Glorious Politics

AN: This was another super fun chapter. If I'm being perfectly honest, I've been having a lot more fun writing this story than I ever did Dragons Change. Speaking of, I do still plan on doing the extended universe stories surrounding that one, but I'll probably wait until this one's done before starting.

In other news, I deleted my Fiverr account. I had a single commission in the six months I had it and got tired of looking on there for new ones and being disappointed. On the bright side, though, I won't feel like an a** doing ad reads in my stories anymore. Still, it's a bit disheartening, but I'm fine overall. It's one less thing to potentially stress over, I guess.

I've rambled enough, though, so enjoy!

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-Nine:

It really was a nice day in the rainforest. The rest of Pyrrhia was nearing the end of autumn, which for them meant cooler temperatures. The rainforest didn't really get all that much cooler, but they were fast approaching the dry season. Come the start of winter, there would be two to three months of very little rainfall. Then, once the rest of Pyrrhia began to warm up again, the rain would return.

The months of no rain was a nice reprieve, but funnily enough, everyone was always past ready for the rain to return by the end of the dry season. And then it only took a few weeks for everyone to get sick of the rain again. Life down here was funny like that, she supposed.

Speaking of rain, clouds were beginning to appear rapidly overhead, which meant it was probably going to start pouring again in the next little bit. The last few weeks had been unseasonably dry, so she imagined nature was going to give them a few last-minute storms to compensate before the dry season hit properly.

Her and Peril's little walk had ended up taking them to the burned section of the forest. Most of the ground was clear save for the fresh, green buds of new plant life trying to grow. The trees, which had been blackened twigs when the fire happened, seemed to be healing. A lot had fallen during the fire, of course. Some that survived had died later, too. But a few hardy trees had managed to hang in there and seemed on the cusp of becoming green again.

The Skywing had stopped to gaze up at the sky, though she seemed completely unconcerned with the growing threat of rain. When the faint rumble of thunder sounded in the distance, she only smiled and closed her eyes. Glory watched her curiously, wondering what she was thinking about.

"I love rain," Peril suddenly spoke. Her tone was wistful, happy almost. "I used to hate it, but now that I can experience it without it turning to steam on contact with my scales, I absolutely love it."

"Well, enjoy it while you can. There's probably only a few more days of rain before the dry season." Peril nodded and looked down at the ground. Glory watched the Skywing dig little furrows in the ground with her claws. From her expression, Peril wanted to say something but was arguing with herself as to whether she should. "And we'll be going to the Sand Kingdom for a while, anyway," she continued, trying to fill the silence. When there was still no answer from Peril, Glory approached. The Rainwing's concern was clearly audible. "Peril? Are you okay?"

"Just thinking," was her quiet reply. Taking a seat next to her, Glory studied the Skywing's expression intently. She seemed more...depressed than anything. They'd talked about a few little things since they decided to continue their walk. Peril had mostly told stories about her time training the Skywing recruits and had suggested a few ways to continue with Glory's.

Until now, she had seemed fine.

"About what...if I may?" Glory asked.

Peril looked into her eyes as if trying to find some sign of something. Whatever it was she was looking for, the Skywing must have found it—or didn't find it, depending on what it was. "There's a lot of dragons out there still who only remember me for who I was. Most Skywings are comfortable around me now, but sometimes I meet someone who just...doesn't give me a chance." Glory nodded, beginning to understand. "That's why your acceptance meant so much to me. But now I just can't help but think of those that never have."

Glory placed a comforting claw on Peril's shoulder. "I'm sorry to hear that." A thought occurred to her. "Is this because you're worried about Bear?" A nod was her answer, and Glory began making soothing circles between Peril's shoulders. "I'll have your back, Peril. I promise. And you know Turtle does, too. Mistral seemed to be enjoying today, too, so I'm sure he'll back you up, as well. And Bloodwalker and Veneno aren't going to let some random Mudwing give you grief."

Peril gave a genuine smile to show her appreciation, which only grew wider when the first drops of rain began to fall. Closing her eyes once more, Peril looked straight up, spreading her wings to revel in the now pouring rain.

Glory looked around, seeing a few dragons running to cover now that the rain was here. Others were watching their Queen and the odd Skywing curiously. When her gaze returned to the Skywing, she couldn't help but snort in amusement. Peril's mouth was wide open, tongue hanging out, but open hearing the laughter next to her, Peril closed her mouth and looked down with a wide grin. "Try it!"

As she immediately went back to doing it, Glory snorted again but decided there was no reason not to. Closing her eyes, she looked up and opened her mouth. Rain fell straight into her mouth, and she choked a bit as some tried to go down her throat. She coughed violently, and Peril patted her back. "You've gotta swallow, silly. It's just like drinking from a stream except, you know...from the sky."

Now that she could properly breathe again, she looked up at Peril. Or tried to anyway. The rain kept trying to enter her eyes. "Silly? What, are you a dragonet now?"

"I think we're all dragonets on the inside," the Skywing grinned. "All it takes is a little rain to remind us." Before she could puzzle out what that even meant, Peril touched her shoulder with a single claw and bounded away. A faint, "You're it!" reached her ears through the pouring rain.

Glory smirked and chased after the Skywing. Only then did she understand what Peril meant. As the two ran through the rain, occasionally falling in the mud, and laughing almost constantly, Glory herself began to feel like a dragonet. They were just two giggling, silly, dragonets playing tag in the rain.

It was the freest she'd felt in a long time.

By the end of their hour-long impromptu play session, both of them were tired and covered in mud. Despite that, or maybe because of it, both of them were having trouble not laughing. Spectators had slowly gathered around during their fun, and some dragonets had even joined in.

As all things must do, however, the rain stopped and Glory was too tired to keep going, regardless. "Alright...I think...I'm done..." she managed to get out in between heavy breaths. There was a collective groan of disappointment from the seven Rainwing dragonets they'd been playing with, but they quickly went back to playing amongst themselves. Glory approached Peril, who'd flopped onto her belly in the muddiest place she could find. "That was fun."

From the ground, Peril grinned at her. "Yeah, it was. I never got to play like this when I was their age."

"I didn't, either," Glory reminded her. Peril nodded and stood with a bit of effort. Mud dripped off her chest, belly, and the bottom of her jaw. "You almost look like a Mudwing," Glory snickered. And then a massive pile of mud hit her in the chest. She looked down as the wet mass slid down her scales. It didn't look too out of place with the rest of the mud clinging to her scales from all the times she fell—or was tackled—into the mud. "Yeah, I guess I'm not much better." That led her to another thought as the two headed in the direction of the river. They could clean themselves off there. "Speaking of Mudwings, how's Clay? I haven't seen him in a while."

Peril didn't answer for a moment. The only sound accompanying them was the squish of their talons in the mud, but when the silence lingered a bit too long, Glory glanced at the Skywing. "Define 'a while'."

It was a serious request despite the simple question. All manner of things started filling her head as she tried to figure out why Peril had said that like she did. "A year? Maybe closer to two? Why, is he okay?" If something bad had happened to Clay, she would've thought Tsunami or someone would've told her about it before now.

Peril nodded and looked away. "He's fine, last I knew. I haven't seen him in a while, either." Right when Glory was about to make a comment about long-distance relationships, Peril said something that the Rainwing had not been expecting. "We broke up about eight months ago. I've not spoken to him since."

Her mouth opened and closed as the unexpected news completely robbed her of the ability to speak. After about five solid seconds, Peril glanced at her, awaiting her reaction, and the only thing she could say was a surprised, "Oh..." With a quick shake of her head, she managed to regain her wits. "Uh...who broke it off?"

From what she understood, Mudwings didn't really do romantic relationships, and Clay, despite being raised differently, didn't really take them all that seriously, either. Still, he had never actively pushed Peril away before from what she recalled.

Just when she was wondering what could have changed his mind, for she didn't think Peril could be the one to break it—she'd been obsessed with Clay since the two first met—the Skywing dropped another bit of news that completely floored her. "I did. It's a...long story."

"I think I'd like to hear it if you're willing to tell," Glory told her. "I mean, I thought you—"

"I did," Peril interrupted with a frown. "Obsess over him, that is." She blinked. "That is what you were going to say, right?" At Glory's nod, Peril sighed. "Well...the short version is that he wanted me to be someone I wasn't, and I didn't like that. So I left."

"Okay..." That just left her with more questions. "So what's the long version?"

The Skywing sighed and stopped walking. Glory stopped, too, and she realized once they'd stopped that Peril hadn't stopped because she was upset or anything. No, the river was literally right in front of them.

Surprised by how quickly they'd gotten here she may have been, but Glory was more focused on what Peril was about to say. "I first noticed it about four years ago. Clay kept dropping subtle hints about how I was sparring too much. He'd say stuff like 'You don't have to prove things to Scarlet anymore' or 'Fighting isn't the only thing you have to do anymore'."

Glory quirked an eye ridge. "That's subtle?"

Peril shrugged. "For him? Yeah." Glory had to concede that point. Clay wasn't exactly known for his tact. "Anyway, I eventually got what he wanted me to do, and I stopped having daily spars with some of the students. It was before I moved to the Sky Kingdom full-time but after Turtle gave me my necklace." In emphasis, she brought a claw up to wipe the mud off of her prized necklace that kept her firescales in check. "But, uh...I got...cranky after a few days."

"Were you having withdrawals or something?" Glory half-joked.

Peril, however, was completely serious when she answered. "Something like that. I figured out I couldn't go for more than four days at a time without, you know...exploding at someone." A pause. "Clay suggested therapy, so I went along with that for a while." She shook her head. "It just made things worse. I was always moody. Always angry. Every time I thought about sparring, which was every day, Clay always reminded me that I should be proud of my progress. He kept track of the days I went without a fight of some sort. The most I got to was thirty-three." Peril looked at her reflection in the water, and Glory saw the first hints of shame in her expression. "But then I snapped. I fought Clay; I...wasn't gentle."

Though she feared hearing the answer, she decided to ask the needed question, regardless. "What did you do?"

Upon hearing the wariness in her voice, Peril's expression fell even further. "I broke his arm...and cracked two of his ribs...and bit off part of his ear." Glory openly gawked at her, suddenly fearing not only for Clay's well-being, but also her own. "He wasn't angry, surprisingly. I think he recognized that it was mostly his fault for preventing me from doing what I wanted to do. Turtle healed him up, so there were no lasting effects. He told me then that we could try something else, and...that's when I had to do a bit of soul-searching."

She continued after a short pause. "Clay didn't want me to fight all the time, but that's what I am—who I am. Even after I snapped, he still was trying to figure out a way to 'help' me. I think he thought it was a lingering result of my time with Scarlet, and he might be right. But it's also what makes me...me." The Skywing met Glory's gaze before continuing. "And I discovered that I loved fighting—loved being the weapon I was raised to be—more than I loved Clay."

She sighed and looked back at her reflection. "So I moved to the Sky Kingdom full-time rather than moving back and forth. Back before the break-up, when I was moving back and forth between Jade Mountain and the Sky Kingdom, Ruby would have specialists from other tribes there to teach me alternate fighting styles. She knew that's what I liked to do, and I think...no, I know she's proud of me for being such an accomplished warrior. Not many dragons can claim they're experts in six distinct combat styles and multiple variations of I threw myself back into my training, happier than ever, and then four months ago, I became the top trainer for the Skywing military per Ruby's personal appointment."

That was certainly a lot of information to take in. She had no idea that Clay and Peril had gotten into such a bad scrap. Why hadn't Tsunami told her about it those few months ago? Maybe Clay had asked her not to? Though she couldn't figure out why he wouldn't want her to know. "And you haven't spoken to him since? Are you mad at him or something?"

Peril seemed to be genuinely considering that question before eventually nodding. "Yeah, I think I am still mad at him. He wanted me to change who I am. I know he wasn't trying to be malicious; I think he genuinely believed it was best for me, but..."

"It wasn't right," Glory finished for her.

Peril blinked, glancing at her in genuine surprise. "So...you're on my side on this?"

"Well, I'm certainly not on Clay's side." At Peril's growing surprise, she decided to explain. "You're right in saying he wasn't being malicious. Clay doesn't have a malicious scale on his body. If I know him, he probably thought that you fighting every day was an obsession rather a hobby. I don't know if you knew this, but Clay's kind of a pacifist." Peril snorted in amusement and nodded. "Combat is something he would rather not be taught at the Academy—I know this of him—and well...you're you. That doesn't give him an excuse to force you into being more like him, though. Truth be told, and don't take this the wrong way, I didn't really see any serious relationship working out between you two."

"I..." Peril seemed like she wanted to take offense to that but knew it was right, deep down. So she just sighed. "I guess not. Things are a lot clearer for me now than back then. I know who I am and what my place is when I didn't before. I guess..." She trailed off with another sigh. "I guess I just wish it didn't take me so long to see. Maybe I could've found someone else by now..."

If that wasn't loneliness, she didn't know what was. "You'll find someone," Glory assured her. Peril clearly wasn't swayed by the platitudes, but she was thankful for the support, nevertheless. "Now, let's get cleaned up. I'm sure the others are wondering where we are." Neither of them had taken more than two steps into the cool water when Glory spoke again. "Oh, and Peril?" Once she had Peril's attention, she spoke. "Don't tell Mistral about...this." She gestured at the mud coating her body, and Peril just grinned, making an 'X' over her heart with a claw. Then, the Skywing made a beckoning gesture with her claw, which confused Glory until it suddenly didn't.

"I think it's a bit late for that, Glory." The Rainwing froze, recognizing that voice and groaned. She turned slowly to see the very Icewing she asked Peril not to tell standing there with a highly amused expression.

"How long have you been there?" And how embarrassed should she feel? Because his answer could mean anywhere from an awkward chuckle to never showing her face in public again.

"I arrived about five minutes before you stopped your game of tag. I followed from a distance, though. I didn't hear anything any of you said. This was your and Peril's bonding moment before we go to the Sand Kingdom. I didn't want to interrupt." That was certainly thoughtful of him, but she was finding it hard to believe that she hadn't seen him in the crowd or sensed him following her. She had to wipe some mud off of her arm to make sure, but she did still have the bracelet on. She just hadn't been using it, apparently. "I just came to inform you that Captain Bear has arrived."

From the way he emphasized the title, there was only one conclusion. "He's insisting on the title?" Mistral nodded. "Formalities, too?" Another nod, making her sigh. "I hate formalities."

Mistral shrugged. "Feels nice to have someone call me 'Lord' again. And Turtle's fine with being called 'Prince'."

"For a stranger to use formalities, sure," Glory agreed. "I think it's fine then. The thing I don't like is that we're supposed to be working together. Formalities are just...unnecessary."

"I agree," Peril interjected. She was already washing, and the water around her was a solid brown from all the mud being cleaned off of her scales, which Glory had almost forgotten were red. "And if he insists on calling me 'Princess', we're going to have a problem."

Both Glory and Mistral gave her strange looks. "But...you're not..."

"Little known fact, but I am," Peril interrupted. "Scarlet, for all her faults, did formally adopt me...eventually, which means I am legally Ruby's sister. Therefore, I'm technically a Princess." She got out of the water, now completely cleaned off, and stopped next to them, smirking at their confused yet thoughtful expressions. "You didn't think Ruby kept me around just for my combat skills, did you?" Their expressions indicated that they had, indeed, thought that. Peril only smirked wider before walking off. "I had fun today, Glory! We'll work out your training schedule tomorrow morning, okay?"

Mistral and Glory watched her leave for a moment, and then Icewing's voice regained her attention. "You should get cleaned up. The Captain wants to speak with you."

Glory nodded, knowing she'd have to deal with the Mudwing eventually. Hopefully, he wouldn't be such a massive stick in the mud—pun completely intended—as he sounded. "Go ahead and head back. Tell him I'll be there shortly."

He nodded, though he hesitated a moment before walking away. Glory sighed a bit sadly that he hadn't offered a kiss, but then she figured he might've been waiting for her to do the same.

Or maybe the mud just dissuaded him.

Either way, she hurriedly jumped into the river to clean herself, taking a few extra minutes to make sure all of the hard-to-reach places were completely mud free. Once that was done—and she had finished lamenting the lack of soap—she quickly made her way back to her pavilion. It was evening by now, and sunset wasn't more than a few hours away. After dealing with Captain Bear, she could finally get some rest.

That thought did remind her that she should use the dreamvisitor to check in on two dragons in particular. Horus should be at Sanctuary by now, so she was hoping he had Crystal already secured. A quick check-in for his report would put her at ease. Then...she would try to reach Winter, see if he was okay. She really hoped she could get through to him and that the cult wasn't using magic to prevent them from dreamvisiting him.

Now that she was thinking of it...maybe someone could try to dreamvisit Sobek or Vulture or someone else? The thing she was worried about if they did that was what they might do in retaliation. It was part of the reason why she hadn't tried with Deathbringer yet. The other two parts were that she hadn't really considered it until now, but now that she was, her bigger concern wasn't what the cult would do. It's what Deathbringer would say.

Put simply...she was afraid to face him again. If she tried to dreamvisit him, and he ended up being just as obsessed with her—and not in a positive way—as Sobek was, she didn't know what she would do. One thing was certain, though. She'd never forgive herself.

She'd talk to Mistral and Turtle about her idea, see what they thought. For now, her pavilion was just ahead, and the Sandwing guards weren't alone outside anymore. There were a dozen Mudwing soldiers camped outside, too, which made her sigh in annoyance. The sight gave her a horrible sense of déjà vu.

There was supposed to be a single Mudwing, not an entire squad. As she studied their heavy armor, rigid posture, and gleaming weapons, she decided she'd wait to decide how mad she should be until after she spoke with their captain.

And moons, was he a big one...

It was pretty much impossible to miss the burly Mudwing when she entered her pavilion. Height-wise, he was about a head shorter than Mistral, who was currently having a quiet discussion with him as Greatness and Bloodwalker sat quietly on the other side of the room behind Glory's desk. None of the others were here, which was fortunate, as the room would be a bit cramped if they were.

Bear was, put simply, built. Whereas Mistral, Winter, Bloodwalker, Deathbringer, and pretty much every other warrior she'd seen had lean musculatures, the Mudwing captain most certainly did not. It was an accepted fact that the Mudwings were the physically strongest dragons on Pyrrhia, and Bear seemed to have embraced that stereotype. With the raw mass he was carrying around, he seemed to be built like a proverbial mountain, yet nothing about him seemed disproportionate. And based on the way he turned to her and gave a polite bow of his head, he didn't seem to have any trouble moving even at his size.

Like the Mudwings below, he wore heavy, metal armor, though his helmet was held in his left arm, and he carried no weapons. Though, she suspected that was only because he was in here and only disarmed himself to be polite. As for his armor, rather than the plain grey design of the ones below, his had ornate designs etched into the metal. The edges also had a gold trim. There was a plume of what was probably eagle feathers running front to back on his helmet, the front of which was carved into the shape of a snarling bear's head.

All in all, it was an impressive sight.

"Queen Glory," he greeted politely. His voice was as deep and severe as she expected from both his size and ranking.

"Captain Bear," she greeted in kind. He seemed to recognize that he was a bit in the way and moved further to the right side of the room to allow her by. Giving him a nod of thanks as she passed, she took a seat behind Mistral's old desk since Greatness was behind hers. And even though it was her desk, Greatness was the Steward now, meaning she had every right to sit there. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, though I would like to let you know that formalities aren't really necessary around me."

He hummed at that. "Mm...all the same I would request I be addressed properly. Call it personal preference regarding the upholding of military discipline."

There were a lot of long words in there, but she got the gist of it. "Understood, Captain. I noticed you brought some guards with you?" It was phrased as an observation, but there was an underlying question in there that Bear recognized.

"My personal guard." Upon seeing her raised eye ridge, he explained. "I am the Captain of Queen Moorhen's Palace Guard, Queen Glory. I was the best candidate for this assignment, but as both a high-ranking military officer and a personal friend to Queen Moorhen, she was not going to let me come alone." Glory nodded her understanding, but Bear continued. "The twelve soldiers outside are the best the Mud Kingdom has to offer. They were personally picked by me and will only obey my command. However...I will offer their service if they are needed."

"I appreciate it." And after hearing his explanation, she decided that she wouldn't be mad. The Skywings before had been sent to act as a garrison. These Mudwings were Bear's personal guard, which was different. "And if I may ask, how many years have you served?"

"You wish to know how qualified I am for this position?" he incorrectly assumed.

Well, it wasn't an entirely incorrect assumption. It just wasn't the complete reason. "That, yes, but I would also like to know a bit more about you personally. We are supposed to be working together for the foreseeable future."

"I see..." He thought to himself for a second before shifting a bit. He set his helmet down on the floor and placed his large claws atop it, though he made sure not to crush the plume. "I have served in the Mudwing military for thirty-two years now. Twenty of those years of service were during the Great War. For most of that time, I was a mere footsoldier on the frontlines. I fought in many battles and took part in several raids and skirmishes until eventually I was the only member of my family left."

Glory and Mistral shared a quick glance before returning their attention to the stoic Mudwing. "For my years of valorous service, I was appointed a member of Queen Moorhen's Palace Guard after the war ended. A mere year later, I was promoted to Captain and have served my Queen faithfully ever since."

Battlefield experience certainly explained the large scars on his face. Based on their orientation and spacing, it was easy to deduce that they were clawmarks. Parts of his lip were missing because of them, through which several of his teeth were visible. It gave the appearance that he was constantly snarling when viewed from an angle where the wound was visible. He undoubtedly had even more scars, each with their own stories, on the rest of his body, but his armor covered them up.

"My condolences for your family." Mistral nodded at her statement to show that he shared the sentiment. "And the scar on your face...how did that happen?"

He studied her for a moment before glancing at Mistral. "An Icewing gave me these. More than that, I will not say." Mistral inclined his head at the Mudwing's proclamation but said nothing. Bear returned his attention to Glory when she nodded.

She'd thought she'd recognized that pattern of those clawmarks. Wounds from an Icewing's claws were quite distinctive because of their serrations. It'd just been a while since she'd met someone with such an obvious scar. "Understood. Did you meet the others, by any chance?"

"Prince Turtle and Commander Veneno, yes. And I'm told Queen Ruby sent Peril to be our Skywing." Well, it seemed Peril's fears of him calling her 'Princess' were unfounded, but she nodded to his statement. "Lord Mistral informed me that we will be departing for the Sand Kingdom in the morning. Is that right?"

"It is," she confirmed. "All of our leads happen to be there, and Queen Thorn has a bit of an issue we might be able to help with. Oh, and speaking of help..." Bear inclined his head to show he was listening. "What role exactly do you have? How much support can you give?"

He grunted in understanding. "I am no observer, Queen Glory. Whatever assistance I can provide, I will do so without argument. And while I would usually prefer to take command of whatever situation I am thrown into myself, I have been given explicit orders to follow your and Lord Mistral's lead."

Satisfied by his answer, she nodded. The fact she wouldn't have to worry about him trying to take command from her was a huge relief. "Bloodwalker, would you be so kind as to show the Captain and his guard to the Nightwing Village?"

For the first time since he'd entered her service as bodyguard, he turned to her in utter confusion. "What for?"

"I've been debating having a new barracks built. With the number of soldiers coming through here these days, I think we need one. Mightyclaws should be able to help with that on short notice." He nodded now that he understood her orders. "And tell him to report to Greatness at his earliest convenience. I think it's high time we started building an outpost around those portals."

The acting Steward remained quiet until Bloodwalker and the Mudwing left. "I see you read the notes on my desk, too." Her tone was more annoyed than accusing. She'd already known they had searched her house, of course, but the new reminder of something else they'd been through was enough to make anyone annoyed at the breach in privacy.

Glory turned to Mistral. "Will you go find Turtle for me? I have a question that I want both of your opinions on." He hesitated for a moment, throwing a suspicious glare at Greatness, but he eventually did leave to do as she asked. Once they were alone, Glory corrected Greatness' statement. "In fairness, the thought of an outpost had occurred to me before I read the note on your desk. I do have to wonder about the letter from your 'secret admirer'. What's that about?"

The reaction she got was not one she had expected. Rather than becoming angry at Glory prying into her business, annoyed by another reminder of something the Rainwing had been through, or uncomfortable by the very idea of the secret admirer, Greatness just blushed and looked away with a soft smile. Based on that, Glory could come to only one conclusion. "You know who it is, don't you?"

The Nightwing's expression grew fonder. "I might...but if I'm right, I think he's a little young for me. This isn't the first dragon to develop a crush on me—it's part of being a Princess. Queen, too, I reckon." Glory nodded. There had been a few lovestruck dragons to ask for her claw in marriage during her time as Queen. "Still...he's a sweetheart."

Glory waited patiently for Greatness to continue, but when it became clear that she wasn't going to, the Rainwing tried to press for an identity. "Well...who is it?" The smirk Glory received was a clear indication that she wasn't about to say.

Though she still had other things to say, apparently. "By the way, since I'm under 'house arrest' at the moment, the Sandwings won't let me go back home. I've had to sleep here; I...hope that's okay."

"That's fine, I guess..." With it being Greatness, she wasn't too concerned. The Nightwing was now the Steward of the Rainforest, so she needed to be here to fulfill her duties. "Though...that does present the issue of where I'm going to sleep tonight."

Greatness thought for a moment before presenting a couple of solutions. "Well, I'm sure you could head to the Sand Kingdom tonight, either by yourself or with the others. I know your mom wouldn't mind." Hearing Greatness refer to Thorn as her mother made a happy tingle go down Glory's spine.

There were a few issues with that plan, though. First, she had some business to discuss with Turtle and Mistral tonight, so she couldn't go over by herself before then. If she waited until afterwards to go to the Sand Kingdom, her mom would wonder what was going on, which meant Glory would be forced to tell her what the task force was planning to do. Thorn would argue, of course, so Glory would prefer to have backup—especially Veneno—when she tried.

And that argument would probably take a while to resolve. With it being so late already, it'd probably be close to midnight or even later before she could get to sleep, leaving her less time to use the dreamvisitor. In other words, it was simply more efficient to wait until tomorrow morning.

"If not, you're welcome to stay in my house. That's only fair, considering." She gestured to their general surroundings, making Glory chuckle.

"I think I'll take you up on that offer. Thanks." Greatness' house was nice and homey, so she'd be alright with that.

Plus, she still had a cellar full of booze. Greatness wouldn't mind if she had a few drinks herself...right?

AN: We finally get introduced to Bear, our new Mudwing character. Thanks again to Schwanze for letting me use him.

We also got a peak into Peril's life these last few years. And before anyone shouts at me in the comments, I'll go ahead and explain my reasoning. I...don't really like Clay x Peril. Despite it being a canon ship, technically, it's one of my least liked. I mean, normally I'd ship anyone with just about anyone else, but I don't like that particular ship. Peril just always seemed too obsessed with Clay, and Clay always seemed too indifferent towards Peril. Maybe that's just me, though.

Inspired by that, though, I'd like to ask a question. I used to do these near the end of Dragons Change, and I've been thinking about bringing these little questions back. This just happens to be a perfect example.

Clay x Peril OR Peril x Turtle? Which one's better? Or is there a better ship for Peril? I'm interested to see the replies.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22