Chapter 30
Things can get pretty wild in the rainforest...
"MOON!" Windracer bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"Maybe she ran off because she was mad," Bog fretted. "I mean, we were saying some unpleasant things about the NightWings."
"Run off into the rainforest on her own?" Lagoon said. "That doesn't sound very safe."
They all knew by now that Moon had spent almost her whole life in the rainforest. Even still, it wasn't safe for a dragonet to be wandering around such a wild environment on their own. Poisonous snakes. Deadly swarms of ants. What other dangers were waiting in the rainforest?
"MOON! MOONWATCHER!" Windracer yelled again.
Winter growled. "Will you stop already with the yelling? Do you want the whole rainforest to know we're here?"
"Oh, no," Qibli said melodramatically. "Moons forbid all of the toucans find out there's a group of unarmed dragons lost in the rainforest."
Diamondback snorted with laughter.
"She can't be gone," Windracer said, his voice vibrating with panic. "She has to be here somewhere. I was looking at her only a few moments ago!" He turned his gaze up to the trees. Another gray sloth hung from a nearby branch, yawning.
"Cleverclaws, what do you think happened?" Arid demanded, following her boyfriend's gaze.
There was no response. They all turned around.
Cleverclaws was gone, too.
"No way," Windracer said, flaring his wings. "He was just here. I saw his face when we realized Moon was gone. Maybe ten seconds ago. He couldn't have disappeared in ten seconds."
"You'd be surprised what some dragons can do," Forger said. "I, myself, was quite surprised that I could still get around on just two legs. Course, it takes longer to forge all the metal -"
"Oh!" Auburn cried out, clapping a talon to her neck. "I think something just stung me."
Arid jumped and clawed at her neck as well. "What in the world is -" she started, then blinked dizzily before slumping over.
Auburn started to fall, too, but Killer managed to catch her before she hit the ground. Then he gave a yell, clapping a talon on his neck and scratching it.
Bog and his siblings bunched up together under Alligator's outstretched wings. "What's going on?" the bigwings asked.
"I don't -" Windracer started, ducking to look at his barely-conscious girlfriend. He heard a soft buzz as something whizzed by his ear, followed by a tiny *thunk* as it hit the tree behind him.
He spun around and saw his parents literally disappear right in front of him. It was as if the forest reached out leafy arms, quietly wrapped them up, and bundled them away. One moment Auburn and Killer were there, blinking dizzily, and then they were gone. A heartbeat later, so was Arid.
Aha!
Windracer turned back up to the trees, opening his wings to their full length in what he hoped was a welcoming gesture. "It's okay," he called. "We're not going to hurt anyone. You can all come out now."
There was a pause, and then the air seemed to shimmer for a moment, and suddenly a hot pink dragon stood in front of him, grinning.
Another dragon, chocolate brown in color, appeared beside the first. He looked nervous.
Rustling overhead made Windracer look up.
Suddenly the trees were full of dragons.
RainWings curled around the trunks or hung from the branches by their tails. Several of them were colors he'd never even imagined. He saw deep shades of violet, iridescent peach, pale jade, and a yellow so bright it was like being stabbed in the eyes with the sun.
"Windracer!" said the hot pink dragon. "It is you! I knew I was right not to shoot at you, I knew it!"
It took Windracer longer to recognize her than he would have liked. "...Vivid?"
"Long time no see," Vivid said by way of answer. "I was wondering if you'd gotten out of that sky prison. Sorry I left you guys back there, but when those SkyWings showed up, I kind of panicked. Didn't want to end up as someone's prisoner again."
"Excuse me," said the brown dragon, "but would someone like to bring me up to speed on what's going on here?"
"This is my boyfriend, Hoatzin," Vivid explained. "He's a bit paranoid around dragons he doesn't know."
"I'm Windracer, and these other dragons are all my friends," the hybrid said. "Speaking of which, what happened to the three NightWings, the SkyWing, and my girlfriend?"
The brown dragon - Hoatzin - tilted one of his wings up at the trees. Amid the dragons clustered overhead were five hanging nets woven of vines. Moon, Cleverclaws, Auburn, Killer, and Arid were inside; they all had their eyes closed and hung limply like sacks of fish.
"Are they okay?" Ember cried.
"Sleeping darts," said Vivid, producing a tiny blowgun from a pouch around her neck. "Let's just say we have some tree frogs around here you wouldn't want to lick. Your friends will wake up fine in a few hours."
"It's easier to meet new dragons this way," said Hoatzin. "We've had a couple of grumpy brown ones stumble in here, and for some reason they start biting us before we can even say hello. This way we get to chat first, while they're still a bit groggy."
"It's a good thing we didn't bring enough nets for all of you," said Vivid. "You probably didn't picture a reunion with an old friend with all of your other friends out of commission."
"So...what do you do with the dragons you capture?" Bog asked.
"Take them back to our village and wait for them to wake up," Vivid said. "Once they get back on their claws, we send them off on their way."
Subzero snorted. "Seriously? You just let your prisoners go?"
"RainWings don't take prisoners," Hoatzin said. "I mean, what would we even do with them?"
"Interrogate them for information," Storm suggested. "Trade them for hostages or weaponry. Contain them to minimize any threats."
The RainWings blinked at her as if she'd suddenly started speaking toucan.
"Just a few ideas," she murmured.
"We need to head to the village anyway," Windracer said. "We need to speak to the queen as soon as possible."
Vivid's expression went from friendly to serious in less than a second. "Follow me." She leaped gracefully into the air and spiraled up toward the treetops. The rest of the dragons did the same. It looked a bit like a rainbow exploding and spattering color all over the trees.
Windracer led the group into the canopy, high above the forest floor, where they were surrounded by sunlit emerald green and the whirring whisper of tiny wings.
The RainWings moved through the treetops with grace, using their tails or spreading their wings to glide between the trees. Windracer saw Arid's net soar past them, handed smoothly from talon to talon, from RainWing to RainWing.
Their minds were as colorful as their scales. A majority of their thoughts consisted of things like I've never seen a dragon like that before and that's an interesting color, mixed in with ooh butterflies! and bananas, yum!
There was a crunching, crashing sound as Diamondback collided with one of the trees and became entangled in a cluster of vines. One of the RainWings, light pink in color like some of the hibiscus flowers that were blooming all around, swooped in and sliced the vines with her claws, freeing the struggling SandWing.
Diamondback gazed at her as though she were made of polished jewels. "Wow, you're beautiful," he blurted. It took all of a second for him to realize what happened. "Did I just say that out loud?" he asked, his cheeks blushing bright red.
The RainWing chuckled warmly.
"We're almost there," Vivid said, landing on a sturdy-looking branch.
Windracer tried to land next to her, but overshot his mark and ended up dangling upside down by his claws and tail for an awkward moment. With a grin, Vivid reached down and helped haul him back upright. His talons gripped the rough bark of the branch; it felt like ancient dragon scales under his claws.
"I almost forgot," she said, slipping something off her wrist and holding it out to him. "You're probably going to need this later."
It was the bracelet he'd enchanted back in the Sky Kingdom, the one that gave the wearer super strength.
"Oh," Windracer said as Vivid gently placed the jewelry in his palm. "Thanks, Vivid. I forgot that you still had it."
"What are friends for?" she said. Then, glancing at his wings, she offered, "We could teach you tree gliding, if you want. You may not be a RainWing, but, considering how strong a flyer you are, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it fairly quickly." She spread his wings and leaped off again.
A few swings and glides later, suddenly all the RainWings around them veered up, spiraling even higher into the treetops.
And then the dragons started to land, and the multi-tribal group began to see the home of the RainWings.
"Oh, moons above," Lagoon breathed.
They all stopped to hover in the air so they could look at every thing.
The iridescent colors of the dragons brought the hidden world forward; otherwise the village was camouflaged as well as any RainWing.
Wide vine walkways, shimmering with talon-sized orange orchids, hung between leafy platforms. A few of the treehouses had low walls or woven ceilings; others were open to the sky and carpeted with soft white flowers like fallen clouds.
"Seriously?" Inferno groused. "You live here? This place looks like some dragon swallowed a hundred rainbows and then threw up everywhere."
Carnelian whacked him with her tail.
"This is the most beautiful place I've ever seen," Squelch gushed.
"Definitely more colorful than the swamps," agreed Sepia.
Newt trembled with excitement. So much fruit! I wonder if it tastes as good as it looks.
"Everyone!" Vivid called, "these dragons are our guests!"
Brightly colored heads popped up all around the village. Most of the RainWings were in hanging contraptions like hammocks, strung between two trees, sturdily woven of vines and lined with violet feathers and blue petals.
"Very clever," Windracer said, tilting his head at the hammock. "That hammock design, I mean - you can't fall out, and with RainWing camouflage, enemies aren't likely to spot you either."
"Thanks," Vivid smiled. She had one corner of Auburn's net in her claws; carefully she and the other RainWings lowered the sleeping SkyWing onto a platform wide enough for twenty dragons. Windracer swept up to land beside her and watched the other RainWings gently set down the other sleeping dragons.
The light pink dragon who'd helped Diamondback landed gracefully next to Vivid and Hoatzin. "It's not often we get visitors," she said. "Let alone dragons from other tribes."
"This is my friend, Hibiscus," Vivid said, "she's a fruit gatherer."
Behind Windracer, the rest of the group landed on the platform.
"Hibiscus," Diamondback breathed. "A pretty flower is the perfect name for a pretty dragon. I like it."
Streaks of yellow and gold rippled across Hibiscus's wings, which Windracer guessed meant that she was flattered. He seems nice, she thought. I didn't know SandWings could have diamond patterns. It looks good on him.
"How long will they be asleep?" asked Ember, flicking her tail at the five tranquilized dragons.
Vivid wrinkled her nose. "A few hours, at least," she said. "They'll probably be up and about when we're finished with our sun time."
"Sun time?" Turtle asked.
"It's the hours when the sun is highest," Hibiscus explained, "so we climb up as close to it as we can and sleep. The sun recharges our scales while we sleep. It makes us prettier, better at camouflage, smarter, and happier. It's pretty important for us."
"Not for them," Lagoon said, pointing a claw at Marmoset and Mango, who were wrestling with each other. "They hate taking naps. They're perfectly happy sneaking live crabs into our dinner or dumping cold water on our heads when we least expect it. Not that I mind that last one, being a SeaWing and everything."
"Well, that explains why their scales are so dull and mousy," Hoatzin said.
"I don't think we can wait a few hours," Windracer said. "Every minute we waste is a minute Morrowseer's NightWings get closer to victory."
"Maybe you could magic them awake?" Torrent suggested.
Windracer shook his head. It was too much of a waste to use his animus power on something as trivial as waking a few sleeping dragons. He turned to Vivid, Hoatzin, and Hibiscus. "We urgently request an audience with Queen Dazzling."
The three RainWings wrinkled their snouts thoughtfully. "Queen Dazzling?" Hibiscus said. "You don't mean that."
"I do," Windracer insisted. "It's of the utmost importance. We need see her right now."
"Dazzling," Hoatzin said to Vivid. "It's not her month, is it?"
"No, it isn't," Vivid agreed.
"Wait," Lagoon jumped in. "What do you mean, 'not her month'?"
"Well," Hoatzin said, "wouldn't you rather see the current queen? If it's so important?"
"But," Bog said, "I'm sure the NightWing Guide to the Tribes said Queen Dazzling -"
"It also said that RainWings have no natural weapons," Windracer pointed out. "And that NightWings still have powers. So, obviously, it's not the most reliable source, at least for those two tribes. Who's the current queen?" he asked Vivid.
"Queen Magnificent," Vivid said. "Unless she's decided to hand it over to Grandeur a bit early."
"You take turns being queen?" Winter burst out. "Are you serious?!"
"Only the ones who want to," Hibiscus said. "Most of us find it way too much work."
"Yeah, super boring. Dragons bother you all day long," Hoatzin agreed. "Makes me glad I can't be queen."
"Pretty much any female in the tribe can be queen if she wants to," said Vivid.
"Anyone?" Lagoon asked. "What about the royal family?"
The three RainWings shifted uncomfortably, looking at each other with expressions Windracer couldn't place.
"I hate to tell you this," Vivid said, her scales shifting from hot pink to a gloomy blue. "But...RainWings don't do families."
...but not as wild as political problems.
Good thing the dragonets of destiny are there to save the day!
Auburn - Valka
Windracer - Hiccup
Arid - Astrid
Lagoon - Heather
Bog - Fishlegs
Marmoset and Mango - Tuffnut and Ruffnut
Killer - Stoick
Inferno - Snotlout
Scorch - Spitelout
Frost - Dagur
Malicious - Hroar
Forger - Gobber
