Glorious Politics
AN: This was another chapter that I had to force myself to stop writing for fear of it getting too much longer than a normal chapter. Otherwise, I would've just kept going.
Unfortunately, because it ended up with more content than I expected, Bear, the new Mudwing, doesn't actually make an appearance yet, though he is mentioned again.
Secondly, thank you to all of you who gave feedback on the last chapter. I really appreciate it. Most everyone seemed okay with it, though there were a few comments about how Glory and Mistral's new relationship shouldn't be perfect at launch. Well, I can safely say it won't be. Every relationship, including those in real life, has its rocky moments. Plus, Mistral still has some past trauma he needs to work through. He may have agreed to give Glory a chance, but that doesn't mean he's forgotten what happened in his past to make him so hesitant in the first place.
Thirdly, I'm going to give an update on my book, which I haven't done in a while. I got about 150 pages in on my first draft, looked it over, didn't like it, and went back to the drawing board. That was back in January or February, I believe. Since then, I've come up with a new outline (same characters and world, just a different plot) and am now cruising through the second draft. I just finished chapter four yesterday, and my current rate is one chapter a week. I really hope it stays that way.
And lastly, I'm going to do a bit of self-advertising again. Haven't done it in a while, so for anyone that doesn't know or simply forgot, I have a few gigs on Fiverr. The website itself is free to browse, so if you're interested in checking it out just to see what it is, there's no fee to do so. If you've got an idea for an original story or want a short Wings of Fire one-shot of your favorite characters, look me up. My name on there is the same as on here (admiralcole22). Commissions on Fiverr are a great way to show some extra support, and of course, you get your own story out of the deal, too.
Apologies for the ad read; here's the chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire. Nimbus, Sobek, Mistral, and Veneno are my OCs. Bloodwalker belongs to SpyroAndSisuFan. Certus, Solstice, and Swiftback belong to Epsilon33. Bear belongs to Schwanze.
Chapter Thirty-Eight:
"It definitely feels good to be back home." They'd just arrived back at the Rainwing village, and already dragons were flocking around to welcome their Queen back. She greeted them, in kind, as she, Mistral, Peril, Veneno, and their small contingent of Sandwing soldiers walked through the forest towards her pavilion.
As beautiful as the Sky Kingdom was, she was getting a bit tired of all of the drama that happened every time she went there. Of course, the burned area of the village was a reminder that drama happened here, too, but she was glad to see the first hints of green sprouting from the blackened ground. Soon enough, the forest would be back to normal, as if the fire had never happened.
"And just when I was getting used to the Sky Kingdom's cooler temperatures," the Icewing groused. Because they weren't trying to announce their relationship to the entire world, they were walking with a good space between each other.
She actually regarded him with slight concern upon hearing that, though. She'd never even asked if he was comfortable with the high temperatures and humidity, and he'd never said anything about it. "It's not too hot for you, is it?" Already, she could see traces of condensation on his scales from the ambient water vapor in the air. He glanced at her, and she could tell that he was trying to figure out if she was being genuine or mocking him. "Genuine question," she clarified.
"I've been on fire for most of my life, so..." All three dragons looked at Peril oddly at that, but she just shrugged. "This is nothing compared to what being a firescales is like. The humidity is different, though... I don't like that as much."
Mistral just shook his head in exasperation before answering Glory's question. "It's uncomfortable but manageable. It's not nearly as bad as the desert, thankfully, but it's still not the kind of place I would have imagined myself living normally." She actually wasn't sure how to take that. He'd basically just admitted that he didn't like living in the Rainforest.
As in the one she was Queen of...
"Kind of wish you'd told me that earlier," she told him.
"You didn't ask," was his simple reply. Before she could get too annoyed by it, he shrugged and continued. "And it's not like you could've done anything to change the weather, anyway, so don't worry about it. As I said, it's manageable."
But that wasn't the problem, was it? "I still would've appreciated a mention of the fact you don't like it down here," she shot back. Had she known, she would've been able to at least consider that fact before they ended up in a relationship. Now, she just felt like a jerk for essentially forcing him to live somewhere he didn't like.
"I never said that," he said, shooting a glare at her. "So don't put words in my mouth." She considered that for a moment and supposed that he was right. He'd said it was uncomfortable yet manageable, not that he didn't like it down here. Maybe she had put words in his mouth. That was something she was sort of known for at times, especially around dragons with similar personalities to her own like Tsunami. Or dragons she was mad at. She did it with Deathbringer a lot. Because of those realizations, she was this close to apologizing and admitting he was right. But then he spoke again. "And stop trying to argue with me over every little thing. I don't appreciate it."
She scoffed at that and stared at him incredulously. "Excuse me? I was literally about to apologize because of that simple misunderstanding, Mistral, so how can you say I instigate fights when you say stuff like that?"
Ever since they started their relationship four days ago, they'd been having quite a few minor arguments about little things. Every single one of them had been from similar misunderstandings that should've been easily resolved. One of them said something that the other one took to mean something different than the first intended. And instead of just clearing it up, Mistral was always, always the one to turn it into an argument.
"Um...am I missing something here?" Peril asked as both the Rainwing and the Icewing continued to glare daggers at the other.
"They just got into a relationship," Veneno answered matter-of-factly. Both Glory and Mistral glared at her for just throwing their secret out for the world to hear. She seemed distinctly unapologetic, though.
"Ohhhh..." Peril nodded in realization before looking at them both in utter confusion. "Really? Those two?" The two's glares turned from Veneno to Peril before going back to glaring at each other.
They were nearly at the pavilion by this point when Mistral broke away from the group with a grumpy, "I'll go find the Seawing."
Glory watched him go with a huff, but her annoyance quickly faded, and she sighed sadly at his retreating form. Their relationship wasn't starting off very well. This might very well be the worst mistake she'd ever made if they couldn't make this work.
Suddenly, there was a comforting claw on her shoulder. "Don't stress too much, Glory. Relationships take constant work to pay off. I'm sure you two will figure it out." She nodded at Veneno's kind words, and then the three of them made the quick flight up to her pavilion.
The Sandwing guards were still posted around the pavilion, which she was glad to see, and there were two easily recognizable Nightwings inside. "Greatness, Bloodwalker, anything major happen to my Kingdom while I was away?"
Both Nightwings were glad to see her back, though they showed it different ways. Bloodwalker gave her a kind smile and shook his head at her question while Greatness immediately walked over and pulled Glory into a hug. The Rainwing was taken by surprise, to be sure, but she hesitantly returned the gesture. "I am so glad you're back! Being a Queen is way too stressful, and I have no idea how you do it!"
"You get used to it," Glory shrugged. Then, she pushed Greatness away and looked her in the eye, an act which made the Nightwing grow nervous upon seeing the serious look in the Rainwing's gaze. "Speaking of, I'm naming you Steward for the foreseeable future." That basically meant that while Glory was the true Queen, Greatness would be ruling in her stead during the Rainwing's absence.
The Nightwing blinked several times in shock, and even Bloodwalker seemed stunned. "W-What?" Then, she vehemently shook her head. "N-No, I can't—"
"Yes, you can," Glory interrupted sternly. "What do you think you've been doing for over a week now?" From the look of it, Greatness was about to argue again, so Glory physically clamped her mouth shut. "I need you to do this, Greatness. Until I have dragonets of my own, you are my heir." Both Nightwings' gazes widened comically at the declaration, but Glory merely continued. "I'm going to be busy with finding the cult with a task force—Ruby's idea," she clarified at the curious looks. "So I need you to act in my stead."
"Okay, hold on," Bloodwalker intervened. "Task force? And what do you mean, 'Ruby's idea'? Weren't you going to the Sky Kingdom to discuss the possibility of war?" He looked around for a second, and then his next question made a stab of guilt hit her right in the heart. "And where's Winter? He should be with you at all times when I'm not around." Glory sighed and looked away for a moment. "Glory?" he pressed, though not unkindly.
"It's a long story that both of you should hear," she eventually told them. "Though, we need to wait for Turtle to get here since it involves him, too."
Greatness shifted uncomfortably at that. "Okay...now I'm getting worried."
Glory nodded, but it was Veneno who said what was on both of their minds. "I'd say there's good cause for that."
Turtle and Mistral arrived not long after with a noticeable lack of a Kinkajou following him. Upon seeing him, Veneno tossed the earring Anemone had given to her over to him and told him what his sister said. He nodded and said he'd go get it after the meeting was done.
Speaking of the meeting, the lot of them were seated in a circle. Glory sat in front of her desk with Greatness on her left and Bloodwalker on her left. Peril sat on the other side of the assassin with Turtle on her other side. Next to the animus was Mistral and finally there was Veneno sitting between him and Greatness. The Icewing, though he tried to ignore her, kept sending hateful glares at Greatness every now and then. That, in turn, made Glory realize that they'd probably have to work on that in the future.
"Alright, they're here. So what's this about?" At Bloodwalker's prompting, Glory explained everything.
First, she told them about how the summit in the Sky Kingdom turned out to be the result of Ruby undergoing mood swings because of a pregnancy she hadn't even discovered as of then. The reactions were fairly uniform as those that weren't there voiced their happiness for the Skywing Queen and relief that things hadn't been worse.
Then, Glory told them all about the meeting in the sewers. Turtle was pretty much shaking in terror when he heard there was another evil animus out there to worry over. Greatness and Bloodwalker were equal parts horrified and outraged at what happened to Pineapple. "At least we know Vulture is involved...whatever consolation that is," the assassin muttered. "I'm sorry for your loss."
"We weren't particularly close," she admitted. And that fact ashamed her now more than ever. She should've made the effort to get to know her brother's lover better. Of course, if she had, she'd no doubt be taking his death even harder than she was already. "But...Turtle, could you use a spell to locate my brother?" It wasn't an order. It wasn't even a request. It was more like asking a favor that she didn't expect him to agree to, but when he hesitantly nodded, she sighed in relief. "Thank you." After what happened down in those sewers, the last thing she wanted was for Jambu to get captured and have to go through the same trauma again.
The news about Winter was hard to hear for the dragons that didn't already know. Turtle seemed downright crushed to hear that his friend was gone so soon after coming back. Especially since they hadn't even gotten to really catch up before the Icewing was gone again. Bloodwalker was angry, though not at her. He'd just come to accept the Icewing as a friend and comrade, and now the cult had taken him prisoner. And while Greatness didn't know him very well, she still seemed upset, something that seemed to incense Mistral greatly. Glory told herself that she would ask about that later, too.
After that, she told them about Ruby and Levante's idea regarding the task force. One dragon from each tribe would join together and pool their resources and skills—with support from every Kingdom, ranging from intel to ground troops—to follow leads and track down the cult. Each of the Queens had already agreed to it and chosen their representative. For the Skywings, Ruby had chosen Peril. Anemone had chosen Turtle for the Seawings. Veneno was there on Thorn's orders for the Sandwings. Mistral would stick around as the Icewing representative since Snowfall knew there was no point in choosing someone else. And then Glory had volunteered Bloodwalker to be the Nightwing and herself as the Rainwing. "Which is why I need you to take my place for a while, Greatness," she finished up.
Before she could even answer, Turtle asked a question. "So what about the Mudwing?"
"Queen Moorhen chose the captain of her palace guard, Bear, to be her representative," Mistral explained. "I imagine he'll be here later today or tomorrow." It was only a smidge after noon, so she supposed it was possible for him to be here today.
"Okay, so what's this for?" To accompany his question, Turtle held up the small earring in between his claws.
"My guess is that it holds an enchantment to prevent the wearer from being affected by animus magic, either as a whole or specifically from Jerboa." Or so she assumed, though given that's what she and Thorn were talking about the night before, it wasn't hard to connect the dots. Thorn must've told the Seawing Queen about it, and she had taken it on herself to either find or make an enchanted earring.
"So like Qibli's earring, then?" Veneno guessed, to which Glory nodded. "Except not specific to Darkstalker's magic, obviously."
"So...do we have a list of the dragons that need one of these?" Turtle asked next.
Glory nodded. "Mostly...but it's a long one." Which turned out to be quite the understatement. To make things easier, they decided to break it down by tribe.
They started with the Nightwings since it was one of the shorter lists. It was only Greatness, Moon, Foeslayer, Fatespeaker, and Starflight. Bloodwalker got one, of course, and he also asked for three more. One for his lover, Jewelwings. The other two were for his parents. And then, as a group, they decided that maybe Stonemover would need one.
The Rainwings turned out to be the shortest list: Glory, Kinkajou, and Jambu.
Next came the Sandwings: Thorn, Sunny, Qibli, Blaze, Veneno, Six-Claws, and then about fifty other Outclaws that Veneno named.
For the Seawings: Turtle, Tsunami, Shark, Coral, Auklet, and the rest of the Seawing Princes and their respective families. Anemone probably already had something of her own, so they didn't mention her.
For the Skywings: Ruby, Levante, Horus since he was Levante's closest friend, Cliff, Vermillion—who Glory hadn't seen or heard from in ages since he tended to be a rather solitary dragon these days—and a dozen or so of Ruby's closest advisors and servants. Peril's earring needed to be specially enchanted to resist her firescales, so Turtle promised to do that later.
The Icewings had a surprisingly short list: Mistral, Snowfall, Mink, Crystal, Lynx, Tundra, Hailstorm, and Snowfall's four personal guards. They would make one for Winter when he was rescued, too. And Icicle was a hard maybe. They still weren't sure what part she was playing with the cult, whether voluntary or coerced.
Lastly, the Mudwings: Moorhen, her siblings, Clay, his siblings, and Bear. They were almost positive that there would be more, but without their Mudwing member being present, they didn't have the full list.
So yeah, it was a long list, but it wasn't so long as the entire Icewing population of Pyrrhia, which was who needed the earrings the last time there was an insane animus on the loose. Greatness had been writing down the names on a scroll during the entire thirty-minute process. After he'd finished off the Seawing names, Turtle had left to get his 'bowl' that Anemone had mentioned, which, to her surprise, turned out to be an actual bowl.
"So that just doubles whatever's inside it?" Bloodwalker observed after the first few times the Seawing had used it. When he got a nod in response, followed by another 'Twice as much, please' from Turtle, the assassin asked another question. "Why would you need that kind of spell?"
That was actually a good question, and one which Glory and Peril already knew the answer to. For the others' sake, however, Turtle answered, though he did blush in slight embarrassment. "I enchanted it when I was a young dragonet to double the portions of food I got."
While most of the gathered dragons didn't react other than to look at him oddly or nod in understanding, Peril was the only one who spoke up. "It's why he was so fat in school."
"Peril!" The Seawing's blush deepened significantly as he gawked at the Skywing, looking utterly scandalized. Both Peril and Veneno snorted in amusement at that. Mistral just rolled his eyes at the answer. Both of the Nightwings, however, looked a bit envious for some reason.
Glory guessed it had something to do with their lack of food growing up.
"While he's taking care of that, was there anything else we needed to do?" Bloodwalker asked. "Any leads we need to follow?"
"General Levante was gracious enough to send Horus and a squad of Skywings to locate and extract Crystal to the Sea Kingdom," Mistral reported. "Snowfall suspects the cult will target her, which I'm inclined to agree with."
There was a round of understanding nods, and then Glory remembered something else. "Oh, Bloodwalker? Is Certus here by any chance?"
The assassin thought for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't remember seeing him lately. Why?"
She glanced at Mistral for a second before responding. "I need to talk with him, is all. It's important. Not for the mission, just for personal reasons." Though he was curious about that last part, he promised to keep his eye out. Though honestly, she suspected the hybrid would be in the Ice Kingdom. Hopefully, Snowfall remembered to send him back if he was.
"So we just have the one real lead?" Greatness looked between them curiously. "Crystal is maybe a target for the cult's version of Queen-Maker, and the Skywings are handling it, right? What does that leave for us to do?"
"I don't recall you being a part of this...team." Mistral's response made Greatness go quiet, and she made a pointed effort to not look at the Icewing for fear of retaliation. Glory, however, was more concerned about how he said the word 'team'. He didn't seem very convinced of it, like the concept seemed strange to him. From what little she knew about his professional life, she figured he was more used to working alone.
"She was just asking for all our sakes," Veneno supplied, making Mistral snort derisively. "And to answer her question: we do have another lead in the Sand Kingdom. Two actually. First is trying to locate Mystic in the Scorpion Den, which the Outclaws have had no luck with thus far. And two, though she'd never admit it, Thorn needs help finding the spy in her palace. That's something we could do."
"That bracelet of yours should come in handy, then." Mistral had addressed Glory at that, and she glanced at the mind-reading bracelet Anemone had given her. By his request, she'd stayed out of his mind while using it despite how much she was tempted to at times. Since she didn't want to break the massive amount of trust that he was giving her, though, she had refrained from breaking that promise.
"Probably not, actually," Turtle piped up, making everyone look at him curiously. He paused from working on the earrings to properly explain. "Moon's been there how long, and the spy still hasn't been found? And she has proper training. So either the spy is really good at hiding their thoughts, or—"
"Or they're being protected by animus magic," Mistral finished for him, nodding with a new understanding of the situation. "I hadn't thought of that until now."
"It's more likely the former, though, right?" Peril asked. "I'm not going to pretend I know everything about this cult situation, but from the sound of it, Thorn was looking for the spy before Jerboa was revealed."
"It's possible that Jerboa has been with them longer than we thought," Bloodwalker supplied. "Maybe even from the beginning."
It was possible, but to Glory, it didn't seem right. "I don't think that's true. I think Anemone properly terrified them into getting their own animus. Once she got involved, they knew they needed something to counter her even though she hadn't used very many spells to hurt them."
"Then let's combine the two theories." Veneno pointed at Glory. "Let's assume that you're right about them not having Jerboa in the beginning." Then she pointed to Turtle. "So your theory about them being good at protecting their thoughts is accurate. Or maybe they were purposely avoiding Moon or something similar." Finally, she pointed to Bloodwalker. "But it's not crazy to assume Jerboa might have used a spell to protect the spy's thoughts after she joined the cult, meaning they could operate more freely."
"That's about as good a theory as we're going to get," Mistral nodded. "Once our last member gets here, I propose we go to the Sand Kingdom to help Queen Thorn deal with her spy problem. In the meantime, Peril..." The Skywing looked at him curiously, wondering what he wanted her to do. "I would like your help in training Glory."
Peril grinned and nodded in clear excitement. "Ooohh...that sounds like fun." Both dragons turned to look at Glory, and the Rainwing swallowed thickly. Whatever they had in mind probably wasn't going to be fun for her.
Bloodwalker hummed in thought for a moment before sighing. "As much as I'd love to come help out, I think I'll stay here with Greatness. You know...just in case." Apparently, Greatness didn't like the way that was phrased, but she clearly wasn't going to say no to extra protection. Bloodwalker was a much more skilled combatant than the clawful of Sandwing guards patrolling the perimeter of the pavilion.
"I'll go along, I guess," Veneno stood with a stretch before glancing at the Rainwing. "Gotta make sure you don't break my Queen's daughter too badly." Glory glared at her for that, by the Sandwing just grinned mischievously. Now that she was getting to know the old Sandwing a bit more, she could definitely see how Thorn ended up the way she was.
"I would never," Peril promised. "I know my own strength better than that." She flashed another smile at Glory before walking out with a noticeable pep in her step.
Mistral quickly followed her out, and then so did Veneno. Turtle stayed put, and Greatness spoke up when Glory reluctantly got up to follow her new trainers. "I'll send Bloodwalker to let you know if Bear arrives." The Rainwing nodded appreciatively, then left the pavilion.
The group went to the Arboretum since it was the largest open area in the entire village. There were a few groups of dragons, most Rainwings hanging out in the area. Tamarin, as seemed to be usual, was over on one side working on her flowers with several Rainwings watching and marveling at her art. Some young Nightwings were playing tag from the looks of it, but they quickly relocated to the other side of the area when they noticed their group approaching.
"First rule of combat practice: always start with stretches." To emphasize that, Peril stretched her front legs way in front of her. Her chest nearly touched the ground as her rump went way in the air, and her wings spread out as wide as they possibly could.
It was a very cat-like motion that Glory blinked at. "Yeah, that's not suggestive in any way."
Peril didn't seem to care and went right along doing what she was doing. "If you want to pull a muscle or tear a tendon, be my guest. Otherwise, start stretching." The Skywing paused only briefly to give her a pointed look.
Glory only relented when she noticed Mistral nodding at her, as if telling her that she should listen to Peril. "Then, why aren't you stretching?"
The Icewing just shrugged as she mirrored the Skywing's position. "I'm not going to be sparring this time."
She huffed at his answer, though she was more focused on what Peril was doing to make sure she got the position right. When she noticed a pair of talons a few feet away, she looked up to see him staring down at her with a small smile. She blushed. "Enjoying the view?"
He snorted in amusement. "Immensely."
She rolled her eyes just as Peril called for the next position. This time, her back legs stretched as far as they could behind her until her belly was on the ground. Her front legs and neck were now perpendicular to the ground as her wings went from being spread wide to straight back. When Glory copied the pose this time, her snout ended up inches from Mistral's. She felt her blush deepen and caught a slight hint of blue on his own cheeks. "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" he whispered.
If her scales hadn't flashed pink right there, she would be very surprised. And as much as she wanted to kiss him right then, she held back. "Not in public," she whispered back. "You wanted to keep us a secret, but you are making it very hard for me right now."
His smile fell a bit, but he backed up, regardless. She let out a small sigh, not only relieved that it hadn't happened but also mildly frustrated that it hadn't happened. Fortunately, she didn't have to dwell upon the missed opportunity for too long. "Okay, here we go." Peril stood up, so Glory did the same. Then, the Skywing slowly walked around her to take in her form, which made the Rainwing feel a bit uncomfortable at the scrutiny. "So I have a good idea what kind of style you'll end up with. We discussed it a bit during our last spar. And I actually think it's a good idea to have that assassin of yours teach you a bit, too."
"Really?" The suggestion didn't surprise her since it had come up before. She was more surprised by who had suggested it. Peril didn't strike her as the sort of dragoness that would admit someone else could train a dragon better than her.
"Why not? An assassin's style is usually full of agility and quick, fatal strikes, which would be perfect for you. I know the style, of course, but it's not my preferred way of fighting. I'm more...stationary, I guess? I mean, I'm not stationary during a fight, but I'm more stationary. What's the right word?"
"Direct?" Mistral offered.
Peril nodded. "Yeah, that one! I prefer a more direct style. Like brawling but a lot more refined and technical."
"It was very similar to Icewing style," Mistral supplied for Glory's benefit.
Peril nodded again. "Now, don't get me wrong. Just because that's my preferred way of fighting doesn't mean I'm bad at other styles." Glory had to stop herself from snorting in amusement at Peril's clear pride in her skill. "Most dragons have a more direct fighting style, anyway, so for your benefit, I'll stick with that. You need to use speed and agility to overcome my defenses. And no invisibility." She added that last bit with a short glare at the Icewing, who shook his head from the mention of their last argument.
They were out there training for a few hours, at least. It was nearing late afternoon/early evening when they finally stopped. That just meant they got a good bit done in that time, though.
Peril started by making sure Glory's ready stance was good. For her specifically, she needed to be lower to the ground, her legs and claws spread in a way that would allow her to dart in any direction with ease. Once that was done, they went into the actual training. After every—short—bout, Peril would stop to give Glory a piece of advice about what she could've changed or what she needed to improve on.
Unlike last time, though, the Skywing wasn't throwing her around like they were actually fighting. Peril was actually teaching her how to fight, and she was surprisingly good at it, too. She started by showing her the proper forms and explaining the physics behind each type of strike, and then when they were ready to use it, insisted they start off slow before getting progressively faster once Glory got the hang of it. Mistral seemed downright impressed with how competent the Skywing was at training other dragons.
By the end, dare she say, Glory was having fun. "You were right, Mistral," Glory admitted. Peril had just told them that that was enough for today. They were all hungry and tired after more than three hours of training, so now was a good time to break. Her attention went back to the Skywing, who seemed a bit nervous for some reason. "You are a phenomenal teacher, Peril." Upon hearing that, the Skywing positively beamed at the praise. "Where did you learn to teach like that?"
Mistral and Veneno seemed just as interested. And so did the few dozen dragons that had slowly gathered around during the day to watch this Skywing teach their Queen how to fight. Peril just shrugged. "I went down to the training grounds behind the palace one day and saw some fresh recruits struggling with a few techniques, so I showed them the proper way. They asked me if I could help them the next day. And then the next. And so on. By the time basic was over for them, they were beating all of their peers in spars. The Captain hadn't known about my involvement in teaching them, and when he figured out what was going on, he was outraged. He went to Ruby to complain, but instead of admonishing me, she fired him and gave me his job. Over the years, I just got accustomed to it, I guess."
"Then what's that stuff about leverage and force and stuff like that?" Veneno asked.
"Knowing what each strike does and why is just as important as knowing how to throw a punch," was the Skywing's immediate reply. "Knowledge is power, after all, especially when you know the exact amount of force needed to break a dragon's jaw." There were a few winces at that, but Glory's respect for Peril grew exponentially in that moment.
That respect—and even a few hints of admiration—however, quickly turned to guilt. She hadn't really interacted with Peril much since first meeting her. In fact, until the attack on the village, Glory hadn't even seen Peril since she graduated from Jade Mountain seven years ago. Well...that might not be entirely true. There may have been a few interactions or shared words here or there, but there was nothing major enough to remember.
Maybe it was time to fix that. Sure, they'd be working with each other on the task force, but she kind of wanted a moment to catch up in a more personal setting. "Hey, Peril?" The Skywing stopped explaining whatever she was explaining to Veneno and every single gaze turned to her curiously. "Would you mind walking with me for a bit?"
Equally curious by the request, Peril nodded, and the two broke away from the crowd. Neither spoke until they were out of earshot, and by that point, they were walking through the center of the village. Trees towered above them, each one connected by a convoluted array of platforms and walkways. On each one was a house or community building like the healer's hut and the school, which was actually a whole complex of connected buildings on its own. Rainwings walked on the paths above or tree-glided through the canopy. It was a sight that Glory had seen thousands of times before, but Peril was really taking the moment to take in all of the sights.
The two of them, however, were walking along the ground, so the view wasn't the best. The forest floor wasn't exactly clearcut, though the brush was sparser in this area compared with some of the other areas in the Rainwing village. This was usually the busiest part of the village, so in case the walkways were too crowded, it was easy to walk along the forest floor. Right now, however, they were alone down here.
"Thank you for today," Glory finally spoke. "I had fun."
"That's good," Peril nodded, obviously happy to hear that, though she was still taking in the elaborate structures above. "Having fun is an important part of learning." Then, she glanced down at the much smaller Rainwing. "But that's not what you wanted to talk about, is it?"
It was a genuine question rather than a pointed one. Still, after everything, Glory had come to realize something about the Skywing next to her. She stopped, and Peril did, too. Once the Skywing was looking at her, full attention given, Glory spoke. "I just wanted to say that you're nothing like that dragoness I first met in the arena. You've changed a lot. And for the better, to be sure. I guess...I guess I feel guilty for never really giving you a chance. After today, I've seen you for who you are now, and I feel really terrible that it took me this long to find out." Glory looked away for a moment and sighed now that that was off her chest before returning her gaze back to Peril to await the Skywing's response. What she saw took her by complete surprise. "Wait, are you crying?"
Peril sucked in a quick breath and blinked, turning her gaze away to hide the tears. "N-No, I'm fine." Her left claws came up, and she used her thumb to try and wipe the evidence from her eyes. "I think some pollen landed in my eyes or something."
Glory wasn't much of a hugger. But her words had clearly affected Peril more than the Skywing was willing to admit. Seven years of the cold shoulder was a long time for words to suffice as an apology even if it was a good start. So, to convey her sincerity and to make sure Peril didn't think she was saying things without truly meaning them, Glory decided that this one time, a hug might be appropriate. Like with Mistral, she had to stand on her hind legs in order to reach Peril's neck, and as soon as Glory had her arms around her neck, the Skywing went completely still. Her breathing pretty much stopped, as well, and then she released a shaky sigh as she hugged Glory back.
"Thank you..." she whispered. She said nothing else, but Glory got the sense there was something deeper in those words. Whatever it was would remain a mystery for now because Glory wouldn't pry. Peril would tell her in her own time if she so chose to, but this friendship—for friendship it now was—was a bit too young to be asking for such deep secrets.
She did, however, decide to reply in the most genuine way she could. And that was with a simple, "You're welcome." She had no idea what Peril was thinking her for, but her response was a blanket way of saying that she was on her side now. "So..." she began as Peril pulled away and wiped her eyes again. "You want to catch up a bit before we head back?"
The Skywing just smiled.
AN: I just love my older, more mature rendition of Peril. I don't know why. But every time she gets involved, I just can't seem to stop writing. And I especially loved the part with her starting to choke up a bit when Glory finally decides to give her a proper chance. I think it's a good window into a few things that she's been keeping under wraps for a long time.
Also, Mistral tries flirting. Glory seems to approve. But...they seem to be arguing a lot over nothing. You know how it goes with those new relationships.
Let me know any thoughts on the chapter. I do love getting reviews, and I do reply to all of them that I can.
Until Next Time
AdmiralCole22