Finding Peace: Winglets
Beyond the Turning/Eyes of the Moon:
The Secret
"Well, that should be the last conference for the day," Sunny exclaimed, upbeat as she rubbed her tired eyelids. "What a day…"
As if in agreement, Bobcat yawned loudly from his place on top of Sunny's head just as she said that.
Winter was tempted to agree with his former teacher/now co-instructor. Despite being in charge of the Scavenger preserve, Winter made sure he'd had his fair share of duties alongside the rest of his team. He was used to pulling all day shifts in Sanctuary, but he would be lying if he was not exhausted.
His eyes were tired and he could feel gravity starting to pull his head down. But, being disciplined and patient, he was not a dragon to give in to his body's demands all too easy (thank you very much.)
But he could not stop the growl of his stomach from confirming to Sunny that he was, indeed, hungry. This did not escape Sunny as the fourteen-year-old looked at him with an amused raise of her brow. Sighing, he nodded in agreement with her.
"There could still be one more," Winter pointed out while he flipped through some of the scrolls pilled in front of him.
"Or that would be the last group," Sunny responded.
"'ungry…" Bobcat yawned.
Winter looked up at his dragonet, who peered down at him with his light blue eyes. The dragonet was giving him the look. The very look that almost always broke his work ethic whenever Bobcat gave him the big, pleading, eyes.
It was at that moment, he knew that Sunny had won.
Groaning, he still glanced at the scrolls but waved his wing.
"Perhaps you could take Bobcat to the Prey Center, get him some dinner," Winter suggested.
"You're not coming with?" Sunny asked.
"Someone has to stay here in case there is one more group," He replied, gesturing to all of the scrolls in between them, the collective work of their students. Personally he wanted to spend some time with Bobcat and have a nice meal before going to bed, but technically conferences would not be finished for another hour.
As if on que, Winter heard the slithering of tails and clicking of talons against the stone floor outside of the cave. Looking up at Sunny, he gave a small smile, a silent way to say 'Told you so.'
Sighing, Sunny agreed.
"Okay, fine," She said. "I'll get Bobcat something to eat, anything you want?"
"A cup of coffee would be nice…" Winter muttered. In the back of his mind, he remembered the leader of New Hope handing him the cup (somehow the Scavengers in New Hope had made a cup big enough to fit in his talons) of dark brown liquid.
He never expected such a bitter liquid, to be such a good wake up drink in the morning.
"I'm sorry?" Sunny asked, raising a brow.
"Hot water, I just need hot water," Winter corrected himself, forgetting that not all of the snacks the scavengers and his team shared were well known, as he pulled out a package of brown beans. He'd make the coffee himself when he had the water.
"Oh, okay," Sunny replied.
"Yuck…" Bobcat said when he recognized the bag. At this, Winter could not help but chuckle. He still remembered when his son ate one of the bitter beans.
"And this is Sunny's class. Tribal Cultures," Came a familiar cheerful voice that always managed to make Winter smile when he heard it.
Ah, so Peacemaker's mother, Hope, arrived for conferences after all. Moon had told him she would not be arriving for conferences. Knowing that the hybrid's mother had managed to arrive in time.
As much as he wanted to greet Peacemaker and Hope, instead, he focused on picking up all of Peacemaker's work and get himself ready to go over all of what he had done in Sunny's class (both before and during Winter's time co-teaching with Sunny.)
Sunny stood up and greeted the two. Eventually, she introduced him, though Winter was still focused on getting Peacemaker's scrolls in order.
"He'll introduce himself when he's finished grading…Which he should be finished now."
Not grading, just getting everything in order, he thought to himself. In response, he gave a wave of his wing to acknowledge both the new arrivals and Sunny's comment. Not long after, he heard Sunny and Bobcat leave the cave, leaving Winter alone with Peacemaker and his mother. He heard the two walk up to him.
With everything in order, Winter turned his attention towards Peacemaker. Seeing the dragonet, he gave him a smile. Granted he did not interact with Peacemaker as much as his clawmate, Alligator (who was always sharing valid theories on Scavengers), he knew Peacemaker was a hard worker. He'd seen his work, and how he had progressed.
After addressing the dragonet who had progressed so far during the term, Winter turned his attention to Peacemaker's mother. At that second he thought a ghost from the past had materialized before his very eyes. It was not what he saw, but who he saw before him that almost made his heart skip a beat.
Before him was a NightWing whose scales were almost as black as Moon's, like obsidian. She was a towering dragon. But all of these features were second to the fact that Winter recognized how the dragon held herself, her eye color, and overall demeanor.
As he stared into the dragon's eyes, she was looking at him with just as much shock…she recognized him as well.
It…it couldn't be. This could not be the same dragon from six years ago! The dragon whom he and his brother, Hailstorm, had encountered in the ice caves of the Ice Kingdom. The very dragon who had been trapped in a never-ending cycle of being frozen and unfrozen for the last two thousand years! The dragon he freed in the hopes of helping Moon, Qibli, and Kinkajou prevent the foreseen catastrophe of Jade Mountain's collapse.
The dragon he had ended up losing during his arrogant attempt to attack Peril.
The mother of Darkstalker himself,
"Foeslayer…" Winter said, his voice just barely speaking her name as the air rushed out of his throat. "…how…?"
He could not begin to describe what he was feeling right now. On the one talon, he was amazed to see Foeslayer. Rarely did he think about the mate of the last IceWing Animus and the mother of Darkstalker, but there were the occasional nights where Winter would be deep in thought as he worked and he would wonder how she was fitting in with the rest of the NightWings. Moon had written to him and said she'd changed her name, but that was it.
Then, on the other talon: He felt anger. Anger that she had left him and the others when they needed her most.
But the more he thought about her, the more thought in the back of his mind began to take root like a tree.
What was she doing here with Peacemaker?
Turning his eyes to look at the dragonet, Winter saw his student looking at Foeslayer with just as much confusion as he was. The way he stood close to Foeslayer…was the same way he had seen many dragonets in Sanctuary stand beside a parent.
That was when it clicked in his mind. Foeslayer was Hope.
But Hope…was Peacemaker's mother.
Peacemaker was six and a half years old, that's what his registration listed. He hatched a month before Darkstalker had awoken from his sleep in the remnants of the Agate Mountain.
Foeslayer, or 'Hope', as everyone called her, was freed by Winter days before Darkstalker's awakening.
The idea that 'Hope' had adopted Peacemaker came to his mind. But the way his scales were almost like Obsidian, the same color as Foeslayer, confirmed that they were related.
But Peacemaker was half RainWing. How, on the three moons, could Foeslayer have met a RainWing while imprisoned? How could she have had a dragonet as well?
It was not making any sense in Winter's mind. Everything before him said that Peacemaker was 'Hope's' son! Yet something was not adding up.
At least, things were not adding up…without the consideration of Animus magic's involvement.
Winter remembered what had happened to Hailstorm. His older brother had his entire identity stolen from him for two years by Queen Scarlet.
The former Queen of the SkyWings had made Soar, one of the identities of the RainWing, ironically named, Chameleon, create an enchantment that would turn anyone who wore an enchanted necklace into a female SkyWing named Pyrite. The dragon's entire identity (physical and mental) was dictated by that very necklace.
Winter knew this from experience when he put the necklace on himself.
While he had not worn the necklace for too long, he still remembered the strain on his mind as his identity slipping away. All of his memories, all the feelings he had, were gone the second he became Pyrite.
Hailstorm had had it worse. It took many days before Winter's older brother had his mind could recover from the trauma of having lived with a constructed personality and mind meant to keep him trapped.
As he remembered all of this, the easier it came for him to realize just how Peacemaker was related to Foeslayer.
Once he had reached the conclusion, his mind wandered back to the first, and only, time he had asked Kinkajou what had happened to Darkstalker the night of his defeat.
"That's because you might not be cool about it," Kinkajou pointed out.
"I'm always cool!" He protested. "Oh, that wasn't a pun, stop laughing at me. I'm serious. You guys are acting like you can't trust me."
"We know we can trust you to be a loyal friend and awesome dragon and stand with us when we need you, yes," Said Kinkajou. "But to let us handle Darkstalker our own way? We're not so sure."
Winter swept his tail through the pine needles. "He's really not coming back, though? Is he asleep under the mountain again? Are we sure he's definitely gone? He won't be back in another two thousand years or something?"
"Winter, he's gone." Kinkajou put one of her talons on his, looking him straight in the eyes. "He's never coming back. Your tribe is safe."
Back then, he had accepted Kinkajou's answer. He believed her when she said Darkstalker was truly gone. He never doubted his friends on that.
But they had never told him how they stopped him.
Now he knew why.
Standing in front of him was not a dragonet who was hatched from an egg. He was indeed 'Hope's' son. But 'Peacemaker' was not a dragon. He was a disguise made from Animus magic.
Underneath this disguise: Was Darkstalker, himself.
"When the term is over, and you are back in Sanctuary. I promise I will visit. Then, I'll tell you everything that happened that night."
As he recalled what Moon had said to him that morning, he realized that she had said that not because she knew he was busy. Winter felt a wave of anger fill him, almost as if he were trapped in the middle of a volcano that was eminently erupting. This was why he was never told the truth by the others!
Moon wanted to tell him the truth, so long as he was as far away from Darkstalker as possible! She was still protecting him, after everything he had done! After every IceWing he killed, adult and dragonet! After enchanting everyone to trust him!
What had Darkstalker done during this time? Did he make this disguise himself? How many enchantments did he make while disguised as "Peacemaker" (in the back of Winter's mind, he had to bite back a growl at the cruel irony of the name.)
While he thought all of this, he could not stop his eyes from glaring at 'Peacemaker.' The disguise looked at his mother, the confusion (was it really confusing, or just an attempt to make Winter buy into the disguise?) still on his face.
Yet, as 'Peacemaker's' head turned, his and Winter's light blue eyes met…and something happened that made the IceWing's blood run colder than the harshest blizzard in the north.
'Peacemaker's' eyes suddenly shifted from confusion…to one of fear. A fear that made it seem like the dragonet wanted to shrink as small as he could to avoid Winter's gaze. It was the same gaze Bobcat had once when a scorpion had scared him.
It was genuine fear…something you could not fake.
That was when he realized, with horror, just how Moon, Kinkajou, and Qibli had stopped Darkstalker six years ago.
They stopped him, by doing the same thing Scarlet had done to Hailstorm.
Somehow, they had turned Darkstalker into Peacemaker…by completely changing his personality and body.
The question was, was it a willing transformation? Somehow, Winter doubted it was.
That was what scared him. It was the idea his friends had done the very thing they had all been fighting against. The very thing that had stolen his brother's identity.
Just as he tried to come to grips with reality, he heard someone speak. "I beg your pardon?"
Blinking, Winter snapped out of the shock and horror he'd felt and noticed that it had been 'Hope' who had spoken. Her words effectively kept his mind on reality. But it did not stop the questions that surface in his mind.
Slowly realizing that Peacemaker did not remember himself as Darkstalker, Winter knew that he could only go along with Hope's façade. He did not know the nature of the enchantment that turned Darkstalker into Peacemaker, but he was unwilling to ask these questions in front of the dragonet.
"Sorry, you just remind me of a dragon I knew a long time ago," Winter muttered. It was at that moment, as he breathed, that he'd realized he had not been breathing much. The more he breathed regularly, the calmer he felt.
"I get that a lot," Hope answered, shrugging her wings.
Despite this, however, he could see her looking at him as if she were sorry about something.
Was she sorry for leaving six years ago? Sorry that he found out that Peacemaker was, in fact, Darkstalker? Or did she pity the fact that the others never told him the truth?"
Whatever the reason was, he couldn't focus on that. He still had a job to do. And that was to go over the work that Peacemaker had done over the term.
What followed was an uneventful half hour.
While Winter shared Peacemaker's work, the dragonet would tell his mother everything that he'd done. During these explanations, he would look at the dragonet's expressions and the way he spoke carefully. He tried to see if there were any hints that Peacemaker was just a disguise, rather than an enchantment.
But the more he listened and watched, the more he saw how opposite Peacemaker was compared to Darkstalker. Whereas Darkstalker was charismatic and manipulative, Peacemaker expressed excitement and made his feelings known.
That entire half-hour, Winter knew he should have felt relief that Peacemaker was the opposite of Darkstalker. But in reality, he felt a heaviness in his heart. He thought of what his friends had likely done to make Peacemaker, and how they changed Darkstalker to do it.
Then he wondered: Had the others done the same thing to other dragons, turned them into different dragons against their will?
When the conference concluded, and Winter bid his farewell to Peacemaker and 'Hope' (the latter who had given him a small smile and a nod, as if to say that it was 'good to see you again') as they left the classroom.
Once they were gone, Winter felt his wings grow heavy and drop to his sides. Raising his talons to his forehead, he felt his head grow light with the realization of what he had just witnessed.
"Oh, Moon..." Winter whispered, trying to find his breath.
"Winter!"
Looking up, Winter saw the very dragon that he had been thinking of appear in front of the cave entrance. Her green eyes staring over at him, her breath was heavy as if she had just ran across the academy to see him.
For what felt like an eternity, he looked at Moon's green eyes. Neither moved. No words were shared.
Over his wrist, his golden bracelet that held the sapphire and Skyfire began to feel heavy. Reaching for his, Winter removed the bracelet from his wrist. Then he let his thoughts roam free.
"Who is Peacemaker?"
It was short, to the point. It was clear to him why she had rushed over from wherever in order to see him. She had likely witnessed him meeting Peacemaker and Foeslayer. Whatever the details of this vision were, he did not know. But she looked scared. Whether she feared for Peacemaker's safety or others, was unclear.
"Winter..." She whispered, her head lowered.
Winter didn't know what to feel right now. So many thoughts rushed through his mind, he could only imagine what Moon was hearing.
While this happened, Sunny had returned, with Bobcat climbing up her head and smiling over at him with that contagious grin that reminded Winter so much of the dragonet's mother.
Sunny looked about ready to greet Moon…but noticed the expressions between the two of them.
"Moon? Winter? What is it?" Sunny asked, concerned for her former students.
"Papu?" Bobcat asked, sliding off of Sunny and trotting up to him. Standing up on his toes, Bobcat pressed his front talons on his chest. The dragonet looking up at him with those bright blue eyes that reminded him of Lynx.
Winter managed a reassuring smile to his son. Whatever he was feeling right now, he would not concern his son with. Lowering his head, he pressed his snout onto Bobcat's forehead.
"We're fine," Winter said, managing a smile to Sunny. Then, he turned his attention to Moon, who was nodding at Sunny. "But Moon and I have something to talk about."
Sunny rose a skeptical brow at the two. Despite the founder being confused, she ultimately gave a nod to Winter.
"Stay with Sunny, okay?" Winter whispered to his son.
Despite the dragonet appearing disappointed that he could not go with his father, Bobcat gave a small nod before letting Sunny scoop him up into her warm wings. Turning back to Moon, Winter walked towards the entrance and walked passed her. In the back of his mind, he hated coming off as cold to Moon, who was still hearing his thoughts. He felt varying emotions: Anger, sadness…betrayal.
But he would not talk to her here, where everyone could overhear them. And he was not going to get angry with her.
Not matter what. She was still his friend. He would not allow his anger to push her away again, not like he had done six years ago.
But he needed to know the truth, all of it.
While Winter walked, Moon followed beside him. No words were exchanged between the two. The noise of the academy felt like muffled noise to Winter as he tried to keep his thoughts under control, to keep them from wandering. He wanted to put the bracelet back on, but he kept it off as a sign that he trusted Moon by seeing his mind. She needed to know he was not going to reveal to the world the secret he possibly discovered.
Once they had reached one of the entrances of the Academy, they took flight into the air. The thundershowers had ended, leaving a cold breeze in the air. As he flew, he could hear Moon's wingbeats close behind him as they flew to a flat area in the mountains, a good distance from the Academy.
After landing, Winter did not have the courage to turn and face Moon. Instead of approaching him, the NightWing remained where she had landed sitting patiently, waiting for him to speak first.
Ten minutes passed, the cold after shower breeze brushing against their scales. Then, Winter spoke.
"Who else knows?" Winter asked, still not having the courage to face her.
"Just me, Kinkajou, Qibli, Hope and Turtle," Moon said, her voice just barely above a whisper.
"'Hope,'" Winter whispered as Moon said the name Foeslayer had taken. "Unique."
"She chose it, hoping that life could be better…for her and her son," Moon said.
Winter turned around to face her, looking her dead in the eye but remained where he stood.
"You mean Darkstalker?"
"No, Peacemaker," Moon corrected him, her voice firm. "Darkstalker is gone, Kinkajou never lied about that."
"I can tell," Winter said, trying to keep his anger in check. "He is the exact opposite of who Darkstalker was…as if that was by design."
"Winter…"
"What was the enchantment?" Winter interrupted, not willing to be interrupted or deterred. "Is he wearing something that keeps him as Peacemaker?
"It was a strawberry," Moon said. For her part, she did not wilt under Winter's scrutinizing gaze as she said that. "We tricked him into eating it. The enchantment turned him into a year old dragonet that was half RainWing."
Even when she answered his question, he was not convinced that that was everything that was placed inside the enchantment. Then there was the fact that Darkstalker had been fooled into eating a strawberry, somehow he had a feeling Kinkajou was the one who came up with that plan.
Only Kinkajou could come up with a plan that was so crazy that it actually worked.
"What else?" Winter asked, raising one of his brows.
"What…?" Moon asked, blinking in confusion.
"What else was in the enchantment?" Winter clarified. "Do you remember what you said this morning? You promised me you would tell me everything."
Moon nodded, her eyes saddened as he spoke more, remembering the promise she had indeed made.
"Kinkajou…we removed his powers, be they foresight, mindreading or Animus, removed his memories and made a personality where he was happy and kind," Moon answered. "We used one of the last scraps of Darkstalker's scroll to create the enchantment, Turtle suggested it because no other magic would affect him."
The more she explained, the more everything began to make sense to him. When Peacemaker looked at him with fear, in no way did he remember Winter from his time as Darkstalker. The dragonet, to his knowledge, had lived a normal life as he lived among the NightWing and RainWing tribes.
This knowledge should have made Winter relieved. Darkstalker was truly gone. In his place was a dragonet who was the exact opposite of what he had been.
The Darkstalker was, truly, no more.
But this knowledge did not offer him a sense of relief or comfort. Instead, it made him scared.
If the others had done this to Darkstalker, had they enchanted other dragons against their will?
"Winter!" Moon gasped, her eyes widened in shock as she heard these thoughts.
It pained him to think this way of his friends, but it was a question he needed to ask.
"How do I know you never did this to other dragons?" Winter asked. "Did you do this to any of NightWings who might still agree with Darkstalker? What about the HiveWings who still supported Queen Wasp?"
"We never did anything like that, Winter!" Moon said, taking a step towards him.
But the moment she did, he stepped away from her. Moon's eyes were filled with confusion and sadness.
"Winter, do you remember what you told me? In the Night Kingdom?" She asked, her tail swishing back and forth nervously. "You told me the truth…you told me that Darkstalker had done evil things to your people. Back then, I didn't want to believe you, I denied everything you said. You were right! How you said everything scared me, but you were right! Even if he did nothing to me, he caused a plague that killed IceWings indiscriminately!"
"I know exactly what I said!" Winter snapped, walking forward two steps towards her before stopping. That brief moment, he felt the same anger he had felt all of those years ago. The anger towards his friends. The same anger and lack of patience that pushed himself away from his friends for six years.
The anger he had long tried to abandon.
But now, this anger was different. It was not out of discrimination towards dragons based on their species or not being believed by the dragon he had cared so much about. It was anger over what his friends had done…doing the very thing they had been fighting to stop.
Winter bent his head, trying to calm himself. He would not back down…but he would not push Moon away either. Not this time.
"Do you remember Pyrite?" Winter asked as he raised his head. "Do you remember what it took to find Hailstorm, and what the enchantment did to his mind?"
"Of course," Moon answered. She walked forward. He was tempted to back away from her but didn't. Instead, he allowed her to get closer. "What Scarlet did…it was horrible."
He did not doubt her words. Deep down he knew that Moon believed what she was saying.
But what was terrifying to Winter: Was what she was not seeing.
"Is Peacemaker like Pyrite?"
Moon's eyes widened as the words came out of his mouth. The second he said that, she opened her mouth to speak. But nothing came out. It took her half a minute to answer.
"He's…he's nothing like her!" She insisted. "He is his own dragon! We've never dictated his life!"
Yet, as she spoke…he could hear it: doubt. Her green eyes had once been so sure of what she had said, now they were filled with confusion. Eventually, she shook her head.
"Darkstalker is gone, though," Moon muttered. The one defense he felt was all she could use now. "There was no other way."
Somehow, Winter doubted that.
"You could have killed him," Winter pointed out. The suggestion made her look at him with horror. Despite feeling he could have said something different, he remained resolute. "I hate Darkstalker, for everything he did. But I remember what it felt like to be under an enchantment that took my identity away, even if it was brief. Moon, it was horrible. Darkstalker should have paid for everything he did. But to steal his identity…that's worse than death."
"It was the only way!" Moon insisted. "Winter, he was immune to magic! There was no other way to stop him!"
"Yet, you said you used his own magic to turn him into Peacemaker," Winter pointed out. "You had access to his magic…"
"We wanted to give him a fresh start! A happy life!"
"Just like Scarlet did to Hailstorm!"
Moon quickly turned away and walked a distance from him. When she was several feet away, her talons reached up for her head. Her tail thrashing out of frustration that he would not admit she was right.
He wondered, however, if this frustration had more to do with convincing herself she was right.
"Moon," Winter said. "What if…the enchantment breaks?"
Moon looked back at him. This time, her eyes were filled with certainty.
"It won't, there is no object to remove from him," Moon explained. "It's as I said: Darkstalker is gone."
"Like how Queen Ruby forgot her past life? You remember what Peril told us," Winter walked up beside her until they were shoulder to shoulder. "Dragons whose wills are strong enough can overcome enchantments." Looking at her. "You told us that Darkstalker had been conscious under the mountain for months before he was freed…somehow, he was strong and smart enough to survive that ordeal. Moon, what if he manages to break the enchantment?"
He was met only with silence from her. What he said was a thought Moon and the others clearly did not like to entertain. The more he said this, the more he thought of such a nightmare scenario.
What if Darkstalker returned? What would Darkstalker do after being tricked twice by the dragons he loved and trusted? Winter did not know how Kinkajou managed to trick Darkstalker into eating an enchanted strawberry, but he knew for certain that Moon had been involved in the deception.
If the most dangerous Animus dragon returned, would he still view Moon as his friend? As much as he despised Darkstalker, Winter would not deny that the Animus truly cared about Moon.
Would this change though? With the knowledge that Moon had deceived him as Clearsight had, would Darkstalker be willing to be fooled a third time?
Beside him, Moon's head lowered her gaze at the ground. He could have sworn he saw tears form.
Realizing that he'd thought enough, Winter slowly attached the bracelet to his wrist. Effectively blocking Moon from his mind.
Walking forward, Winter opened his wings. He knew they had talked enough…there was nothing left to be said.
"Winter," Moon said, suddenly. Pausing, he folded his wings and looked back at her. Her green eyes filled with uncertainty. "What…what are you going to do?"
There was no point in asking 'about what?' He knew perfectly well what she meant.
"I'm going back to the academy, help Sunny clean up her cave so conferences can continue smoothly tomorrow, then I will take Bobcat to our cave and read his favorite story to him…then go to bed," Winter explained. "I will continue to help Sunny with conferences tomorrow, and the routine will continue."
Moon's eyes showed some relief over what he said. He knew she was afraid that he would reveal the secret of what happened to Darkstalker to the rest of the world. If Moon and the others had told him this six years ago, then he agreed: He would likely have revealed the truth to everyone and put Peacemaker at risk.
Regardless of the truth, Winter would never treat Peacemaker differently than he had up until now. It was not fair to blame the dragonet, regardless of how he was 'born,' with the crimes of his past life. He would treat Peacemaker as the rest of Sunny's students.
"Thank you," Moon whispered, grateful for everything. "I'm…sorry you had to find out this way."
"I want to make this clear, Moon:" Winter said. "I understand why you never told me. I do not blame you for that," He needed to make this point clear. So there were no misunderstandings for why he was angry. "But how you stopped Darkstalker…I don't think I could ever agree with. Not after what happened to Hailstorm. I know why you did it, but I don't agree with it."
"I understand," Moon nodded. "We…I…hope you can trust us again."
"I do trust you," Winter affirmed. He trusted his old Winglet with his life. That would never change. But in the back of his mind, the thought of Darkstalker returning hung over him like a cloud. "I just hope that, for the sake of everyone we know, the enchantment holds." Opening his wings, he prepared to take flight. "Because if it doesn't, I don't think he will be the same reserved dragon you once knew."
Instead of waiting for Moon to finish, Winter took to the night air. Descending towards the Academy's southern entrance, letting the cool night breeze fill his nostrils.
Just now, did he feel that his throat had constricted. His eyes stung as tears tried to seep through the corners of his eyes. Everything that had transpired filled his mind and started to crash down on him like rain.
Peacemaker had been Darkstalker.
His friends had enchanted a dragon against his will.
Peacemaker was like Pyrite.
What if Darkstalker returned?
What if Darkstalker made another plague?
What…would happen to Bobcat?
He desperately tried to shake these thoughts from his head. He didn't want to think of the alternatives. Eventually, he would speak to Moon again, when his head was clearer.
But now, he just wanted to pick up his son into his wings…read Bobcat his favorite story, go to bed, and get ready for the next day. Anything to shake off the uneasy thoughts that now plagued him.
Moon watched Winter fly back to the academy. Sitting down, she watched his white scales reflect the silver light of two crescent moons in the night sky. Alone, she reflected on everything that had been discussed.
Despite everything said, his thoughts confused and sad, Winter had been calm…he hadn't lashed out at her.
The vision she had not long ago showed him meeting Hope and Peacemaker, and making the connection of who the latter was. She did not see anything afterward, but she feared the worst. In the end, the worst did not happen. Winter understood, and he would not do anything to hurt Peacemaker out of retaliation.
She trusted him…just as he trusted her, at least up until this point.
She tried to look into the future, to give her any inclination of what Winter would say to her tomorrow. But the visions would not come.
That meant, like with the vision she had so suddenly of Winter a half hour ago, that whatever happened next her vision would happen just as the event occurred.
If this happened only once, she would not be nervous. Instead, this was not the first time her visions had happened just before an event. As of late, since her return home from her diplomatic missions, her visions came slow and just before the event, not days before.
The vision she'd had of Hope's arrival was not supposed to happen for another two days…yet she had arrived sooner than anticipated. She'd hoped to keep Winter distracted during Hope's visit, so he wouldn't discover the truth.
But he had…and the secret she, Kinkajou, Qibli, and Turtle had kept was revealed.
Yet, Winter's assurance brought ease to her mind.
The questions he'd asked, however…did not.
How he compared Peacemaker to Pyrite struck her heart. She wanted to be angry at Winter for suggesting such a thing! Yet, the more she thought about it…the more she saw the parallels. While Kinkajou had laid out the words of the enchantment, Moon had helped her. Turtle was the one to suggest it as well.
They had dictated Peacemaker's personality…and she had tried to guide Peacemaker down a path that she had seen in a vision.
She still believed in wanting to give Darkstalker a second chance, to live a happy life free of the pain of his past. But the more she thought about it…the more she realized that Winter was right: Barely anything of Darkstalker was left. His personality had been rewritten, the same way Hailstorm had been.
Even with Darkstalker's power in their talons, did they really have the right to kill him though? Even if Winter was right, and Darkstalker would die himself, would it be justified to kill him?
All of these thoughts, Moon couldn't decide.
That's why she insisted that she and the others had been right. Peacemaker was happy…
That's all that mattered.
Three Moons, she would still look to the future and guide her friends to the best possible future.