? Who? Once Claw had calmed down from the initial panic that had shot through his body, he soon sees who his 'attacker' was. That happy bright face above him, the familiar shimmer of those joyous colours. Only one dragon would be this eager to see him, and only one RainWing in particular would surprise a NightWing half to death. Only one was always so permanently in a state of high spirits, and hyperactive energy. Aside from his Mother, only one made him smile just at laying his eyes on them.
"Ha-ha! SURPRISE ATTACK!" Yelled the dragon atop him, two front legs keeping his chest pinned. Well, Claw wasn't exactly pinned so much he couldn't move, he just liked to pretend he was a helpless NightWing. Unable to overpower such a mighty, strong RainWing. Staring up at that constantly shifting gold and pink face, the smile turning into a playful smirk. "I wasn't aware we were currently at war, Camu. You should know better than to take down a NightWing though, I can see the future, I know how this fight will end." Those words of warning didn't make Camu falter at all, he just simply rolled his eyes at his best friend and stuck out his tongue. "Yeah, yeah. Bleh to all that future seeing nonsense. If you truly COULD do that, then how come you didn't see me? Invisible, and waiting to pounce outside your very home?"
The RainWing...made a good point. "Because I've told you, I can't see what is about to happen, only what will be. And do you know what I see?" Claw asked, keeping his tone of voice a mix of serious, and playful. So Camu would find it harder to figure out if he was telling the truth or not. With a curious tilt of the head, and scales shimmering into an ocean of blue, the NightWing knew he had his friend's full attention. "I see me, standing victoriously over our hidden stash of fruit and fish, all mine. And do you know why?" Another question asked, and now Claw really had the RainWing's focus directed solely on him. Discreetly moving his taloned feet underneath Camu and getting ready to make his move. "Because I'm going to beat you there. Three! Two! One! Go!" In an instant, he playfully pushes the colourful dragon off of him, and springs back up onto all four of his shadowy legs. Looking quite pleased with himself, and after a cheeky grin and wink to his best buddy, Claw sets off into the wilds of the rainforest. He could hear Camu behind him, not wasting a single second and immediately whizzing up into the tall trees. While the NightWing raced on the ground, the RainWing used his homefield advantage. Gliding from branch to branch in quick little glides, swinging himself forward to get that sweet extra speed with his prehensile tail.
It was a close race, as it always was. Claw may not have the added bonus of the rainforest having been his home for countless generations, but that didn't mean he'd be so easily defeated. He avoided low hanging branches, leaped over a tree that must have fallen decades ago, and used his wings for a burst of momentum after flying over a pond. The two dragons were locked in their focus, both of them taking these races rather seriously. Camu. The master of the trees. Claw. The master of the ground. They sprinted, flew, jumped, and swung to the ending that was now coming into view. What looked to be a wall of vines, and mossy stone to the untrained eye, but to them it was a second home. A home one of them, was about to reach before the other!
The NightWing looked set to win, set to take this right here and right now. All four of his legs drove him onward, his two wings providing him with those very useful boosts of speed. His eyes burned with focus, concentration. It was true that Claw could sometimes be a competitive dragon, but he never took defeat too badly. Which was good, considering Camu, when he was about to touch the vines with his talons, suddenly appears right in front of him. Accidentally touching the goofy RainWing's snout, that very amused face of his shimmering with all kinds of yellow shades. "It would seem those 'future seeing' powers of yours, may need some work, it was clearly me you saw standing victorious over our little hoard." Camu giggled teasingly, his body shifting straight back into their usual golden colours.
"I don't think so, little brother." A voice speaks up from one of the nearby branches, the air when they both looked over to the spot clearly appearing as though someone was watching them. Cloaked and hidden from view, until their colour changing scales reveal them to the duo. A tangy orange, rippling across their body quite frequently, and definitely not in the best of moods. If their expression was anything to go by. "I got to your stash first. What are you both thinking? Hiding all that food away from the tribe?" The dragon in question was Acai, the big sister of Camu. She'd managed to obtain the position of being one of Queen Glory's most reliable healers, and as such, wasn't exactly very pleased to discover that her own brother and his best friend had been secretly storing away food for themselves. Food that could be better used on the RainWings and anyone currently in the Healer's Huts. When it came to NightWings, she often would never mention them when speaking about what was best for the rainforest, and for her kind.
As a result of this, Claw wasn't really all that fond of Acai. In his mind, if she wanted to hold onto the past mistakes of his tribe, and the fact that she now had to share the rainforest with another tribe, then she could go right ahead and keep thinking all that. "We're not hiding the food to keep for ourselves, we're simply just...storing it! Right Camu?" He asks his best bud, giving him a little bump discreetly with his tail. "R-Right yes! Storing it! That is what we're doing. Me and Claw, being the good helpful dragons that we are. Who knows when we might fall into another crisis? All that food being in ONE spot? It's useful." The RainWing nodded after saying, pretending as though they hadn't made the stash just for themselves, his scales coming close to betraying their actual intentions. Shimmering into shades of light blue in places.
The NightWing had to give him another secret nudge, and the bright glowing gold in his scales came straight back. Overtaking the blue that was threatening to come through. Innocent smiles forming on both their faces, which wasn't exactly fooling the stern RainWing still in the trees. Her eyes simply narrowing and letting out an irritated sigh soon after. "One chance. I'll give you one chance to make your little stash not secret. If I go in there in the next few days, and still find a pile of fruit and...fish? I'll be going straight to Queen Glory, and she can sort out distributing all of that food fairly among the RainWings. We didn't let you stay in our home for you to starve us, NightWing."
'Sheesh, talk about being dramatic.'
Claw thought this to himself, certainly never daring to say it out loud when Acai was right there, still staring absolute daggers at them both. "We don't store a lot of it, only enough for about...a week maybe? So I doubt me and Camu are going to deprive an entire rainforest of its food source." He said this in a reasonable manner, no playful or sarcastic tone to his voice. Stating it in a very matter of fact way. Despite that itch he could feel to want to make some form of sarcastic remark to the grumpy RainWing. 'Someone obviously needs more time in the sun.' She responded with a loud huff, almost seeming offended by the NightWing's actual sensible reply. The grumpy glow of her scales still present. "Starve us or not, I still expect all of that food to be gone when I come back to check in a few days. Is that understood?" The stern gaze was unfaltering, if these dragons had been part of that war, Acai could probably have passed for some kind of leader had she not taken up the role of healer. However, since Claw and Camu had had many instances of getting into trouble with this strict RainWing, they were never too intimidated by her. At least not anymore.
"Yes Acai, we understand." The two best friends say, weirdly enough, at exactly the same time as one another. It creeped her out whenever she heard it, giving a very brief but somewhat noticeable shiver. A little green on her scales shimmering into view and then being smothered back down by her orange glow once more. "Good. It's bad enough I let my own brother hang out with a NightWing, I do not need him also being dragged into trouble constantly because of one." Then, before Claw had a chance to respond, the form of Acai up on the tree branch quickly disappears and the duo was back to staring at empty space where she once was. Flittering off back into the rainforest, presumably to the Healer's Huts. When a good minute or so had passed of just a calm stillness, Claw broke the silence with a mischievous giggle. Turning his gaze to stare at Camu, and leaning forward slightly, just in case Acai wasn't actually gone. Speaking in a whisper. "You know, she didn't exactly say that we needed to give the food back, just that it needs to be gone when she next checks." The RainWing, upon knowing precisely what his friend was planning, turns slightly green. Similar to how his sister turned green, the worry overtaking his hyper energy. "I don't know Claw, she sounded as though she really means it this time. I admit, messing with her is super fun! Truly, it is! But if she actually goes to Queen Glory? I'm worried about what might happen." It was clear in his voice, and it was clear in his scales. Camu looked down at the ground, nervously curling and uncurling his tail, while also picking at some of the dirt with his talons.
Realising that his best friend wasn't over the three moons at another one of his plans, Claw brings up one of his star spotted wings and reassuringly places it around the RainWing. The two dragons sitting there together, huddled in somewhat closely. "It'll be fine, don't worry so much. What's the worst that can happen? Queen Glory kicks us both out of the rainforest? Unlikely. She isn't that kind of queen; I know that, and you know that. The worst we'll get is...maybe a rough scolding session? Trust me Camu, I doubt we'll be executed, or anything else dramatic." He jokes, wanting to get those bright flashes of gold beaming back into the RainWing's scales. It works a little bit, though Claw's mention of execution does startle Camu slightly. His body shimmering very suddenly with some flashes of white. "E-Executed?! Do some queens really do that to their subjects?!"
'Maybe that was a bad thing to say.'
With a quick shake of his head, Claw hurriedly explains. "No, no. At least, not anymore, as far as I'm aware. It used to happen; I think. Although I'm pretty sure the RainWings never had a Queen who was cruel or punished her tribe in such a manner. So, heh, look at that! You're the only tribe in history to never execute anyone. That's good, and I doubt Queen Glory will suddenly turn into an evil queen." Hopefully that reassurance would work. 'Thank you scrolls, your knowledgeable scribbles just helped me to prevent Camu from freaking out even more.' Indeed, the white in those scales did then fade away, but he wasn't back to his usual glow just yet. His head lifted and he gazed around at their peaceful surroundings, attempting to calm himself now by softly breathing in the fresh rainforest air through his nostrils, and then exhaling slowly. "I sometimes forget the war was a thing that happened, I'm just glad that part of our history is all over with now, and it is something I never want to talk about. You know me Claw, I'm not the type of dragon who brings the mood down, I'm the type who lifts moods up, and it will forever stay that way. No horrific telling of a time hopefully never to occur again with me! It will always be fruits, and suntime, and mischief, and good fun! Yeppers, that is how this RainWing likes to fly!"
"Oh, believe me, we know." A voice speaks up from behind the pair, it sounded a little echoey, which could only mean one thing...
