This will probably be the last update for the year. But as we know, whenever I say something like this, it turns out not being the case. However, I gotta get further in my other storeis (Perilous Waters I want done by Christmas) and I think this ends in a good point.
"I don't believe you."
Fierceteeth glared up at Qibli as she sat within her confinement. It wasn't a prison cell, as she clearly was suffering some sort of amnesia. But, she couldn't be let loose. So, Hope had put her in a guest room and had guards on the door. A barred window to prevent escape. If she needed to leave, she would be escorted.
Although it was against the better judgment of Peacemaker, Qibli managed to convince him to allow entry. Qibli had no intentions of creating a scene, but something was fishy about all of this. He didn't tell anyone where he was going except Peacemaker, as he needed his permission with Hope being tied up with Glory.
Once he entered the room and the door shut, Qibli said what he did.
"I think having an animus object ripped off me reinforces my alibi." Fierceteeth hissed back. She had a resemblance to Starflight, although was much fiercer looking and almost wild. The rebellious nature she held had been subdued, but there was still a fire of defiance that burned bright.
"Oh, no, I agree that you were being controlled." Qibli nodded curtly. "What I don't believe is that you don't remember anything."
"I remember fragments at best now. Believe me, I want to know who dared put me under another spell." Fierceteeth's namesake bared. "I don't remember much of what Darkstalker did to me twenty years ago, but I remember losing my sense of self. I never wanted to experience that again."
Qibli frowned. It was impossible to forget what that monster had done to Fierceteeth. They never told her, or at least he didn't. It was for the best, truthfully. How could you explain to someone that they were perverted in such a way?
"Fragments are not nothing." Qibli instead pressed. "What fragments do you remember?"
"The odd flash. A sensation of being in the dark. Ordering dragons. They last as quick as a blink and I know nothing more." Fierceteeth walked around her room, tail lashing out aggressively.
"Fierceteeth, don't lie to me. I recognize your body language," Qibli responded darkly. "You're hiding something."
"That is a dangerous accusation. I have done nothing but tell the truth."
"A lie by omission is not the truth." Qibli took one step forward. "One way or the other, I'm going to find out. If you tell me now, I'll be sure that you are cleared soon. If you lie… well, did they tell you that my son is on death's door?"
"You bred?" Fierceteeth raised a brow. "Hmph. No, I have not heard anything."
"My son is dying. If he dies, and you held anything back that could've helped us… there is nowhere you can hide that I won't find you." Qibli flashed his tail barb for emphasis.
Fierceteeth stared at the barb, a dark look on her face. "Look, I don't remember anything. The enchantment said that I had to obey everything, right? Who's to say that I wasn't ordered to forget?"
The thought had crossed Qibli's mind but found it rather implausible. The mind wasn't that easily susceptible to memory loss. Still, it was a possibility.
"Then tell me what fragments you do remember in detail."
Fierceteeth obliged without any coercion. The sensation of being in the dark came from being enveloped in a thick veil of shadow. The more Qibli prodded her, though, she did come out and say something strange:
"There's a voice in that darkness."
Qibli couldn't get anything else out of her on that front. The odd flash was bits of random moments. She remembered being on a rooftop and then a balcony. Getting armor. She couldn't remember from where, and Qibli did believe her on that front. However, the descriptions did help. For example, the balcony overlooked the castle from the left. The armor was from underground.
As for ordering soldiers, as expected, there was an underground army. However, Fierceteeth paused when she began to describe it.
"… Oh, that's clever." She hissed out.
"What?" Qibli pressed.
"My lieutenants also had necklaces." Fierceteeth spat. "The same exact ones. There is no difference between them."
Qibli raised a brow. "That would imply that they have the same enchantment in them."
"Exactly. And animus is dead, yes?" Fierceteeth hissed out. "So… how'd they get duplicated?"
Qibli had only one answer to that. But, it was an impossibility. There was no way.
"Well, it seems you came for what you were looking for." Fierceteeth grinned, showing off her fangs. "Are we done here?"
"You're still hiding something." Qibli frowned.
"I hide a lot of things. But not about this. I'm allowed to keep secrets, you know. But, I'm done with rebellions." Fierceteeth examined her claw as if uninterested. "No, I want to be left alone. Much like you, I have a dragonet now. I don't even know how I was found."
"You? With a dragonet?" Qibli blinked a few times to make sure he was processing this.
"Strongwings and I finally settled down. Is that so shocking?" Fierceteeth shook her head. "Once this is over, I will return to them, and I will never see your faces again I hope." She glanced out the window, a faint hint of worry on her face. Qibli recognized that look to say 'I hope they're alright'.
"Do you think Strongwings knows about this?" Qibli asked.
"I don't know. I don't even know how I'll explain this to him." Fierceteeth sighed. "I suppose I'll have to lead Hope – or, really, should I call her Foeslayer these days? – to where we hid out, huh? She's not gonna let this go."
"I'd keep the Foeslayer part on the downlow."
"I figured." Fierceteeth cricked her neck and stretched. "Now, are we done for real? Because I'd like to have a moment alone without a guard or the queen barging in my room."
"Yeah, we're done."
Qibli left the NightWing, concern brewing in his mind. There was a way to mass produce those necklaces, and he wasn't sure how to feel about how. But, he knew who to talk to about this.
He found Turtle resting in the ocean. Peril wasn't nearby, which was a tad surprising. They were usually glued at the hip… in more ways than one. This worked out, though. He didn't exactly want this to get out that quickly.
"Oh, hey Qibli." Turtle swamp up to the beach. "How are you doing?"
"About as well as I can be." Qibli forced a smile. Turtle saw right through it. "We're moving Sandrunner soon."
"I have some reservations about it but… it may be the best bet." Turtle winced. "I'm glad he made it through the night, though. Peril was so stressed that she offered to destroy some old homes so they could be rebuilt."
That mental image made Qibli laugh, however briefly.
"Turtle, where's your bowl?" Qibli decided to just ask directly.
"Jade Mountain. Why?" Turtle tilted his head, confused.
"Because someone used your bowl to duplicate the necklace on Fierceteeth."
Turtle blinked, trying to register what Qibli had said. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Fierceteeth told me that the same necklace was placed on some lieutenants. Which means the same animus enchantment was on them." Qibli hissed lowly. "The only piece of parchment that we know is animus enchanted is Darkstalker's scroll. There's nowhere near enough for anyone to rip off tiny pieces."
"… How?" Turtle asked blankly. "I keep that under lock and key. Nobody could get in and out without me noticing." He pulled out a key from his satchel, which had been placed on the ground nearby. "See?"
"Turtle, you just explained how someone could have gotten it." Qibli did his best not to get annoyed. "You left it unattended. I'm sure you don't sleep with the satchel, either."
"But, where I put it is always next to me when I sleep…" Turtle's brow furrowed. Qibli saw panic begin to crawl on his face. "I have it next to my bed. I'd know if someone was rummaging through it. Or, at least, Peril would."
"I'm not blaming you for this." Qibli quickly assured the nervous SeaWing. "What I'm saying is that the mastermind behind this is crafty."
"So, they know about the bowl. They can do this without anyone noticing. And they know about Darkstalker's scroll." Turtle flapped his wings to shake off energy. "Qibli… you know what this looks like, right?"
"I don't think any of us are traitors." Qibli shook his head.
"Not what I meant. What I meant is that someone has been studying our exploits." Turtle shifted uncomfortably. "Somebody figured out about the scroll. How could they have ever done that? We're facing someone who was either there… or that ghost of Darkstalker was actually real."
Qibli was afraid of that. He'd pushed the apparition into the back of his mind, focused on Sandrunner. But, now that Turtle laid it all out… yeah, it came across as if Darkstalker was actually back.
It was stupid to consider. It was even stupider to start believing in ghosts. But, if there's a giant plant monster that had enslaved almost all of Pantala… well, this wouldn't be that far of a stretch.
"Well, we had a good twenty year run of peace." Qibli groaned, cricking his neck and stretching. He was all wound up from the night's events. "What's life without a bit of excitement?"
"Easy. Livable. Comfortable, even."
"I'm being sarcastic." Qibli sighed quietly. "You ready to move out when night falls, by the way?"
"Yeah." Turtle nodded. "Where are we bringing him to?"
"Winter's," Qibli answered vaguely. Turtle seemed to understand, at least. "Figured it'd be a good neutral place to reconvene, too. You'll need to teach at JMA too, so it isn't that far."
"Yeah, Tsunami will throw a fit if all of us just exit…" Turtle fidgeted with a small laugh. "That sounds good, though. I'll be sure to find a new place for the bowl, too. Never can be too careful…"
"Good idea. Again, I'm not blaming you for this. Nobody could've ever seen this coming." Qibli patted Turtle's shoulder. "See you in a few… and seriously, don't beat yourself up, or I'll tell Peril to bind you."
"Please don't, she'll like that way too much."
"Exactly why I'm threatening it." Qibli spread his wings with a wink, departing into the air.
Moon was awoken by the sound of someone approaching. She blinked blearily before realizing that it was Duskweaver. She didn't seem to realize that Moon had awoken, instead looking down at Sandrunner with an unreadable expression.
Perhaps it was paranoia, but Moon instinctively tried to read her mind to gauge Duskweaver's intentions. All she got was some surface level thoughts along the lines of 'not supposed to happen'. There was frustration and anger drenched in a light coating of guilt.
"Oh." Duskweaver turned her attention to Moon. "I didn't mean to wake you, sorry."
"You're fine." Moon grumbled as she shook herself awake. "How are you doing?"
"About as well as I can." Duskweaver grimaced. "I'm more concerned about Sandrunner. If he didn't do what he did… we both wouldn't be in this wing."
Moon paused. Should she tell her about what Deathbringer suggested? She was, after all, directly involved. And they were close friends since the time of Jade Mountain, even if Sandrunner didn't reach out afterward. Whatever funk he was in seemed to have faded and the two reconnected.
"He was the target." Moon decided to tell her. "There's no way you could have known."
"That… explains a lot, actually." Duskweaver's mouth thinned as her lips pursed together tightly. "Why they didn't follow me and seemed to attack him more than make a grab for me."
"He was the target because of me." Moon returned her attention to Sandrunner. He looked a bit healthier, but maybe it was her projecting. She still heard no unconscious thoughts in his mind. "We're moving him tonight."
"Where to?" Duskweaver asked.
"Can't say. Never know who will be listening."
Duskweaver nodded understandingly. "Truth be told… I may have to go myself."
"Why?" Moon raised a brow.
"Well, you heard Darkstalker's declaration about my grandmother. That's… well, the kingdom is not quite enthused to learn this information. She fears that they may try and take it out on me. My father's really big, whereas I'm rather dainty." She placed a claw on her chest to emphasize her point. Sure enough, she was delicate and while not small, was considerably shorter than her father.
"Where will you go?" Moon asked her.
"I don't know. I really don't." Duskweaver glanced about, notably frustrated. "There's the Rain Kingdom, but some fled there already. I really have nowhere to go. It's why I was asking where you were taking him, cuz I may as well follow and take care of him. I know all of you are going to have your claws full dealing with this."
"Do you have nursing practice?" Moon eyed her critically. She normally wouldn't be this strict, but… well…
"Yes, actually." Duskweaver nodded. Moon raised a brow. "I'm sure my father told you that I used to help out in the medical wing when I was younger. I started doing it again in my spare time, which hasn't been a lot truthfully. But I know a lot about it."
"Mmm… alright." Moon didn't see an issue with it. "Just as long as you're okay with me hovering over you for a while. And my mother, because the moment she hears about this, there's no getting rid of her."
"I expected it. Parents and loved ones tend to do that." Duskweaver laughed quietly.
"By the way, have you been practicing your powers?" Moon decided to come out and ask. "Because your shield is incredibly strong."
"Oh, yes. There's actually a small 'coven' of mind readers that gathers every other week." Duskweaver chuckled. "We help hone each other's mind. That means shielding it, too. Nice group, really. Just overwhelmed, as you may imagine."
"Coven, huh?" Moon couldn't help but snort at the name. "Did you come up with it yourselves or was it something branded."
"Oh, a little of both. Our youngest, a three year old, loves it. Says she feels like a witch." Duskweaver snickered back. "She keeps things lively. Really, it's a matter of trying to get her not to react whenever her crush starts thinking about her."
"Ah, to be that age again… I remember being so scared of it. If I had a coven, maybe I wouldn't be." Moon said wistfully. "I think I turned out alright, though."
"I'd say so. You're still welcome to sit in on a session if you're here, though. I'm sure the rest of the coven would love to have a dragon born under two moons."
"It's not as glamorous as you may think it is." Moon shook her head.
"No, I didn't expect so. Imagine if you were born under three, though."
"Ugh… don't remind me." Moon rolled her eyes, glancing to Sandrunner. "Makes me glad that this one didn't care at all about the moons."
"I did find that strange, really." Duskweaver admitted after a moment. "It'd be so helpful for him. His surface thoughts were usually so… I don't know… anxious? Uncertain? It would've helped assure him that nobody hated him."
"He's a complicated one." Moon stroked Sandrunner's arm. He was a tad warmer, and his scales had the slightest bit of color to them now. Still, anything could change, and Moon was doing her best to ignore the bombarding visions. "Never took the easy route, even when it'd save him so much pain."
"Yeah… I don't get it, but I can respect it." Duskweaver shook her head.
Movement attracted Moon's eye as a tall SandWing stepped into the room: Blaze. That was strange. Moon didn't think that the two had any connection. Unless… no, he couldn't have. Sandrunner never had an interest that way.
"I heard he was in terrible condition." Blaze had an unusually serious look on her face. It threw Moon right off. "I didn't realize you were in here."
"No, you're fine." Moon quickly answered. "But, yes… I'm sure whatever it was you heard, it's true."
"I'll admit, I am not one for emotional or even serious words." Blaze stood over Sandrunner's body. "I may as well admit that he and I did have a night together. It was one night, and nothing more. But, even I felt the loneliness and isolation in him. I gave him advice to explore himself. I didn't realize that his path would end here, though. This is a first."
Moon felt herself twitch at Blaze's words. "His path hasn't ended yet."
"What I meant was 'ended up', my mistake." Blaze nodded quickly. "He's a lot more resilient than we give him credit for. I've seen many wounds during my time in the war. Soldiers have died from less. I just wanted to give my regards. It may have only been a one night stand, but I can tell he left a changed dragon. Not in the way you think, though."
"I sensed a shift in him, but I wasn't sure what from." Moon wanted to be angry that Sandrunner did end up following Blaze to the bedroom. The age difference was massive, but he was an adult. He could make his own decisions.
It just made Moon loathe herself more, though. She couldn't give him affection with her own misery, and he crawled to someone who showed it. What kind of mother would do that to her own dragonet? That would change the moment he woke up. She'd be more active in his life, she swore it.
"I think you may wish to know, but Cobra has been enlisted to aid. I think she will take great joy in tracking down the real mastermind behind this." Blaze added after a moment.
"Why?" Moon raised a brow. "She's never taken an interest in him."
"Someone in her family was struck down. That is bad for business and most certainly reflects on her. I've spoken to dragons like her many times. Even if they don't like each other, family is family, and makes it personal." Blaze's black eyes drifted down to Sandrunner again. "I don't pretend to understand it."
"You're a lot smarter than dragons give you credit for." Moon couldn't help but comment.
Blaze smiled, chuckling. "Oh, I don't know about that. I couldn't tell you anything about history or math or whatever. But reading dragons… yes, I suppose I am quite good at that."
"Where's Thorn now?" Moon decided to ask. "I haven't seen her since everything happened."
"Oh, she's been locked in conversations with Glory and Hope. She was in here last night, I believe, but couldn't stay long." Blaze shrugged. "No idea what they're talking about. Thorn doesn't tell me, and I don't like politics anyway. No, I'm doing what I do best… which I should get back to."
With that, Blaze took her leave.
"You knew, didn't you?" Moon slid her eye to Duskweaver, who had been suspiciously quiet ever since Blaze walked in.
"Erm… yes, I did. I accidentally read his mind when he thought about it." Duskweaver had an embarrassed look on her face. "I promised I wouldn't bring it up again and, truthfully, thought you were aware."
"No. But… well, it's done. Maybe if this didn't happen, I'd have more to say, but all I'm concerned about is his recovery." Moon touched Sandrunner's face. She felt his breathing, however ragged and shallow it was. "You don't have to stay. I'll be here a while."
"No, no, it's okay. I feel responsible for this, so I don't mind sitting here." Duskweaver offered a small smile. "And besides, I think you need a friend. Deathbringer doesn't lend himself to conversations when he's up in the rafters." She glanced up. "Yes, I can hear your thoughts."
Moon saw Deathbringer shift from up above, but otherwise he didn't reply. At least, not verbally. His mind was full of swears, however. It got Moon to snicker at least.
Moons knew she needed that.
"In one fell swoop, my son has completely undermined everything we tried to accomplish." Hope mused as she looked out the window, wine goblet in her wingtalon. "Really, I should have expected this."
Sunny, Glory, Thorn, and Winter were all in Queen Hope's private chambers, where she had relocated to discuss the previous night's events. It was very gothic, like the rest of the castle, with red satin bedding and a dark – almost dreary – environment. The candles burned dimly, but that was hardly an issue for Sunny.
"Why?" Glory raised a brow. "It wasn't like we expected him to come back. As far as we know, Peacemaker's enchantment hasn't broken."
"Killing him would've been more permanent. There was always a chance the enchantment would wane or not quite give us what we wanted." Hope shook her head. "I was so desperate for a family, for a restart, that I didn't plan for the future. Darkstalker could've countered the enchantment, and I think he did. Just… not in the way we expected. His soul is still active, as we all saw."
"And there's no chance that this is trickery?" Thorn didn't sound convinced. "I'll admit, I know very little of this nonsense, but I know deception. This reeks of it. I mean, all of this to kill Sandrunner? I've seen some dragons do crazy things for assassination, but not this."
Sunny had not kept Deathbringer's observation hidden. It was crucial to figuring this all out. Needless to say, the others were completely baffled before it made sense. Killing the dragonet of the two Darkstalker hated the most would devastate them.
"It's good misdirection." Winter commented, his voice completely neutral. "Had Deathbringer not made the observation, we would've assumed Duskweaver to be the target. There's no way that someone random would target Sandrunner. No, whoever it is either thinks they are Darkstalker, or part of his soul indeed burst through."
"I talked to Peacemaker. He has no signs of breaking." Hope faced them. "I can't just outright tell him who he really is in case it crumbles. Nor will I take away Duskweaver's father."
"Has anyone directly confronted you?" Sunny questioned. "Really, there's no proof to Darkstalker's words. He was insane, and everyone agreed he was after everything."
"Some have been giving me strange looks." Hope admitted. "Yet, true as that is about unfounded claims, you know how rumors go. This kingdom may crumble if we don't get this under control and stop Darkstalker."
"No animus enchantments." Winter immediately spoke up. Sunny grimaced. He'd all but invited himself in, which was allowed because he was the leader of a neutral hub. "We're doing this the way it should have gone."
"Yes, I agree." Hope let out a defeated sigh. "Loathe as I am to kill my own dragonet, this is the only way we can ensure his true demise."
"Are you sure you won't have second thoughts?" Winter asked pointedly.
"You don't have to like me, but trust that I didn't want any of this to happen." Hope growled back.
"You have not given me any reason to trust you. I freed you from the Diamond Trial, and the moment I got injured, you abandoned me. Time and time again you did questionable actions, and this is no different."
"I was tortured for two thousand years by IceWings, how did I know you had no ulterior motives? And besides, you tackled a firescales dragon. You should be dead. I did not wish to stick around and die along with you." Hope narrowed her gaze.
"Okay, enough!" Sunny jumped between them, hovering in the air to keep them apart. "We're all high strung right now, but we can't take it out on each other! We have to get ahead of this!"
"She's right." Thorn agreed. "The past is the past. Unless any of you has an animus object to rewrite reality, we need to focus on getting rid of this cult."
"Fierceteeth yielded nothing." Hope shook her head, turning away from Winter. "She has no memories. She's not lying, either."
"Interesting." Glory murmured. "I remember being under Darkstalker's spell. It was like I was in a haze the entire time. Yet, all it did was make it so we liked and trusted him. I can hardly recall myself during that time period."
"Same." Sunny landed next to her fellow Dragon of Destiny. "I felt like someone other than myself and was on auto-flight. So, her not remembering anything makes perfect sense to me."
"Right, I was under the same spell. It was not… pleasant." Winter shuddered. "But, we can skirt around this all day. What I want to know is how Darkstalker plans on coming back on the Darkest Night, and where."
"Animus won't work at that time, I assume." Sunny's brow furrowed. "Meaning that anything cast by any NightWing animus is defunct. The tunnels, anything Darkstalker cast… which includes Peacemaker."
"Shoulda just waited until this Blackest Night to yank your father out of his cave." Thorn muttered under her breath. Sunny cracked a smile at that.
"I can't simply keep Peacemaker locked away." Hope hissed out. "I refuse to do so. I don't care if he's an enchantment, he is real to me. I won't treat him like he's a soulless husk."
"I'm not suggesting that." Sunny reassured her. "But, when the time comes, we do need a contingency plan. He's not going to like being involved in it and not told why."
"How do you tell someone that they are the vessel of one of the most powerful, destructive dragons that ever existed?" Hope tapped her talons on the floor with agitation. "He's already asking me about Darkstalker. I fear he may learn the truth on his own, and I don't want that. But… how do you tell anyone that?"
"Tell them the truth," Winter said bluntly. Sunny glared at him. "He's the reincarnation of Darkstalker. I concede that revealing that he is just an animus enchantment may be… damaging, but he needs to know enough."
"If he's the reincarnation, how did his soul get out?" Thorn immediately shot a hole in Winter's words. "Reincarnation suggests a renewal of soul and body. His soul is separated, it seems. It's also why I think there is some smoke and mirrors. Such as the candles. They all went out at once."
"I'll admit, that's the part that's throwing me off, too." Glory grumbled. "Deathbringer swears up and down that nobody could've done it that fast, and that there were no dragons near at least half of them. I'm inclined to believe him. The coordination would be astronomical."
"Or it's an animus object."
Everyone turned around to see Moon entering the room. She had shadows under her eyes, and looked miserable. Sunny went to question how she got in, but given everything, it made sense that she'd be allowed. The timing was a bit… convenient, but Moon probably had a vision of some sort.
"Pardon?" Hope questioned.
"I didn't think of it until a few moments ago." Moon's face grew grim. "Starflight and Fatespeaker found more of Scarlet's troves. One of the objects in there allowed the user to snuff out any candle in a room. They didn't say there was a limit."
"What else did they uncover?" Hope marched up to Moon, a look of desperation on her face.
"I don't know. Most were broken. I didn't get a chance to speak to them that much before we came here."
"That is top priority." Hope moved away, a steely look on her face.
"So, trickery was involved." Thorn mused, wing talon tapping her chin. "I can write to Queen Ruby."
"I think Peril will just go and ask her." Sunny shook her head. "The two of them are close."
"Ah, fair enough."
There was a knocking on the window as a shadow fell over them. Everyone looked to see Qibli hovering outside, and he was allowed in after some grumbling about 'just knocking on the door like a normal dragon'.
"You're lucky the guards didn't attack." Hope shook her head.
"Nah, I got a recognizable scar. Hard to mistake me." Qibli ran a talon across it. Thorn let out a deep sigh at that. "Anyway uh, I would've went the normal way, but I just spoke to Fierceteeth and then Turtle -"
"Qibli." Hope cut him off, her voice calm. "Did you just admit to speaking to the prisoner without permission?"
"I had permission." Qibli defended himself. "Peacemaker allowed me. Given what happened, I think he felt bad."
"I…" Hope slapped a claw to her forehead. "Just once, I'd like dragons to do what I tell them. Fine. Go on."
"So, the necklace on Fierceteeth. That's been replicated. She had flashes of memory that confirmed it." Qibli continued, his face grim. Sunny froze. She knew where this was going. From the stiffening in both Winter and Moon's postures, they did too. "If it's the same necklace, there's reason to believe the enchantment was also in it. There's no enchanted parchment outside of Darkstalker's scroll that we know of. Which, at most, may have a few scraps."
"And that means?" Glory motioned for him to keep talking.
"The only object of duplication that we know of is Turtle's bowl. Which is at Jade Mountain quite literally under lock and key." Qibli eyed all of them. "Someone knew about the scraps, knew about the bowl, and was able to get in without anyone noticing."
"Traitor?" Thorn's face darkened.
"No, I don't think it was any of us. We all know what a disaster it'd be to bring him back." Qibli shook his head vigorously. "Someone knows what happened, or at least has a good idea. They've been watching us, and now they're acting."
"And we have no idea who they are." Hope grumbled.
That's… not entirely true… Sunny grimaced. She didn't want to say what she was thinking. Not yet. But she'd noticed a number of things that were odd.
The time of the attack. The feelings she was getting. She wanted to let the thoughts flow but caught Moon glance her way.
Sorry Moon, but I can't let you read my thoughts on this one. Sunny thought at her. I have to investigate this further and I don't want you to jump to conclusions.
Moon gave her a small snarl as Sunny went over to Qibli, fastening her claw around his Skyfire. Qibli glanced down, noticing her action. To anyone else, she might've just been holding his claw.
There was only one dragon who could've done all of this. Sunny saw everything on that dance floor and remembered her own feelings. She couldn't shake them.
And then Duskweaver revealed that her scales could change.
Duskweaver easily could've found out everything if she could make herself invisible. She could've transformed herself to look like Darkstalker and scared Moon. She knew a lot due to her connections.
But then it didn't make any sense! Duskweaver couldn't have known about Peacemaker's true origins. Even if she did, why would she ever want Darkstalker back? To meet her 'real' father? Not to mention that Duskweaver could've left Sandrunner to die, but it was thanks to her that he lived for now.
Unless Duskweaver was the best actor on the planet, that look of guilt was genuine. There was a post traumatic expression on her and in her mannerisms when she had to explain everything. Nobody could fake that.
Maybe Duskweaver was involved, but she sure wasn't the mastermind. And whatever involvement she had, it didn't seem to plan for Sandrunner's demise. What she did plan, Sunny didn't know. It was entirely possible that she may be under the control of the mastermind, too. There were too many questions.
But she sure was going to find an answer to all of them.
Some of you did the Duskweaver sus meme but, as Sunny said... are we sure she's not being controlled, too?
