Been really busy, and this one took some hammering out. Searching for where to take this story next, but I promise I'll finish it before I jump to another project.
Two minutes. Now exactly one hundred and eighteen seconds from now. She will be here. That's how it has to be.
Her grip tightened around both handles. The only thing keeping her steady was the soft breathing behind her, constantly keeping the flicker of hope alive. This rest would not be interrupted. Never.
The NightWing lingered in the shadows, her daggers glistening in the small beam of light peeking through a crack in the wall, while counting down the seconds one by one. The focus she employed couldn't falter; there was no time to think about anything else. She had done plenty of thinking already.
No more thinking...it was too distracting.
Three...two—
There came the expected five knocks on the door, but a second too early. Gentleheart held her weapons up, prepared for any manner of intruder. They couldn't fool her! She knew the time exactly!
The door slowly opened with a creak, letting in the painful sunlight. Still, they wouldn't get past her.
"Seriously Gen? Did you draw the blinds again?" Just Sage. But something was still amiss here.
"You're a second early." The RainWing came in with a big sigh and a roll of the eyes, setting down her pouches of various medical items. Just as the door closed, bringing back the comforting darkness, Sage opted to open one of those cursed windows.
"Is it possible for you to cut this whole edgy trauma thing? I don't want to sound insensitive, but it's obvious that you'll both be fine. It doesn't suit you." She hid some indignation. I'm not overreacting. The dragoness felt the dagger's handle roll around in her palm. She wasn't entirely used to using weapons yet, but it was necessary. She couldn't let go of them for even a second.
"You don't understand, Sage. It came true. I should have seen it from the very beginning. My own mind told me this would happen, and I did nothing! I have to make sure nothing else comes to fruition." The RainWing didn't voice her obvious disagreement, moving past her to start the check in. Gen kept vigilant watch on both ends, ensuring nothing would go wrong.
"I swear," the healer murmured while replacing the gauze. "This is like the fifth time I've had to bail you guys out. Got a penchant for grave conditions or something...probably all I'm ever good for..." This surprised Gentleheart, bringing her out of battle readiness for a brief second.
"Sage. You've always been my friend. There's just a lot more going on, is all." The RainWing looked at her tiredly.
"If you wanna make my job easier, then maybe you could put those things down." I...can't...
Finished with the brief examination, Sage made for the door with a pointed look back. When she opened it, the voice of Beryl floated in from outside.
"Hey Mom! Can we go hunting? Glint told me that there's a herd of deer in the woods over there!" ...Mom? The door closed, cutting off the rest of the conversation.
Gen was still, staring at the blades in her claws. She didn't even have the energy to close the blinds once again. Have I really been neglecting everyone? What am I doing?
She thought back. That horrible, heart-twisting pain from three days ago...the insufferable image that never left her. Surely her actions were reasonable? Wanting nothing more terrible to happen only made sense. But becoming so tunnel-visioned, so set on only doing one thing...was this a weakness?
He wouldn't want this.
Gen flinched as she suddenly discovered that one of her daggers was...coated in blood? Familiar, leaking out from beneath blue scales...
No! No, it's not real! She threw the weapons aside, breathing heavily. That was close. Any moment more and she may have lost it.
He was fine. Everything was okay. There was no reason to worry any more. The Hive mind wasn't coming. The MudWings had left.
There was no threat.
Moons, I'm going stir crazy. I need some space. The NightWing made for the door, looking back for just a moment. Nemichthys glimmered a pristine blue in the sunlight, looking like a beautiful sculpture. His state of peace gave her enough reassurance to finally step outside.
As though reentering life, Gentleheart was suddenly racked by both hunger and thirst. She had refused any food in her vigilance. The weather was finally letting up in Sanctuary, and though it was still getting colder, today was cloudless and not very windy. She ignored this for now, seriously craving nourishment.
Maybe I could join them? I don't hunt very often, but I'm famished. Though, it could be silly to try and break the ice so soon after Sage just told her off about being foolish. The RainWing deserved that bonding moment with her...surrogate daughter? Apparently?
Yet still, on the other hand, going to the lake for fishing right now wouldn't bode well for her mental state. The grass was still stained black there.
The fruit storage, then. There probably wasn't much, with the Pantalans providing extra bellies to feed, but she wasn't entirely sure what people from the other continent were up to right now. The liberation of their homeland was a bit overshadowed by...other events in her life. I'm sure Karner and Bract are ecstatic, wherever they are right now.
Gentleheart stretched her wings while preparing to take flight, discovering how bunched up they were. After all, the last time she used them was returning from the...
...Yet another unpleasant memory.
The NightWing found herself high above the trees of Sanctuary. The soft wind beneath her wings took away some of the weight and brightened her mood. It gave her a sense of space and magnitude that seemed to be the temporary fix for the many issues lately. Merely the opportunity to relax for a second, to leave it all behind.
Somehow amidst all of this, Gen had practically forgotten that she was a dragon. A miraculous beast of wings and talons, towering above other creatures. She had to be in control of herself. Tragedy may come, and the world may be an enemy, but if she was stable and confident, nothing could lead to demise.
I'm still here. I'm still standing.
With a clear head, conscious, and soul, Gentleheart swooped down to the area where everyone stored fruit and other snacks. It was open to the air, with only a small hut preserving the produce. There were only a small handful of Pyrrhians around today, including someone she hadn't seen in a bit.
"Hey, Quinn!" The hybrid jumped up as she landed, beaming...from behind a weird face mask?
"Gen! There you are! Sage told me about the trouble a few days ago. You had me worried." He offered a mango, which she gratefully accepted.
"Yeah...I've been through a few rough patches. But honestly, I feel much better. He's doing fine too." The researcher studied her face curiously.
"I can tell. You look...happy." Really? Was her brief fly that effective?
"Hey, um. What's up with the, uh..." He invited her to sit. The other few dragons paid them no mind, so she did as much, now appreciating the breeze in the air and the sun from on high.
Quinn still didn't remove his mask, nor did he grab any more food. Gen lightly nibbled on her fruit as he began.
"So as you noticed, I kind of got shored up in the lab for a few days, for which I apologize. Got a bit nervous I guess...it did give me the chance to research. But once I knew everything was alright, I got back out a bit, met some people. Most of the Pantalans left with their Queen to do all of the figuring-out, but some actually stayed!" The naturally chipper scientist glanced in the direction of a SilkWing she hadn't noticed before, who was happily chatting with another hybrid of some sorts. SilkWings were truly beautiful dragons...
Karner and Bract wouldn't just leave, right? I at least thought they were friends of ours...
The blotchy oceanic drake lightly tugged on the strange cloth somehow covering his snout. It was pale blue in color and had some sort of ridges, reminding her of something a surgeon might wear. "This is really just for precaution. After all, that Breath of Evil thing was a respiratory contagion. Don't wanna catch anything!" Gentleheart offered a smile, even though she felt that such an effort wouldn't help in the slightest. Masks simply aren't practical for anything with a snout.
Though hopefully, he wouldn't need it anyway.
If Swift's news really was valid, there would be no reason to worry, right?
You're in control. Don't panic.
"Gen? One more thing?" She could see the tension in his body that was also evident in his voice. The mood flipped in reverse as the poor guy shrank in on himself. His normally blundering, goofy nature vanished until she was looking at a meager dragonet. Much like herself.
"I...I'm sorry for what happened. I was hardly there to support you, let alone help in the moment. I can't imagine how hard this was for you while I was cowering behind a closed door." This surprised Gen greatly. In her long time knowing Quinn, he had never been so torn up about anything.
"Hey. Comere, Quinn. It's okay." The NightWing hugged her friend softly. No amount of people present at the scene could have changed what happened. It was just...a misunderstanding. "For what it's worth...I've been a coward my whole life. And if the last month or two has taught me anything, it's that any dragon can achieve their goals, no matter what. The fact that you're acknowledging it already means you're on the right track."
The corners of his mask curved upwards to match the obvious grin. Satisfied, they tapped wings and split apart a bit.
"Thanks. —I'm sorry to pester you with more questions, but did I hear right that, well, you two are, uh..." Despite the current state of her greatest companion, she couldn't help but smile at the thought of their relationship.
"That's right. He's everything I've ever wanted." Quinkana's eyes lit up in that way they did when he got passionate about his studies.
"Cool! So I've gotta know, how do you suppose dragons with EDC go about mating? My hypothesis is that it's most akin to a snake, but given that he's a SeaWing, it could be more like eels." Why is this his first question?! And how does he know what that would look like?
"I-I don't know! I'm not qualified to answer that!" The researcher stared at her for a second.
"But you're curious, right?"
"...M-maybe, but that's beside the point!"
- -
I can't believe he would do this. We were going to find Tussock together!
Karner wasn't normally a very angry dragon. Life in the Hives had enforced placidity and obedience. But her best pal had galavanted away at the most inconvenient of times.
Despite what the other dragons had told her several days ago, she had resolved to not be left behind while Bract went off to play hero. That is, until Swift arrived with the news that everything was better now.
She had hoped that maybe Bract knew as much and was on his way back, but after waiting an unbearable thirty minutes, she planned to go chase the LeafWing down instead.
And all this time to stew on it and reflect was making her quite upset.
"How much farther, Swift?" The helpful SkyWing was guiding her through the desert, as he also had to rejoin the organized force. The temperature wasn't unbearable at the moment, but it would be wise to hurry.
"At this rate of speed? We'll be there in a few more hours. It might be faster if you wanna try what I mentioned earlier." Oh...yeah, that only made her a little anxious.
"Are you sure that would actually work? Carrying a whole other dragon isn't easy..." He grinned leisurely, looping around the sky and generally being a flamboyant flyer.
"Hey, if your silk can hold entire cities together, I'd say we have a high chance of success." Not anymore...most of the Hives had already been burned down. But admittedly, he had a point. The adhesive silk was among the strongest types she could spin.
Karner didn't know this guy very well. She could barely trust him with this, but time was of the essence. The SilkWing began spooling out the sticky thread.
"Alright. I'll...give it a try." Amidst the constant rays of the sun, they went about jury-rigging the messenger's plan. Basically, she would attach silk to him and hang on for dear life.
It took a lot of silk to weave a significantly thick strand; in most cases, multiple SilkWings would be combining their efforts, so Karner had to pick up some slack. However, after several minutes of continuing to fly forward while spinning and collecting, she ended up with a big strand like a jungle vine, thicker at the ends.
Maybe it was something about the heat affecting her, but this silk was extremely sticky, even more than usual. It was sometimes hard to push out with such density.
"That's a remarkable skill," Swift commented as she tied off the end. "Are you a talented weaver? I'm sure it's going to be revolutionary in Pyrrhia. Maybe Queen Ruby would want to hire a silk artist." Despite the purely conversational nature, that rattled her. The idea of combining these two long-separated cultures had never come up. Sure, she was glad to explore this continent and meet people here, but the thought of dragons permanently moving from one to the other or joining into those societies...
It wasn't bad per se, just hard to visualize.
They found a rock to land on, avoiding the hot sand. It was here where Swift decided to attach the silk right on his chest, which made her a little anxious. She had learned that most SkyWings had very large flyers and were strong fighting dragons, on the larger side of the tribes. Swift was smaller than her.
Perfect for the speedy messenger role, but not so much the physical labor one.
"So you're absolutely ready for this?" He flashed a playful smirk of confidence that made him look even more like a dragonet.
"Doors only open to those who knock." Um, okay... Karner firmly secured her end of the connection. 'Always err on the side of caution when you're building.' ...I'll find you, Tussock. Just after this.
"Okay. Let's try it—wah!" Before she could get a breath in, they were suddenly airborne.
Her silk held for now, but they were moving. Swift held his namesake and was absolutely proving his point.
"How's this for ready?" The SkyWing playfully surged forward, making Karner yelp in surprise again. Why did I agree to this?! I'm not a high-speed person! The desert wind was catching in her wings, making her drag far behind and flail like an earring. Or maybe a flag? At least it wasn't nearly as hot with the constant breeze.
She lost track of their progress, clinging to the silk and wenching her eyes shut. That made it less scary, though it didn't help the dizziness. The purple SilkWing quivered, trapped between wanting to be courageous and wishing to sit and relax back at Sanctuary.
...Maybe that's why Bract took off. She knew him well, and while he seemed to be a pretty standard, easy-going type, there was secretly some great ambition. She could see the guilt he carried, being a—what were they called—a SapWing? Simply put, Bract hid his dislike for being a sideliner. She hoped that he wasn't already in deep trouble somewhere. They were best friends, after all.
"Swift!" The purple dragoness cried, her arms starting to tire from the constant support. "How much longer?!"
"Give me just a couple minutes! Shoreline in sight!" Wow, really? Karner cautiously opened her eyes. The glimmering sea, stretching far beyond the horizon, was laid out before her. They were really high up, far away from the sand and nearly touching the clouds.
She had never been this high before. Stuck in the Hives, hopping across islands on a long and frightening journey...
Woah... It made her realize that she was truly free. No more Hives. No more mind control. No more being told.
Her fear melted away, replaced by a sort of serenity from the dazzling sunlight. Except there was still that bit of pressure, given that Bract still had to come to his senses. The work was already done.
But she soon noticed that the ocean wasn't getting much closer. In fact, her silk connection was falling a little more slack.
"Hey Swift? What's up?" She craned her neck to see the SkyWing, who was watching something to their right.
"Uh, I think they are up." Karner caught the IceWing's glimmer in the light before she could actually see them. However, once she did—
Ooh, cool! First Mickey, and now this! The shiny dragon sported two very large and strong wings, as well as two back legs of equal might, but no forelegs. They were hovering in the air a short ways away, likely having risen from somewhere in the dunes near the shore. Wasn't the heat rough for a tribe that normally lived in the tundra?
But how awesome was this? Not only was she meeting Pyrrhians, but the most special and gorgeous among them!
"Get ready. I'm gonna cut you loose."
"Wait, what?!" Before there was time to prepare, Karner was falling. The sticky silk was keeping her claws bound, but her wings were still fine, and she managed to catch some wind and start drifting. Thank goodness they were relatively high up.
The SilkWing tried to reorient and get a sense of the trouble. The unusual IceWing was evidently far from friendly, and there was now an aerial chase of grand proportions.
Swift was moving with his namesake speed, but the mysterious assailant was keeping pace, chasing him around for whatever reason and ignoring his frequent cries of peace. What could be going on? Why fight?! Everything should have been over!
I-I can stop this. She couldn't just watch. A small web of sticky silk followed by a strand of connecting line...there!
Karner tried to fly a little bit closer, having trouble keeping up with the action. This felt so pointless! Why would the IceWing just keep going after him?
Swift caught on to the plan at play and subtly led his attacker close by. She threw the loop very early in hopes of catching with speed, and such a gamble paid off.
Their foe quickly halted in the air, bringing up their hind leg to claw in annoyance at the new mask over their eyes.
"Hey, knock it off! We were just passing by and don't mean any harm!" She only received a growl of frustration in response. Of course. This couldn't be simple.
However, once Ray of Sunshine here did manage to restore their vision, they locked onto Karner with a cold blue stare. She had very little flying experience, directly facing one of the sharper, deadlier tribes on this new continent. And all of this because Bract got a little overzealous.
Thankfully, before this new assault could begin, Swift brought back some attention by just barely grazing past the four-limbed dragon, singing them a bit with a warning blast of fire along the way.
"Let's be reasonable here. Diplomacy works, I promise!" This too was ignored, and the IceWing simply resumed the chase. With someone this fierce out here...be safe, Bract.
Karner recoiled in surprise, hearing a pained yelp like that of a cheetah cub. She had gotten distracted by her thoughts for a mere second, but in that sliver of time, the attacker caught up.
Swift was now plummeting with a sizable tear in his right wing, courtesy of those jagged, hooked talons on their wing bones. It was a long way to the ground.
Swallowing down her remaining fear, Karner dove, disregarding their adversary. More sticky silk began producing on instinct as she fought to keep up. His remaining wing was enough to catch a bit of drag, so she was able to shorten the distance.
"Hang on! I'm gonna—I'll get you!" She couldn't hear his response over the rushing wind. I have no clue how to do this.
When she believed it to be sufficient, the SilkWing whipped her silk strand outwards, hoping to snag him and slow the fall. For a second, hope appeared as it managed to stick to his wing bone, and she splayed her own wings to catch air and slow them down. She realized too late that this was not the right place to aim.
The resulting crack was chilling.
Rather than the fast, hectic action from mere seconds ago, time slowed right down. Her plan worked in part; his fall had stopped. Swift remained suspended by her silk, at her mercy and completely silent from shock. Karner was very much the same. The IceWing had vanished.
As slowly and smoothly as possible, she brought both of them down to the shade of a tall dune before gently laying the messenger in the sand. The SilkWing remained motionless, numbly dropping the strand to the ground.
I can't believe this. Why didn't I...Swift...
"At least I'm alive..." His soft attempt at breaking the brittle silence failed. One wing torn, the other broken...he would not be flying again for a very long time, if at all.
She couldn't bother apologizing, crying in regret, doing much of anything. What would that accomplish? No, he needed help, and fast.
"Should I go and find the other SkyWings? Let them know?"
"Yeah...that'd be great. It's almost evening, so I won't overheat. Be careful. We don't know—ow—what that IceWing is trying to protect."
"Alright. ...Swift..." Karner didn't have to say anything else. She couldn't. He only met her gaze, offering a small nod of understanding and attempting to hide a wince.
She made sure to mark the sand on the dune with a giant crosshatch so that it was visible from up high. On the lookout for the four-limbed aggressor, and still feeling shaken up, Karner continued her flight to the shore, and hopefully, the SkyWing army.
Alone.
