I have a lot of problems with "The dangerous gift" but having Crystal show up for a chapter only to be a plot point and not even a real character was the most insulting.
It had been so long since Icicle had last used her wings for flight. Lynx and Snowfall cringed as she spread them out before they took flight and the bones made loud cracking sounds. But she loved it. Not just the image of the two Icewings disagreeing with what she did (Though she did enjoy that quite a bit) but the feeling of power.
Without her wings, how could she even call herself a dragon? But now that she could truly fly again, she was ready to feel the air and take flight. If she didn't almost tumble into one of the many shop vendors below the castle. Apparently, she had to get used to flying again and it was AWFUL! The wind just DIDN'T obey her! Was it always this difficult to flap your wings and stay in a similar flight pattern with others?
On more than one occasion, Lynx would call out to Icicle and remind her that she was drifting in the wrong direction. After a few hours of this, Lynx would fly close to Icicle, just out of earshot from Snowfall. "Don't forget, you are supposed to be the Queen's body guard. Buuuut that doesn't mean you can't look around a little bit." Lynx had told Icicle that morning that the only way she would be allowed in Sanctuary was if she had a reason to be there, Snowfall said she was her new body guard and that she had to stick to that.
Kind of ironic given that Icicle was supposed to be Queen. But honestly, she was beginning to question whether that was her goal to begin with…
"Sanctuary, in coming!" Lynx yelled in a mock attempt at being some kind of tour guide. "Please leave all signs of sarcasm and unkind thoughts at the river we just passed!" At first Icicle thought Lynx was referring to her but judging by Snowfall's snort of indignance, she wasn't alone.
Finally, they reached what looked like Sanctuary. There were trees of all shapes and sizes around the enclosure making it seem like a fence of some kind and bushes marked different sections for the village. They landed by two great oaks that were the largest trees Icicle had ever seen. There were names carved in each one but she couldn't tell why. On top was a pair of wings, one per tree. The left one had Skywing, Mudwing and Sandwing features mixed together while the right had Icewing, Nightwing, Rainwing and Seawing features.
Snowfall noticed Icicle staring at it and she raised a wing to point to them. "Curiosity and teamwork." She waited for Icicle to say something but she got no answer in return. "That's the name of the wings. The symbol of Sanctuary. A little odd if you ask me."
Lynx stuck out her tongue. "Says you. I think it's cute." Icicle saw it as lame. But saying that probably wouldn't net her any positive interactions in Sanctuary.
A lone Seawing came over to the trio and bowed respectfully to Snowfall. "Your majesty. Welcome back. Winter told me to expect your arrival." He looked over to Lynx and smiled, a knowing look passing between them. "Lynx. I'm sure Sunny will be happy to hear that you are here as well." Icicle saw something flash in Lynx's eyes before she cleared her throat and thanked the Seawing who turned to Icicle with a questioning look. "And…you are?"
The old Icicle would have yelled at him for not knowing ANYthing about Icewing royalty. The NEW Icicle only wanted to claw his face. A step up in her book. "My name is Icicle." She said cooly, letting her fangs show a little. "I'm Snowfall's bodyguard."
Lynx wasn't able to say "Queen" before the Seawing shrugged. "Alright. You three can follow me to the gathering area." Lynx nudged Icicle and shot her…well a 'dirty look' doesn't really describe it since Icicle wasn't sure Lynx was even capable of doing that but it was close enough.
Inside the camp was probably the strangest thing icicle had ever seen. Even more so than the school she was forced to attend or the Rainforest kingdom that housed two different tribes. Sanctuary was simply an odd place. Instead of full on buildings to live in, they had large tents with colors that matched the dragon's scales. (Though most had two different patterns) There was burnt grass with gray slabs on top of it to form roads from tent to tent. Across from the housing area was a playground with trees from every tribe.
But the oddest part was how many different dragons were standing together and just talking. As if they shouldn't be separated in their own tribes. "Because most of the dragons here are either traitors or could never belong anywhere." She knew most Talons of peace members had moved here and some dragons with deformities that made them stand out among their own tribes. And yet this was where her brothers had chosen to call home. Out of any place in the world, they chose a den of liars and coward-
"Miss? Are you from the school?" A small Seawing looked up at her, the little one's eyes having a furious passion despite her calm voice. Except she wasn't quite a Seawing. Her wings were as large as a young Skywing but she had gills and her tail was much heavier than what it should be.
Icicle heard Snowfall snicker. "She used to be. But now she works for me." The Queen motioned for the small dragonet to move along. "No need to bother the grumpy Icewing."
Lynx and Icicle followed behind Snowfall and the Seawing as they walked further through Sanctuary. Icicle got a better look of the playground and saw a couple of strange looking dragonets. Two were helping build some kind of castle out of sand and Icicle couldn't see the appeal. Sand was coarse and rough and got all over your claws. Why would you PLAY with it?
Past the playground and housing tents was a massive round platform with pillars constructed out of rocks. It seemed like a gathering place of some kind with how the spaces were marked off as if telling you where to sit. The Seawing took them past the pillars and near the front where a raised platform was set up with two large drums on either side and a wooden structure with metal pipes dangling from string in the center.
Icicle felt her body clench up as she saw two Icewings behind the drums. They both looked up and Winter jumped forward to meet Lynx and Snowfall while Hailstorm bowed from behind before following his brother. "Queen Snowfall. Glad you could make it. And you a-" He was halted, as if an iron muzzle was locked around his snout.
The two locked eyes. Icicle thought when she first saw her brothers, she'd have a LOT to say. Bursts of rage at them never going to see her. Smug retorts about how she didn't need them. But all she got was a throat without a tongue to speak with. The last time she saw Winter was at that horrible island when she was at her weakest.
"I'm not weak. Not anymore. That was just a moment." She thought to herself. "Say something! Say hi, or hello, or what's up?" Icicle didn't let her body move an inch in stark contrast to Winter opening and closing his mouth in hopes to string together a sentence of some kind after seeing someone he didn't expect. "Um…hey?"
Icicle wanted to slap herself for how lame that sounded. Luckily she was saved by Snowfall clearing her throat and drawing everyone's attention. "How about you two show me that Icewing tent you told me about? I didn't come all this way so I could stare at some open mouths."
"Oh! Yeah, let's go." Hailstorm hopped off of the drums and waved the group forward while avoiding Icicle's gaze.
The six dragons walked down the road until they reached what looked like an oversized jungle gym. It had trees with oddly shaped limbs stretching out and ropes tied around them to make for multiple paths to the top where a red flag was placed. Past the gym was a large pyramid of solid ice.
The pyramid was big enough to fit three dragons. It had a walrus tusk sticking out just on the top of the entrance. It looked like something Hailstorm would make if he was able to. "Guess he was able to." She thought. It didn't look like a structure that would ever be approved in the Ice kingdom. Or at least not before Snowfall took over. Hailstorm walked over towards the entrance and grinned at the group. "So, I'll show my super important cousin and Winter then Lynx an-"
"Actually, Queen Snowfall and I are super hungry after that long flight. Maybe Icicle and Winter could see it first then we'll see it after?" Lynx didn't look super happy with herself after Hailstorms wings fell in disappointment. Whether that was from the two Icewings not wanting to go in yet or that he and Winter would be alone with Icicle was up for debate. "Right, your majesty?"
Snowfall was too busy staring at the young dragonets playing in the gym to realize what she was beng asked. "Oh! Yeah, that. Totally."
And she was promptly dragged off by Lynx. "Hey Riptide? Mind taking us to the dining hall? Winter said you guys redesigned it!" She said cheerfully and the Seawing followed, saying something about how they added an art board of some kind.
Now Icicle really WAS alone with her brothers. She could practically hear the bugs crawling across the floor from how silent everyone was. They did not look like the portraits that had been taunting her. For one, Winter looked way less one edge than he usually did. (Well ok he DID look a little on edge but that was probably because the last time he saw Icicle, she was burning her scales to stay awake) and Hailstorm…every now and then he would jerk one of his claws, checking to see as if it was still attached.
It was Winter who broke the silence first. "So uh…want to show…us? The house, I mean?" It was good to know that confident speaking still wasn't one of his strong suits.
"Oh, right. Yeah, follow me." The eldest of the three led them inside with Winter right behind him and Icicle trailing a bit further back. She struggled to walk forward, knowing that when she entered she would be stuck with the two people she was supposed to be here to see. Icicle just didn't think she'd have to see them so soon.
The pyramid was just a giant glorified tent. Inside were chests of ice that held meat to keep it good. There was a single bed and cabinets beside it. Hanging from the cealing were the moonglow orbs, four to be precise, and they illuminated the room. Hailstorm grinned at Winter and turned to Icicle before looking away and rushing to the cabinet. "Oh! And Queen Glory was experimenting with those Moonglow orbs and found that if you-" He pulled out a carved out, pink fruit, It was spikey and looked more threatening then dragon fangs. "Put this around them…" he took one of the orbs in his claws and put the fruit around it, making the light a bright pink. "It changes color!"
Winter flew up and tapped the orb, making it shimmer. "Woah, that is pretty cool. Can you do it with different colors or just pink?"
Icicle didn't see the appeal. Pink was a horrid color that had no place in the world. Why her own brother would want to have it as an option felt oddly terrifying.
Hailstorm turned to Icicle before holding his breath. He looked curious and worried like she was going to smash the orb without a second thought. "They are expecting you to say something. So stop thinking and say something!" "Pink is a weird color." The two stared at her as she returned an emotionless gaze back. Hiding the mental kicking she was doing against herself.
"I like it. But I think purple would be better." Winter muttered, giving Hailstorm a small smile before trying to avoid looking at Icicle.
"Ok, try again. Say something positive." She narrowed her eyes at the walls. Instead of looking like bricks, they had been shaped so they were a single slope going down. "What's up with no windows? I thought you liked light." She was trying to recall her distant memories of Hailstorm. She found that she didn't have many of them.
Hailstorm looked around the pyramid and bit his lip. "Might have forgotten about that. But moonglows are better." He said, trying to reassure himself.
Winter said something about Hailstorm's lack of long term planning and Hailstrom responding with trying to justify it as "Not being himself for a few years" which made Winter hesitant to laugh until Hailstrom did so. The eldest of the three turned to look at Icicle. His eyes were distant and lost as if he wasn't sure they were his own. She figured he was scanning her for a trace of the old Icewing sister he once knew. "Um, how's mother? I-is she well?"
He knew immediately that he asked the wrong question. Icicle's claws dug into the ice below her as a small, barely audible groan escaped through her gritted teeth. "She stopped visiting two years ago." She said simply. How did she only just see the portrait of her mother in the corner of the room?
Winter looked from Hailstorm to Icicle, his mind trying to find a way to keep this conversation from ending with Icicle sinking her claws into her brother. Not that he was sure she would do that, but he didn't want to rule it out. "I-um, It's good to see you, Icicle. I mean, here in Sanctuary."
"If you really wanted to see me, you could have visited. Then I could have yelled at you without this STUPID DARK FEELING IN MY CHEST!" She wanted to scream at him right now, actually. But just thinking about it made the hole in her chest widen. She wished the fire would come back. Molten hot rage was simple to understand. It was a feeling she already knew. Icicle had no idea what THIS feeling was. "Yeah."
Not the greatest response but anything more would release a flood of emotions she didn't want to share. Especially not with her brothers. "Well, do you like it? It uh…it's very different from the ice kingdom."
Different was a nice way of putting it. She figured calling it a den of traitors wouldn't sit well with her formerly banished and formerly believed-dead brothers. She tried to think of something she liked about the place so she didn't have so many negative thoughts. "The natural barriers seem cool. Easy to defend and launch counter attacks from." Really, she didn't like the trees. But they seemed easier to keep up with than a wall.
Winter gave Hailstorm a nervous look while the older Icewing flapped his wings. "Luckily we don't really need them for that." He said reassuringly. "They're mostly for decoration."
"Oh, guess that's cool too." She said without much emotion in her voice.
Icicle really wanted this painful conversation to end. She hated this twisting feeling that made her stomach spin. It felt like she did something wrong but couldn't think of what. Winter still seemed unsure of how to approach his sister. Luckily, Hailstorm's stomach gave him something to talk about. "Hey, you two want to get some lunch? You can take Lynx and cousin Snowfall back here afterwards."
"If Lynx isn't still talking with Sunny that is. But sure, let's go." The two looked at Icicle and waited for her response.
It was pretty obvious how they were hoping the other would know how to talk to her. Of course, neither of them did. This left Icicle with an awful image of her parents portrait smugly laughing as she couldn't stand the thought of eating right now. Especially with Winter and Hailstorm. "I need something for my head. Does this place have something for that?" She knew they wouldn't have a healing spring or anything of the sort but she figured they could at least have medicine.
Winter nodded rather slowly. "It's the biggest tent in the commune. There are two really sweet Rainwings who can help with anything."
Icicle nodded and as she left, a heavy weight was lifted from her stomach. Though the Icewing had no intention of going to the commune at all. She just needed a while to herself. Or at least away from her brothers.
Sanctuary didn't really have anything that fit Icicle's style. Almost everything was some combination of different tribes which clashed horribly. It needed more ice and snow. She made her way down the path until there was a fork which led to either the commune or something called "The show stage" and she found herself walking towards it.
The show stage was a massive platform with two pillars that had two large pieces of purple cloth attached to both connected on a single line. It seemed like a third of the stage was hidden behind the curtain and the oddly shaped rock formation behind it made Icicle wonder what was behind it.
"Icicle?" A confused and interested voice asked behind her. She turned and opened her mouth to tell the dragon that they should quit bothering her before coming face to face with a very familiar dragon. "Oh Moons, it is you!"
Crystal looked way too similar to her mother which brought up memories of Narwhal and Tundra's training. Though Crystal seemed more happy in this one moment then Icicle had ever seen. "Uh, hey cousin Crystal. Long time no see." She really wished something could slap her for how lame she sounded. "Act interested! She's the only relative that may not hate you! Wait, why do I care about that?" She thought angrily. "I don't. That's what."
"You've grown since the last time we talked." She walked around Icicle before standing in front of her. "You and Winter make it way more difficult to tell you two are twins."
"I hatched first." Icicle growled lightly before shutting her mouth.
Crystal only laughed before flicking her tail at the curtains. "You seemed interested. Want to see what's behind it?"
She very much did, but that wouldn't sound like her. Icicle pretend-didn't like shows that weren't arena focused. Hailstorm would take Winter to the stupid plays every now and then to which Tundra would scold them for partaking in lower circle activities. Then she'd have to listen to Winter recounting the events while she was reading. "I don't think we have permission. Even a place like this has to have some rule against breaking into areas like this."
Her cousin did not seem phased by this. She simply walked over and lifted the curtain open a bit, revealing a small enclosure behind it. "You might not, but if one of us was in a very special relationship with the Mudwing that petitioned for this to be built, then we might be able to."
It took every bit of Icicle's will to NOT visibly flinch in retaliation from Crystal's words. "You-Mud-ah-what?!" She had to bite her tongue really hard to regain her composure. Maybe she misheard Crystal. "Um, oh yeah…that sounds…nice."
Crystal just nodded and let Icicle head in. "Has my sister not told you? Of course she wouldn't. Snowfall is a loveless hater of romance." She sighed dramatically. "Then again, I don't remember you being much better given how many dances you attended alone."
Icicle wasn't willing to admit that everytime she asked an Icewing to go with her, they would coincidentally get sick a day before the event. "Guess we have that in common."
Behind the curtains was an underground storage room with noise makers, costumes and scrolls of different plays across the continent. Most outfits had different feathers, colors and designs so different that it was weird to see them thrown into a giant box all together. The scrolls were all written in different ways that made Icicle guess they were bought or given by the different kingdoms and not just copied.
Crystal searched through what looked like a prop box and pulled out a crown, pacing it on her head. "Hm…still don't think it feels right." She said remorsefully before putting it back. She turned to Icicle and gave her a sad smile. "So since we're alone, can you tell me what you're actually doing in Sanctuary?" She didn't have any suspicion or anger in her voice. Just genuine curiosity.
Icicle felt the simmering rage flow through her veins. "I was going to ask you the same thing. Weren't you next in line? Shouldn't you be on the throne?" She asked, looking over an Icewing costume of Queen Diamond.
"Mother wanted to prevent another war of succession. So she chose one of us herself. To be honest, I was actually pretty happy."
Her head snapped back to her cousin with alarming speed. "What?! Y-how can you be HAPPY about that?" She asked in utter bewilderment. "YOU deserve the throne! Wasn't that what you talked about? Being the next great Queen of the Icewings?"
Crystal shrugged. "That was just me being young. Sometimes you realize that what you think you want isn't what you need to be happy." She chuckled a bit, only making Icicle even more angry. "Don't tell me you still want to be Queen? I always saw you more as that old grumps protege in fixing claws and telling stories."
"Being Queen was what I spent my whole life training for. How am I supposed to just throw that away?" She wasn't really asking her cousin. So much of her life was consumed with reaching that one spot above the rankings. A place where she wouldn't have to care about her parents' training, her brother's annoying bond or the frustrated sighs from older dragons that had the pleasure of talking with her. Being Queen was the one thing Tundra and Narwhal wanted her for.
Crystal took a step towards her cousin and raised a wing in reassurance. "Have you tried looking for something else? I mean, you can't really challenge Snowfall." She shut her mouth then leered dangerously at Icicle. "Also you aren't in line for the throne…just saying…"
"I KNOW THAT!" Icicle growled, baring her fangs before sitting down and scowling.
The older Icewing sat down as well, looking as if she misjudged something then giving Icicle a sorry look. "Right, yeah…but you still didn't answer my first question."
"Which is?"
Crystal blew some ice on a rock to make it shimmer. "What are you doing in Sanctuary? It never seemed something that you would take a liking to."
"Of course I don't like it. I barely tolerated that stupid school. Now I'm supposed to accept that the one family member I didn't hate for the past year or two is hanging about in a den of traitors?" Crystal didn't seem to know whether she should be offended or pleased at the back handed compliment. "And I'm here because Lynx is a mind numbing trickster."
"Oh yes, Lynx is very well known for her tricks and devious deals." Crystal muttered. "What did she rope you into? Last time she made Snowfall learn that I wasn't trying to plan her eventual downfall. It was a quick but nice conversation."
Icicle rolled her eyes, imagining the Queen staying awake at night worrying about the least likely dragon to plan a murder. "I'm supposed to be reuniting with my stupid brothers."
"Well? Is that going well?" Crystal asked, holding one of the fake swords from the box.
Icicle shook her head. How could she put it into words? "I thought they would react differently I guess." She sighed, looking over her messed up claws.
The Queen's sister yawned and put the sword up. "How so?"
She flexed her claw before wincing. The burn on two of her talons made it hurt to move them a bit further from each other. "I don't know…maybe they should have been happy to see that I'm finally out in the sun? Maybe they should be scared that I am justifiably ANGRY with them? Maybe they should feel ashamed for not even visiting me ONCE?" She shut her mouth as her tail hit a box too hard in frustration.
Crystal nodded along, staring sadly at the wall of rocks that kept the room dark. Her eyes drifted to look at Icicle for a second while her head didn't move before pulling back. "I'm uh…sorry, for not visiting either." There was a rather long silence between them. Mostly because Icicle didn't seem to understand what Crystal was saying.
"I didn't expect you to. We're cousins, not siblings." She groaned.
The older Icewing shrugged once again. "I guess. But I still should have thought about it. Especially if I was your favorite cousin." She stuck out her tongue and smiled. "Of course, not like my sisters are much competition. I AM the best."
"Yeah, the absolute best." Icicle rolled her eyes. "I think I've had enough of this drama costume room. Is there a better place to rest my head and wait until Snowfall is ready to leave?" She asked with little care put into her words.
A wing was rested on her shoulder and Icicle was gently nudged past the curtains and back out onto the stage. "Fine, grumpy. I guess I can take you to my favorite spot. It's actually where I met Gharial. It's a wonderful spring with cute little frogs bouncing across the lily pads."
It actually sounded horrible but it couldn't be worse than going back to Lynx and the others. The two walked down the road of Sanctuary and Icicle got to see more dragons walking about. Dragons from every tribe just…chatting. As if they hadn't all just been in a war and fighting each other. Skywings and Seawings acting as if Scarlets arena didn't exist. Sandwings who supported different sisters eating together. Mudwings and Icewings pretending that they didn't want the other side destroyed. It made her stomach hurt even more that her own cousin had fallen for what used to be an enemy.
The spring was just as uninteresting as Icicle thought. The green circles with pink flowers on them decorated the spring and she counted about four disgusting, small hoppers. They croaked loudly but leaped away when Icicle glared at them. The water was blue and white with bubbles forming on top. It wasn't that big, but it seemed deep enough for a dragonet to swim in.
Icicle sat down on one of the rocks near the water and rested her head under her left wing. She could hear Crystal putting a claw in the water. "So? How do you like it?" She only got a small grunt of approval before continuing. "Gharial should be coming back later tonight. He was visiting his bigwings for their hatching day." She still didn't get a response. Just Icicle mentally wishing she could tune out outside noise. "You know, usually conversations are supposed to be two way."
Still nothing. The two sat in a very long silence with Crystal running her claws through the water and the frogs making way too much noise. Icicle felt the sun heat up her back which felt oddly nice. But she could tell that Crystal was super bored so maybe Icicle could offer something? "What is there I want to talk about? Hm…I don't think she'll want to hear about life in a cell."
"You went to Jade academy, right?" Crystal asked out of the blue, almost reading Icicle's mind. The Icewing nodded cautiously. "Could you maybe tell me about it? I know I can't go but Winter's stories are so boring. Don't tell him I said that."
Icicle raised her head past her wing and gazed at Crystal. "There isn't much to say. I was in a stupid winglet learning useless information before leaving." She decided not to mention how she left exactly.
"Come on, there must have been more!" Crystal nudged, getting out of the water. "Was there someone there you met that you liked? Like as a friend that wasn't an Icewing? Someone must have sparked an interest!"
"Yeah, I did. Then she stabbed me in the back." But that wasn't a story Icicle really liked. The one time she didn't follow her mothers instructions on 'don't open up to others, especially non Icewings' she almost got killed. Twice. "No. Talk to Sunny about the school. She's here, isn't she?"
Crystal groaned and flopped down next to Icicle. "She is, but she only comes here when Lynx is going to be here or if it's on a school trip and she has to take care of too many dragonets. I don't think she needs me pestering her."
That didn't sound like something the annoying Sandwing would care about but Icicle was too bothered to care. But then Icicle remembered that Snowfall and Crystal had a meet up a few years ago. "When you said you and Snowfall saw each other, what happened? After she became Queen, I mean."
"Mostly just me telling her that I didn't care about being Queen so there was nothing to worry about. Now we meet up every few months for dinner." She muttered something about being glad she didn't have to deal with Mink but still missing her.
Icicle didn't think she could ever understand not being angry about not being Queen. Did Crystal really just not care about it? "You two didn't fight? You weren't angry or upset?" She asked with too much weakness that the portrait of her mother was scowling at her.
Crystal shook her head. "What was there to fight over? I did kind of miss her even if I wasn't willing to admit it. I mean, she's my little sister and all." She was silent for a minute. "Didn't you miss Winter and Hailstorm?"
"They didn't miss me so why should I have missed them?" Icicle growled, feeling the dark pit begin to open up. "I didn't need them growing up and I didn't need them in my stupid cell." She began standing up and bared her fangs at a frog, making it leap into the water. Her own brothers didn't care enough to visit or see her get sent to her cell. What did she need them for? Yet that thought only made the emptiness grow.
Her cousin sat back and gave Icicle a pitiful look. One that Icicle did not like. "You know, I used to think that but now I'm looking forward to each dinner with my sisters. Maybe you'll find that you might enjoy Winter and Hailstorms company if you give them a chance? You three aren't the same dragons you used to be."
But she was wrong. Icicle WAS the same dragon she used to be. Every bit of her bones ached for things to go back to way they were. Back when she hadn't failed in killing Glacier, before she had to attend that school and before she couldn't convince Scarlet to hive back Hailstorm. Was it so much to ask for a second chance at any of those events?
But Icicle knee that if she did, then Winter would be the same failure she was now. In the past that wouldn't have bothered her. Who cared if another dragon ended up in a bad spot or lower in the rankings as long as you moved up? But now, the thought left a bitter taste in her mouth.
"And how am I supposed to do that?" She questioned Crystal. "Letting them talk to me clearly didn't work."
"You could always just ask then some questions. Maybe 'what have you been doing in Sanctuary all this time?' Or 'you guys want to fill me in on some stuff I missed out on?' Those are pretty simply questions." Crystal's experience in dealing with difficult siblings was pretty noticeable to Icicle.
Icicle ran hee tongue around her teeth before nodding slowly. "Ok…then what?"
Crystal stared dumbfounded at her younger cousin. "You listen? Then either ask another question based on that or…you HAVE talked to others about their interest, right?" She looked half amused and half concerned.
"Of course I have!" Then Tundra's rule on 'don't reveal or ask what isn't necessary' popped up in her mind and she had to strangle it back down.
Crystal nodded and smiled. "Then just do that. Ask them over dinner tonight." She stopped then looked up at the sky. "Dinner…DINNER!" She shouted and ran past Icicle. "WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE!"
Icicle yelped in alarm as her cousin brushed past her. Icicle followed suit and they ran down the road. It wasn't hard to keep up with Crystal who seemed to have lost her speed in the few years they were apart.
But Icicle's mind was only thinking about what her cousin told her. If those questions would actually work, she might actually be able to talk to her brothers. Despite the glaring rage from the portrait of herself, she couldn't deny that what her heart truly wanted was to see them. If she could start a conversation with them, she could finally ask them why…why they left her. Why didn't they try to help her with their parents stupid burden?
"Because I never asked. I just…" She remembered sniping at Winter everytime he made a stupid comment. Mocking him when he just couldn't get the kill. Was that it? Was she actually to blame? "Fine. I get it. I was the bad guy." She groaned. Lynx would be smiling smugly if she learned that Icicle was starting to reconsider whether Winter really deserved her treatment. But she could change.
Then she ran head first into Lynx.
The two fumbled a bit before getting up, Icicle shaking her head to try and recover. She groaned a bit before hearing Lynx's voice. "There you two are!" She exclaimed. "We were about to start. Where have you been?"
Crystal nudged Lynx. "Looking around. Have they already started?" Lynx shook her head and turned back, preparing to lead them to the dining hall. She smiled at Icicle, seeming to notice a more upbeat and bright look from the Icewing. "You look more cheery. What happened?"
Icicle shrugged, pushing her wings back before looking at the forest by the commune. "Just…curious to what Winter and Hailstorm have been doing. Also very hungry."
She heard Lynx snicker but the voice of the advisor grew mute to her ears. There was a dragon walking by the woods. She looked excited, just like Icicle. As if the Mudwing had found a new pile of wet dirt to rest in. She was smaller than most and definitely not a bigwings. But Icicle already knew that. The Mudwing was deceptively timid. She pretended to be too afraid to approach others without fear of being rejected or asked to partake in a conversation.
This Mudwing was annoyingly smart as well. Her face looked up as if she could sense someone watching her. The two's eyes met and Icicle saw a look that she didn't realize she had missed. The cold, unnerving eyes that would melt under Icicle's heated gaze. Fear.
The dragon ran deeper into the woods until she was out of sight. Now that she saw her face, Icicle knew in her mind who she had just seen. The dragon that lurked in the shadows of her nightmares. A dragon that was too cowardly to face her head on and instead torment her in the dark. A dragon that was allowed her freedom while Icicle was forced to rot in the palace dungeons. A dragon that Icicle had believed she could trust and who would soon shatter any thought of believing another tribe could have dragons as decent as Icewings.
Seeing Sora made the empty hole in her heart be filled with what she was missing. Rage.