Alright, so...I said in the end-notes of last chapter that I was going to hammer out some things that bugged me about the chapters before it. Well, those changes should be up by the time this chapter is out.
Anyways, as for our dear Dragonets of Destiny...I wonder how things are going for them right now?
CHAPTER 6: EDGE OF THE ABYSS
Mid-Morning, January 24th, 5011 A.S.
Altamir wasn't doing very well. Altamir wasn't doing very well at all.
Tsunami could tell that as she and the others flew on, the human being silent on her back.
Though, who wouldn't if they'd come back to find their kind slaughtered and their life's work completely destroyed?
Yesterday had been just plain miserable already. First, the six of them found themselves stumbling upon that battlefield and finding that...that dragonet who was a soldier and died in battle. Then, Clay's mother had turned out to have sold his egg for a few cows, and just not caring about him at all.
And then Altamir just HAD to find out about the Scorching because Reed couldn't keep his stupid mouth shut.
And he took it BADLY.
Seeing the brave and strong little human who so fearlessly saved their lives freeze up like a statue as he heard of his kind's fate was bad enough, but then he apparently found the horror of what had happened while he was dead to be too much to the point that he literally fainted...it was terrifying seeing his eyes roll up like that and him being unresponsive after Sunny caught him, even if he did come to after a few seconds. Things were already going to not be the same with regards to him as it was...
...and then those stupid SkyWing soldiers just had to try and descend on them a few minutes later, all while they were trying to comfort him, and just after they'd gotten it through to him that they did not at all agree with what had happened, and that they'd do anything to try and reverse it.
Tsunami had thought that she had known things like "anger", "fury", "rage", "wrath", and other similar things. She also thought that a human couldn't possibly ever roar.
She was proven wrong on both of those things. She was proven very, very, very wrong.
"HRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!"
*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*
"AAAH-"
"MONSTER-"
"RUN!-"
"GET OUT OF-!"
"FORGET THE-"
*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*
"-GEH!"
"-GACK!"
"-GYAH!"
"-GUWAH!"
"-GYAAAAAGH!"
*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*
"RYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!"
*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*
Tsunami may not have seen what exactly had happened, as she and her friends had huddled around each other in a tight pile to try and not get caught up in the resulting chaos (and so that Clay could protect them with his big wingspan), but she'd certainly heard what went on...the sound of sheer rage and of all of those SkyWings being violently obliterated, and she could still remember how the sheer ferocity with which it had happened had rattled her bones.
Then, after about a minute or so of quiet...
"I-Is it over?"
"I...don't know? It's been kinda quiet out there...maybe it is?"
At Sunny and Starflight's respective questioning to each other, Clay joined himself. "I...yeah, I think it is. Where's Aldy?"
"Good question, Clay." Glory replied as the five of them started to un-huddle themselves. "He could be anywhere right now...okay, three moons, those are a lot of dead SkyWings."
As Glory was saying this last bit, Tsunami and the other dragonets now had their eyes on the scene before and around them. Dead SkyWings were everywhere...but not just that; their bodies were in pieces and also on fire, their blood gushing into the snow and the dirt, their armor having done exactly NOTHING to save them. It was pretty gnarly, and it reminded Tsunami of that battlefield from earlier today; this may have been on a smaller scale, but it wasn't any more of a pleasant sight for the eyes than that had been.
"He did all this by himself...he killed every single one of them." Starflight murmured at the sight. "Uh...you think it's safe for us to..."
"Go looking for him?" Tsunami then sighed. "Maybe not...but we gotta do it. We can't leave him behind to fend for himself or whatever, especially given what he's going through. We're the only ones he can trust right now, and also right now, he needs someone there at his side, and also also right now, that's the five of us, for better or worse."
"...so we're going to go looking for-?"
"Yes, Starflight, we are. Like I said, we need to. Or do you want someone with animus magic to lose it for real?"
"..." Starflight's silence said everything to Tsunami.
"Exactly. Let's go, guys. We need to find him."
The others got what Tsunami was saying, and so, soon, they were all looking through the carnage, occasionally calling out for Altamir, and also hoping that there wouldn't be yet another group of SkyWings swooping on them from above, and that they wouldn't lose hold of their gag reflexes.
"Aldy? Aldy, where are you? Can you hear me?" Speaking of SkyWings...Tsunami was walking near one particular dead and burning SkyWing whose body had been split the long way when she then started hearing harsh, rough, ragged breathing that was really rapid. "Aldy?"
That...yes, that had to be him. It sounded small...though, then again, Altamir was small in stature compared to them, being a human and all.
So, Tsunami looked around a little more before, behind the corpse of another burning SkyWing corpse that had been bisected diagonally, she saw him. He was standing there, breathing like that while slightly slumped forward, facing away from her.
"Ah, there you are-"
And then the human turned and flinched towards her in a way that...she had no idea why (maybe it was because of what he was capable of and what he'd just done to these SkyWings), but the way he flinched like that set off the 'panic' reflex in her, as if something told her that he was about to possibly attack her.
"WAH! UWAH-" *THUMP* "-MMPF!" Tsunami reared up so quickly that she ended up tripping over her own tail and falling over on her back, hitting the snow-covered ground behind her. She admittedly flailed around a bit like an upside down turtle before she managed to sit up again, and once she could, her back and tail a bit sore after that fall, she had her front limbs raised in a way to try and show the human that she meant no harm. "H-Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, it's me, it's me, it's me! It's me, Aldy! It's me!"
Given that she was probably two or three times as tall at the shoulder as he was period, and at least five or six times as long from nose to base of tail as he was tall, she could only rely on being still a dragonet and being smaller than these dead SkyWings when it came to size when it came to being 'less threatening'. That, and it was definitely a weird feeling having to make herself look as un-threatening as possible; she was more used to being strong and tough (or at least trying to be).
But, somehow, it worked - Altamir, upon seeing this gesture and recognizing her, stopped arching up and was slumped forward again.
Though...when he respectively did and was, that breathing was even more ragged and rapid than before, and his little eyes were wider than she'd ever seen them up to this point. And when Tsunami finally got up on all of her limbs again and started carefully approaching him, he had a hand partway raised up to his chest, and Tsunami could clearly see that his pupils were so tiny that they might as well have not been there. That, along with the breathing...
...oh, three moons, was he having a panic attack? He had to be...
...yeah no, this was bad. This was really bad.
Then, she realized that Clay, Glory, Starflight, and Sunny were coming up right behind her, the noise having alerted them to her having found Altamir.
"You found him..." Clay stated the obvious when the four of them got to her.
"Yeah, I did." Tsunami noted with the slightest bit of acknowledgement.
"Is he...having a panic attack?"
"He might be, Starflight." Glory replied to the NightWing. "Uh..."
Tsunami, meanwhile, was still focusing on trying to approach Altamir, though taking into account the others being there with her. "Hey, Aldy. It's me. It's...it's us. It's just us." But Altamir wouldn't respond. "A-Aldy? You there?"
Still no response. Altamir just stood there, eyes wide and breathing hard and fast.
"He's not answering." Starflight sighed. "It's like he can't hear or see us."
"Well, what do we do now?" Glory then asked, clearly wanting someone to answer her.
"...maybe we can try holding him or hugging him?" Clay suggested. "I mean...he seemed to like doing that with us when he found us..."
"Yeah, he did!" Sunny agreed. "Maybe be careful, though?"
"I don't know if he'd want us doing that with him right now..." Glory cautioned. "...like Sunny said, maybe if you're careful enough...?"
Tsunami nodded, and then she turned back to Altamir and got closer and closer until she finally carefully sat down in front of him. "Aldy. Aldy, it's me." She tried first by offering him her talon. "Hold me, Aldy? Please?"
But Altamir wouldn't do it. He was still standing there with wide eyes and ragged breathing. What Starflight had said about him practically being unable to see or hear any of them through his distress sounded like it was very, very true now.
So, she'd probably have to pick him up, something that she sighed at. That would be really risky, as she was pretty sure that he didn't like any of them trying to pick him up. And that was likely the case EVEN more now, given the whole deal with the Scorching.
But she'd have to try.
So, she went for it. Mentally repeating to herself the need to take this slowly and carefully, Tsunami scooted herself forward a bit before very gradually lowering her head down to Altamir, and very gradually moving her front talons forward as well. Slowly but surely, she got her head and her talons closer to him, weary of how he'd react, but understanding of the necessity of what she was currently doing.
Then, nerves getting the better of her when it came to actually picking him up (at least for now), she changed plans to simply holding him against herself without actually picking him up. So she then moved her head so that it was very, very close to him while still having it facing down at the ground. Then, she carefully moved her talons behind him, and then raised them up off the ground...
...until she gently, carefully pressed Altamir against the top of her snout from behind.
Mercifully, he didn't react badly when she did that, and while he was still breathing raggedly at first when she did that, the breathing gradually slowed down until it was at something that was...more normal.
"Can you...can you hear me, Aldy?" Tsunami asked again, once his breathing was slower.
"I...I..."
"You can hear me?" Tsunami was relieved. "Ah, good." So he was back with them, in a sense.
Though, her relief was short lived when Altamir's breathing then started hitching.
"Oh...is he...?" Clay began to ask...
"I think he is." Sunny nodded.
"Well, of course he would..." Tsunami thought as she shook her head, "...he's lost basically everything. Everything he worked for over more than a thousand years, all of his people, most of his kind...all to the ones whose kind he considered friends and family. All to Bloodfang. Some 'hero' she was."
She doubted she'd be any better if she was in his place.
"Come here, Aldy..." Tsunami sighed again as she then went for it for real, gently picking Altamir up and then moving him until she was holding him against one of her shoulders. "...I gotcha. I gotcha. We gotcha."
At this, the others huddled around as the little human who had so bravely saved them from Scarlet fell into a sobbing mess on Tsunami's shoulder.
It was a sound that she wished she never had to hear from him again. The sound of someone who had lost everything he had. The sound of sheer pain and agony.
The sound of their rescuer breaking inside.
Today was...well, it was a slight improvement, anyways. There hadn't been any more stupid groups of SkyWing soldiers who'd tried to attack them so far, and they'd been able to get the next leg of their journey underway. Now, they were approaching the sea, the ocean, the coastline. Finally, they were almost out of MudWing/SkyWing territory. And once they were, they'd be able to meet Tsunami's mother, Queen Coral of the SeaWings. All they'd have to do was find the Thousand Scale Islands.
But at what cost...
...Altamir was having a horrible time. All of the dragonets could tell, Tsunami included. The human barely said anything, usually being silent, only giving the bare minimum of responses, and never being the one to start a conversation. When he did talk, he did so with a voice that was very flat, and with no real notable tone. It was like he was afraid of being emotional to any degree, lest he lose what control he had over himself. Tsunami was fairly sure that it was because he'd scared her like that and made her think that he was going to attack her yesterday...it was like he knew that he'd done that and didn't want to do something like it ever again.
"He's afraid of himself...poor Aldy." It was just about the saddest thing she'd known in her life, seeing and hearing the one who'd saved them from certain death mired in a state like this. "He doesn't deserve that...if anyone deserves happiness here on Pyrrhia, it's him." And yet, it had been stolen from him in the cruelest way possible. "Damn it, Bloodfang..."
...huh...yep, she was starting to pick up some things from having been around those other humans as well as Altamir himself. She guessed that they'd rubbed off on her.
Regardless, though...given yesterday's events, she'd be lying if she said that morale wasn't lower among the group than it had been previously, and things were definitely a lot more tense now. Particularly with Altamir's...state making for a big question of whether or not he could feasibly protect them from any SkyWings that tried to attack them without losing it like that again.
Either way, right now, they needed to keep an eye on how he was doing, especially if they were to have ANY chance of him being able to protect them.
Tsunami wasn't going to not put in effort on that. "Hey, Aldy," She asked as the group began approaching the shoreline, "how are you doing back there?"
The human was silent and gave no response.
"Don't you think we all know the answer to that, Tsunami?" Glory rolled her eyes and sighed. "Especially given yesterday's events? Guy lost literally everything, and now you're asking 'how he's doing'?"
"I know that..." Tsunami grumbled. "...I'm just...trying to see if he's...there, if you know what I mean." Then, she asked Altamir again. "So, Aldy...you there?"
This time, Altamir did give a response. Well, after a few seconds, anyways. "...yes...I'm there."
His tone was still despairingly flat. It was like yesterday's events had sucked most of the life out of him, and he was just a shell of his former self. She was NOT going to ever get used to hearing that voice from him, she was quite sure.
Regardless, Tsunami tried to stay focused on keeping him 'with them', and leading everyone. "You're there? Good. Because we're gonna be landing soon. We're gonna land at the beach, okay? I know I'm not sure if it would be nice or anything of me to try and ask you to watch over us and all, but..."
"...if it's what I can do..." Altamir then said rather raggedly, "...then my sword is yours."
"...uh, okay then...thanks?" Tsunami wasn't sure how well things were going to go in that regard. Oh, it probably wouldn't be a doubt that he'd be able to protect them, at least physically-speaking, and it was really nice of him to still remember how he promised to protect them...
...but given his 'state', Tsunami was warily mentally predicting that he was probably going to just violently obliterate whatever it was that was attacking them and just about paint the landscape with their blood, just like he had yesterday, and that it was not going to be a pretty sight. She just hoped that he'd hang in there with regards to his sanity, because he looked like he was teetering and tottering on the edge of it...with her not being completely sure if she was going to be able to catch him if he did indeed 'fall'. Yet again, what he was like after he'd killed those soldiers sprang to mind.
But either way...a minute or so later, Tsunami was feeling the cold waves crashing around her talons and her webbed digits sinking ever-so-slightly into the wet sand, the chilly wind against her wings as she breathed in the cool, wild sea air.
These were her tribe's waters. This was what she was meant for. This was what those 'guardians' had stolen from her, keeping her and the others trapped in that cave for so long.
Glory, of course, just had to comment from behind. "Let me guess...that's the smell of freedom?"
"If that's what it is, it smells a lot like fish." Starflight commented also. "Which, to be clear, is kinda sorta nose-curlingly awful."
"To you, maybe." Tsunami replied to the NightWing. "Not to me. I like it. Guess you're not built for the sea, eh, Starflight?"
"...I mean, I guess not." Starflight shrugged. "So, uh...we're all still, you know, in enemy territory, so...maybe let's keep an eye on the skies? And be ready to hide in case there's a patrol flying around?"
Sunny nodded, while Tsunami and the other dragonets all gave him 'we know' looks. Right, there were some trees behind them. The others would be going there to hide if they had to, probably. Tsunami could just hide in the water.
Though, it was then that she realized that a certain someone wasn't on her back. She got worried for a bit before she then found him standing next to her, and speaking of water, he was staring out across it.
Right...no conversation about someone having things stolen from them would do to leave out Altamir.
Tsunami still had a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that this little human - a really, REALLY powerful one, granted, but still little - had not only managed to come to rule to whole continent, but had also done so fairly and ruled fairly, and was good enough at it that pretty much everyone, human or dragon, loved him. He'd really had it in him, didn't he?
But then of course life just HAD to spite him...and everyone on Pyrrhia, at that. And now he had nothing, and it was then that it sank in for Tsunami that everywhere she was looking (at least on land) was somewhere he used to rule, and where members of his kind (at least probably) used to live. What a steep price to pay for having saved them from those guardians and Scarlet just three days ago.
"You really should have been able to keep your gains, Aldy." Tsunami internally sighed as she watched the waves crash over the little humans' boots as he, too, stood at the water's edge, little shapes colored silver or green or yellow darting through the shallows in front of him. "You did something no human or dragon was able to do before. Of course Bloodfang just had to show up and ruin it..." She watched him dig up a handful of wet sand and let it drip down from his tiny fingers before, with more of that magic, he pushed it off of them and so the rest of it fell back onto the divide between the water and the sand. "...you deserved better than to have that happen to you..."
Yet again, the memories of yesterday dug into her head. Of what she heard as Altamir more than wiped the ground with those SkyWings, and then the aftermath of that.
It made her think back to when she and Glory were laughing about how he had bloodily rendered Scarlet headless, and then Altamir had yet told them that it was for the best that they weren't awake at that time. She'd wondered why...but she was preeeeeetty sure that she now had an answer; namely, that he'd painted that arena with those guards' blood, just about. She'd been a little annoyed at the time that she wasn't awake to see Scarlet's demise, but given how...stomach-roiling it was to see those dead SkyWings from yesterday?
Yeah, she wasn't going to blame Altamir for having done his stuff while they were still asleep. It was for the best, clearly...huh, not even four days ago, she would have laughed at the idea of an adult doing something for them that was an actually good enough decision that even she would acknowledge as being 'for the best'. And yet Altamir managed to do that.
Which made his suffering all the more painful. Three moons, she may not have been the 'cuddly' sort (or at the very least nowhere near Sunny's level in that regard, anyways), but she badly wanted to give Altamir a hug right now. He needed one. Actually, no, he needed ALL of them.
Though, she did know that he wasn't keen on someone picking him up...that, and thanks to yesterday's events, he seemed REALLY weary about touching them, or them touching him (to the point where he was now just as bad about it as Glory was...actually, scratch that, he was worse about it than Glory was right now). Before, he was pretty generous with holding and hugging them and whatnot. Now, though...it was like he was afraid that he'd accidentally shatter them or something.
So, yeah, hugging him probably wasn't a good idea. Which completely sucked, because him holding them like that was just the best thing and seemed to get him to cool down from when he was all disturbed and such...and now he just didn't want to really do it at all.
Meanwhile, Clay sat down beside Tsunami, rather mournfully. "Ugh...I'd love to have some big fish that I could eat right now...not these wriggle-scraps that slip between my teeth." Ah, right...they were starting to slip back into the 'masks', their usual ways of 'dealing with things', that they'd been able to 'take off' around Altamir...at least before yesterday's events, anyways. Clay's was focusing on food. A lot of it.
"Oh, Clay, always worried about food." Sunny chuckled lightly as she sat down besides him in turn. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll get something big here."
"...if you go further out in the water than this, perhaps." It was then that Altamir was talking again, as he then walked over to Clay. "This close to the shoreline...not a hope of that. Everything in the water within grabbing distance...it's all going to be small. Even my kind would have...difficulty 'subsisting' off of what we'd find here." Well, at least he was talking...
"...oh." ...but Sunny seemed a bit surprised. "Uh..."
"I mean, that does make sense." Starflight shrugged. "Though, I'm not sure that we should...'go fishing' here...don't wanna get split up or get distracted from seeing any SkyWing or MudWing who might spot us..."
"...and what? You're gonna make Aldy do all the work of getting food for us?" Tsunami asked sharply. "Come on, Starflight, read the room! You really think he's in a position for us to be just sitting around hiding somewhere while he's made to do everything?"
"I..." Starflight fluttered his wings, "...I..I'm j-just trying to...keep us all safe here...you know." He then ducked his head.
"Yeah, I know, and can you not act like you're 'the only one' concerned about that?" Tsunami cocked her head at the NightWing. "Come on, we're not stupid. We know we've still gotta worry about SkyWings and other MudWings and all."
"Interesting hearing this when there was that one time where we got captured, and nearly killed, by this SkyWing Queen and her soldiers, and Aldy had to save us all from her..."
At this next comment of Glory's, Tsunami pounded her tail through the water and sent a cold wave crashing over Glory, making the RainWing hiss and jump back.
"Okay, for one thing, 'glorious genius'," Tsunami growled as she turned around to face Glory, "neither me or Clay knew that Scarlet and her soldiers were gonna be there...or that our 'guardians', in all of their wisdom, had decided to keep us penned up in a cave right under that maniac's mountain. For another thing, guess who was the last one to start paying attention yesterday when that other group of SkyWings tried to swoop on us? I was the one who had to warn everyone else just so that we could get out the way so that...you know. So don't act like we're not on the same island there, Glory!"
"...whatever you say, 'your majesty'." Glory grumbled, still dripping wet.
Altamir, meanwhile, did that 'rolling his head on his shoulders' gesture. "...if you're worried about food and about getting it without endangering yourselves, I'll go deal with that." As he said that, he magically dried off Glory and deposited the excess water back in the...water. "It's...not the most difficult thing here."
Tsunami sighed. She was really trying not to have Altamir wear himself out or stress himself out right now. That was the last thing he needed at the moment. It was because of that that she'd slipped back into being the 'leader' of the group after having previously and happily given it to Altamir to settle for being second-in-command to someone capable, and so Glory's sniping and Starflight's constant fretting weren't exactly helpful (okay, the latter wasn't exactly unfounded in his worries, she'd give him that, but most of it was stuff she already was aware of, and the constant reminders could be grating).
And yet, frustratingly, there were still things she and the others still had to rely on Altamir for. Protection, obviously...
...but there was also the whole deal of 'knowing where they were going'.
Currently, they were...at least an hour north of the Diamond Spray Delta. They were trying to find a good place to cross the sea to the Thousand Scale Islands, the main island chain in the Bay of a Thousand Scales, as the alternative was going on a few-days-long journey down south along the coastline...which would take them through lots and lots of MudWing territory...something that they couldn't afford. So they were going this way instead. Yes, it technically took them through SkyWing territory, as a nervous Starflight pointed out, but it was both shorter and would ensure that they spent less time in enemy territory than if they went that other way, as Tsunami had replied to the NightWing with.
"So, how close are we to being able to cross the water to the islands?" Sunny asked, as if trying to ease tension just a bit.
Altamir fidgeted with the red hair on his little head. "...there's a peninsula...roughly an hour or so to the north of here, I think. The inlet to the north of us is just south of it...when we get to the tip of it, that'll be the start of the closest and shortest crossing...though it does mean that we'll have to fly over water for at least a few hours once we get to making that crossing."
"Flying...over water?" Clay seemed to shudder a bit. "That's...kinda scary."
"Not to me it isn't." Tsunami shook her head, aware of her ability to breathe underwater.
"Tsunami, we're not SeaWings like you are." Sunny reminded Tsunami of the obvious.
"I know, Sunny..."
"...I'll find a way." Altamir shrugged.
"I...yeah, I'm sure you will, Aldy, knowing you." Glory shrugged herself. "Now...how exactly are we gonna get...into the SeaWing Palace and make our 'grand entrance'?"
"I'm...not completely sure if it'll be very 'grand'..." Clay mumbled warily. "...knowing how I was sold for a few cows..."
"We know, buddy." Tsunami sighed as Sunny held around Clay's neck with her talons. "Though...I don't think that'll be the case here. Coral actually had me stolen from her by Webs, and given that she doesn't have any daughters that survived to adulthood, I don't think she CAN afford to dismiss and reject me like that...creature did with Clay."
Tsunami briefly noticed Altamir's attention being grabbed at the mention of 'daughters not surviving to adulthood'.
Hey wait, was there a reason for that?
Eh...she could ask later.
"You're not wrong, to be fair." Starflight, meanwhile, acknowledged. "Though...she actually has two palaces; the deep sea palace, which is completely underwater, and the island palace, which is above water...but it's also hidden. We'd have to be in luck that she's at the island palace...though, to be fair, since Blister is based there, there's a good chance that Coral might spend more time there. But either way...while we could just...have Aldy track Coral, shouldn't we remember that we really need to make sure that we can, you know, get in in a way which'll make the SeaWings not regard the rest of us as 'enemies' or 'intruders'?"
Riiiight, MudWings and SeaWings were enemies. They couldn't leave Clay behind, though - and Tsunami wasn't intent on even thinking about doing that - but, yeah, either way, that would be kind of a problem.
"...I suppose we'll have to think on that one." Altamir nodded. "Perhaps if we find another SeaWing to go with us and aid in...warding off unwanted attention? And...perhaps also say that the rest of you are...retainers, dragons whose loyalty lies with the Queen's daughter, and not the queens of your respective tribes? Perhaps something for the rest of you to wear to indicate that you're not enemies?"
"...wow..." Glory seemed legitimately impressed by what Altamir was coming up with. "...you can still come up with these things, Aldy...though, to be fair, I guess I shouldn't be surprised, given your...now-former profession...sorry about that."
Altamir sighed at Glory's comment...though, it clearly wasn't because of how Glory said it (three moons, Glory was actually being sincere for once...or at least not saying things for the sake of getting on someone's nerves, also for once).
"Well, once we reach that peninsula, I could just go out underwater and go find another SeaWing that way." Tsunami suggested.
"...are you sure about that?" Starflight asked, a tone clearly begging caution...a thing that Tsunami was intent on saving for dealing with MudWings and SkyWings. "The ocean isn't like an underground cave river. There's strong currents, and unpredictable waves, and big things with teeth-"
"I'm a big thing with teeth." Tsunami grinned at him to show it, very much wanting to poke his silly little worried snout with her sharpest claw.
"...unless the 'things with teeth' are other dragons, that's not what she needs to worry about, Starflight." Altamir agreed. "Getting lost, perhaps, but we can make sure that..."
It was then that Altamir's voice suddenly trailed off as he looked to the north. Uh...yeah, that was something bad, wasn't it?
"...Aldy?" Tsunami asked the little human, wanting to know what made him go like that.
"...have any of you worked out how you're going to hide?"
Oh. Uh oh...oh no.
"What, is there a patrol coming?" Tsunami then asked again to confirm.
"Yes." Altamir then said in the sharpest voice from him that she'd heard all day. "Go and hide, all of you. Do it now!"
The sudden, practically snarled rumble of a command was startling coming from someone so small...but neither Tsunami nor any of her friends needed to be told twice, and soon, all of them were scrambling to hide, Tsunami going underwater like she was sure she could, while she could see Glory turning herself invisible, and the other three running for the trees.
She wasn't sure what Altamir was going to do...but she was hoping that he'd hidden himself too, or something like that, as she just barely poked the top of her head and her eyes out of the water again...
...wait, where was he?
Then, a slight bit of sand shifted near where Glory had apparently turned invisible. "Oh, so he can turn invisible too...and he's hiding behind Glory...okay, whatever works."
She just hoped that they'd gone to hide quickly enough for the patrol to not notice by the time they saw the area that she and her friends had been in.
All that Altamir knew was that he could not fail.
He had failed his people, his realm. He had failed to be there to prevent Bloodfang from doing what she did...it was for that reason that both of those things were now gone. He knew it. He knew it well.
He could not fail these dragonets in the same way...and yet he already nearly had when he had gone within a hair's breadth of attacking Tsunami yesterday when she snuck up on him unknowingly. And somehow, the dragonets didn't just abandon him there on the spot for that, and instead insisted on remaining with him.
If they were to place their lives in his hands, then not failing them was all he could do. He could not let this patrol get their talons on them.
It was the idea of the dragonets to, if possible, just hide rather than have him kill the patrols every time. He supposed it made sense; forty dead SkyWings drew more attention than a patrol going over an area and finding nothing, after all. That, and he saw how it displeased them whenever he had to kill.
So, that was what they were going with. He and the dragonets would hide like this, and perhaps the patrol would not notice them. Of course...there was the chance that this would not work and so he would have to kill the patrol anyways...and the dragonets would be displeased once more. But since it was a possibility...he had to be prepared to do it...to be ready to set forth and kill.
So there he waited, hiding behind Glory and replicating her tribe's ability to turn invisible while being one motion away from bringing his bow or his sword to his hand. Waiting for the patrol to pass by. And perhaps listen in on what they were saying, if they happened to be...having a conversation as they were going by.
Though...as the patrol did indeed approach...he noticed that not all of the dragons in that patrol were SkyWings. There was a single MudWing among them. This was odd...previous patrols they'd encountered had all the dragons within each patrol being of the same tribe. Yes, there was that one instance where there was a group of both MudWings and SkyWings...but that seemed like two patrols had so happened to be meeting each other when Altamir and the dragonets came upon them.
And then he listened in...
"I don't like trusting a Talon."
"I don't love working with you either."
"Hm? A Talon? That's..."
"You're certain he'll lead us there."
"Positive. He's a cowardly, sentimental sort of SeaWing who misses home. I told him that Queen Coral is in a forgiving mood."
"And he believed you?"
"He's still grieving..."
Wait...no, that wasn't a patrol, let alone an ordinary one. This was a scouting/infiltration party.
And they were discussing something about Webs and Queen Coral...was this Webs willingly leading them to where...where Queen Coral was? Or was this MudWing some rogue member tailing Webs back to...?
Altamir then realized that this pondering would have to wait, as suddenly, one of the SkyWings then pulled back...just as the others (and that MudWing) were flying away. Mercifully, none of those other dragons followed him in doing this, but...
...damn it, this one must have spotted one of the dragonets. Altamir looked briefly at the tree line...and sure enough, there was the tip of Sunny's tail sticking out from behind one of them.
Altamir knew full well that he had to do something. He couldn't fail these dragonets, no matter what. He knew this would displease them, but...he had no choice.
So, as the SkyWing then got closer, Altamir, initially hiding behind an invisible Glory's leg, summoned his 'bow' and nocked an 'arrow'. Drawing it with a silent prayer to the gods, he then stepped out, 'bow' drawn, just as the SkyWing was now slowly hovering over the water and then opened his mouth, either to demand to know who was there, or to alert his comrades...
"...huh-?"
"Rgh!"
*FPNT...*
...he loosed the arrow at the SkyWing...
*TSNZZKT!*
"-guah! Uaawagh-!"
...and he missed.
*SPLASH!*
Well, not missed missed, but...Altamir was aiming for the enemy dragon's chest, his heart. And yet, instead, the 'arrow', of the piercing sort rather than the exploding sort, had hit the SkyWing through the limbs on the left side of his body. Yes, this meant his left forelimb, his wing, and his right forelimb, enough that the SkyWing was knocked out of the air and into the water, but...
...that meant that he wasn't DEAD, like Altamir had wanted. This was just wonderful...
SPLASHRUMBLERUMBLESPLASH!*
...oh, and the SkyWing fell in the water very near where Tsunami was, and when the water suddenly exploded as Altamir saw the blue shape that was the young SeaWing's form violently lunging at the SkyWing, he knew something had to be done.
"Clay!" Altamir called out to the trees behind him. "Tsunami needs help! SkyWing in the water with her!"
Sure enough, and thankfully, Clay, not ignoring Altamir, dashed out from behind the trees towards the water, as Altamir then focused on making sure that those other dragons didn't come back for their comrade.
And they didn't...but then, after a bit, Tsunami and Clay re-emerged and began dragging the SkyWing towards the sands...
Tsunami didn't know how long it was...maybe a minute or so between Altamir telling them to hide, and her and Clay now pulling the now-either-unconscious-or-dead SkyWing out of the water and leaving a trail of blood from the SkyWing's destroyed left-side limbs (courtesy of Altamir), while trying to ignore the pain from the wound (or wounds) on that spot of the left side of her neck.
The others were waiting for her and Clay when they got back to the sand...Glory included.
"Okay, good grief, what is it with you, Tsunami?" The RainWing demanded when Tsunami and Clay had finished dragging the SkyWing out of the water.
"Oh, you know, just doing my part in saving everyone else here?"
"Saving..." Glory smacked her snout with one of her front talons. "...well, of course you'd go and play hero and try and take that SkyWing on by yourself...granted, dragging him into the water isn't a bad idea and all so that he can't breathe fire, but you clearly forgot the claws. Oh, and also that he's, you know...bigger than you? Or am I to assume that those wounds there on your neck are supposed to be your 'marks of heroism'?"
"I...well, I-"
"Tsunami, don't be so reckless like that again!" Sunny just about pleaded with Tsunami, interrupting whatever response she could make to Glory. "You could have gotten yourself badly hurt or worse in there!"
"It is a pretty easy thing to say that you're lucky that Clay and Aldy were there..." Starflight agreed with Sunny, "...else that 'worse' could have happened."
"...ugh...I...yeah, I know, I know."
"Tsunami, you're bleeding." Clay then pointed out something that Tsunami knew was probably already the case. "Aldy, can you...?"
"Yes, I can." Altamir sighed. "Come here, Tsunami, let me look at that."
Well, at least Altamir didn't seem...out of it like he did before, and was more alert (though he clearly still wasn't exactly 'happy'). But either way, he wasn't leaving any room for arguing with him, so Tsunami reluctantly went over to him and sat down.
"...uh, so...they're gone?" Tsunami asked briefly about those other dragons as she brought her head down for Altamir to reach where she was injured.
"Those other ones? I do believe that they are." Altamir nodded as he then carefully grabbed the tip of her left horn. "They don't seem interested in coming back for their comrade. Now then...hold still."
So Tsunami did, and then she felt a weird numbness that replaced the pain, and then she felt Altamir doing something there...and then, when the numbness went away after a few, the pain was gone with it. When Altamir let go of her horn and she looked up again, the others had mouths wide open in awe.
"Whoa..."
"Did I actually just..."
"Wow..."
"Oh, so that's how you healed us back when you first found us, wasn't it Aldy?" Glory asked after Clay's, Starflight's, and Sunny's respective reactions.
"Yes, it was." Altamir nodded.
"It's like it was never even there to begin with." Starflight shook his head in disbelief...and then shrugged after a few seconds. "But...I guess that's what you can do as a human animus."
Altamir regarded Starflight's remark in...some way, and then looked towards the SkyWing. "So...is he alive?"
"Huh? That dragon? Uh..." Clay then shrugged himself. "...I don't know..."
"Go check. Check for a heartbeat. If he does, he's still alive. If he doesn't, he's not."
"Got it, Aldy." At Altamir's urging, Clay went over to the SkyWing and put his head down on the larger dragon's chest. A few seconds later, Clay then lifted his head back up.
"Feel a heartbeat, Clay?"
"Yeah, I do." Clay answered Altamir's question.
Altamir then grumbled something under his breath and scratched at the back of his little head. "Of course he's still alive...I missed."
Tsunami was confused. "'Missed'? Whaddya mean, Aldy? You literally hit him with your-!"
"Not where I wanted to." Altamir shook his head. "I was aiming for his chest...I was intending to kill him then and there. Instead, I hit him in his left-side limbs."
"Oh..." Starflight tilted his head. "...well, then I guess you really did miss...sorry, Aldy..."
"No need for that." Altamir replied. "So he's not dead...I guess all I can do here is fix that."
Altamir then walked over to the unconscious SkyWing and made that ridiculously-long-compared-to-him sword of his appear in his right hand. It was clear what he intended to do.
Sunny took issue. "W-Wait...you're...you're gonna kill him? Why...?"
Altamir then sighed again. "Sunny...this dragon now knows that all of you are here, given that he spotted one of you. Even I do not like that I'll have to kill him...but if I were to let him fly or stumble away, he would very surely be likely to do his damndest to alert more of his tribe, and then they'd be breathing down our backs all the way to Coral's palace, and I'd have to be fighting off an...absurd number of them. We don't want that, do we?"
"No."
"Nope."
"Definitely not."
"Exactly." Altamir nodded at Clay's, Tsunami's, and Glory's respective responses. "Perhaps it wouldn't be...fair to kill him while he's out like this...but we can't let him get away. So that I don't have to fight more than I already have...he needs to die."
"...fair enough, Aldy." Starflight, being the 'logic' dragonet of the group that he was, accepted this, if a little reluctantly. "Just...if you're going to kill him...could you let us back away first so that we can, you know, not get splashed with-?"
"Then be quick about it." Altamir's response was to-the-point. "Make like falcons and not snails."
So Tsunami and the others quickly began backing away, making sure not to fall over each other or trip over something on the way, and once they were far away enough (at least they hoped they were, anyways), they watched Altamir position himself near the SkyWing's neck, that long blade raised above his head, ready to swing it down upon the dragon's neck.
Still remembering yesterday's carnage, Tsunami looked away, waiting for the sound of Altamir splitting the dragon's neck from his body, and the others were looking away too...
"HWECKH! HWECKH! HUKHWAGHGH!"
...but then their attention was grabbed when the SkyWing suddenly came awake and started hacking and coughing up water, something that was enough to make Altamir stagger back a step or two...
"O-Oh...he's...he's waking up..."
...but not for long, as right when Starflight was saying that, Altamir then took another step to the side, and while the SkyWing was still coughing up water...
...Tsunami found the hard way that she should have looked away again...
"KHWECKH! KHWECKHAGH-!"
...when Altamir then, once the SkyWing's neck was curled in a certain way...suddenly swung his sword down at the SkyWing. Hard. Very hard.
"HRGH!"
*KRNCHSPLORTCH!*
Tsunami and the others yelped and were sent scrambling and stumbling back at the SkyWing suddenly and violently having his neck split through twice in just once swing...and a swing that happened so fast that Tsunami barely even saw a blur before there was then just this fountain of blood spraying everywhere in a body-length radius, all over Altamir, and all over the surrounding sand. In the panic at the sudden sight, Tsunami and the others ended up tripping over each other until they were all in this awkward tangled heap.
"...ow." Starflight muttered as Tsunami was laying belly-up on him and Clay, the latter being belly up himself with Glory stuck under his neck and Sunny stuck under his tail.
"...yeah, nevermind, he's not waking up from that." Glory remarked grimly. "Okay, can we try getting up here?"
So, they all did get up, untangling themselves, and once they did, they slowly started walking over to Altamir...who was still standing near the now-very-definitely-dead SkyWing.
It was definitely a gory sight - blood was still gushing from where Altamir had done this twice-at-once cut to the SkyWing's neck...it was as if the dragon's large size compared to the human didn't even matter - and Altamir himself was standing there soaked in the stuff. There was also that he was breathing heavily enough that it could be heard over the crashing waves of the sea. At least his breathing wasn't too rapid or ragged like yesterday...but it definitely made clear the fact that Altamir still wasn't exactly in a good headspace, and Tsunami had to admit that him being splashed with blood like that was a pretty tell-tale visual metaphor for what situation he was in.
Poor Aldy...having to kill like this. Didn't he say that he grew up knowing SkyWings and MudWings as the 'local dragons', and ones he could usually count on as being faithfully loyal to him?
"Aldy?" Sunny asked carefully, clearly trying to focus on Altamir and not the dead SkyWing. "Are you...?"
"There? I...I'm there. I think..."
"...I guess you don't like killing either?"
"I never have..." Altamir shook his head at Clay's question. "...only exceptions are if it's someone like Scarlet that I'm dealing with. That's it. And yet, like it or not, the choice is so often taken from me."
"...o-okay then." Starflight shuddered. "Uh...you're covered in blood, Aldy. Maybe you could go and...clean up a little there?"
Altamir's response to that was to do with himself that 'magic cleaning' thing that he'd done when he was cleaning out their mouths after...well...yeah...that thing yesterday, and once he was done, he splashed the resulting dragon blood back on the corpse.
"...alright, that's better." Glory nodded. "So, uh...anyways, we need to get going, I think. Can't stick around this corpse here."
"I think that that's pretty obvious, Glory." Tsunami rolled her eyes. "Come on, Aldy, let's go find that peninsula."
"I'm on it..."
Soon, Tsunami and the others were in the air again, going for that peninsula. Along the way, Tsunami noted how Altamir was holding on to her neck a bit more tightly than before. Not enough to be uncomfortable, granted, but definitely noticeable.
"What is it, Aldy?" Tsunami decided to ask.
"That was not a patrol we encountered." Altamir answered. "That was a passing...either a scouting party or an infiltration band."
"What makes you...oh, you mean that one MudWing among them who was saying stuff about Webs?"
"Yes, Glory, that."
Glory tilted her head. "...well, yeah, I guess that does kinda sound like it's the case...though, that would mean that Webs managed to escape Scarlet somehow."
"Wait...Webs escaped from Scarlet?" Clay asked. Right...he, Starflight, and Sunny weren't there to overhear things like Tsunami, Glory, and Altamir were.
"I mean, that's it what it sounds like." Tsunami answered with a shrug. "Either that, or someone busted him out."
Altamir seemed to pick up on the other three not being in the know, so he went ahead and explained it. "When that party of dragons was going overhead...we overheard them discussing about how he'd 'lead them there', how he 'misses home' and how that particular MudWing had told him that Queen Coral 'was in a forgiving mood'." Then he shifted a bit on Tsunami's back. "If I can ask...how much do you five know about Webs' past? Did he ever tell you anything?"
"Uh..." Clay shook his head. "...no, not really. He never told us about where he lived or what his life was like. All he said was that he joined the Talons of Peace to 'stop killing dragons'."
"Yeah, he was pretty tight-lipped about that." Starflight backed Sunny up. "That being said...we do at least suspect that he might have lived or worked either at the SeaWing Palace or near it."
"That would explain why he was able to get his talons on my egg..." Then, Tsunami realized something. "...hey wait, that palace above water is supposed to be hidden, right?"
"Starflight said so." Sunny replied, and then realized too. "Wait, do you think that they might be...?"
"Using him to find the palace so that they can go attack it? Yeah, Sunny I do. But...that would mean that he's...working with them..."
"He could be, willingly or forced." Altamir responded to Tsunami. "Or it could be the case that he isn't, and that they're just tailing him from a distance. Given his decision to join the Talons to 'stop killing dragons', it sounds a bit more like the latter...but either one means trouble. If we see that particular MudWing again..."
"...then we'll have to take her out." Tsunami finished for Altamir.
"Yep." Glory nodded. "Hit her with your bow or sword...or with my venom. Always an option, Aldy."
"Don't you mean your 'magical death spit'?" Tsunami then asked teasingly.
This got a rise out of Glory for sure. "I-I...TS-TSUNAMI, I SWEAR TO THREE MOONS-!"
Tsunami just laughed. "Now, now, Glory, I know that it's called 'RainWing Venom'. No need to end the world over it."
Glory just grumbled about what Sunny had done...to which Sunny had very innocently shrugged. Tsunami just liked the levity. They needed all of it that they could.
Altamir, meanwhile, paid no attention to all of that. Instead...he seemed to have his attention on something else. "Regardless of the outcome...regardless of what happens...I can't lose you. I cannot afford to lose a single one of you. Not a one. I can't. I've...lost enough as is."
"We know, Aldy." Clay replied, knowing full well what the human was talking about. "We know you'll make sure of it, and we'll help you make sure of it, too. Just...stay with us, okay?"
"Yes, Clay. I...I will."
Tsunami knew that they had quite the job in front of them...keeping Altamir sane. It would be really important when and once they were in that palace.
Though...if he said that he 'couldn't lose them'...did that mean that they had a means to stop him, to reign him in, in case they needed to? Maybe he trusted them enough that he'd let them do that?
She really did hope so.
After an hour or so of flight after the 'meeting' with that scouting/infiltration party, Altamir and the dragonets reached the tip of the peninsula. The peninsula had been given many names over the years...though the most common one by the Atticans in particular was the 'Kopis Peninsula', due to it being shaped somewhat like the eponymous Attican sword.
The Atticans...another group of peoples who were long gone by now. Damn it, Bloodfang...
...regardless, he had the dragonets rest their wings for a bit, him standing guard all the while, and once they were rested up enough, he took them again...and he had them ready themselves to begin the flight across the Attican Gulf. The flight to reach the Aetolian Archipelago.
All four dragonets who weren't Tsunami were more than worried about having to do this...and he understood, as they were land-dwelling dragons having to fly for the first time over miles upon miles of ocean. But...it had to be done.
So, he displayed his ability to magically lift things into the air...by lifting all five of the dragonets into the air with that ability (gently, of course). As he did such, he made it clear to them that if something happened that caused one or more of them to fall out of the sky, he'd catch them. He then showed them that he could also indeed fly on his own, so that in the event that they could not fly, he still could. This was enough to convince them, and while they were still nervous, they were more willing to cross this obstacle that was this gulf.
And so, perhaps half an hour before noon, Altamir and the dragonets began the crossing to the nearest island of what was once Aetolia.
The flight took roughly five hours, at the least. Altamir was worried about facing potential storms...as they were one thing on land, but they were another thing altogether out at sea. And yet, in the first stroke of what he could genuinely call 'good fortune' since the...reveal about the Great Perdition and the loss of everything he worked for, they didn't face any bad weather...crosswinds perhaps, but no storms.
Eventually, at what would be considered to be between either four or five in the afternoon, they landed in the Archipelago, and Altamir recognized the island that they landed on. It was an island called "Keos". Due to its location in the Archipelago, it was often the closest island to trade with, and receive trade from, Baktria, and such had made the city that shared names with it very, very wealthy...and quite populated. In fact, the city of Keos had been, at various times, either the second or third most populated one in all of Aetolia. That, and it was a common stopping place for Altamir himself whenever he was traveling to meet with either the Aetolian Rulers or the SeaWing Queen...or both.
But now...the island was barren of any human life. It was as if humankind had never even settled the island in the first place.
The dragonets were resting their wings again in a cave on the island when they seemed to pick up on his pondering.
Particularly Sunny. "What is it, Aldy?"
Altamir looked at her, and then sighed. "...this island used to be home to many of my kind. They used to prosper here. Used to be able to look from here and see human homes and structures dotting the land all the way down to the edge of the sea."
"...oh..." Clay audibly winced, and the other dragonets winced as well. "...I am so sorry, Aldy..."
Altamir shook his head. "It's not something that the five of you are to apologize for. I should have been there...I should have been there to stop Bloodfang...to strike her down...to prevent her from carrying out her mad scheme. But I wasn't. And for it...my kind has spent the last five thousand plus years having to fear dragons unaware that the 'scavengers' that they're hunting, caging, killing, eating, considering pests, are meant to be the brothers to their kind's sisters."
Altamir saw the sadness that had washed over them at hearing this from him...and he wondered why it was for him. He was just a walking relic now, a relic of an era long dead, the ruler of a dead realm. He'd failed that realm, he'd failed his people and many other peoples, and his old companions were likely now shaking their heads from the afterlife at how he'd failed their memories.
The sadness that these dragonets here showed...it was best spent on someone else, or, given their treatment by those 'guardians', themselves. Not the artifact that they were clearly only staying around because of his powers. "Tsunami...when you've had your wings rested enough...let's go find your fellow SeaWing that you were speaking of. When we do, and until we return...the rest of you stay here."
So, a few minutes later, with the other dragonets staying in the cave, he and Tsunami started looking from above through the waters around the island. As they did, Altamir thought back to what they'd all discussed while they were crossing the ocean. They'd all agreed that they'd keep secret four things: the MudWing (likely) trying to infiltrate the SeaWing Palace, the (likely) true nature of the prophecy, the true nature of the Scorching/Great Perdition, and the Altamir's status as having previously ruled Pyrrhia. Raising the issue of the MudWing would cause serious problems for Clay, so they couldn't do that (at least...not at first). If the five dragonets were identified as being the Dragonets of Destiny, then they would indeed acknowledge that they were, but if they were pressed on any seeming lack of enthusiasm for the prophecy, they were to cite the ill treatment by those 'guardians' that were supposed to raise and train them. Additionally, they were not to say anything more about Altamir than that he was a human animus who had rescued them from Scarlet and was their 'sword' and, perhaps, 'not to be messed with', and when it came to the Scorching/Great Perdition...they were to let those other dragons figure it out for themselves when they heard Altamir speaking.
Keeping secrets like that...it was not something that even those dragonets like to do, as he could tell. But they themselves knew that it would be necessary, as he could also tell, and so they were the ones to ask that of him as much as they did each other.
Additionally, the dragonets had asked him to give Queen Coral a chance, as they very much wanted her to be a good queen (and who wouldn't)...but they also acknowledged the chance that she could possibly be more like Scarlet (or, at the very least, not a good queen, let alone a good mother), in which case he was to do everything he needed to do to get them out of there as quickly as possible.
Regardless, after a minute or so of searching, Altamir and Tsunami eventually spotted from above a particular shape moving through the waters below near the island's northwest side. It was bluish-colored and too large to be a shark, and its wings were things that one would expect either a shark or a whale to not have. This could only ever certainly be a SeaWing.
"There's one, Aldy."
"I know, Tsunami. I see as well."
"Should I...go down there and 'say hello'?"
"...I don't see why not, but do it carefully. Too aggressive, and that dragon will likely see you as an enemy. Don't just dive into the water from above...land on the sand and then wade into the water and swim down, and do either a 'talon wave' or a few taps on the shoulder, and then motion to surface so that you can talk."
"Oh, okay...wait, can't we talk underwater with these flashy scales on us?"
"Well, yes, you can, but...have you ever properly been taught to do so, Tsunami? Did Webs ever..."
"Uh, no, he didn't. But...it can't be that hard, can it? It's just flashing different scales in different ways at different times, right?"
"...it's more than just that, Tsunami, it's an entire-"
"Nah, it can't be that hard, right? Watch me, Aldy."
"Yes, I shall have to watch you..." Altamir mentally grumbled as Tsunami then descended and landed on the sand below, wading into the water until she submerged below the surface. "...and perhaps save your hide if my luck is 'right'." If he failed her now, this would be the most humiliating failure of all.
Hovering in the air above, he watched Tsunami's shape reach the shape of the other dragon, and then the two shapes themselves hovered and moved around each other for...roughly a minute. And then, finally, both SeaWings surfaced, and as Altamir turned himself invisible to the other dragon and moved in from above near Tsunami. Well, at least there weren't any wounds on either SeaWing...but the expressions and demeanors of both Tsunami and the other SeaWing as they now floated at the surface told him that something had gone on between the two in that minute.
"Uh...hey there?" Tsunami nervously greeted with a talon wave.
"Um...hey there." The other dragon, his voice revealing him to be male and displaying a different kind of nervousness, did a reciprocal talon wave. "I...don't think we've...met before." Notably, Altamir saw that he was wearing armor. He was a soldier...but he also looked rather young.
"Well, I...yeah, we kinda haven't. I was...just trying to say hello?"
"...I guess you were...though I would say that that's a very interesting way of 'saying hello'."
Just as the other dragon was saying this, Altamir quietly and carefully landed on Tsunami as she was floating in the water (startling her a bit and getting a quiet "Huh? Oh, Aldy." out of her), and then went un-invisible when he was behind her neck so that the other SeaWing wouldn't directly see him seemingly materialize out of thin air. Then, once he did, he stepped to the side on her until she was standing on her shoulder.
His doing this surprised the other SeaWing. "Whoa...uh...you have a...a scavenger with you! I...didn't know you...wait a second, where did he come from? I don't remember..."
For fuck's sake, again with the 'scavenger' label...
Tsunami must have felt this, because she then responded to the other dragon. "Um, a-actually, this guy's kind aren't actually called 'scavengers'. They're called 'humans'. And they can talk."
The other dragon's eyes widened. "Oh...wait, they can talk? But don't they always 'squeak' and 'yibble'-?"
"This one doesn't." Altamir then finally said something to the other dragon, making him briefly go silent and his eyes go even wider.
"...ah...well...uh...yeah...I...I see and hear that..." The other dragon found his voice after a bit. "...wow, you sound deep for somethi-er, someone so little. U-Uh...y-you have a name...?"
"I do. My name is 'Altamir'. This right here is 'Tsunami', and you would be...?"
"R-Riptide. My name's Riptide."
"Riptide? Alright then..." Then, Altamir decided to ask Riptide about the 'meet-and-greet'. "...so...what went on under there? What's with the...awkwardness?"
"Huh? Uh...erm...I'm...just saying, Altamir, but...we SeaWings have a sort of 'second language'-"
"Aquatic? Yes, Riptide, I know of it. Did Tsunami here...say something strange in it?"
"'Strange' is one way of putting it...definitely the weirdest 'greeting' I've ever gotten. Hate to say it, but I think that Tsunami there needs to work on her Aquatic."
"And, what specifically did she say?"
"Uh...well, she said, and I quote: "Hey, sparkling teeth, I totally love three of your claws but not the others, and I wish your nose was a herring so I could eat it, and also your wings sound like sharks snoring.". That's exactly what she said...or, ended up saying, anyways."
Altamir looked at Tsunami, who looked at him in turn with a nervous smile. "...well, at least it's technically a full sentence...but...you try and 'say hello', and you end up basically making some bizarre flirting attempt on him instead." The nervous smile grew wider, and Altamir then looked at Riptide and nodded. "Erm, yes, I do concur, she certainly does need to work on her Aquatic. Though, if you'll be fair to her, she had her egg stolen by a rogue dragon before she hatched, and she was raised by mostly non-SeaWings, to the point that you, Riptide, are only the second other dragon of her tribe that she's seen with her own eyes...and that first one, and the only one of those dragons who 'raised' her who was among her tribe, who also happened to be the one to steal her egg, did not teach her about Aquatic, or at the very least not properly...as this clearly indicates. That, and she was kept away from the ocean for all of her life, and today was literally the first time she's ever seen it or been in it."
"Oh...I see." Riptide scratched the back of his head. "I...I guess that explains things. And...wow, she was kept away from the ocean all her life?"
"Yes, she was."
"That's...horrible. Though, uh...that's...not the only thing that strikes me about Tsunami here. Um...those markings under your wings?"
"Huh? Oh..." Tsunami then raised her wings up in the water a bit. "...you mean these markings? You recognize them?"
"I...yes, I do. They're the...they're the Royal SeaWing Family's markings. Actually, more than that...you quite literally look like Queen Coral except smaller and younger. That, and you having been stolen when you were an egg...that would...that would mean that you're the...the 'Lost Princess'."
"So, I am, huh? I always thought I was...other dragons kept telling me I was just believing things. Good to know it's for real." This time, the grin on Tsunami's face was a much more confident one.
"Confirmation, then." Altamir rolled his head on his shoulders. "So, Riptide, the two of us have some...dragons we were wanting to introduce to you, to have you meet. Though...before we do that...can I ask you something?"
"Um...yeah, go head, Altamir."
"Alright then...how old are you Riptide?"
"Hm? Uh...eight years old."
Oh, well that was just wonderful, he was indeed still a dragonet. "Eight years old? I was thinking that you were rather young to be wearing armor like that. I guess your tribe is...desperate in that regard?"
Riptide shrugged. "I...hate to say it, but basically EVERY tribe is at this point. And yet this war just doesn't seem to want to end even after nineteen years."
"Ugh...all over that damned desert chair..." Altamir grumbled.
...
Regardless, a few minutes later, Altamir and Tsunami were standing with Riptide in front of Clay, Glory, Starflight, and Sunny on the island's western beach, and now that he was out of the water and on land, Altamir could now see what Riptide fully looked like. His 'overside' scales were shades of a bluish color that was somewhere between 'Cyan', 'Teal', and 'Turquoise', lighter on his upper limbs, his wing frames, and along the sides of his torso and the base of his tale, and darker on his lower limbs, his wing membranes, on the top of his head, and along his spine as well as towards the tip of his tail. The color of his irises was a sort of dark blue that could be mistaken almost for black from a distance, and size wise, he was roughly Clay's side...a size that had him roughly in the middle of the average size range for his age of eight. He was decently strong, it seemed...a necessity for being a soldier...though Tsunami seemed to be more proportionately muscular, and one was not to get Altamir started on Clay in that regard.
As for how things were going for this 'meeting and greeting'...things were a little tense, Altamir could tell. Not only on Riptide's end, for he was meeting a group of dragonets who were not of his tribe, but also on the end of Clay, Glory, Starflight, Sunny, and even Tsunami, for Riptide was a soldier and wearing armor.
"So...these are your...your friends, Tsunami?" Riptide asked the SeaWing Princess.
"Yep." Tsunami answered. "Though, uh, given that they were the other dragonets that I was 'raised' with, for better or worse, they're admittedly kinda-sorta like...basically siblings, also for better or worse." She was eyeing Glory while saying that last bit...indeed, she and Glory did squabble like only sisters could.
"I...see that. S-Sorry, just...not used to seeing dragons of another tribe in circumstances that aren't...well..."
"Hostile? Enemy combatants?"
"Y-Yes, Altamir, that."
"Alright...and, in turn, I do apologize for these five's tension towards you...the last time they encountered soldiers of any tribe, those soldiers were under Scarlet's command...speaks for itself. I actually had to rescue them from her and her arena after she'd set upon them when they were trying to escape the so-called 'guardians' who had 'raised' them."
"Erm, yeah, what he said." Starflight nodded. "And yes, he did rescue us; he's a human animus - yes, humans have them too - and he is way more powerful than he looks."
"...well, I could tell already that he was pretty fearless." Riptide responded. "But...yes, I suppose that makes sense...though I had no idea humans could have animi as well. And...so sorry about the experiences with Scarlet...she's a really evil tyrant queen, I've heard."
"Was an evil tyrant." Glory smiled oh-so-innocently. "It turns out that our mighty little human rescuer is also the reason why the SkyWings probably also have a new queen by now, because in the process of saving our hides from Scarlet, he went and turned her head into a stain on one of the walls of her own arena. Clearly, the idea that you aren't supposed to make dragonets fight each other to the death for your own amusement was mind-blowing to her."
While a few of the other dragonets groaned at Glory's pun, Riptide seemed both surprised and impressed by this feat. "Oh! Well, uh...congratulations, Altamir!"
Altamir himself just shook his head. "It's not something I did for the accolades...I did it because I had to in order to save these dragonets here, and what's important to me is that they're alive and well, and that they're free of any chain or cage or cell." Altamir then stepped off of Tsunami, whose back he'd been on, and walked over until he was standing in front of Riptide. "So, Riptide, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but we have a bit of a...situation here."
"A situation?"
"Yes, a situation. See, Tsunami is intent on making her...grand return, meeting her mother at last, things like that...but she's also not intent on leaving these four behind, and quite honestly, they don't have anywhere else to go. Though, I'm sure you may find the issue with that readily apparent."
"I do." Riptide nodded with what was the dragon equivalent of lips pressed in a line as he looked at Clay in particular. "Is it...is that something that there's no compromising on?"
"Nope, no compromises." Tsunami shook her head. "It's either all of us or none of us."
"Which is why I'm asking," Altamir then added, "if there is any way that we can...avoid hostilities...while also not leaving them behind."
"That's...a lot to ask, I will be honest." Riptide shrugged nervously. "I in particular am already in trouble with Queen Coral as is...that's what she has me out here. If she finds I brought back a bunch of dragons from other tribes, she'll-"
"-just have to deal with it if she wants her daughter." Altamir replied bluntly. "Though...I am, again, asking if there is any way we can..."
"Maybe if they're all blindfolded...particularly him." Riptide answered. "It may not be a complete guarantee, but it might help."
"...blindfolded?" Glory questioned. "But aren't we supposed to see in order to, you know...fly?"
"If it helps, we'll do it, Glory." Altamir knew he had to be firm. "I can carry you all, remember? Let me and Tsunami worry about flying."
A few minutes later, Clay, Glory, Starflight, and Sunny were all blindfolded with what seemed to be seaweed or seaweed-like material. None of them were particularly happy to be in this state.
"Ugh...it's so cold and wet and slimy..." Glory grumbled. "...and I really prefer being able to see."
"Wet and slimy isn't a problem for me." Clay responded. "I also don't like the whole 'not seeing' thing, though."
"If it's what we must do, it's what we shall do." Altamir remained firm as he was aboard Tsunami's back. "Riptide, are you done?"
"Almost." Riptide was waving a talon in front of Clay, whose blindfold looked...less like a blindfold and more like him somehow having a very bad seaweed-hair-day. "Alright, I'm done."
"Well, then...let's get going."
So, once they were ready, Altamir took Clay, Glory, Starflight, and Sunny in his magical hold while on Tsunami's back, and she and Riptide took to the skies, the others along for the ride.
Not long after they took to the air, Altamir and Tsunami saw dolphins leaping above the surface of the water below. Pink ones, at that.
"Huh...pink dolphins." Tsunami remarked. "Never knew those existed."
"Can we eat them?" Clay, being Clay, asked.
"No." Riptide replied over his shoulder. "Queen Coral has forbidden eating them. She thinks that they may be distantly related to us."
...what? That was...that wasn't right...
"...I think your queen slept through her biology lessons as she was growing up." Altamir buried his face in his hands on Tsunami's back. "Dragons are reptiles, and winged reptiles, at that. Dolphins, technically a type of whale, are mammals, and while there are winged mammals, they're called 'bats', and dolphins are not bats, nor can they breathe fire or underwater, let alone fly. We humans are also mammals, as are lions, tigers, wolves, bears, giraffes, cows, hippos, rhinoceroses, elephants, and quite a few others. We're the ones with that 'relation'. Though, we don't eat them either, but in our case, it's because it's a common belief among my kind that if we eat or kill dolphins, we'll bring ill fortune upon ourselves."
"...you're quite knowledgeable, Altamir." Riptide gave another compliment that Altamir didn't know if he deserved.
"He's taking your position in 'smarts', Starflight." Glory teased the NightWing.
"...Glory, I don't think it's fair to compare me to him..."
Regardless, on they flew...and as they flew, Altamir's worries began to gather again.
Queen Coral not being able to tell the difference between a reptile with scales and wings and a mammal with blubber and no wings despite literally living in the sea...it could be a harmless eccentricity...or it could be an indication that she was...mad...or at the very least not the brightest scale on the wing frame. Either was bad, gods forbid both together. He hoped that it wasn't the case that Tsunami only got her intelligence from one side of her family...
...and that wasn't getting into how he'd...
...oh gods, he would have to tell her in the coming days that he'd killed her father in the sands of that arena. There was no escaping that pain. He could just see the tears rolling down her eyes when he told her that...
Mid-Morning, January 25th
Tsunami...wasn't sure what to think of Altamir's state right now. She wasn't. She really, really wasn't.
Okay, so...something had definitely happened with him after he'd spotted that scouting/infiltration party or whatever, and particularly after he'd killed that one SkyWing. He wasn't...out of it like he was before, nor was his voice as flat as it was before, and he at least seemed more sharp and focused, focused on keeping her and the others safe. On the one talon, this WAS sorta welcome, as it meant that he would be able to, without a doubt, bump off and wipe the floor with any dragon who tried attacking them...
...but on the other talon...this was also unwelcome. Yeah, Tsunami may not have been some 'wizened old sage' or whatever, and maybe she wasn't entirely on-mark here or something (wouldn't be surprised if she was at least partially wrong...she was, after all, a dragonet who wasn't even six)...but she was pretty sure that she knew what it was that was going on with Altamir, as, at least to her, it was kinda similar to what she, Clay, Glory, Starflight, and Sunny were...doing. Clay being all about food, Tsunami herself being all about being tough and strong towards and against any dragon that they either weren't familiar with or didn't trust (particularly adult dragons), Glory making sniping barbs at everyone and everything, Starflight being 'a most enlightened genius', Sunny attempting to be perpetually positive and happy...these were all things they did, for better or worse, to try and deal with things like fear, horror, pain, sadness, sorrow, disappointment, despair, just how much their situation sucked...things like that. And Altamir looked like he was doing something like that - in his case, it was hyperfocusing on protecting the five of them and keeping them safe.
Now, again, she didn't mind him protecting them, because he could wipe out an entire patrol of SkyWings by himself while they couldn't...but it was also very clear that it was his brain trying to shove all those wild, all-over-the-place emotions to the back of his little head and rely specifically on survival instinct, with only little sparks getting through. And those little sparks were not very promising, given that they showed that he was still not in a good place, and that there was still a perpetual storm cloud hanging over him. The exasperation at Queen Coral apparently not knowing biology was one thing, and the exasperation at Tsunami's own...difficulties with Aquatic (which she had to admit were pretty embarrassing) was also one thing. It was another thing to hear him basically blame himself for the Scorching by saying that it happened because he wasn't there to stop it, and therefore he failed his people and his realm.
Nevermind that he was literally dead at the time, and that there was (at least probably) no way that he could have known that it would happen, nor could he have done anything to stop it because he was, well, dead (also probably). It was like Clay thinking himself stupid and useless because of how Kestrel treated him...except even worse.
Poor Aldy. This, again, may have made her sound like Sunny, but the little guy really needed a hug badly, and Tsunami wished more than ever that she could give him one without him trying to push her away (as he probably would if she did try).
Speaking of storm clouds...right, there was where they were right now. They knew that they were probably not going to get to the palace before the end of yesterday anyways because the time of year meant less daylight, and night would fall before they got there, and they weren't going to be flying in the dark, but they nonetheless only ended up flying for about two or three hours after they met Riptide before they had to settle in for the night in another island cave because a storm blew in where they were flying, and they didn't want to get blown out of the skies or get struck by lightning.
That night, Tsunami, during the thunder and rain outside, had tried to ask Altamir to join them (or at least one of them) while they were sleeping...but Altamir had been seemingly insistent on sleeping by himself in a different part of the cave...as if he felt that he didn't deserve their care and concern because of how he had 'failed the realm'. It took Sunny giving him the most pleading-est pleading eyes (and Clay and Tsunami doing their best to copy her at the same time) for him to relent and join them.
Yeah, she really didn't want him sleeping by himself. Not just because he needed all the company he could get, given his state of mind, but also because Tsunami was worried that he would...do something to himself if he had a bad enough nightmare and he didn't wake up in their embrace.
Nonetheless, they were all up the next morning - and while he did indeed have one, he found himself waking up in Tsunami's forelimbs (yes, she was the one doing it this time rather than Sunny, with Clay lending his wing for covers over the two of them), so Tsunami just held him close until he cooled down - and when they were ready, they were off again, with Clay, Glory, Starflight, and Sunny being blindfolded by Riptide, and magically carried by Altamir, once more (to their displeasure).
Apparently, they were currently almost there to the palace. Tsunami was anxious to meet her mother at long last...though she was worried what kind of overall reception there would be, given the presence of her friends (who were very much NOT SeaWings).
"So...Tsunami...er, your majesty?"
"Call me 'your majesty' when we get there, but...yeah, Riptide?" Also currently, she and Riptide were...talking. Mainly to pass the time until they got there, but also because Tsunami wanted to know what kind of dragonet Riptide was.
"The SeaWing who stole you when you were an egg...was his name 'Webs'?"
"Webs? Yeah, that was him. What do you know about him?" Okay, to scratch an 'itch' that bothered her about him...she had to admit that yes, Riptide was a dragonet that she found to be...pretty good looking, maybe even talonsome. But...well, she may have been new to this whole idea of 'romance' or 'romantic love' or whatever, but she knew better than to fall head over tails for someone before knowing that that someone could be trusted, and she DID literally basically just meet him. Granted, so far, so good, and he did seem to be trustworthy and genuine (or, at the very least, not slimy), but...well, one never knew.
Riptide looked off to the side, awkwardness present in his posture, before answering. "Well, I mean, he's pretty infamous in our tribe; he deserted during a battle, and then later he came back and stole one of the queen's eggs. Granted, it was more that she was sure that he was the one who did it, but...well, you just confirmed it. That, and you also confirmed the rumors that he was one of the Talons of Peace, and/or that he did it 'for the sake of the prophecy'."
"Well, I mean, it's a 'yes' on both." Tsunami shrugged. "Though, we'd rather you not tell anyone about us being the 'Dragonets of Destiny'...we're not really excited about 'being part of the prophecy', especially since Webs and those other 'guardians' didn't at all treat us well. That, and before you asked about Glory being there when there's supposed to be a SkyWing...we know. It's...complicated."
"Erm...of course, Tsunami." Alright, so he was willing to keep a promise. Good...
...though, for some reason, whenever she looked at Riptide, she was...reminded of Webs. At first, she didn't know why...but then she started noticing and noting similarities between them when it came to appearance and body shape.
Wait...was there the chance that she was possibly looking at...Web's son? Or, at least, a relative, like a nephew?
She decided to throw a question at him to see how he reacted. "Okay...uh, so, this might sound weird, Riptide, but...do you know Webs? Or...did you, anyways? As in, did you yourself?"
This question, tellingly, sent Riptide for a bit of a loop, and he broke his gaze and went quiet for a moment before responding. "Um...no, not really. I mean, the time when he went and stole your egg was when I wasn't even two years old. I just turned eight earlier this month, for reference. Though, I HAVE been hearing about his betrayal pretty often."
...yeah, he kinda sorta sounded like he was lying about not knowing him. Though to be fair, he might have been lying about not knowing him because...well, who would want to be known for being related to the dragon who stole your queen's egg? It sounded like he might have been lying like this because he was too ashamed of Web's actions to admit to being related to him, if he was indeed related. So, in that case, it wasn't the shifty sort of lie, she didn't think...
...no point in holding it against him, then. "Okay, whatever. Just asking. Anyways...we're getting close to the palace, aren't we?"
"Yeah, we are. Uh, also, you and your friends are going to have to call Blister as 'Queen Blister' when you get there."
Altamir huffed through his teeth from Tsunami's back. "We'll call her as such when she can prove she's a good one. Until then, and given that she isn't ruling over any SandWings, it's either 'Queen Claimant Blister' or just 'Blister'."
Riptide looked like he was trying not to smile.
A little bit later, she, Riptide, and Altamir had to stop, and Altamir had to 'leave hanging' the other four so that the three of them could go ahead. As for why...it was because of what they were now facing in front of him. Namely, they were facing a group of fifteen soldiers/guards...led by none other than Shark. She recognized his description from the tale.
"Rrrrrriptide." Shark growled, the light markings on his wings so similar to Tsunami's own standing out against his grayish-dark green scales and indicating his own relation to Queen Coral. "What have you dragged in this time?"
"The lost princess of the SeaWings, that's who." Riptide answered, looking Shark straight in the eye. "I found her, Commander Shark."
There was a ripple of shock among the other guards/soldiers...but Shark?
Shark scoffed, his eyes looking Tsunami over from wingtip to wingtip. "Really now? You, Riptide, of all dragons? What an unusual coincidence."
Tsunami badly wanted to wipe that scoffing arrogance off Shark's face, uncle or not. "You think he's lying, Commander Smug? For one thing, it really was Webs who stole my egg. For another, take a look at these." Then Tsunami leaned back and hovered in a way that showed off her wing patterns to all of the dragons, and she heard gasps from them. "These are the same patterns as yours, and you're the Queen's brother."
Shark was silent for a bit, and then grumbled in acknowledgement. "Hmph...yes, they're the same."
"I will say that it wouldn't be good form for the Queen to be denied reuniting with her daughter by her brother." Riptide remarked, then.
"Indeed." Tsunami agreed. "Then again, I heard that they lose a lot of eggs...maybe whoever's in charge of palace defense isn't very good at their job." Then, she looked at Shark. "Oh wait, that's you, isn't it?"
Though, she then noticed that Shark wasn't paying attention to her, and was instead looking behind her. Tsunami didn't take long to realize, though by the time she did...
...Shark then said something that he definitely shouldn't have.
"Very well, then, kill them and bring-"
*FWWWWOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHH!*
Definitely shouldn't have, because a silent but clearly very, very, very unamused Altamir had suddenly...appeared in front of Tsunami and Riptide (as in, one moment, he wasn't there, and then another moment, he was) and was now hovering while wreathed in flames and pointing a long, burning blade at Shark's heart.
"Whoa!"
"Wah!"
"What the-?!"
"What in-?!"
"How did-?!"
The other dragons were pretty startled and scared by this (to be fair, who could blame them), and even Shark reeled back and seemed...intimidated, actually, with that arrogance indeed wiped off his face. Though, Tsunami and Riptide themselves also reeled back a bit, startled by this too, with Tsunami wondering what was going on for a second...
...before she then started putting it together. Shark looking behind her at that...he'd seen Clay, Glory, Starflight, and Sunny, and had clearly intended for them to be killed so that only she could be brought. Altamir, who'd done the whole 'turning himself invisible' thing again and was silently on Tsunami's back, had picked up on that and taken great offense.
Given what Altamir was capable of, Tsunami didn't exactly envy his position. But either way...she had the perfect opportunity to be a princess her way and take control of the situation.
"Oh, I'm sorry about that, Shark," Tsunami apologized sarcastically, "did he break your concentration? I didn't mean for him to do that. Please, continue. You were saying something about...murdering my retainers, weren't you?"
"I...I..." It was quite the sight to see Shark genuinely speechless. "...what?"
"What's the matter?" That was something Tsunami took advantage of. "Oh, you were finished? Well then! Allow me to retort...do you know who this is, Shark? His name is Altamir. And he is not a 'scavenger', but a human. An animus human, to be exact - yes, they have them too, and while they're way rarer, they're also way more powerful than even dragon animi. And this one doesn't look like he's too pleased with you right now."
"G...Get him to...put that thing away." While he did seem like he was trying to hide it and still look dignified, Shark looked legitimately terrified at the mention of Altamir being an animus. "Princess..."
"Oh, so now you address me as that!" Tsunami crossed her front limbs like Altamir himself did a few times. "Though, I can't exactly make him put the thing away - he's way stronger than me despite me being bigger than him." Then, she tilted her head with a slightly raised eyebrow. "I can ask him to put it away, however, and in that case, he should indeed listen to me...but I should also mention that Altamir here has made a vow to me and my retainers there that he would protect all of us from any threat that would come our way. He's very intent on keeping that vow, and by 'any threat', it also potentially includes you and your buddies if you don't back down, and only my retainers and I would be able to have him not do that by asking him to not do that. Besides, it's like Riptide said; you wouldn't want to deny your Queen meeting her daughter again, would you?"
Shark hovered there for a bit, clearly divided between standing his ground or doing the smart thing and backing down.
Then, Altamir finally said something. And he said it in a growl of his own, not much louder than his normal speaking voice, but still deeper than Shark's, and with a level of intensity that was bone-chilling and very clearly implied what would happen if Shark and his fellow guards and soldiers and whatnot didn't move it.
"Go ahead. Make my day."
Having that told to him was clearly the breaking point for Shark. And he gave in.
By the gods...Altamir had no time for hassles. And yet...they came.
Oh well...at least the one with Shark was over, and now they were in the palace at long last. It certainly was a hidden one - Altamir had to admit the ingenuity of hiding it inside an island, concealing it under a thick canopy that looked nearly impossible to fly through or even see through under normal circumstances, if at all. Towering cliffs surrounded the palace on all sides, caves dotting those cliffs (perhaps to be used as living quarters by dragons) and several waterfalls spraying from other holes in the cliffs and bursting into spray as they hit the water of the lake that the palace rose from and above. The structure itself was akin to a twelve-floored pavilion with spiraling pillars around it; the top floor had the smallest circumference, and each 'succeeding' floor, in descending order, was wider than the one above it until one got to the lowest floor, which was the widest. This was something that could conceivably be considered a wonder of the world.
As for where they were, they were currently in the air around the twelve-floored pavilion structure, with Riptide telling them about what each floor's purpose was. Again, a fairly...imaginative structure. Though...Altamir did wonder what they did with regards to earthquakes or nearby volcanic eruptions or...well, what Tsunami was named after. To another dragon observing them, only Tsunami and Riptide would be visible; Altamir had turned himself such to all but Tsunami, Riptide, and the other dragonets again, while Clay, Glory, Starflight, and Sunny, who were no longer blindfolded and were silently flying close behind Tsunami, had also been made invisible by Altamir to anyone not Altamir, Tsunami, or Riptide. He knew that expecting a grand entrance would likely be wishful thinking, and so he wanted to keep things low key.
"So, which level is for missing princesses?" Tsunami asked Riptide in a slightly dry tone.
"That would probably be the top pavilion." Riptide answered. "It's for new visitors...given the war, we rarely ever have those. Queen Blister was the last...wait, no, actually, that was the NightWing."
"'The NightWing'?" Altamir asked himself. "What do you know of him?"
"Not much." Riptide shrugged as they then went towards the top level. "He only spoke with Queen Blister and Her Majesty. He was wanting to fly out through the canopy, but they wouldn't let him because they didn't want him to ruin the palace's 'hidden-ness'. He was really big, and he seemed rather bad tempered."
"I will say that that sounds like a certain someone." Tsunami replied. Altamir didn't know exactly who she was talking about, but for some reason, it sounded like she was talking about Morrowseer.
Morrowseer...one of the dragons who made these dragonets' lives a living hell for the first nearly six years of their lives...Altamir's vision went briefly red at the thought of him. He was going to kill that dragon one day...for the sake of the dragonets, he had to.
So, they landed on that top level. Once they did, Riptide looked off to the side, and then shook his head.
"I still can't believe that I saw two things today; first, someone talks back to Shark, and then someone scares the life out of him. I have never seen anyone do the former aside from Queen Coral and Queen Blister...and I have NEVER seen anyone able to do the latter."
Tsunami chuckled at Riptide's remark. "I mean, you did the first one too, but...pffft, he deserves it. Stupid arrogant blowfish-brain...he needs to go sit in a cave and grow seaweed or something. Maybe it'll clear his head out."
Riptide coughed to apparently hide a laugh. "If it weren't for Altamir being here, I'd say you're crazy."
Tsunami snorted. "Not as crazy as Shark was to try and pick a fight with someone who took out about forty SkyWings without any help in...ten to fifteen seconds tops; he and his pals only numbered fifteen so...they'd probably last about four to six seconds at most."
"Wow...uh...yeah, okay, fair enough, Shark's the crazy one then."
As the two SeaWing dragonets shared a laugh, and the other four dragonets started quietly marveling at the scenery around them, Altamir wasn't sure what to think of those two regarding his feats this way. He knew many found them impressive, but...these were things he did not feel the same way about. Intimidation was a tool, a means to an end...and one he did not like resorting to, even now. Neither did he like having to resort to killing dragons, despite often having to, much like with intimidation. He was doing such things for the purpose of keeping the dragonets safe. Not for the accolades, not because there was anything glorious about what he was having to do. If anything...sure, perhaps Shark was arrogant, but he could have simply been a hard dragon shaped by hard times who was just doing his job in his mind. Or perhaps some mix of both...
As he was thinking of this, though, he noticed two thrones. One a grand-looking throne that one side of the top floor rose into, studded with emeralds and sapphires, and ran through with golden lines in the shape of waves. Beside it was a smaller throne that nonetheless seemed made to otherwise look at least a great deal like the larger one.
He did wonder what the purpose of the second throne was. Was it meant to be for Coral's...missing daughter? It seemed too small to be a throne for a...
...no, no, no, don't think about that! Not right now! Not right now! Gods damn it, think of something else...!
"Huh? Uh...Aldy?" Under him, Tsunami must have felt his grip tightening on the scales beneath his hands. "Something wrong?"
"...I..." Altamir tried to think of something. "...it can...wait for later. Erm...we should probably wait for Queen Coral to return. She might be here any minute."
"Oh, yeah, right." Tsunami nodded. "Though, whatever it is, I hope it doesn't wait forever."
"Hm?"
"Eh, it's just Altamir having little moments." Tsunami, at Riptide's confusion, apparently dismissed him on it. "He's had better in life, to put it this way."
Riptide seemed to get the message. "Um...alright then. I suppose we definitely should focus on her majesty returning, then."
"Right." Then, Tsunami turned to the other dragonets and got their attention. "Okay, guys, I want you to stay near the smaller one of those two thrones...though don't sit in it or the bigger one. I'll draw her attention so that she doesn't accidentally land on any of you, since she can't see you right now. Oh, and when we get to when you guys can talk to her, address her as 'your majesty', okay? Oh, and make sure to call Altamir 'Altamir' when you're in front of her, because formal stuff."
"Okay, got it, Tsunami." Clay nodded, and he, Glory, Starflight, and Sunny did as Tsunami asked her.
Then, Tsunami turned her head back to Altamir himself, talking a fair bit more quietly so that only he could hear her. "Aldy, make sure to introduce yourself to her and explain why the others are here too, so that she doesn't get the wrong idea or whatever as to why they're here. Try and see if there's anything we can do to make sure the other SeaWings don't get the wrong idea either."
"Of course, Tsunami." Altamir nodded himself, impressed by how well Tsunami could lead. She truly was akin to Sorkhagtani the Younger...as if she was his old SeaWing companion's second coming...
...oh, how he missed her. Of course, at that, he missed all of his old companions. He knew not to conflate these five dragonets with those five among them, but...he couldn't help that sort of 'nail' that stuck itself within when one of these five reminded him of them in some way.
Though...he wasn't sure how those companions would exactly approve of him having let Pyrrhia go to ruin by way of dying.
Regardless, however, about a minute after Tsunami told him what she told him, he heard quite the stirring below, and he and Tsunami ran to the edge and looked down to see what it was.
Or rather, who it was...for the source was a certain very large SeaWing, scales and wing membranes colored and markinged in such a way that made her look so much like Tsunami, wearing strings of pearls that clearly indicated her status, and whom all the other SeaWings in sight were bowing at the sight of. The odd black stains on her front talons did catch his eye, as did that white horn sharpened to a point that was attached to her tail...
...but what grabbed his attention particularly hard was the sight of a far smaller dragonet, colored light blue and light pink and perhaps one or two years old, flapping her wings frantically trying to keep up, and wearing a harness that was attached by a long cord of something to the harness that the much larger dragon wore.
Altamir knew who it was. He knew very, very, very well.
"Uh...who's that little dragonet?" Tsunami meanwhile, confused by the sight of the dragonet, asked Riptide.
"That's Princess Anemone." Riptide answered. "Your little sister."
"...oh." Tsunami seemed surprised...and then a little worried. "Okay..."
Altamir knew it was time to get off of Tsunami's back. "...go and meet your mother and little sister. I'll wait nearby."
Altamir then quickly got off Tsunami, who seemed to be forming the beginnings of a protest before stopping herself, and dashed several paces to his left, until he was waiting near the right side of the larger throne, not too far from where the other dragonets were hiding to the left side of the smaller throne, as he watched Coral approach.
While he had his worries about what kind of dragon Coral would be, he would be lying to himself if he were to ignore how on-a-cloud she looked as she approached. Alright, perhaps this meant that she'd been in a good-enough mood for Altamir to talk her down from reacting with hostility towards the other four dragonets.
"My baby!" This was a hope that was treacherously raised as Coral landed and was soon running towards Tsunami (who, by that time, had moved away from the edge and more towards the center of the pavilion)...
"M-Mother?!"
...and enveloped her in quite the embrace with both her wings and front limbs. "I...I knew you'd come back to me. I knew you were out there, trying to find your way back. I n-never stopped looking for you."
And then, just as his hopes were finally up for once on something, the alarm bells started ringing as he heard a tiny voice. Altamir's attention was drawn to the smaller SeaWing dragonet...and Coral's own tail that had that horn on it.
"Ow..." Anemone, if that was her, groaned. "That was too fast, mother, you pulled me too hard...I think I hurt my talon."
Coral looked behind her and, to her credit, did look a bit mortified. "Oh! I'm...I'm so sorry, sweetheart..."
But it was already enough to set in motion a certain side of Altamir's. "Oh, gods...now I know where Tsunami got her recklessness from! But this is worse...you can't expect a two year old dragonet to keep up with a fully-grown adult in flight! And...gods, that horn at the end of her tail! What if Coral accidentally yanked her into it...?!"
Altamir then began walking towards the three SeaWings as Coral licked whatever wounds she unintentionally (but dangerously recklessly) caused on Anemone. He didn't make a sound (to the best of his ability), and he didn't want to introduce himself to Coral until the time was right, but he knew it would be soon.
Meanwhile, Coral was introducing the two sisters to each other. "Look, darling, this is your sister. The one I told you was stolen four years before you hatched."
"Uh...hi there." Tsunami introduced herself to the younger SeaWing. "I'm Tsunami."
"Tsunami?" Coral remarked upon hearing Tsunami's name, Altamir then noticing the sudden, dark change in her demeanor. "A good name. Webs did one thing right." And then the change became more pronounced. "Speaking of him...where is he? I've been planning his punishment for years now. It won't be a quick death."
Altamir then noticed that, while talking about Webs...Coral was looking at Riptide. And it was not a friendly look. This set off more alarm bells within him. "Oh, gods, don't tell me she's one of those types..."
Right then and there, Altamir made his decision, and revealed himself. And immediately when he saw that he was visible to Coral and Anemone by their startled faces and wide eyes, he began talking.
"Oh, I know, your majesty, and I'm sure it won't...unfortunately, it's hard to give him such a thing when he's nowhere to be found - your daughter hasn't seen him in some time, and I haven't seen him at all. How can you kill someone if you don't know where they are?"
Coral and Anemone both had their mouths slowly fall open in clear shock, Altamir now familiar with this "oh gods, the 'scavenger' can talk" sort of reaction as he saw Coral then turning her head straight at him rather than looking at him from the side, and pointing at him, opening and closing her mouth a few times as if to try and say something, but unable to say anything at all...and then looking at Tsunami.
"You yourself said we needed to do this, Tsunami." Altamir thought as he saw Tsunami now looking very nervous, with a slightly scared grin spreading across her face. "Here goes nothing."
Ugh...okay, so this chapter didn't take QUITE as long as last time (28 days vs the previous chapter's 45), but still longer than I would have wanted it to. Writer's block is still a problem, clearly.
Yeah...Altamir finding out about the Scorching/Great Perdition was never not going to be messy. A thousand years of hard work building the best Pyrrhia possible, and all the sacrifices he made to do it...all ruined by some crazy NightWing Animus. He's not doing too good. This is going to take some serious time and effort for him to work through and process it, that's for sure. I tried to make it obvious that he was clearly affected by this while showing that he's basically in "survival mode/heroic safe mode" right now.
Alright...short rant here, but I while don't think Tui's a BAD writer, there's that first post-prologue scene in Book 2 where Tsunami gets ragged on by her friends just for trying to protect them all from a SkyWing...and it's a scene that I find seriously irritating because of just how stupid it is, and how absurd the other dragonets are being in it. It's the definition of "conflict ball"; in PARTICULAR, Glory is being seriously O.O.C. (or at least being a giant hypocrite) in that scene, with her acting like Tsunami's committing some great evil just for taking down an enemy SkyWing that quite clearly was trying to call for backup and then wanting to kill him while he was vulnerable to make sure he didn't get away, and saying that she "doesn't kill dragons who can't fight back". Nevermind that Glory herself, by that point, had literally spit venom in the face of two different dragons when they weren't looking, and had killed one and deformed the other for life.
It would have made FAR more sense if those other dragonets had instead acknowledged up front that they couldn't let this enemy dragon get away because he'd call reinforcements if he did get away, and that they couldn't risk getting captured/killed again, and if they'd instead gotten on Tsunami's case for being reckless and impulsive enough to take on a full grown SkyWing by herself. Which is basically why I did the scene the way I did (adding in that bit from the graphic novel's version of the book of Crocodile's conversation with the soldiers as they're going by)...and I've been planning on doing the scene differently like this for quite a while.
On a lighter note, Altamir and Tsunami meet Riptide...and the three of them find the hard way that Tsunami REALLY needs to work on her Aquatic. But nonetheless, it looks like schemings and plannings abound. Seems like Altamir and Tsunami have a plan to make sure the others don't get imprisoned or killed.
Yes, I added in that little "Pulp Fiction" shout-out when Tsunami encounters Shark, because I thought it would fit this version of that scene, and also because I can. And I did always figure that the SeaWings would be pretty weary in particular about Animus Magic after the Royal SeaWing Massacre...particularly the royals themselves. Also, guess where Altamir's short statement to Shark there comes from.
And now Altamir meets Coral. Let's see if Coral's better than Scarlet...and by how much.
Well...I'll see you all next chapter. Hopefully I can get it out faster than this one.