Vulture towered over Qibli but he kept a straight gaze on his grandfather.
"My grandson," Vulture said, "I've been watching you."
"Grandfather," Rattlesnake stated in surprise. She got up and stood tall and tried to look intimidating, "I-I-I was j-j…"
"Quiet!" Vulture roared at her, "I was watching everything. You were shown up by a dragon with less experience than you. No offense Qibli."
Qibli looked at Vulture, "None taken." This was what Qibli wanted to show his grandfather - how strong he was.
"Now go get some drinks for me and Qibli!" Vulture yelled at Rattlesnake.
"Y-y-yes s-sir-r," she stuttered and ran off.
"Ok grandson," Vulture said, turning to Qibli, "I just have one question for you."
Qibli stared up at him, "What?"
"Why are you here? With power like yours, you could be ruling Pyrrhia. I know you have the killer spirit. You almost killed your sister for crying out loud! If that's not killer spirit then I don't know what is."
"Well actually," Qibli grinned, "I've killed two other dragons."
"Really!" Vulture yelled in excitement, "Who?"
Qibli grinned at his grandfather, "My friend Winter."
"A friend? Very bold step, Qibli," Vulture replied, nodding his head in approval.
"That's not all," Qibli said, "I've killed one of the most powerful, dangerous dragons of all the lands. His name used to scare dragonets. At the sight of him grown dragons tremble."
"Who? Who?" Vulture asked, sounding like a dragonet listening to a story.
Qibli gave a sinister smile, "Darkstalker."
His grandfather looked star-struck, his eyes were wide with shock.
"The Darkstalker?" Vulture asked, "As in the famed dragon of legend?"
"That's the one," Qibli replied.
Vulture sat there, probably thinking about if his grandson actually killed the famous Nightwing. Qibli didn't mind the silence; it gave him time to think. He thought of Moon, Turtle, and Kinkajou - whether they actually made it back to Jade Mountain. Was Moon still crying? How was the rest of the school feeling about Winter's death? Had news made it to the Ice Kingdom, to Queen Snowfall? All these thoughts were banging around in his head as he looked out at the hot and dry desert. They all evaporated when Vulture started to speak.
Vulture stared at his grandson and uttered, "How? How do you kill a big dragon like that and not get caught?"
"Well actually," Qibli replied, rubbing the back of his head with his claws, "I kind of blamed it on my friend. So if anyone asks, he brought Darkstalker down."
"Hmm," Vulture said, stroking his chin, "That's a good technique, Qibli, good insurance that you wouldn't get caught."
Qibli looked at his grandfather in surprise, "Really? I didn't know if that was allowed."
"Well of course it's allowed to blame another target who's dead, that's perfect." Vulture replied, "This is a call for some tattoos. Two I believe."
Qibli replied with a smirk, "Why wait to add one more?"
"Who do you have in mind?" his grandfather replied.
"Someone, who with them out of the way, will allow you to rule the Kingdom of the Sand," Qibli announced, "Queen Thorn."
