Snowflakes fell fast and heavy to the already coated ground, sticking firmly to anything unfortunate enough to be caught beneath the storm. It built up, layers upon layers of frozen sleet and snow thick enough to completely swallow a young dragonet.
It was under no description a pleasant night, and as far as the grumbling slate clouds suggested, the storm would not be passing soon.
This was no issue for an Icewing of course, especially one of her age, but Queen Glacier doubted her cargo would be quite so pleased with the weather.
She'll take what she can get, she's lucky I'm letting her go at all.
She didn't know how much she really believed that. She'd been second-guessing her decision to free the Nightwing since organising the wall. Something about its constant rigid presence no matter what the conditions the kingdom was facing always served to remind her of how important it was for her to uphold her position, and protect her tribe from the dangers beyond their walls.
Well, I suppose she isn't beyond the walls. Glacier thought wryly, tucking in her wings to drop through the twisting air currents.
She landed softly on the frozen ground, talons sinking deep through the crisp snowdrifts.
Ahead of her the Diamond caves loomed, the storm howling through the jagged spikes that rested like monstrous teeth at the cave's darkened entrance. Glacier pushed towards it, snow spraying out like ghostly waves with each step.
Once she was sheltered beneath the cover of the crystalline ice far overhead she shook herself off as well as she could manage, wiping away the snowflakes that grasped tightly to the frozen metal of her spear.
She focused her attention on the weapon in her talons, ignoring the familiar path that opened up before her, beckoning her deeper into the depths of the cave.
You've made this journey plenty of times. She reminded herself, shaking out her talons to knock loose the transferred snow from between her scales. Still, her unfamiliarity with the route after so long still troubled her.
With each section of snow she removed, the gleaming metal reflected the soft light of her moonglobe, dazzling her night-adjusted eyes.
Once she was pleased with her work, she paced through the beginnings of the cavern, up to the point where it split like a winding forked tongue and dead centre broke apart revealing the dizzying drop into the bowels of the tunnels. She paused for only a moment, getting her bearings as her increased size threw off her usual view of the obstacles below, and dropped.
With precise, calculated movement she landed evenly on the icy ground below, her moonglobe trailing behind her in that unhurried, serene way they had. There was something so uncomfortably perfect about flying without wind. It was like moving through a dream, even and controlled but without the natural tug this way or that to remind you of your environment.
She spun slowly, picking out the correct passageway and moving onwards. Although her younger self with her constant Icewing need for efficiency had shaved off much of the time for this route, large drops between caves did not make up the majority of the way to the cavern harbouring the frozen prisoner, so she was unfortunately stuck walking most of the path.
There was something distinctly eerie about walking alone down here, with the clack of claws against ice your only company. The sound here rang clear and clean, only paralleled by the neat tapping of her own pristine palace floors. Of course, her home always felt breathing with life, even while all of its occupants lay sleeping, which contrasted the great empty silence that hung alone and unchallenged in these ancient natural walls.
Walking beneath the crust of her kingdom like this always felt like entering a crypt, some ancient undisturbed place best left buried and untampered with. Perhaps it is, she sighed, cursing the doubtful thought.
Before her lay another drop, this one larger than the last. She peered over the edge, debating the consequences of her making a fatal mistake, and never returning to the surface. She rolled her shoulders, preparing for the jump anyway. It wasn't like she had any other choice. She had long since forgotten the oldest routes used during her dragonethood, and wandering off down uncharted tunnels was even more of a liability.
She lowered herself slightly over the edge before letting herself fall, drifting gracefully to the cavern's bottom, careful to avoid scraping her talons or wing-knuckles on the stalagmites that dotted the ground.
She didn't feel cold exactly, she couldn't, but she could still feel the absence of heat that surrounded her this far down.
Even with the familiarity of the walls around her, the caves still had the constant effect of making her feel lost, as though any moment she would turn a corner only to discover a dead end fencing her in.
Nearly an hour passed of questionably reliable drops and negotiating tight ledges before Glacier padded down a sharply sloping tunnel she recognised, the claustrophobic ice opening up into a large cavern, substantially wider than any of the others she been through, with wickedly long stalactites protruding from the high ceiling. The ground itself would've been mostly clear, were it not for the vast amount of frozen dragonets covering the floor, each of them caught in their final moments, unmoving.
Glacier thought there could be close to a hundred of them, not that she was willing to count. She moved past them, and the piles of uncomfortably sized ice that could be icicles fallen from the ceiling, or an unfortunate dragonet smashed to pieces.
Craning her neck, she was surprised to not see the towering form of the Nightwing high above the Icewings that surrounded her. She made her way towards the centre of the cavern, concern growing with each step she couldn't see the Nightwing's darkened form.
Glacier stopped short, her heart lurching.
There she was.
Foeslayer was nothing like Glacier had last seen. She oddly seemed to be on the ground, her wings splayed awkwardly with her talons raised.
Her brows furrowed, and she paced closer, her claws ringing around the spears's shaft.
Standing over the Nightwing, it was hard to make out much past the layers of ice, but her agonised expression was clear to see, her widened eyes fixed on some fague spot before her.
What? Who could have possibly... is she alright? She hissed, forcing her eyes away from the frozen dragoness.
I don't care if she's alright, Casting another worried glance down she continued, but I'm sure she's fine.
Angling the spear downwards, she tapped the tip to Foeslayer's side, stepping back and moving to face the Nightwing directly once she awoke. The ice crumbled away from the spot she'd made contact, turning to sparkling dust as it hit the ground. The cracks spread like branching spiderwebs, loosening any of the icy shell it made touched and causing it to slide away.
Glacier waited, barely willing to breathe, until she heard a noise from the other dragoness.
Foeslayer groaned, resting her head on the ground while she got her talons underneath herself. She stood, flapping her wide wings as she balanced herself.
Up until now Glacier had somewhat believed her younger self to have imagined the Nightwing's size, it simply being a product of the younger Icewing's substantially smaller height. But now standing before Foeslayer she was surprised by just how tall she stood.
The Nightwing now was not quite as tall as the Icewing Queen, but she was close, and most definitely younger. Adding to that, Nightwings it seemed possessed a much wider frame than any Icewing's, and that was clearly visible in the black dragoness' strong frame, though that was doubtlessly influenced by her history as a soldier.
Foeslayer's green eyes found the Icewing's, darkening with confusion. She scratched her neck, opening her mouth as if to say something, before suddenly slamming it shut.
She stared like elk before frost-breath for an almost uncomfortable amount of time, before saying uncertainly, "Glacier?" The Nightwing looked her up and down, as if sizing her up, before adding, "Sorry, Queen Glacier, is it?"
"It is now." Glacier responded, watching Foeslayer's reaction. Her expression was almost heartbreakingly hopeful, asking slowly, "So, does that mean-"
"Yes. I'm letting you go."
Foeslayer's eyes were shining, but her face was entirely disbelieving. Even so she made no move to back away as Glacier approached her.
It took all of the Icewing's willpower to ignore the panicked voice in her head shrieking like a hawk set aflame, It's a Nightwing! Stay away, she'll hurt you! She'll kill you! They can never be trusted!
Perhaps Foeslayer caught something in her expression, because she went on, "I... thank you- for this, for-"
"Don't." Glacier growled, not trusting herself to say anything else. She knew it was cold, but she couldn't handle the Nightwing's voice in her head, muddying her emotions further.
She bent her head, breathing in just slightly and ever so carefully hissing out a lick of frost-breath. It touched against the diamond shape inlaid in Foeslayer's right shackle, white against silver, before the entire cuff flickered, springing open and cluttering soundlessly to the ground, and shivering into a million sparkling specks of dust.
She twisted her neck, just to make sure, and yes. The left shackle had no equivalent inlay, nothing as far as she could tell hinted at how it was supposed to be opened.
Glacier straightened up, watching Foeslayer experimentally lifting her back talon. When the Icewing made no move to remove the other cuff, Foeslayer's brows drew down in confusion, and Glacier hurried to speak before her.
"That's it. I don't know how to remove the other one, but it shouldn't matter, that should have been the one keeping you down here."
Foeslayer nodded slowly, and keen to cut this as short as possible, Glacier turned, flicking her tail to indicate for the Nightwing to follow her.
She did so, pausing only at the entrance to the cave. Glacier glanced back to watch Foeslayer raise a talon cautiously, passing it slowly past the barrier that previously held her down here. The rest of herself quickly followed, radiating a quiet, disbelieving energy that Glacier doubted would be quick to dissipate.
She trotted after the Queen, and rather interestingly to Glacier slowed to follow a few steps behind her as was traditional while speaking to royalty. Glacier wondered where she'd learnt that, before realising she'd never actually asked the Nightwing how she'd grown up.
"So," Foeslayer said, breaking the silence, "How did the challenge go?" She raised her shoulders as though indicating Glacier's increased height, "Must've taken you a while."
The Nightwing chuckled nervously, before trailing off at Glacier's unamused tone. "It went fine enough. I won it, didn't I?"
Foeslayer nodded, answering slowly as though she wasn't sure if she was supposed to, "I suppose so. No doubt I can take credit for that."
Making the Nightwing uncomfortable wasn't her goal, but the Queen wasn't particularly in the mood for humour, and she was too lost in thought to make for good conversation anyway.
Where am I supposed to put her? Would she ever accept a Rainwing as her Queen? I suppose I don't know what her feelings on them are. She slowed as they approached one of the many high-roofed caverns they were going to have to ascend.
Foeslayer eyed it sceptically, "We're going out through that?"
Glacier's only response was to flap into the air, hovering slightly as she waited for the Nightwing to do the same.
Foeslayer sighed but made no further complaints as they ascended.
I won't have to worry immediately about where to put her, not if she agrees to what I'm planning. How much should I tell her about... everything? She deserves to know... and I will tell her, at some point, but I can't risk her becoming uncooperative right now.
She must've let some of that leak into her expression as Foeslayer was side-eying her curiously, but a swift hard stare was enough to make her look away.
She let a few wisps of frost-breath escape from her maw, releasing some of the tension in her wings. I'll speak with Prince Winter once I return, he should know this at least, and if he agrees to what I'm planning, that should solve both his and my issue with that troublesome Nightwing in his winglet.
Despite not making conversation, the sound of another dragon's talonsteps was somewhat comforting somewhere as remote as this, even if Foeslayer's shorter claws made for a heavier, less clean sound.
We've got quite a way to go. Glacier thought, and almost simultaneously Foeslayer remarked, "This is going to take quite a while isn't it?"
Glacier nodded, "Indeed it is. Do you remember the way out?"
"Not at all," Foeslayer stated plainly, studying the walls, "It doesn't help that I spent most of the journey here thrashing around and being generally impertinent."
As much as she tried not to, Glacier couldn't help the faint smile that curled the edge of her lips, "Well, I'm sure Diamond deserved it."
"Oh she absolutely did." Foeslayer looked slightly confused an Icewing would agree with her on that, but was too eager to talk instead of walking in silence to care, "Trust me, if you'd have met her, you'd have felt the same way. The dragoness who was supposed to take my place and marry into the royal family hated her, so did her niece, Snowfox, who I'd assume took the throne after her. Even Arctic hated her! That's probably why he wanted to leave so badly."
"He did?" Glacier inquired, lifting her brows as though disinterested to hide her curiosity, "He was quick to say yes when you offered him the idea of leaving, I take it?"
"Hm? No, I didn't offer it, that was all Arctic's idea. I mean, that definitely does sound like something I would do, but I don't think even I would've done something that forbidden without his encouragement."
"You didn't... oh." A tremor ran through her mind, another crack in the stories she'd trusted so completely shivering into existence. I have no reason to believe her, she could be lying to make herself sound better. She wasn't close to believing it, but it was all she could come up with to quell her mind.
Noticing her sudden shift in mood, Foeslayer made to change the topic. "You look well." She commented, glancing at the Queen's perfectly unblemished scales and the intricately decedent jewellery that adorned her. "Time has treated you kindly I see."
"I suppose." As much as she appreciated the compliment, Glacier couldn't think of any way of responding to that without mentioning just how long Foeslayer had been down here. "I'll give you some space in the palace once we get back," she decided on instead, "Somewhere in the guest wing, where you won't be bothered by any Icewings. You may have to stay here a while unfortunately, the Nightwing's are in quite an unusual situation politically at the moment and I'll need to get everything in order with your new Queen."
"Where I won't be bothered by Icewings?" Foeslayer interjected, apparently too uninterested in politics to comment on the second half of that statement, "Why? Do you not want them to have to see me?"
"I imagined you didn't want to see them after everything that's happened to you. Do you not hate us?"
Foeslayer didn't respond, staring ahead of them and at the spear Glacier still held. The Icewing Queen tried not to stare, but it was impossible to ignore the change in the Nightwing's expression, as though all the warmth had been sucked out of her. Her eyes were equally as cold, the flickers of amber and sunshine gold in their green depths replaced by flashes of chilling blue. She looked carved from stone, or perhaps more accurately ice, as she walked in silence. "I'm going to be honest with you Glacier." Foeslayer said delicately, long after Glacier had given up hope on any kind of response. "I hate you with every once shattered bone in my body. I hate you for every friend of mine you've cut down on the battlefield that I was unable to save. I hate you for the hundreds of years of torment I've been forced to endure because of you."
Foelsayer was no longer walking behind her. She was right in Glaciers ear, cornering her against the wall. Glacier could do little other than stop, drawing up her long neck and glaring down her diamond shaped snout at the furious jade eyes that stared back.
"But most of all-'' Foeslayer grabbed onto the spear, claws digging into the underside of Glacier's as they scraped together. The spear trembled ever so slightly as Foeslayer pressed the spear's shaft into Glacier's chest, backing her further against the wall. "-I despise you for every moment my family had to live in fear of you. I loathe you for every crushing expectation my husband had to live under, for the way you forced him to squander his soul, all the arguments that forced us into. I feel nothing but disdain for you over the effect that had on our dragonets, growing up in that empty broken household."
The Nightwing took a step, then another, driving Glacier onto her backlegs. They were almost snout to snout now.
"If it were up to me, these mountains would be running blue with the blood of every Icewing who'd dare to hurt me, hurt my family, hurt my tribe. I'd tear them limb from limb, scale from scale, gloating over their corpses for the next eternity."
Foeslayer held herself completely still, frozen in place like she'd be countless times before. She never blinked, her slitted eyes not allowing Glacier a moment of reprieve. Is she going to kill me? Glacier couldn't help but think, tightening her grip on the spear. She can certainly try. She may be a soldier but I've seen my fair few battles. I'm not the younger dragon she used to know.
Foeslayer moved, suddenly enough to make Glacier jump, readying for an attack, before she realised Foeslayer was backing away, shame arched into the downward slant of her wings. "And then I remember how long it's been." She met Glacier gaze again, her face now softened. "You couldn't have stopped that, any of that, even if you'd wanted to." she scratched at the ground, murmuring almost inaudibly, "And quite a lot of that was my fault anyway."
Neither of them spoke. Glacier wanted to respond that she did want to, if she could she would've stopped Diamond from doing everything she'd done. But she knew that was a lie before it even graced her lips. She couldn't bring herself to lie to this dragoness, even if a white lie like that was what she wanted to hear
"I'd be fine with you putting me somewhere separate." Foeslayer said after a while, cutting through Glacier's thoughts. "I can imagine both you and I getting a lot of questions about why I'm visiting, so I'd understand if you didn't want to deal with that. And… I suppose I just need some time to think."
Glacier almost winced, "Of course."
Moon tried to keep her head low, struggling silently to keep pace with the larger gaits of her Leafwing companions.
Perhaps 'captors' was a more accurate way of putting it, but she couldn't really think of it like that, not with the constant thrumming of magic that burned into her side, the familiar hum of Darkstalker's stroll, a constant reminder of why she was here.
Darkstalker, even thinking his name made her scales feel like they were turning the wrong way, but she thought in some way she was moving past her fear of him, at least a little. She still didn't think she'd ever be able to face him again, the prospect of returning to Jade Mountain after disappearing so completely for so long and facing his wrath made her feel ill. But she could at least think about him, and the cargo he had inadvertently burdened her with.
Her mind was buzzing with everything the scroll could allow her to do. Some part of her had been constantly weighing up the risks and possible rewards of casting spells over the last six months, but it was quiet, an easily ignored whisper she didn't pay much mind to. But after casting that language spell it had amplified by the thousand, impossibly loud and impossible to block out.
Moon stumbled on an uneven patch of ground, slowing as her talons landed awkwardly. Sundew shoved her forward from behind, snapping something about how useless Moon was.
They can't keep me here. Not really, not if I decided to leave. I could do anything I wanted, and they couldn't stop me. No one could, not here. She shook off the thought with a flick of her wings, like she was knocking off a blanket. She didn't like thoughts like that, ugly things that sounded nothing like her. She didn't know where they came from, but she was certain she didn't like them, and that she would never possibly listen to them.
She caught herself glancing down to the scroll case, its shining leather glimmering smugly back at her. Despite her months of travel, it never seemed to tarnish, its black covering remaining in its perfectly clean state, as though it had been sewn yesterday.
"Here." Belladonna's voice called from ahead, bringing Moon back to herself. In front of her Hemlock stopped, and she did the same, her back talons getting trampled on by Sundew.
The leafwing snarled at her, venomous thoughts spilling through her head. "Watch it!" Moon didn't particularly think that was her fault, but mumbled an apology anyway.
Ahead of them Moon could see the shape of the largest hive, 'Wasp Hive' as the others called it, looming out of the savanna. They were already substantially closer than Moon would've ever willingly come, but to her relief, it didn't look like the Leafwings were headed directly for it. Instead they seemed to be angling towards a patch of what looked like glass buildings near its base.
She heard Belladonna say something, and then Hemlock was ushering her forward to the older dragoness' side. From here Moon had a better view of the buildings. They were evenly spaced out across the ground, separated by neatly maintained gravel paths. Inside each of the buildings looked like a riot of plants, pushing against the glass and the odd fog that seemed to be contained inside of them.
"Your first test, Clearsight." Belladonna's voice hissed into her ear, it's snake-like quality making Moon squirm, "Tell me, how many guards can you see sounding this place?"
The Leafwings had been referring to her only as 'Clearsight' throughout their journey to Wasp Hive. Even now Moon wasn't sure if they were using it as an insult or just weren't bothered to remember her actual name.
Fearing the consequences of looking useless to Belladonna, Moon closed her eyes, sensing the grounds around them. The leafwing might be expecting Moon to use her foresight, but even if she was capable of that, which she doubted, she had no idea how she would begin. Instead she reached out her mind reading, pushing her awareness as far as it could reach. Counting the minds she could sense, she answered, "Six."
"Six Hivewings." Belladonna clicked her tongue, staring out ahead of them. "Where are they?"
Moon's brows furrowed as she concentrated. She imagined peering down each of the paths, mapping out the route between them and any nearby dragons. "Only two near us. Guarding that one." Without opening her eyes she pointed to a building a few rows down, which was partially obscured from where they were standing.
Belladonna flicked her tail, considering that. "Only that one?" Her eyes narrowed, "Something Wasp is rather keen on staying hidden in there I'm guessing."
"We've heard how paranoid she is, if she's trying to hide something I'd bet she wouldn't trust many dragons, even her own, to go in there." Hemlock said, joining them, "Might make hiding a bit easier."
"It would indeed." She stood, preparing to approach the building from another angle. "You're sure those are the only guards?"
Moon screwed her eyes shut tighter, pushing her mind as far as it could reach. A headache was pounding up the back of her skull, heightening as she strained her awareness far past where it could comfortably go. "No one else... I can see." Moon said with some effort, fighting to keep any amount of discomfort out of her voice.
Belladonna nodded, slinking back into the grass. The others tailed behind, and Moon struggled to follow. It took a moment for her eyes to refocus, and dizziness bogged down her talons. She felt something trailing down her snout, and reached to wipe it away. As she lowered her claw she found a thin line of red streaked across it, and frowned. She'd noticed that happening a few times, whenever she pushed her powers too far a short nose bleed seemed to follow. It was mildly concerning but nothing out of the ordinary.
Moon hurried after them as the group made their way to the back of the buildings. Belladonna was running a talon across the glass, feeling for something.
"What's so special about this greenhouse?" Sundew said to her father, folding her arms. "She could just be lying and leading us into a trap. Yes, that is definitely what she is doing and I will not let it happen!"
"If she's trying to trap us-" Belladonna said from in front, stopping at a frame which didn't look to fit quite right, "-then she must be a remarkably bad seer to think she won't end up dead before us."
By the time Moon was close enough to see what Belladonna was doing, Sundew had joined her by the glass. The young Leafwing was standing uncharacteristically still for once, which piqued Moon's interest enough to barely peer into her mind. Inside she sounded focused and calm, and it took Moon a moment to recognise that distinctive inflection of leafspeak.
She only had a moment to wonder what she was growing before she heard a soft pop as the pane was pushed out and into the greenhouse. She could just barely make out the glass being supported by vines to stop it from shattering on the ground.
"Guests first." Belladonna gestured forward with a smile that went nowhere near her eyes. As Moon stepped wearily forward she felt Hemlock's curved wing pressed with quite a bit more force than was necessary to her back, driving her forward.
Even before climbing inside Moon could feel the heat radiating from the greenhouse swamp her scales. After so long away from waterlogged air like this she knew it would take a while to adjust too, but the comfort provided by its similarity to her home back on Pyrrhia would more than make it worthwhile.
The gap was large enough for a dragon almost twice her size to fit through comfortably, so her only difficulty was the awkward half-flap she had to do to pull herself up to the hole.
Her talons landed on stone, surprising heat rising from it poking at her pads as she glanced down the twisting paths of the greenhouse. There appeared to be some attempt at order, but the majority of the plants were spilling out into the pathway, grasping for space past the many other tangled leaves.
Despite the surface level similarities, the greenhouse had a much different energy than the Rainforest. The temperature in the absence of sunlight was distinctly unnerving. It confused her internal clock which was adjusted to taking heat as a sign for rest, but the moonbeams that cut through the glass roof still called her to waking. It didn't quite have the same smell either. The leaf rot and decay scent was missing, not that Moon was overly devastated by that, but the air had an odd peppery quality to it that Moon didn't recognise from any plant she'd encountered.
She heard the others dropping in behind her, vague disgruntled thoughts echoing to her as they tried to decide on the best spot to hide. She stepped aside and pressed her wing flat to her side to let them pass her. The adults did, but Sundew stopped to give her a sideways glance. The Leafwing dragonet was taller than her, but only barely, and her curved, leaf shaped wings were barely two thirds the size of Moon's. Both of her parents were the same, although substantially older and larger. The Leafwings reminded her of the Rainwings she'd known back home, wiry and compact to fit cleanly between the trees of their home.
"You're sure there's no one else?" Sundew's voice was curt, and she fluffed up her wings in a way that instantly made Moon feel infinitely smaller than her.
"As far as I can tell." Moon tried to keep her voice even, but the Leafwing's sceptical expression did nothing to convince her that was the case. Before the moment could draw out any longer, Moon nodded to her, walking onwards down the path.
As she moved she could feel Sundew's eyes on her back, suspicion boring holes into her scales. Not that she blamed the Leafwing for that, or that not being trusted was a particularly new experience for her. From what she could understand from these dragons' minds they did have a reason for their distaste towards Clearsight, and any of her ilk. Moon couldn't yet make sense of that reason, but their stalwart belief in it was enough to convince her what she knew was enough.
With those thoughts Moon felt a twist in her stomach, what she'd come to know well as the call of something from the future. Sure would be nice to know what's calling though. The rustling ahead of her stopped, Belladonna and Hemlock apparently satisfied with where they'd decided to settle. Maybe whatever grudge they have against Clearsight will matter more to me someday. Or maybe- she thought with a short bloom of hope -She's left us something behind to help me deal with this scroll.
She couldn't tell which one of those was the case, or if either of them were the truth of her future. She liked the idea of that second thought though, that Clearsight might have possibly seen Moon's predicament in one of her many futures and left something to assist.
The Leafwings settled quickly, in an area near the back left of the greenhouse, far enough away from the glass to not be visible through it. Their forest green scales allowed for easy cover amongst the growth. She however, was not quite as lucky.
Kneeling down to rest her talons as the others prepared to sleep, she was swarmed by a veritable gang of vide-leaved plants, choking her scales until she looked more bush than dragon.
"Is this really necessary?" Moon asked Sundew as the Leafwing settled on the ground near her, far enough away that neither of her parents could make out their voices easily.
Sundew glanced at her, examining her work. "No, I just find it greatly amusing."
Moon found that rather hard to believe, as she wasn't smiling, but maybe Leafwings were different about that kind of thing. "Why are we here?"
Sundew was in the middle of picking mud from her claws, and slowly raised her eyes to meet Moon's as though it were a great inconvenience to her. "Are you really trying to talk to me right now?"
"Ah- um," Moon shifted nervously, unsure if the question was rhetorical. She hadn't spoken in earnest to any of the Leafwings since a few days prior, on the night she'd been found, and by now she was finding the tension was just a bit too much for her. Maybe she should've tried talking to Hemlock instead. He didn't seem particularly interesting, nor did he appear to have any kind of personality to speak of, but he did seem less bitter? hostile? Then either his daughter or wife, "Not if you don't want to."
Sundew crossed her arms, muscles rippling beneath chipped, worn scales. "You mean you don't know?" She snorted, "You really are terrible at this whole seer business, aren't you Clearsight? You know, I haven't the faintest what Belladonna sees in you, you're a dragonet for peat's sake!"
"You're a dragonet," Moon managed to get out, her voice quiet enough she was impressed Sundew heard it at all.
"Not a pathetic mumbling one though." She hissed. "You know, you're a lot more intimidating when you're not talking, because every time you open your mouth I'm reminded of how useless you are. At least when you've shut up, you could at least pass for someone who knows anything about the future, with that face you're putting on."
Moon was rather startled by the idea she could ever be described as intimidating, "What face I'm putting on?"
"Your distant, serene, "I've seen everything that'll ever happen to me so I know you can't hurt me" face. Which is a lie by the way I bet I could totally hurt you."
Moon blinked, "That's just my face."
Sundew eyed her suspiciously, "You… really?"
"I would think so, yes."
"Well then it's very-" Moon noted with amusement how the Leafwing appeared to be trying to come up with something that wasn't positive, "-aggravating. Yes, aggravating."
"Oh. Well then, I'll uh, try not to have a face like that."
Sundew scratched her claws through the dirt, entirely destroying the work she had just done cleaning them, but carving smoothly satisfying grooves in the ground. "You're very difficult to yell at. Normally back home everyone else would just yell back, and then I'd get to have fun having a shouting match, but you just roll over. And then the worst part, is now I feel bad for yelling at you, because it doesn't look like you're capable of defending yourself at all."
Moon didn't know what to say to that. The closest thing she'd ever been in to an argument was while they were searching for Queen Scarlet. Winter had woken her up in the middle of the night to tell her his suspicions that their skywing escort could be an animus. She wasn't sure if she agreed, but she'd wanted to let him get some sleep, so she said she'd wake and tell Qibli. He had vehemently disagreed, and they'd gone back and forth for a while.
It never turned into anything above a whisper, as they were sensitive to accidentally waking anyone else up, but she just hadn't been able to understand why he hadn't been able to trust her to talk to Qibli without him.
She still didn't understand, but she still felt bad about upsetting him. Part of her had always wondered if that conversation was one of the reasons he'd decided to leave them.
"Why are you here?" Sundew broke into her thoughts. "And I don't mean in that wishy-washy 'running away' sense, because you've already told me about that. I mean, why didn't you try to stay? Weren't there dragons who cared about you? Wouldn't you have preferred to fight to stay?"
Guilt washed over her, but nothing worse than she'd already been feeling before. Why didn't I try to stay? I faced one ounce of resistance, and ran because I was scared. I was scared. That's it, isn't it? I'm just a coward. "There were." She answered slowly, unsure if she should tell how few dragons probably even noticed she was gone. "My mother, and friends. I had to leave though. They weren't safe, and I couldn't endanger them."
Qibli holding the scroll, manic power flowing through him. The scroll burning, brighter and hotter until it swallowed the world. Darkness over everything, forever.
Maybe I just didn't want them to endanger me. "You understand that, don't you?"
She really wasn't sure if the Leafwing would, she didn't seem particularly attached to her parents. Sundew's features softened, her talon moving to a pouch around her neck, closing around something solid. Moon barely needed to brush Sundew's mind, she recognised that emotion from her mother.
It was love.
With the plants snuffing out most of the moonlight it was hard to make out much, making the light that caught and sparkled on the scattering of gold scales across the Leafwings snout shine even brighter. Moon noticed for the first time that the Leafwing was quite pretty when her face wasn't contorted in a snarl.
"Sure, I guess." The Leafwing said with a short delay, "If you like sappy nonsense like that."
Moon smiled, "I'm sure you do like sappy nonsense like that, Sundew, even if you don't want to admit it to me."
Sundew looked back to her, smiling faintly as well. "It's impossible for me to take you seriously while you look like an overgrown fern." She waved her talon, and the plants curved, heavy leaves moving to make her face clearer.
"Thank you," Moon tried to nod but she wasn't quite free enough to have to space for that. "Are you staying up?
Sundew grumbled, giving a glare in the general direction of her parents, "Yes. It's my turn for guard duty. So I'm staying close enough to you to kick you awake and ask if we're actually in danger according to your visions or whatever, or use you as a hostage if necessary."
"Oh lovely." Moon said dryly, "Glad to know you think I'm so useful."
"It's nothing personal." Sundew shrugged, "We all reckon Wasp would rather have you alive than capture us."
"She would?" Moon couldn't think of a reason why, she wasn't particularly useful, was she? And what reason would Queen Wasp have to want these three captured? Well, other than trespassing. "Why are we even here, Sundew?"
"We're going to steal the book." Sundew said in a tone that suggested no further argument. Not that Moon would have argued, given she hadn't the foggiest what the Leafwing was talking about.
"What's a book?"
Sundew stared at her, as though she was the daftest dragon that ever lived. "You can't be serious."
Moon frowned. "Serious about what? I've never heard of a book before."
Sundew's browns lifted, "Oh, you're trying to make a joke. Well It's really not funny, it just makes you look stupid."
Moon stared at her blankly, until the Leafwing finally realised she was being serious.
She shook her head, stunned, "Were you raised under a stump or something?"
Moon shrugged, "Kind of."
"A book," Sundew enunciated slowly, like she was explaining this to a hatchling, "Is a collection of pages, sewn together. They have lots of little words in them, and they tell you things."
Moon decided not to point out how it felt like the Leafwing was insulting her intelligence, instead latching onto what she recognised, "Oh yes, I've seen those! They had lots of them in the markets around another Hive."
Sundew scowled, "Then why did you pretend you didn't know what they were?"
"I didn't know they were called books." Moon said defensively.
"Ah, so you are stupid after all."
Perhaps the Leafwing expected Moon to try defending her honour by countering that, but watching the faint line of grey spreading across the horizon she had neither the energy nor the want to do so.
She yawned, resting her head on her crossed talons, "Good day Sundew." And if the Leafwing said anything else, she didn't hear it.
She was cold, colder than anything she'd felt before.
Bitter numbness clung to her limbs, bogging them down like an insect trapped in water. She wasn't sure if she could move, she wasn't trying to. She just didn't care.
Something moved, sending vibrations through the shadows behind her. Moon's ear twitched, but it picked up nothing. Of course it didn't, there was nothing there, nothing to worry about.
Was there nothing to worry about? She thought so, but maybe not. Wasn't there…
Fire burned before her, shrieking cries and desperate claws reached out for her. She tried to push them away, curling in on herself as the blackness around her dripped down around the scene, swallowing it.
Nothing to worry about.
She thought she was something, a flash of warmth in the corner of her eye. It was warm and golden, and she tried to reach for it before it was swallowed as well.
Where are they going? Nothing to worry about.
She frowned.
She could feel something, tugging at her brain. It felt important
Pressure built, louder and louder until it was screaming in her ear-
"CLEARSIGHT!"
Moon jolted awake, trembling. Sundew had her ear pinched tightly between her claws, but she barely seemed to notice.
She was let go and Moon whispered a thanks. The Leafwing didn't seem to hear her, staring around at the roof as though something had spooked her.
"Do you hear that?"
Moon glanced around. It was quiet. Far too quiet.
She was about to respond in the negative when she heard it. It sounded like insects buzzing from high above them. Something from on top of the leaves they couldn't see? A hornet's nest perhaps? No, hornets were nocturnal, and although the sound was quiet it echoed too much to come from somewhere so close.
It sounded muffled, dampened by something but she couldn't tell what.
"What is it?" Moon's ears fought between pricking up to hear the noise better, and flattening in fear.
"Isn't that your job?" Sundew hissed, though without her usual not of hostility
Her mouth felt dry, but she reached out her mind. Focusing on what she could hear, it was surprisingly clear in her mind, the only disturbances being Sundew's wild thoughts beside her. Belladonna was asleep next to her husband, her face more peaceful than Moon thought she'd ever see it again.
Sundew caught her eyes straying and kicked her, "Focus Clearsight."
Moon did so, expanding her bubble of awareness. She reached the guards, grumbling silently about having to wake up so early for work. Still she pushed on, until the thought she would be able to hear anyone in the base of the Hive. She heard nothing, and tried to stretch further.
She clenched her jaw in pain as a headache coursed through her skull. It pounded at her temples, dull and throbbing.
"Well? What is it?"
All Moon could manage was a small shake of her head.
Sundew frowned, opening her mouth when she stopped. The sound hit them at the same time, and they both twisted to look above them as the sun was blotted out. It was a swarm, spilling from the Hive in a great, buzzing mass. They spread out, covering the sky and dropping lower to the savanna. It was the Hive dragons, 'Hivewings' as the Leafwings called them, and they were nothing like Moon had ever seen them before. They moved in eerie jittering motion, perfectly in sync with one and other in a way that made her want to scream.
Moon's mind was still open, open and unprepared as their thoughts slammed into her. She didn't know what she'd been expecting, but she never could've prepared for this. They thought as one, orders ringing through all of their minds loud and convincing. She tried to pull free, but they held her mind tight, digging in like a thousand insect bites
So consumed by the thoughts she couldn't hear anything around her, she didn't know if Sundew had noticed her expression shifting. She tried to say something to catch her attention, but she found she couldn't make a sound.
The headache built, larger and angrier, and suddenly the words surged through her, just as the prophecy had all those months ago, "FIND THE FLAMESILK, BRING HIM TO ME."
Moon dropped, limp, and Sundew barely caught her in rough talons. Moon could hardly twitch a claw, so she focused on her breathing as Darkstalker had taught her to do when anything became too much for her.
Sundew flipped her over so she could see her face. The Leafwing was staring down at her like Moon had ripped off her scales to reveal a howler monkey underneath.
Moon felt something warm on her snout. It dripped across her scales, and as it reached her mouth she tasted blood.
"Moon? Moon, your eyes were glowing. Are you- what the hell was that!" Sundew was so startled she accidentally used Moon's real name. The Leafwing shook her and all Moon could manage in protest was a discontent groan
A gap in the Hivewings appeared, lancing sunlight into Moon's eyes. She forced them shut, pulling herself to sitting. "I'm fine," her voice started off weak, growing in strength as she continued, "I… don't know what that was. It's never happened before."
Sundew didn't believe her, Moon didn't need to be a mind reader to see that, but she didn't contradict her. "Here." The Leafwing roughly bundled a large, flat pouch into her talons, helping her unscrew the cap.
Moon raised it to her mouth, drinking down a few mouthfuls of cooling water. It eased her dried throat as she handed it back with a nod.
Above them the Hive dragons fanned out, dark shadows moving above them.
"Will they see us?" Sundew asked.
"I-I don't think so," Moon said, shaken. She could sense some amount of danger from these dragons, but nothing that suggested they were about to burst down the door and catch them all.
Sundew nodded in agreement, "Right, she's probably too busy searching for that flamesilk to worry about checking in the greenhouses. Are the guards stationed outside still there?"
Moon tilted her head, curious. "Yes, they're still there. Sundew what's a flamesilk?"
"It's a type of Silkwing that can spin fire."
When Moon continued to stare bewildered, Sundew sighed, "You really don't know anything, do you?"
Moon couldn't help but smile self consciously.
"Do you know what a Silkwing is?"
"Um-"
"That's a no then. They're like... if butterflies were dragons. They're colourful, and generally ditsy and useless, and they spin silk from their wrists." She tapped her wrist as if to demonstrate. "Flamesilks, instead of spinning regular silk, spin silk that's on fire, and in the Hives they use it for light and heating." She gestured to the pathway, "I'm guessing that's what's heating this floor."
"Oh um, alright, thank you." That solved the mystery of that first blue dragon she'd seen, he was a Silkwing. She wondered why she'd rarely seen them outside of the Hives. "Why do you think Queen Wasp is after her?"
Sundew's face suddenly changed, and she twisted her neck so Moon couldn't see it. "No idea, don't care." She said a little too quickly.
Moon desperately wanted to know, but the Leafwing had gone a historical amount of time without insulting her, and she didn't want to chance upsetting her. "Right, sorry. Do you think they'll catch her?"
"Look, I can tell you're a little emotionally stunted, so I'm going to tell you this for your own sake now. When someone gives you an answer like that, they don't want to talk anymore."
"Alright." Moon mumbled, resting her head. The sky was mostly clear now, and with the heat of the greenhouse and the sun seeping into her scales it was impossible to ignore the urge to sleep. "See you in the evening then."
She wasn't sure if Sundew replied, she wouldn't have been surprised if she hadn't.