A/N: This Winglet takes place sometime after the previous Winglet "The Letter" and after Chapter 7 of Finding Peace. This chapter of the Finding Peace Winglet purpose is mostly to set up one of the subplots of Part 2 of Finding Peace, as well as visit a favorite character of mine.
Reviews are always appreciated and they help inspire me and let me know where I can improve, or everyone's thoughts.
Now, let's take flight!
Finding Peace: Winglets
Beyond the Turning
If there was one thing that Stingray could anticipate in his job, it was that he was the one who normally made sure that the Sanctuary's scavenger preserve had an ample supply of fish in the lake. Naturally as a SeaWing, the nine-year-old would be able to swim under the large lake of the preserve indefinitely and see if the aquatic life was healthy, and whether the Scavenger Preserve's operators would need to gather fish eggs or any supplies needed to maintain the ecosystem if, in the unlikely situation, the scavengers overfished.
With the sun having set, Stingray did not need to worry about frightening the scavengers when he swam through the depths of the lake, most of the bipedal creatures had converged on their small village somewhere within the preserve.
In this particular bi-yearly check, Stingray found nothing alarming. After having swum in two counter-clockwise circles around the lake for an hour, Stingray concluded that the Scavengers were managing the amount of fish they caught. Just as he thought they would.
The analysis concluded, Stingray figured it was time to turn in for the evening.
As he rose to the surface of the water, Stingray unfurled his light blue wings and flapped them in order to speed his ascent. Once he was freed of the water, he flapped his wings again and launched himself into the air with a great splash, flying away from the lake and out of the valley rather quickly, not wanting to startle any scavengers that may have been wandering around.
As he flew from the small valley and towards cliffs that surrounded it, effectively keeping the scavengers in one, decently large enclosure, Stingray saw a large dragon, a MudWing, approach from his right.
Recognizing the MudWing, Stingray landed on the cliff of the enclosure's southern natural wall.
"Swan!" Stingray called out, waving his wings in order to catch the fifteen-year-old MudWing's attention.
It did not take long for one of the original founders of the Sanctuary preserve to notice him and fly in his direction. Once the MudWing landed, she made her way over to him, her dark brown scales easily blending in with the night.
"How was it?" Swan asked. "Anything we should worry about?"
Stingray shook his head, smiling.
"No. The Scavengers haven't been overfishing," Stingray replied, gesturing to the lake. "At least when it is coming to the aquatic life, they are managing their resources very well." He was always impressed with how this group of Scavengers managed their resources despite being confined in this area. "What about your study?"
The older dragon smiled.
"I kept track of a few herds of elk in the valley. Some have been killed off, but only a few males. The female populations seem relatively untouched, save for a few older ones." Swan explained.
"Well, good to hear they are not overhunting either," Stingray said. "Winter will be glad to hear about this."
This earned a nod from Swan as she turned away from the valley and walked in the direction of town.
"When he leaves for Jade Mountain, at least he will know things are well here," Swan said. "He can focus on teaching the lesson."
"Maybe we'll have some new members on the team in a few years?" Stingray asked, trying not to seem too excited at the thought that more dragons would work with the small team of seven dragons that kept the preserve running. "I mean the more dragonets know about scavenger intelligence, surely that will stir interest?"
"Maybe," Swan said, neither building up his hopes nor shooting them down, just like she normally did. Always appearing neutral.
Stingray, having only been a part of the team that kept the Scavenger preserve operational for a few years, admitted he did not know much about Swan despite working with her as a pair during their hours in the preserve.
All he knew was that she was second of the "Big Four," (a title Stingray and the younger members of the team used for the oldest members) one of the four original members of the Sanctuary scavenger preserve. When the preserve was first being put together by Winter, she volunteered to help him get the idea off of the ground. She was also the preserve's representative to those interested in sponsoring it, fiercely supporting the preserve's purpose and benefits behind it.
Despite knowing so little about her history, and how she rarely participated in the younger members of the team's antics, Stingray did appreciate working with her. She was a mentor to the younger members, almost like a Big Wings.
The two were silent as they approached the team's compound that was positioned just on the outskirts of Sanctuary. The compound was made up of eight buildings: seven huts for each member in the preserve's caretaking team and one large communal building where they converged for meals, recreational activities or to just lounge about when it was a break or off-work hours.
Making their way to the communal building Stingray opened the door for Swan, who gave an appreciative nod as she stepped inside, followed by himself. Once he entered the building he left the warm air of the interior warm his scales while he shut the door.
Then he smelled the scent of freshly cooking salmon and spices in the air as it graced his nostrils, making his mouth water.
Stingray and Swan walked towards the living room in the communal building and found SilentTongue, a NightWing, sitting on one of the cushions around the fire pit, the glow from the orange flames reflected off of his black scales as he focused on a scroll he was reading.
Swan approached SilentTongue and gently brushed one of her wings against his, causing him to raise his head. Raising one of his hands, Silent proceeded to make signs with his talons in greeting. Swan made signs of her own in response.
Being mute, SilentTongue relied on talon signs in order to communicate. While Stingray understands most of the signs, there were many he was not able to follow, yet Winter and Swan were able to understand his signs perfectly. After all, Silent was the third of the "Big Four." So they were bound to know their friend's form of communication better than others.
When Stingray sat on a cushion across from Silent, the NightWing raised his head, and nodded, while giving Stingray similar signs that he had to Swan.
Stingray roughly translated the signs as "How were the scavengers?"
"Very good," Stingray answered. While he wished he knew how to use talon language, like Winter and Swan, to communicate with Silent, it was difficult for him to sign as fast as Winter and Swan could. So he and the younger members settled for speaking. "They aren't overfishing."
This made the NightWing smile, relieved. Being the scribe, it was his job to record any changes that the others told him. This meant he did not need to write a lengthy report on a possible ecological disaster in the preserve.
Before he could continue, Stingray was interrupted with the sound of two dragons singing.
"WE'RE GOING TO CEL-AH-BRATE!" Came the cheerful tones of a RainWing and SkyWing as they stepped out of the kitchen, carrying trays of food, one of which, Stingray noted, had two large salmons on it.
The RainWing and SkyWing approached the lounge and placed the trays of food on the table in the middle of the gathering area.
"Got some Deer! Got some Cow!" Sang the male orange SkyWing, holding up said platters of food.
"And if that's not your game," The female RainWing, that was predominately blue in color, sand "We got some berries and old school vegetables!"
The SkyWing then raised up the platter with the Salmon, which Stingray eyed eagerly.
"Don't mean to brag! Don't mean to boast! But right here we got some juicy Salmon straight from the Phyrria's western coast!"
"Salmon!" The RainWing repeated, grinning from ear to ear.
"SALMON!" The SkyWing echoed.
"Salmon!" Stingray joined in, he couldn't help but notice Swan playfully rolling her eyes at their antics.
Then, together, the three sang. "SALMMMOOONNN!"
"Why are you three yelling Salmon!?" Came a new voice that spoke over the three's singing
Everybody went silent as all eyes fell on the new arrival, a light blue and white scaled IceWing. The first of the "Big four" and the Sanctuary's scavenger preserve founder himself. Winter.
"Uhhh…because we like Salmon?" Stingray answered, smiling sheepishly as Winter looked at him with light blue eyes and a cocked eyebrow.
He then glanced at the RainWing and SkyWing, Lily and Ibex, who both grinned at him, the former waving.
With a sigh, Winter shook his head as he came to the fire pit. Despite appearing annoyed with the sudden singing from the three youngest members of the team, Stingray could have sworn that the founder was trying to hold back a laugh.
At least until a childish giggle could be heard from behind his neck.
After Winter sat on a cushion beside SilentTongue, both sharing a sign in greeting and a small conversation that Stingray could not catch, everyone saw a small IceWing dragonet peak over the back of Winter's head and proceeded to climb up the older IceWing's neck and rest on the top of his head.
The baby IceWing, barely a month old, had Winter's light blue and white scales but also the dark blue pattern on his back and tiny wings. The dragonet yawned as he peered down at Winter, who looked up at the baby resting on his head with his light blue eyes, the faintest hint of a smile graced his lips as he looked at the dragonet.
Winter bent his head forward, the dragonet slid forward and landed in Winter's front hands. The dragonet erupted into a fit of giggles as Winter held the dragonet close to his chest.
"Papu, aga!" The dragonet said joyfully, clapping his talons again.
"After dinner, Bobcat," Winter told his son, shaking his head.
"Aga!" The dragonet, Bobcat, insisted as he climbed up his father's shoulder and back up his neck so he was resting on his father's head, which Winter allowed.
Looking at Stingray and the others, who were all smiling at the display and giving a nod of encouragement.
Sighing in defeat, Winter bent his head forward, once again sliding Bobcat forward and landing into his father's hands, laughing happily.
"Yae!" Bobcat giggled, looking up at his father happily as he stretched out his little talons in excitement.
The dragonet's antics made his father smile, while Stingray and the others chuckled at the display.
"I have never seen an IceWing dragonet so lively," Swan said after she chuckled. "Most are quiet, but little Bobcat is full of energy."
Stingray silently agreed. Having grown up outside of any major Kingdom, as a dragonet Stingray had the opportunity to meet many dragons from other tribes. He had IceWing friends before Winter had taken him under his wing, but even as dragonets they had been very calm and collected at a young age.
Maybe it was because of Bobcat being with Stingray and the others in the evenings or when Winter was not present, but a day after his hatching the young IceWing was inquisitive about his surroundings and always took the chance to explore.
In a way, Bobcat was like Lynx, Winter's mate, the dragonet's mother.
Despite not having met his mother, Bobcat had grown attached to Stingray and the others. When Winter was busy and could not bring his son to his meetings with Riptide and the town council, Bobcat happily spent time with Stingray and the others until his father would return.
"He does not get it from me," Winter said as he stood up and grabbed some food for himself and Bobcat, who happily bit down on a piece of salmon when his father brought it over.
"He loves our observations of the scavenger villages," Lily said, the seven-year old RainWing grinned. "He gets very silent while I take him into the trees and will not take his eyes off of them for a second while we watch."
This caused Winter to smile at hearing this.
"Where is Pogona?" Stingray heard Winter ask, while the SeaWing went to grab some of the deliciously smelling Salmon that was tantalizing his nostrils.
"Right here!" Came the voice of a cream-colored SandWing, who had just stepped through the door carrying a pouch filled with scrolls and letters.
After shutting the door, the six-year-old SandWing stepped over to the common area of the communal building, plopping his pouch on the ground with a low thug.
"Ikaros arrived just an hour ago," Pogona said as he sat down beside Stingray, grabbing a piece of elk from a plate. "Crowd at the messenger center was rather big…"
"Any letters from the Sky Kingdom?" Asked Ibex, the SkyWing raising his head eagerly, Stingray speculated he was waiting for a letter from his significant other.
Pogona rose a talon as he ate his food. After finishing, Pogona nodded.
"Don't worry, Ibex, you got something for you." He answered, reaching into the bag and tossing a scroll to Ibex, who caught it eagerly.
"Thanks!" Ibex said, going off to the side of the gathering area to read it in peace.
Looking at Pogona, Stingray smiled, hopefully, that there was a letter from his younger brother and sister, who were visiting Pantala. With a nod from the SandWing, Stingray's wings rose up happily.
After dinner, he was looking forward to hearing about his younger siblings' experiences in the west.
"Also, Winter," Pogona spoke, holding up a scroll from the bag, causing Winter to look up from his meal. "You have a message from Jade Mountain, it had Sunny's talonship on it."
Winter nodded as he caught the scroll that Pogona tossed him and looked at the scroll addressed to him, which had the Jade Mountain Academy's seal on it.
Standing up, Winter looked to the others.
"Excuse me," The founder of the preserve said as he began to walk away from the group. Before he did, Bobcat struggled to climb up onto his father's back. Lowering his wing, Winter helped lift the dragonet up onto his back and let his son go with him to the study.
As Stingray was about to eat, he noticed that SilentTongue and Swan were looking at Pogona, curiously. Turning his head, Stingray noticed that Pogona had taken a scroll out from his personal pouch, which he normally used to carry his journal that was filled with drawings of various animals and locations within the preserve itself.
"Who is that for?" Swan asked, raising a curious brow at the SandWing.
Pogona looked up as Silent and Swan stared at him, clearly, the SandWing was reluctant to talk about the letter in his talons.
Looking from where he sat, Stingray could see that the letter was addressed to Winter…
"That's for Winter," Stingray pointed out, more for the others. When Pogona nodded, Stingray was still not satisfied. "Why didn't you give it to him?"
"Because I recognize the talonship," Pogona replied as he handed the scroll towards Silent and Swan, the former taking it in order to examine it.
Silent frowned, and looked at Swan and signed to her. Swan's reaction was similar to his as she nodded.
"Who is it from?" Stingray asked, hating it when the founders were always quiet.
"From one of Winter's old clawmates back when he attended the Jade Mountain Academy," Swan responded, with a whisper. Clearly not wanting Winter to hear despite the study door being closed.
"Qibli?" Lily asked, curiously as she put down a branch of berries she had been eating. "He and Winter always write to each other."
"It's not from Qibli," Pogona answered the RainWing. "It's from the NightWing of his old Winglet, Moonwatcher,"
Saying that name had a different effect for certain members of the team in the room.
For Stingray, Lily, and Ibex it was amazement. Stingray, like many dragons, had known of Moonwatcher, Qibli, Winter and the original Jade Winglet. Each in their own way, they had helped contribute to Darkstalker's defeat.
To a lesser-known extent, Moonwatcher and Qibli had some role in the events that occurred on Pantala six or seven years ago. In their own ways, they were heroes, like the former dragonets of destiny.
However, Silent and Swan's reactions were more cautious, while Pogona appeared deeply conflicted.
"What?" Stingray asked, curiously. "I'd think Winter would want to hear from his friend."
There was a small huff from Silent, which normally meant it was a chuckle, though Stingray had a feeling there was not much humor behind it. Clearly, SilentTongue and Swan, the two dragons who helped Winter with the preserve originally, knew more about Winter's old winglet than Stingray and the others.
"Lynx was not the first dragon Winter cared deeply for," Swan revealed. Her saying that caused the younger members of the team, with the exception of Pogona, the oldest of the younger members, to widen their eyes.
When Stingray had first joined the team in Sanctuary, it was when Winter and Lynx had been a mated pair for at least a year.
Despite being an exile from the Ice Kingdom, Winter was allowed a few weeks to visit his old home by Queen Snowfall, rumor had it she hated her cousin with a passion. According to Silent and Swan, these visits were originally so Winter could see his brother. But this changed the more he spent time with Lynx, a dragonethood friend.
Eventually, these visits became more than just friendly, but had evolved into something more personal and, after a few years, Lynx and Winter had become a mated pair despite the latter's status as an exile.
The knowledge that Winter had, originally, feelings for another dragon was a shock to him, especially after seeing how much Winter loved Lynx during her visits to Sanctuary.
But Moonwatcher was in a relationship with Qibli…
It did not take long for Stingray to conclude the reason why Pogona was hesitant about telling Winter about the scroll.
Especially after…
Stingray shook his head of the oncoming thoughts.
"I think he should read it," Lily said, which Ibex nodded in agreement with his friend's words. "I mean, it must be important."
"Winter and Moon have not spoken in years," Swan replied. "After everything that has happened recently, with Bobcat having only hatched this month…" The MudWing shook her head. "Besides, he is going to Jade Mountain in a week. The last thing he needs is old wounds reopening."
"Then at least keep the scroll," Stringray suggested. "Give it to him after he's returned from Jade Mountain and we'll explain afterward."
"Lie to Winter?" Lily mused to herself, her tone of voice confirmed she hated the idea of lying to anyone in the group.
Stingray did not like the idea of lying to Winter either.
But the timing was poor for Winter opening a letter from a dragon he used to care about in the same way he does for Lynx. Especially if he was going to be teaching a unit for a few weeks in the Jade Mountain academy.
"We will explain when he returns," Pogona said, agreeing with Stingray, as he placed the letter back into his pouch. "When he is not busy."
While some were more accepting of the idea than others, and even now Stingray was reluctant about lying to Winter, even if it was a minor lie. But everyone agreed with the course of action.
When the door to Winter's study opened, the IceWing came walking back to the gathering area, Bobcat looking excited about something as he climbed up his father's neck and rested his chin on Winter's head.
"Shwol!" Bobcat said cheerfully. "SHWOL!"
"Is that supposed to mean 'school'?" Swan asked with an amused smile as Winter joined the group.
"He's coming with me," Winter said, helping his son down onto the floor as the dragonet ate his food. "Sunny says it should be no trouble if he comes."
"Arrggghhh…" Came a disappointed sigh from Ibex as he sat back down to join the group, Stingray had a feeling it was only to intentionally pock fun at Winter, as he always liked to do. "School? He's not even a month old, boss. Surely he would be bored watching a bunch of older dragonets write essays."
"Well, Bobcat insists ongoing," Winter said, shrugging. "And you know how he is when he insists."
That, Stingray admitted, was a good point. When he set his mind on something it was very rare for the dragonet to take his mind off of a decision he made. After all, Bobcat was Winter's son.
For the next hour, Stingray spent time with the others. Even after the food was eaten and it was time to clean up, conversations amongst the members of the team continued. Winter got on Ibex and Lily's cases when they suggested something outlandish, as he normally did (though it was never malicious), Pogona and Stingray spent time going through the rest of the letters that the SkyWing messenger had delivered to Sanctuary, one of which was for SilentTongue, Swan and Winter, from Cricket, the fourth of the "Big Four," no doubt about her upcoming visit to Sanctuary with the classes she taught at Pantala coming to an end for the semester.
During that entire time of sorting through letters, Stingray would occasionally glance at Pogona's satchel, and thinking about the letter that was inside, addressed to Winter. He was nervous about keeping the preserve's founder in the dark about a letter from an old friend…but ultimately, he knew that the decision he and the others were making was right.
Winter had much more important things on his mind, he did not need old wounds to reopen during this time.
Stingray only hoped Winter would understand when it came time to show him the letter.