Right now, both Orca and Anemone were on their way back to the Kingdom of the Sea, encircling them was a mixed group of Royal guards consisting of Nightwings and Rainwings, all carrying blowdarts or well-constructed spears.
"Anemone, come here" Orca called for her younger sister, watching as the light greyish-blue and pink dragoness drifted closer to her, eyes locked on hers as confusion flickered in her ocean blue eyes.
"Yes sister? What is it?" The animus Princess questioned, tilting her head while the whole group beat their wings to keep them aloft. Orca looked forward for a minute, thinking how she would convince the whole Royal Seawing Council to follow her to the Rainforest.
"Anemone, I need your help convincing Mother's council to follow us. She said it is of utmost importance that we succeed" Orca explained while she looked back at Anemone, seeing the thoughtful expression on the younger Seawing's face. "And no, We aren't going to use our animus, not you or me, understand" Orca added on, giving her younger sister a serious glare.
"Yes, sister... Though, do you believe they will believe us?" Anenome questioned while the group began passing over the Rainwing/Seawing border.
Orca thought for a few seconds, wondering how Prince Snowheart would combat something like this. She deep a few deep breaths before giving a reply. "Honestly, I am not sure if they will believe us, but what I do know is that we must try our hardest to convince them by telling the truth and never hiding anything from them"
She gave Anemone a side glance, the sun high in the sky, yet gentle as they flew over the shallow rockpools that were a clear sign they were near the islands of a thousand scales.
Anemone let out what seemed to be a tired huff, her eyes flicking downcast at the crystal clear waters below while she slipped into her thoughtful side while Orca looked forward once more.
Meanwhile, Winter made his way through the Ice Palace as the sound of his talons clicking upon the icy floor echoed through the long corridors. He let out a tired huff, his wings appearing to slump slightly while his tail tip dragged along the floor. That was until he bumped into someone. staggering backwards slightly, he shook his head before looking up to whom he had rudely bashed into, only to see the one Icewing that made his blood run cold.
"Father! By the great Ice Dragon, I deeply apologise" Winter fell into a bow, his head almost on his forepaws from how deep his bow was while he stretched his wings out to their max, His tail remained as still as Ice while he felt his Father's gaze upon him.
expecting an hour of shouting, Winter winced slightly, clenching his eyes shut as he heard his Father shuffle on his paws slightly, changing his position so he was fully facing his youngest son.
Winter felt himself shake from snout to tail tip, cursing himself for showing weakness, but when he thought it couldn't get any worse, he heard a second pair of paw steps, along with his mother's voice.
"I see you found our... Son" Winter cringed quite a bit at his mother's voice, yet he forced his fear under a thick layer of Ice while he remained bowed.
"Indeed, though he bumped into me when I had left the room... Do you think it's time to tell him?" Winter heard his Father speak to Tundra, listening to the adult female Icewing hum, as if playing with the thought.
A-am I going to be punished for bumping into Father again? What punishment will it be?! The icy rockpools with pointy jagged rocks, or the Ice Palace basement! Oh moons please don't father!
Winter cried in his mind as fear gripped hold of him, yet that fear suddenly spiked to ten when Narwhal gripped Winter's left forearm, making his son stand up. Yet, unlike the other times where Narwhal normally dug his talons into Winter's soft flesh, all he felt was Narwhal gently gripping his arm, not an ounce of aggressiveness in his grip.
"Son, Stand up... Me and your Mother need to chat in my room" Narwhal spoke while Winter got up from bowing, his forearms feeling weak from holding such a demanding position for so long.
Winter quickly moved to the side, allowing his parents to move past him before he followed behind, intense fear encircled his very soul when Narwhal pushed the double doors open, exposing the room to Winter. It was larger than his, due to it being owned by Narwhal and Tundra. Paintings hung from the icy walls while a set of light blue curtains were drawn back from the window, allowing sunlight to bleed into the room.
Winter made his way past the intense stare of his mother, who closed the doors behind him while Winter made his way into the centre of the large bedroom, watching Narwhal turn around to face him.
Winter's heart went into overdrive, feeling as if it would explode out of his chest when Tundra made her way past him before she sat on her haunches beside her husband, both of them staring at their youngest Son.
Are they searching me for any sign of weakness... Am I going to be disowned... again? Will I be removed from the circles and exiled!
Winter held back tears that threatened to slip free while he forced himself to lock his eyes with his Father, then his Mother. He took all his emotions and forced them under the same wall of Ice, yet that constant fear always seemed to ooze its way through the wall, spilling back into his mind.
As his parents moved towards him slowly, all he wanted to do was curl up and sob, yet forced himself to not break down while he kept his gaze upon his parents. When his mother and father were nearly upon him, he closed his eyes and prepared to be punished by... Whatever he had done this time. Yet that never came. Instead, he felt a forepaw gently cup his chin, causing his eyes to snap open to see Tundra looking down at him with not disgust, hatred or disappointment, but with a soft gaze that held an emotion he thought his mother and father would never express to him.
"My little Winter... We both had a long conversation with Queen Glacier, King Frostbite and Princess Icesheet. We expressed ourselves to them and got the guidance we needed to become better. Better for you, Hailstorm and Icicle." Winter felt tears well up, finally letting them go when his OWN Mother dragged him into a hug that he so badly needed for years.
For a whole twenty minutes, both Narwhal and Tundra hugged their youngest son, letting him cry for as long as he needed., holding their son close to them, with Narwhal using his massive wings as a sort of blanket, hugging both his wife and son. for the first time in their lives, both Tundra and Narwhal let tears fall freely, allowing their icy defences down while they listened to their Winter sob his heart out.
Tundra and Narwhal didn't care whenever Winter dug his talons into their chest, for they knew he didn't mean it and so put up with the little trickles of blue blood that oozed from the puncture marks while Tundra sat on her haunches, rocking back and forth gently while she aimed to calm her deeply distressed son.
"It's okay, it's okay son, that's it, let it all out. I'm so sorry for being a bad mother" Tundra whispered into Winter's ears before Narwhal said the same thing as the two of them watched Winter's body shake roughly from the loud sobbing that came from him.
"It's okay Son. Me and your Mother will aim to be better parents from now on" Narwhal promised their son, nearly falling backwards when Winter threw his forearms around his thick muscular neck. This stunned the older Icewing for a few seconds, yet quickly returned the hug, wrapping his wings around his son while Tundra sobbed quietly to herself, covering her face with her forepaws.
Snowheart right now was walking around the Rainforest's northern part, for he had requested he check out the frontlines for himself. Queen Glory had permitted him, even if she had clearly stated that she was not his Queen.
Moving along the large wooden platforms, Snowheart examined the grass plains that extended beyond the edge of the forest. yet when he narrowed his eyes, he watched the grass slowly give way to the sand of the Sandwing Kingdom, showing him just how close he was to the border.
"Ah! Snowheart, It's wonderful to see you walking around... Even if it's still on three paws" Blueberry spoke while she made her way up to the larger Icewing. He and Blueberry had become rather good friends over the few days, sharing details about her life while he shared things of his life with the smaller Rainwing.
"Indeed it is General Blueberry... Though my leg still aches like crazy after some time" Snowheart explained, side glancing the Rainwing while he turned his head to point at the Rain/Sandwing border once more. He sat on his haunches, as did Blueberry, yet she scooted a bit closer to the larger male, the armour she had on had been made by the Nightwing blacksmiths that had survived the destruction of their island. Snowheart never admitted it, but the Armor that Blueberry had on made her appear just that bit more stunning, yet he had promised that he would remain loyal, for he couldn't wait to rejoin with his loving Icewing.
"So... I heard that Icesheet is with egg?" Blueberry suddenly spoke, causing Snowheart to be pulled out of his thoughtful mind and back into the real world.
"Yes, she carries... Though I am not sure if it's just the one, of if she carries two or maybe even three eggs." He shook his head, worry plastering across his face to which Blueberry noticed.
"Now now, Prince Snowheart, no need to worry for her" She tsked at him, shaking her head before she erupted into a giggling fit. Snowheart did wonder how on three moons this bundle of joy became the leader of the Rainwing army.
"How are the forces holding up?" Snowheart suddenly questioned, watching from the peripheral vision of just how quickly Blueberry went from being full of joy and laughing, to acting like a real General, with a look of seriousness as she looked up at him.
"They are holding out well, yet I am not sure how long our forces can hold the enemy back if an offensive is to commence from them" Snowheart noted the concern in her voice. and so, he placed a forepaw upon her shoulder before he spoke.
"I know, but I'm sure the Icewings will come to our aid, even if it's from the other side of the Sandwing Kingdom. If they can drain away forces from this frontline, then maybe the combined forces of the Nightwings, Seawings and Rainwings can push back the Skywings and Burn's forces, or even hold them back until real support arrives" Snowheart explained, watching a thoughtful expression wash over Blueberry's face before she let out a tired sigh.
"I hope you are right Prince Snowheart, for this war must come to an end... Everyone is tired, everyone just wants the fighting to stop... All of this started just because three sisters couldn't agree on who became Queen" Blueberry expressed her distaste to that fact, tongue flopping out while she shook her head side to side.
Snowheart let out a chuckle, knowing that Blueberry was right, yet just as he was about to comment, he noticed what appeared to be a small group of Sandwings rushing to their border.
Suddenly, the alarm bells rang, signalling that potential enemies have breached the border.
"Woah! Woah, relax, we are Not with the enemy, we ar running from burn's forces" Snowheart listened carefully, his ears twitching while he and Blueberry swooped down, circling above the open grass-covered area from where a large cluster of Rain and Nightwing guards had stopped them for advancing.
"And why should we trust you?" Snowheart questioned as he and Blueberry landed behind the small group, making them jump before they all focused on him. He got ready for a fight when a female Sandwing made her way forward, the soft sand almost singing with each step she took while a gentle, warm breeze blew over the flat sand/grass-caked ground.
"My apologies. My name is Thorn, and I am the leader of the outclaws, this is Cobra, Smolder and-" "Hello there Icy, I'm Qibli!"
Fantastic, just what I need, a Sandwing who makes jokes about Icewings. Snowheart deadpanned
Snowheart thought to himself while he pulled a deadpan before he greeted himself.
"My name is Prince Snowheart, and I am helping the Nightwings and Rainwings with defending their Kingdom" He received confused looks from all the Sandwings, yet, before they could get to asking questions, he told them to enter the Rainforest and follow Blueberry and a few of her guards.
This might help us if I am honest... Sandwings betraying their own Kingdom? huh.
Snowheart thought to himself once more before he disappeared into the forest, following the group of guards who surrounded the Sandwings while the line of soldiers reformed to make sure no enemies slipped through.