Chapter 2
A sudden jolt wakes Gwyn up. The dragon's eyes are beaten with a rush of sunlight from overhead. His head still hurt and he had slight burn scars on his snout from the muzzle, but he still seemed intact at least. No broken talons or teeth, no missing horns or beaten up face. The IceWing grunted deeply and shook his head, trying to clear it of its soreness and get his eyes readjusted to the light.
"Ugh… Where in Pyrrhia am I…?" Gwyn stared around, catching nothing but trees and ferns in his sight. Vines dangled overhead and vibrant colored birds flew. It didn't take him long to figure it out. "The rainforest… I knew it was a little too green here." He grunted out softly, rubbing his face with one of his paws before setting it back on to the ground. The IceWing stood onto his paws and stretched out, grunting deeply before looking about once more. "Looks like I'm on my own." Still talking to himself he trailed his way through the underbrush, complaining and spouting curses, all the same, barely paying attention to where he was walking or what direction he was going. The sun was high overhead, still midday from the looks. He had plenty of time to wander about and hopefully find some way out of the jungle the guards must've dropped him off in.
Minutes of walking soon turned to hours as his trip only seemed to turn him deeper and deeper into the rainforest. His paws were aching now and his stomach was starting to growl at him, demanding something to eat. He had tried to hunt something while he was here, though he had no luck. Everything was too fast and too nimble for him to grab ahold of. Gwyn had given up a while ago, figuring that the food would come to him eventually. It'll fall right into his paws when he least expects it.
"Time for some rest…" He grunted softly, turning his head to the right, then to the left, before a quick flop to the side got him to sigh out in relief. "Ugh… Never thought I'd need to rest from walking so much…" His head lowered to the ground and his paws outstretched in front of him, huffing lightly to himself as he closed his eyes. He hadn't thought of taking a nap, though it seemed that's what his brain was on track for. Moments pass and his body fell still, his stomach pushing out lightly with each breath he took in his sleep-induced state. Tropical birds and little lizards made a short rest spot on top of the sleeping dragon, chirping and chittering lightly to each other and out into the open, only until the IceWing had rolled over onto his other side, making everything on him scattered and flee from the scene, leaving Gwyn alone once more. Only until his head would quickly rise and his eyes would shoot open, peering around at the sound of rustling leaves all about him. He was hoping that this was the food he was hoping would come to him, ready for his paws to grab and his maw to receive. "Come on… food please…" He lowered his head and watched the bushes in front of him carefully as they moved and shook.
A wild boar had quickly run out of the bushes, and almost straight into the talons of Gwyn, though it quickly skidded to a halt and turned tail, dashing back into the bushes. The IceWing sighed and refused to get up, staring at his empty paws. "Welp… Guess I'm starving now… What a way to go…" His head flopped onto the grassy floor and huffed, just about to close his eyes to sleep again, only for his ears to perk and his head to turn up just a bit at the sound of the leaves above him jostling and shaking about. He figured it must have just been a load of birds, only for a full-blown dragon to come crashing down into his paws and lay out flat on their side. Gwyn stared down at his paws in shock. He wasn't sure where this dragon had come from, but by the looks of it, it was a RainWing. He peered around, taking a glance to the left, then to the right. No one around. Just him and this somehow sleeping RainWing in his paws. Well… No one else is around… And I just cover up the snout… Gwyn hadn't thought that he'd ever had to resort to this, but he was too hungry to think about anything else. Letting his mind run feral and wild a bit, he turned the RainWing onto their back and sighed out calmly, gently grasping at the snout to keep it closed while he leaned in close to their now exposed stomach. The fresh smell of a female RainWing filled his nose. Still young… So vibrant and fruity… Ugh… I'm sorry little one… But it's survival of the fittest… Gwyn reluctantly parted his jaws and leaned in closer to nearly biting down into her scaled stomach, only for him to find the RainWing having lifted her head to stare at him, her snout still trapped between his talons. She had an inquisitive look on her face, mixed with a slight sign of discomfort, curiosity, and confusion. He stared back at her, blinking calmly as his cold breath washed over her scales. Well… Shit… Guess I got some explaining to do.
"Mmmhpf?" The RainWing mumbled through her closed muzzled. The IceWing steadily removed his talons, leaving her to quickly speak up. "What are you doing?"
"Uh… Grabbing a bite?" He pulled his head away and closed his jaws, the RainWing shaking her head a bit.
"Shame… Do you not have any decency?" She puffed her cheeks out and crossed her arms above her chest a small bit, her tail curling between her legs a bit.
"What? I just… Ugh… Sorry, I'm just hungry, I haven't been able to catch anything since I got here." Gwyn turned his head to the side and pulled his paws out from under her, sitting up onto his haunches.
The RainWing snorted slightly and shook her head some, looking over the IceWing that sat before her. "What are you even doing outside of the Ice Kingdom then, Big White Dragon?" Her head gave a small tilt of curiosity and her eyes were filled with much the same.
"I was exiled. Deemed a traitor and left out here in the Rainforest after I got knocked out." He chuffed a bit, turning his away and snarling lightly, still hardly believing he had let himself get caught like that in the first place. If only he had been smarter about his approach and not let that building hatred take over.
"Ex...iled? Jeez… Whatever that means it sounds harsh." The RainWing tsked a bit and looked up to him once more. "I'm Pitahaya, or as most like to call me, Dragonfruit. What do others call you, Big White Dragon?" Dragonfruit gave a small flick of her tail and turned her head to the left this time, giving a small blink.
"I'm Gwyn." He replied, now seemingly fully introduced to this smaller RainWing he had nearly eaten moments ago. Now that she wasn't on her back, he could get a full look over her. He understood why they called her Dragonfruit. She had a close resemblance to one in her color pattern. Her underbelly, wing membranes, and the front half of her snout were colored in the white with black speckles all over, almost like freckles. Her body was that same near burnt red color that the skin of the fruit would be. Her paws, tail tip, ear tips, and wingtips matched the greens of the fruit, seemingly to fade nicely into the burnt red hues of her scales. He did have to admit that she looked tasty on the off-side, though she looked beautiful regardless of how he thought she looked. Most RainWings were, though Dragonfruit was clearly something different from most of them. He just couldn't quite put his talons on it.
"Gwyn? It's nice to meet you! I'm sure you already know where you are, but welcome to the Rainforest Kingdom!" Dragonfruit stood on her hind paws and stretched out her wings and stuck out her arms in some glorious manner like she was trying to show off the place. "You're the first visitor in a while to the Rainforest Kingdom. Come! I'll show you where the others are, it isn't far from here!" Dragonfruit bounced a bit onto her paws and turned about to guide Gwyn along the way. The IceWing simply stood and followed her along the way, idly grumbling at himself and subtly plotting his next moves carefully. His train of thought was soon broken once Dragonfruit had spoken up again. "You're really cold, you know that? Just being around you makes me shiver…" She tucked her wings against her sides and shuddered lightly, though still keeping herself close to him.
"I know that. IceWings are naturally cold, our scales give off a light chill constantly to keep us colder than our surroundings. Helps when I need to use my frostbreath on someone." He rumbled out a bit, peering around at the green leaves on each tree and all the vines that hung from high branches.
"Frostbreath? Sounds scary…" Dragonfruit mentioned, and Gwyn simply nodded his head. "Did you ever have to use yours?" She chimed, tilting her head slightly as she looked back to the larger dragon.
"No," Gwyn replied, turning his head up to look towards the canopy. Not yet at least…
Their short-lived journey came to an end as they had approached the destination that Dragonfruit promised. "Well, here we are! The home of the RainWings." Gwyn had to turn his head up to stare at the many homes and rope bridges that lined the trees. Large leaves hung about that had sleeping dragons laying on every inch and a few that were milling about, drowsily at that. It was eerily quiet, but something about the lack of dragon activity made it all that much more enjoyable.
"Where is everyone?" The IceWing asked with a subtle huff, only seeming to catch sight of possibly 7 other RainWings.
"It's Suntime, so everyone is up on the highest of leaves to gather up all the Sunlight they can! It's usually around the middle of the day since that's when the sun is at its highest." Gwyn wiggled his ears lightly and turned his head up towards the canopy once again, squinting just a bit to see the faint silhouettes of more RainWings resting and laying on the large canopy leaves.
"I see." He shook his head lightly, looking back down to the RainWing dragonet beside him. "Seems needlessly lazy if you ask me." He scoffed a bit and looked to Dragonfruit, only to find his stomach growling at him once again. The RainWing looked back up to him and chuckled, patting at the front of his snout. You're lucky I don't eat you now…
"Come! I'll get you the food you want, Gwyn," She smiled and spread out her wings, seemingly taking a hop high into the air and landing onto one of the large wooden platforms overhead. The IceWing followed suit, spreading out his wings and flapping them down to the ground once to gain a boost into the air, stretching out his front legs to hopefully land on it, though he fell short and nearly missed the entire thing. Luckily his talons hooked onto the wood and was able to pull himself up onto it. Whew… That would've been embarrassing if I didn't make it… The IceWing tsked to himself, turning his head slightly to the right as Dragonfruit lead him down the rope bridge, humming idly to herself. Gwyn was mostly hoping for some sort of meat, something to at least give him enough energy to leave the rainforest and possibly travel up to the Mud Kingdom, he'd feel just a little safer there. Somehow.
With a sudden stop and a turn of the tail, Dragonfruit soon faced her Icy company and spread her right wing out toward a table that was laden with all different kinds of tropical fruit and the likes. Each one a different, vibrant color that just practically screamed eat me. Gwyn couldn't help back groan at the sight however, the sweet, enticing colors of juicy tropical fruit were clearly not enough to sate his need for something with meat. Something a little more… bloody… "Is there something with a little more, oh how should I say this… MEAT, on it? Say, a plump bird, or possibly a boar?" Gwyn spoke out with a subtle tilt of the head. His face wore a stoic expression, clearly unamused by the bright fruits.
"Meat? Oh uhm… We don't really… do that." The RainWing next to him gently tapped her wingtips together in nervousness and chuckled with that same hint of nervousness. "Hunting takes too much work, so we instead gather fruit and eat that. Besides, the fruit here in the jungle gives us all the nutrients we need. Along with that and the sun of course." The IceWing's stoic expression quickly turned to annoyance and he turned himself around, leaning over the edge of the platform to look down from it and glance around, hoping he could find something to sink his teeth into. "I'm sorry but that's all we have." Dragonfruit sighed a little, looking down at the ground a small bit, seemingly disappointed in herself now. Gwyn looked up to glance at her a small bit. Seeing her cute face not so cute looking anymore made his heart heavier and he could feel something he hadn't felt in a long time. A sudden dread of guilt washed over him. He had to take a moment to gather himself up before he sighed and moved over to the upset RainWing.
"Alright, alright. I'll try some." He said with a slight snarl to himself.
"Really?!" That made the RainWing perk up excitingly and her scales quickly faded to a much brighter set of tones. With a mixture of pinks and purples.
"Yes." Gwyn looked to her, then down to the fruits displayed in front of him. He had to choose carefully. While they all looked appealing in their own right, he couldn't take the risk of accidentally eating something poisonous and end his own life so quickly. His left paw hovered over the fruit-filled table, twitching lightly when he got to one he thought he might try before rejecting it and moving on. This is harder than I thought… Surely it's just fruit. How could it be poisonous? Even if any were, the RainWings should know what's poisonous and what isn't. He nodded his head a few times to his thoughts, taking just a moment longer before he picked one. Alright… I suppose you'll do for now. The IceWing held the oddly bumpy fruit in his talons, letting his digits trace over the round figure of it while his eyes scanned the teal skin of it. He pulled it up toward his nose and took a few sniffs, picking up on the oddly rich scent of snow. He stared at it in with on dumbfounded look, almost like the couldn't believe what he was smelling. Snow? I never thought the snow had a smell to it... He seemed to brush it off before moving it back up toward his snout, though this time he parted his jaws and leaned in close bite down into the teal-colored fruit. He could have sworn his teeth felt weird as he took a bite into the tropical fruit. He had eaten fruit before but nothing like this. It was incredibly juicy and seemingly soaked his tongue in the various flavors he could describe as blue. After his initial bite, he pulled it away to look down at the bite he had taken out of it. It leaked with its juices into the IceWing's paw, slightly staining it with its deep blue fluids. Gwyn had remembered seeing that color before. His gaze turned long and deep as he took himself into a deep train of thought, remembering back to when he had seen this color before. An IceWing's blood… The Queen's blood… In that short moment, he had remembered what he was originally planning on doing.
"Gwyn?" Dragonfruit finally spoke up, a slight tone of worriedness on her tongue as the IceWing had stared so longingly at the fruit in his talons.
"Huh?" He seemed to be snapped out of his self induced trance before sighing a bit. "I'm fine, Dragonfruit." He gave a light smile before flicking his tail to the right.
"Good. I got scared there for a second, I thought you ate one of the poisonous ones." She giggled and sat back on her haunches. Her mention of a poisonous fruit made Gwyn stare down at the teal one he had just bitten into. Thank the Moons I chose wisely… After a couple more bites of the teal-colored fruit, it was gone. He licked his scaled lips clean of the watery juices and rumbled a bit. Well, at least it wasn't awful.
"Now that my hunger has been somewhat sated, I fear I must take my leave," Gwyn said, turning his head towards the RainWing who had stopped mid chomp.
"Leaving? Already? But you just got here!" She put the fruit she was holding back and looked up to him, seemingly pleading with him to stay.
"I'm sorry but I can't stay. I have important matters I must attend to back in the Ice Kingdom." He stood up and sighed a bit, lifting his right paw and gently patting her on the head. "Thank you for the hospitality, Dragonfruit."
"H-Hang on a minute!" She puffed out her cheeks, staying silent for a short moment while she thought of what to say, only for her to then perk her head up and spout out, "C-Can I come with you?!" She smiled awkwardly but still waited for a response from the white dragon next to her, wings flared out and tail wagging profusely.
"You want to… go with me?" Gwyn flicked both his ears in mild confusion but gave soft sigh and leaned his head down toward her. "I don't think it'd be a very wise idea. The journey would be long and most likely dangerous. I'd rather not want to put an innocent dragon in harm's way." He raised his head back up and shook it a bit. Dragonfruit simply made that same awkwardly begging expression, not letting it up for even a moment as she stared down Gwyn's now guilt-ridden face. "Ugh… Fine. You can come along." That got the RainWing to drop her little act and bounce around in joy, thanking him and cheering for herself. Gwyn shook his head softly and sighed a bit. "Come on. We better get a move on lest we miss our chance to leave before nightfall."
The night was slowly approaching, the sun had lightly touched down on the horizon and ached longingly to dive below the world. Gwyn and Dragonfruit had made their way out from the Rainforest Kingdom just beforehand. The RainWing had praised herself on her ability to navigate through the Rainforest with little effort.
"Oh thank goodness, we're out." Gwyn sighed out a breath of relief and stretched himself out fully along the ground before standing up straight. "Alright… Now, where are we…" Gwyn turned his head up to stare at the sky, glancing lightly towards the sun. "Seems like… we are facing North…" He gently swung one of his digits in the air and thought for a short moment before perking his ears up. Dragonfruit looked at him and tilted her head lightly.
"What is it, Gwyn? Do you know where we are?" She asked, her head only tilting more.
"We are in the Mud Kingdom." He spoke out, turning his head down to her. "Or at least if my memory of Pyrrhia's map serves me well." He sighed a bit and dug his digits loosely in the ground below them. The dirt was notably softer and more pliable. "Hopefully the MudWings would be nice enough to let us in for a night or two." Gwyn looked doubtful of his remark since he knew that relations with the MudWings haven't been too great. Though, he was hoping they would still at least allow him a couple of days worth of hospitality, at least to recover his strength fully and actually eat something. He hadn't eaten since he was back in the Ice Kingdom and that was a day or two ago by this point.
"You think they will?" Dragonfruit asked as she gently squished her paws down into the slightly moist dirt below.
"Come on, Dragonfruit. It's best that we don't stand out in the open like this." The IceWing trudged forward through the wetlands, idly grunting and grumbling to himself as he could feel his talons and paws sinking into the dirt underneath with every step he took. It wasn't too pleasant, and he lifted his paws a little higher in response to every step he made. Ugh… Why does it have to be so muddy…
The two dragons moved steadily through the soft terrain, keeping their eyes both on the sky above and the ground below. Their movements were slow and steady, not wanting to accidentally step on a hidden MudWing if any were napping about. Gwyn had heard stories that the broad dragons could submerge themselves into the mud and blend in with it. He could never really believe it, but he wasn't about to risk his paws over not being careful in the mud. "Careful where you step little one, don't want to accidentally step on a MudWing." Gwyn finally spoke up, turning his head back lightly to her.
"Step on one? But how would-" Dragonfruit was cut short as she perked her ears and stopped in her tracks, looking down at her left forepaw. She could feel something hard under all that soft, malleable mud. The ground beneath her moved and shook with gentle waves, soon a bulge would appear, then slowly out from the muddy mound scales would appear, then from those scales the body of a dragon. "Oops…"
"Ugh… Dragonfruit!" Gwyn quickly turned himself around and pulled the dragonet toward him, getting in some sort of a battle-ready stance as the MudWing groggily turned toward the two. The MudWing's eyes trailed along the both of them, and a shot of anger ran through them. "Just stay back, Dragonfruit…" Gwyn cleared his throat and turned his attention toward the MudWing, who was visibly angry with the both of them. "We are terribly sorry to disturb you… The RainWing did not mean to step on you, she was simply not watching where she was going."
A deep snort left the agitated dragon and she glared at the IceWing. "You better be sorry. This is the fifth time today I've had my much-needed nap ruined by another dragon, and now, I'm simply fed up with it!"
"Look I get that you are angry, but you don't have to let that anger out on us. We are just passing through, and you'll likely never see us again." Gwyn flexed his wings a small bit, getting a little lower to the ground.
"It's too late for that mister. I've been ticked off for the last time and now I need to, oh how should I put this, vent my anger?" The MudWing growled a bit and reared back, ready to charge at the guarding IceWing.
Great… Just what I needed… Gwyn readied himself and lowered himself into a defensive posture, ready for the MudWing that was getting herself amped up. Within a few moments, the MudWing began to charge, head tilted down and horns bared. The distance between the IceWing and the MudWing was quickly closing, and Gwyn needed to think fast. He quickly came up with a plan and turned around to quickly grab Dragonfruit. She let out a solid yelp of surprise before he threw her in the direction of the Rainforest. She landed quite a few feet away from the two rather safely, though she had made a big splash in the mud that coated her scales. Alright with her out of danger I can work more efficiently… Just keep your cool Gwyn… Don't let that side out of you again… The MudWing was quickly upon him, horns still barred, yet to gore him once contact was made.
Gwyn was quick on his feet, able to sidestep and jump away just in time before the MudWing was within stabbing distance with her horns. He slid across the mud a bit and tried to get a firm footing but had a troubled time doing so. Before he could even regain his posture the MudWing was rushing him. Her tail scooped under a small patch of mud and flung it at his face, making a direct hit to his eyes. Gwyn was blinded from obstruction. He didn't even have time to wipe it off of him as the MudWing tackled him to the ground. She tried to slash her talons along his chest but it made little effort as they had only left dull scratch marks, but she wouldn't let up, no matter how dull her talons were. Fed up with this more than useless onslaught of claw swipes, Gwyn reaches up with his much sharper talons and sinks them into the MudWing's neck, making her scream out in pain as the serrated edges did their jobs. It wasn't long before the blood would start to spill. Gwyn's digits were instantly stained as well as the MudWing's own tan scales. She tried to pull herself away but Gwyn's claws held true in their position and stayed locked beneath the dragoness's flesh. A desperate fling of her head managed to yank the IceWing's talons free, however at the cost of tearing into more flesh underneath, causing much larger lacerations on her neck.
The blood was pouring from the MudWing's neck, the IceWing's claws having seemed to just barely missed her jugular. "H-hahhh… Whew… Gonna feel that in the morning. Tsk…" She bit down on her lip a small bit and closed one of her eyes as she lifted her right paw to hold the wound on the right side of her neck. "Gotta say though, never fought an IceWing before, but I have heard the stories of your claws, and they are definitely true.."
"Good, hopefully, that'll keep you from attacking," Gwyn growled a bit, flicking the blood off of his talons and into the mud below them. Ultimately he was still stuck under the MudWing, though he tried to quickly move in to go for her jugular.
"Nope." She grunted as she quickly grabbed at his wrists and pinned them down to the mud. Gwyn was quickly caught off guard as her head came slamming down into his own, their skulls connecting and the IceWing groaned out in pain, a throbbing headache quickly enveloped over his mind and he seethed out in pain, there was a bit of a break in his skin and scales as the top of his head began to leak of his blue blood. Lucky enough for him though it seemed to daze the MudWing, and she stepped back, shaking her head. All she got was a big red mark on her forehead. "Alright, IceWing… I think this has gone on long enough…" She panted out. She scooped a pawful mud from the ground and slapped it against her wounds, letting the warmth of it soothe the aching pain and partially patch up the wound.
Gwyn rolled onto his paws and groaned out again, the headache really seeming to get to him. Though now it was starting to evolve to a more harsh, stabbing pain. "Oooooohhhhh…. Three moons ..." He placed one of his paws on his head and seethed in pain again. He knew he was vulnerable now, but at this point, he couldn't stop for any reason. This MudWing now had it out for him after the claw marks he had left on her. "Alright, Gwyn… Maybe you should get a little serious…" He said to himself, staring off towards the way he had thrown Dragonfruit. She was staring back at him with one of the most absolutely worried faces he had ever seen on a dragon. He sighed out and slowly got up, turning his head around to face the MudWing. "Alright… Come on then…" He hissed out, lowering his head as he turned his whole body to face the MudWing. She smiled devilishly and lowered her head to level it with his own. He stared at her with a sudden realization. That smile… Blizzard... There was something about the MudWing's fiendish grin that made Gwyn think of his former Queen. And that would be the edge he needed to get ahead. However, it was an edge he did not want to bring out willingly. Gwyn could feel himself losing the control he had over his more animalistic side, having tried to keep it in check but the MudWing had unfortunately pulled on a nerve.
The MudWing charged him again, but she could see he was visibly shaking, and his eyes were suddenly deep. Something had changed in him. The IceWing and MudWing stared each other down, one snarling and the other quaking with pent up anger. Just as the Mud dragon stepped forward, Gwyn was suddenly quick to react, and snapped, leaping toward the brown dragon. He caught her in his talons and wrestled the bulkier dragon to the ground with all his might. This was what threw the MudWing off completely as she suddenly felt so powerless under the might of the IceWing. She laid out on her back, trying to sink her dull claws into him, though it would render useless as Gwyn's scales were too sturdy, and simply only left light scratches against them. The white dragon's left set of claws quickly sunk into the MudWing's chest, digging in before he swiped them towards the right, carving out three whole lacerations into her, making her scream out in agony from the serrated edges cutting into her, leaving her chest drooling with her own blood. Gwyn didn't let up, however. His right set of claws did the same thing, latching deeply into the MudWing's chest and swiping to the left to create a second set of deep wounds, tearing flesh and scales from her body and leaving her chest a bloody mess.
"S-STOP! LET ME GO!" The MudWing had finally had enough, seeming to try and call out for mercy, though it was just too late for anything to reach the IceWing in a more sound manner. He grabbed at her jaws with his talons and pried them apart, her body squirming and writhing in pain as she tried to escape, but with the IceWing settled so heavily on top of her she had no chance, and this would be the end of it all.
Gwyn's head leaned back and his own snout opened but, squeezing hard on her own parted jaws, his serrated talons finding purchase in various spots as to keep her from shutting her snout. His neck would bulge out and his breath would turn misty, only for the sudden blast of frostbreath to quickly fill the MudWing's mouth and throat with the frozen attack. Her body almost instantly locked up as joints and muscles froe solid within her, her screams of mercy quickly silenced as her throat was closed up instantly with the Ice Dragon's breath. Her snout was the first to freeze solid, ice glossing over her scales and soon enough creating a slight cover around it, The rest of her body quickly following along. The warmth of life drained from her within seconds, her body glossing over with a thin sheet of ice. The MudWing was dead.
Gwyn's snout closed and his talons tugged free from the frozen snout they were recently stabbed into. The IceWing stared at his first kill. His eyes filled with deep worry and his body visibly shaking. His mind was filled with whispers and evil thoughts, something he couldn't seem to escape as his mind swirled around itself. Gwyn steadily turned back to see Dragonfruit staring at him in disbelief. "Gwyn…?" Dragonfruit lightly spoke, looking deep into the Ice Dragon's eyes. Her face was covered in fear and worry, something he thought he'd never see. Though more whispers filled his mind and he closed his eyes, shaking his head a bit. He had to regain control over himself but he couldn't find a way out of his mental torment. He lost his will and suddenly opened his eyes back up, staring down the RainWing dragonet. Her face flushed with fear, she took a step back, idly glancing back toward the Rainforest that was mere steps away from her.
In a fit of uncontrollable bloodlust, he quickly lunged for the dragonet, making her quickly turn tail and run. Dragonfruit was very fast, and he was certainly very quick to catch up to the terrified dragonet. It wasn't much time until he tackled her to the ground, rolling along the ground before skidding to a stop. The RainWing was under him and her throat was pinned to the ground. He had a tight grasp around it like he could crush it at any moment. She hadn't thought she was how she would go out, but she tried calling out to him again, her voice raspy from the lack of space she had to work within her throat. "G-Gwyn…! Gwyn, please…! It's me… D-Dragonfruit…!" She could feel him squeezing harder and harder, her airway being more restricted, causing her to grab at his wrist and try to pull it off. "Gwyn…"
The IceWing was mere moments away from choking the RainWing, his glaring eyes never leaving her face as he wanted to see the life fade from her eyes in front of him, though something about her face, and the way she pleaded out to him to make him stop, to let her go. He could feel his talons steadily releasing her throat, her maw opening up widely to gasp out as Gwyn finally removed his paw. He didn't say a thing. He simply stared down at his talons, then looked to her and the pained expression she held on her face. Gwyn couldn't believe he had nearly killed her. An innocent RainWing that had nothing to do with his endeavor, nearly being choked out because of his soulless thoughts and the evil whispers that lashed at his mind. Dragonfruit coughed and rubbed at her throat, taking deep breaths as she filled her lungs with the precious air that she needed once more. It wasn't long until Dragonfruit had looked at the paw that was raised above her slightly, shaking and trembling before her. A splash of cold water hit her chest and she looked to him, tilting her head lightly. She could see his eyes were filled with tears, streams of them running down his cheeks and dripping onto her. He then quickly wrapped both his forelegs around her and held her close, sobbing lightly. "Gwyn…? Why are you…"
"I'm sorry, little dragonet…" Was simply the only thing Gwyn responded with. For the first time in what he thought was forever, he could feel yet another emotion he had thought he lost through the abuse of his Animus powers. Sadness had filled him. Sadness… He just held her tighter. He had even felt a connection between the two of them. Something had sparked the moment he met her but he never thought of it until he had nearly killed her. His will was his again. Gwyn wasn't sure of it, but he knew he had to protect this dragonet, and take her to the Ice Kingdom with him. He knew this was apart of some great, master plan that the world had for him, and he'd follow along. She is one of them… one that will help me regain my soul… I know it… There's no denying it now…
The sun had finally set on the two of them, dawning into the night. Gwyn soon let go of the RainWing and sat back on his haunches, his ears pinned against his skull and he wiped his eyes clear of his tears. Dragonfruit leaned in close to him and gently lifted her forepaw to lightly run it under his eye a bit to help. He knew she had forgiven him. "Thank you, Dragonfruit.."