Winter paced back and forth as he, Snowfall, and Lynx waited for news about his sister's whereabouts. Crystal and Hailstorm led an expedition with some of Riptide's dragons to find Icicle. Winter had gone out that morning after seeing that Lynx and Icicle weren't in their tent. It didn't take him long to find Lynx unconscious and Icicle nowhere to be found. He took her to the infirmary and that was where he found himself worried about what Icice would do now that she was out without supervision.

"Winter, you are making it really difficult to concentrate." The Queen of the Icewings said as she rubbed her forehead. She was sitting next to Lynx's bed as her advisor was recovering from being squashed by a tree. "Besides, how much damage can she really do in a few hours?"

He looked to Snowfall and sighed unhappily. "You have no idea. She's a very driven dragon and if she sets her mind to something, she won't stop until it happens."

As much as Winter did not like Sora, he also didn't want her to be killed. Especially not killed by Icicle. He didn't know the Mudwing very well but Umber was a nice dragon that didn't bother him and he really didn't want Icicle to break up that family.

Snowfall checked her crown and adjusted it so it fit perfectly on her head. She looked around the infirmary which was luckily, pretty empty. There was a kind Rainwing nurse who was helping Lynx while the two discussed the escaped Icewing. "Hm…well I still think I'm right." Her tail flicked to Lynx who winced when she tried to move her back. "Lynx has told me that Icicle has changed a lot. Even IF she finds that Mudwing, she may not even go through with it. Don't forget she didn't follow through with killing Starflight."

"She only gave up because she was surrounded and figured killing Glory would be better." It felt uncomfortable to remember that day. It was a side of Icicle he knew existed but hoped would be buried deep within her. That was when everything started to go wrong for him. "Well, I got some awesome friends at least." He thought happily.

The Queen didn't look convinced and instead looked up at the ceiling. Her mind was deep in thought while Winter looked outside the window to see if any of the groups had returned, hopefully with Icicle. "Did Moon check her mind?" She asked curiously. It was an odd suggestion given how much Snowfall hated mind reading no matter from who. "If you checked, you might have seen her unwilling to go through with it."

Snowfall stopped herself and scowled. "Wait, why am I defending her?! You two should be the ones to talk about how much she's changed!" Winter could hear Lynx stifle a laugh at Snowfall's frustration.

"I haven't seen her in a few years. That last time I saw Icicle, she was forcing herself to stay awake after killing a Nightwing and trying to kill Queen Glory." Winter said sadly, feeling a bit of regret as he recalled her desperate pleas to keep her awake and away from the former Queen of the Skywings.

Snowfall's face looked like she just saw one of those purple fruits. "I notice that you all call Glory Queen on instinct while you have to remind yourselves to call me Queen. Just saying."

It was obviously her attempt at making light of the situation but Winter was too concerned about the probable death of a Mudwing who didn't deserve it. (Yes he hated her for trying to kill his sister but not being allowed to return to the Mudwing tribe seemed punishment enough) "Ugh, I hope they find her soon. Or Sora. Whichever one leads to Icicle not killing Sora."

"I know none of us really got along well with her in the past," Snowfall said, her face looking more like her mother when giving advice then Winter was willing to admit. "But I think she's grown a lot. Yes she sort of reverted back to her old ways but I think if given the chance, she won't take it." There was complete silence from everyone. "Or maybe I'm still too tired to think properly. One or the other."

Winter stared sadly at Lynx who was so silent anyone might have mistaken her for still being asleep. Her body was still aching from being stuck under a tree for hours but she was doing her best not to let it show. Luckily nothing was vitally damaged and all she really needed was a few hours of rest so her scales could heal naturally. She didn't look like her normal, happy self either. Her eyes remained shut and a small frown was stuck on her face. "What do you think? You've been around her longer. Are you sure she won't do anything she'll regret?"

Her body didn't move aside from her chest raising and lowering with each breath. Too much movement would only hurt. "I doubt she'll regret anything at this point. I really thought she had changed…I should have just listened to Snowfall." Lynx said in defeat, her eyes shutting tighter.

The Queen rested a wing on her advisor's shoulder with a determined expression that rivaled Clay when asked to bake a hatchingday dinner. "Don't talk like that. Your idea was brilliant." She said reassuringly. "I know you got through to her. I'll bet…" She stopped, weighing her chances of actual success. "Mink. If I'm right, you have to watch Mink after school when we get back."

Winter's stomach felt uneasy as he imagined all of the horrible things his sister could be doing to Sora right now. What was even more unnerving was the idea that he would have been fine with the Mudwings death just a few years ago simply for threatening Icicle. "Good thing I'm not that dragon anymore." He thought to himself. "I figured Sunny would have gotten here by now." He muttered.

"I am." A familiar, light hearted voice said at the entrance to the infirmary. "I was just thinking about the best way to dramatically enter and scorn Lynx for specifically telling others to NOT let me know what happened." Her tone was angry but Winter could see that her face was full of concern and fear for the worst. The Sandwing/Nightwing hybrid seemed more reassured that Lynx was able to talk.

"Huh, does she still care about the safety of a former student? Even one like Icicle?" Winter thought to himself, now curious if she thought the same about him. Lynx gave Sunny a nervous smile, more effort for her than usual. "I can't tell if you're happy to see me or furious at me."

Sunny let out a small huff. "I've been working on it. I call it my I-am-so-angry-and-happy-to-see-you look. So far I've only had to use on Tsunami after she was ambushed by some bandits and now you." She sighed unhappily then turned to Snowfall and Winter. "Your majesty, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly did Lynx do to end up in this situation?"

Winter often had to remind himself that Sunny was technically a princess but she still spoke to Snowfall as if she wasn't similar in status, albeit slightly lower. Snowfall wrinkled her snout and let her wings fall. "Long story short, Lynx wanted to make the former Icewing student of yours that tried to kill Starflight and Glory into a normal Icewing citizen but is now second guessing herself and thinking it was a bad idea."

The teacher's eyes lit up like stars in the night sky. Her head turned from Snowfall to Lynx with a joyful grin spread across her face. "That sounds amazing! How is it going? Oh, you are the PERFECT dragon for that!" She looked a little confused at the blank stares from the Icewings before it dawned on Sunny. "Ohhh…"

Winter laughed a little at the look Sunny was giving to the floor while Lynx turned her away and stared at the wall next to her. "It was never going to work. I really thought…it doesn't matter. She took her first chance to go back to the same old icicle." Her eyes shut again as her body shivered, making Snowfall step back to give her some space. She didn't even sound like Lynx anymore. Her voice was distant and might as well have been a different dragon. "I thought if I just gave her a chance she'd show what she really wanted, not be the same harsh dragonet I knew. Maybe…maybe some dragons are just…bad." She muttered the last word so quietly that Winter was amazed Sunny had heard it.

Sunny's tail curled up and she shot a glare at Lynx. Not an angry one, but one that told everyone this was not the same Lynx Sunny had known. It was a look Winter didn't think Sunny was capable of having. "I've seen genuinely bad dragons. Dragons who had everything given to them and they still chose to torment others. I've seen dragons who had good intentions but took every single terrible route to get to that goal without remorse." Her voice was calm but it carried throughout the room as if she was speaking to a crowd. "Icicle was my student and while I didn't get much time with her, I know she isn't evil. She's someone who hides what she really wants even from herself." Lynx turned her head a bit, staring at Sunny with a small gleam of interest.

Sunny shifted in her spot and sighed. "She…I think she was hurt more by Sora than you guys think." Sunny thought for a long while about whether it was her place to tell this story. In the end, she couldn't give up on her student. "I was worried that Icicle and Sora wouldn't get along. They were two opposites who I only paired together out of hope that Sora would take after Clay and get along with anyone. I came by the second night to speak privately to Icicle, asking if she wanted to switch clawmates…"

Snowfall and Winter were staring intently at Sunny, both Icewings heavily invested as they listened to her explain Icicle's time at the school. Sunny took a deep breath and gave a small smile. "She said that she didn't want to switch. She told me that Sora made her second guess how useless this school idea was. Icicle wanted to help Sora get out of her shell and be more like her. To be honest, I would have liked Sora NOT being like Icicle but I think she liked the idea of mentoring her." The smile fell and Sunny looked back at the floor. "If I knew that Icicle was the one to kill Crane…I never would have taken one of them. But they both NEEDED it! Sora needed to make friends, she needed to learn…and Icicle, I could see it in her eyes. She WANTED to be a friend to Sora, if just to teach her, but I knew she would have learned herself."

Winter felt his eyes shift to the window, his heart pounding. Did his sister actually try and make a friend from SORA of all dragons? And he didn't even notice. "She's really good at hiding her thoughts." The Icewings took a second to understand what Sunny had told them. If it was true, then Icicle's desire to harm Sora made a lot more sense. It still didn't justify it, but at least she wasn't just killing some Mudwing. "Well if she DOES hurt Sora, it isn't like we can let her go…Queen Glory only dropped the charges because she trusted Glacier to punish her and Queen Moorhen will probably not be happy that Icicle escaped while Sora still has to be punished."

Sunny scraped her claw against the floor. "I think you're underestimating what Glory really wants. The Nightwings seem satisfied with her being in prison for that long and as long as they're fine with it, I'm sure Glory is as well. Of course I could be wrong. Not like we grew up together or anything." Sunny said sarcastically which made Lynx laugh before groaning in pain.

The Queen narrowed her eyes at the window and then they opened in excitement and worry. "Crystal's back."

The Queen's sister entered the room with a sad look lining her face. Her eyes were dark and cloudy and her wings looked heavy from flying in the rain. "We searched all over the area and couldn't find her. There wasn't a sign of Icicle, Sora, or Umber. I'm sorry, she might not even be on this side of the continent anymore."

That was not the news any of them needed. Just after Sunny made Winter think there was a chance his sister wouldn't commit an act she couldn't take back, he learned she may have flown even further or possibly kidnapped Sora for…some reason. Was he thinking too much about this? "No sign? Not even any trees with ice around them?" Crystal shook her head as she greeted Sunny. "I should have helped search. I might have found something…" He groaned in regret.

The Icewing Queen shook her head and Winter could hear her sapphire necklace jiggle. "No, I needed you here. You and Lynx know her better so we needed to talk about what she could do. You also carried Lynx here and needed some rest that wasn't flying out in the rain." Her claws clenched into a ball. "If we don't find her…we'll have to go back to the kingdom and send out an official scouting team." She nodded at Sunny. "I trust you, but if she really isn't going to do anything, then I doubt we'll be seeing her anytime soon."

Sunny gave Lynx one more concerned look. "I think Tsunami will throw a fit if she learned that I didn't actually go to my mothers palace. I'll have to leave but I'll check in and see if anyone has any idea where Icicle could be. You-" She said, pointing at Lynx. "Tell me when you get better or so help me I will not stop bothering you." Probably the least effective threat Winter had ever heard but Lynx nodded and Sunny made her exit into the rain.

Lynx bit her lip and rested her head back down. "I don't. Sunny is being too optimistic. We need to find her before she does something." But she didn't sound honest. Winter wondered whether Lynx was just hiding her feelings.

He wondered where his brother had been. If Crystal was back with her group, then why wasn't Hailstorm with her? "Crystal? Where's Hailstorm?"

His cousin rolled her eyes in annoyance and her tail swayed to match it. "He said something about doing it himself. I'm not sure but he might have flown out way further than the rest of us."

Right as she said it, there was a loud crash outside and through the leaf curtain came Hailstorm, covered in water and breathing heavily. His wings looked tired but his face was pure determination. "I found…Umber…but he won't talk…except to Snowfall…." He needed breaks in between his sentence as he took in the air, trying to fill up his lungs.

Winter felt a chill spike up in his stomach. If he found Umber but not Sora, then where was she? And where was Icicle? Behind Hailstorm was a Mudwing that Winter remembered decently well. He was frowning uncomfortably as he heard the Icewing talk about him. He bit his lip and tucked his tail under his chest. "I didn't say that…I said Sora wanted to talk with her alone…"

"Sora is still alive!" Winter thought, his heart pounding. "Where is Sora?" Snowfall asked with authority in her tone. "If she knows where Icicle is, then I need to know."

Umber shifted uneasily, struggling to look the Queen in the eyes as his wings drooped. "I-I'm sorry. She'll tell you what she knows but…not with…others." He couldn't even look at Winter who actually felt bad for him. Umber didn't deserve to be punished for what Sora did. "But he's still willing to go on the run with her…would I have done that with Icicle?"

Snowfall looked back at the others then nodded. "Fine. Take me to her."

Winter took a step forward and looked between the two. "Wait! I'm going. I-I have to."

Umber slumped back, finally looking at Winter and shivering as he struggled to speak. "Winter…I can't-she doesn't…"

"He thinks I'll hurt Sora for what she did to my sister. He wants to keep her safe." He was honestly very impressed by Umber's determination, coming into a room full of Icewings who had every right to hate his sister but still defend her. "But I know how to convince him…"

Winter took another step towards him, trying to look as honest and approachable as he could. "Umber, Icicle's my sister. I-I don't know what she'll do but I don't want to lose her…again." He felt a hole in his heart as he recalled being informed about Icicle's trial…and deciding not to go. "I could have talked to her, but Lynx was the one who gave her a chance when it should have been her brother." He closed his eyes then bit his lip, staring into Umber's dark, brown eyes. "I need to make things right with her but I can't do that without knowing where she is."

Umber opened his mouth then closed it. He wanted to help his friend but he wasn't sure if Winter had any hidden intentions. The Iceiwng's tail fell to the floor. "I promise, I don't care about Sora. I don't want to hurt her, I just want to know where my sister is. Y-you know what it's like to be worried that your sibling is in danger."

That did the trick. Winter was as honest as he could be and Umber's face lit up a bit as he nodded. He cared about Sora, and now he could see that Winter wanted to do the same with his own sister. "Fine…y-you can come too. But just y-"

"Me too!" Hailstorm said, exhausted. "For the same reasons. Her other brother and all that."

Winter frowned at him but Umber seemed open to the idea. "S-Sora might be overwhelmed…mind if you two sit in the back while she tells Snowfall?" He asked, standing at his full height and preparing to spread his wings. They all nodded and Umber turned to leave. "Ok, let's go."

(An hour later)

It was a long flight in the rain but luckily, the clouds started dispersing meaning soon the rain would end and Winter would be able to fly in peace. What he did not expect was just how far away Umber and Sora had fled to. It was a bear cave hidden amongst the trees though the creature was nowhere to be found. Umber had them wait outside while he told Sora to come out.

Winter filled Hailstorm in on what Sunny and Lynx had told them about their respective ideas on what was going on with Icicle. "I see…to be honest, I probably should have been more involved the way I was with you." Then he looked into the distance, making Winter wonder how much Hailstorm was now blaming himself.

Umber came out first and behind him was the small, fragile looking Mudwing. Her eyes were more like Clay then any of Clay's other siblings (At least out of the ones Winter had met which was all but Reed) which made it weird to see them on such a commanding and gentle giant like Clay. Part of Winter felt a bolt of rage as he saw the attempted killer of his sister but then he pushed it down and it only got easier after seeing how frightened she was.

Snowfall looked down at her kindly and with more care than Winter thought was necessary for who this dragon was. "Sora. As Queen of the Icewings, I promise that I, nor my cousins, have any intentions of doing anything to you. We simply want to know what happened with Icicle last night. We are looking for her and your brother said she let you go so I assume you saw her."

Sora looked between the Queen and her cousins, her eyes falling on Winter and he thought she gave him a terrified look before looking back to Snowfall. "We…she saw me…in the forest and I…told Umber we needed to leave." Umber set a wing on her own and she shivered a bit. "We left and she followed us, then she waited until Umber left to try and kill me."

Winter wanted to jump in and argue that Umber said Icicle let her go but Umber nudged her to continue, giving his sister a kind smile. "We uh…we talked and I told her that…that she k-k-" Her eyes shut and head nuzzled against Umber who held her close.

The taller Mudwing looked back to them as Sora tried to calm down, tears flowing from her eyes as the Icewings tried to ignore it out of respect. "Icicle was the dragon who killed our sister, Crane. Sora remembered her and then apparently one of Icicle's stories was disturbingly similar to one of our unit's missions. The same mission that Crane was killed at." Winter didn't believe that was enough to say Icicle for sure killed her and Judging from Umber's sigh, he knew the Icewing wasn't convinced. "Crane was the only casualty that day. Reed got hurt so we were defending him and Crane separated to see if any other unit needed help." He looked down sadly, as if hoping he could redo that day. "According to Sora, Icicle got separated in the fight and took her chance to kill who she thought was the bigwings."

Winter wished it wasn't true and Sora was just imagining things but he remembered Icicle bragging about being picked for that mission only to never want to speak about it when she returned. She was awake way too early the night after and he thought she was just studying. If she actually killed someone, then her waking up to a nightmare sounded more likely.

Snowfall nodded and there was a silence until Sora stopped her sniffling. When she wiped away her tears, the Queen raised a wing for her to continue. "What made her spare you?"

The Mudwing shrugged, rubbing her eyes again. "I don't know…she was talking about how much she had to deal with and why what she did was ok until stopping all of the sudden…then telling me to leave."

Winter swallowed down the lump in his throat. "What did she say exactly?"

"Something about how her mother disowned her, her brothers hated her and how much she wanted to go back to who she really was…then she stopped and let me go."

Hailstorm tilted his head, his eyes falling in regret. "Did she happen to mention her intentions after you left? Like maybe where she would go?" He asked hopefully, his tail swaying.

The Mudwing nodded, giving Winter hope. "It was vague. Some place that no one would dare look because it's worse than any place in Pyrrhia." She shuffled her claws. "That's all…I swear…"

Winter's breath quickened as his heart threatened to bounce out of his chest. Hailstorm and Snowfall shook their heads, clearly unsure of where she would even go. "Icicle…you can't have gone back there…" It was a place worse than the scorpion den. Worse than the diamond cave. It was the most horrible place in the world for an Icewing and Winter hoped he would never have to see it again.

The Queen groaned. "You two can go. Thank you for telling us." Umber bowed and nudged Sora to do as well. After a quick goodbye with WInter, the two took off into the sky, flying away from the cave. Now that the trio was alone, Snowfall spoke up in annoyance. "I'll send search parties to some questionable areas. Hopefully we can find her soon."

Winter shook his head and turned to face them, feeling more determined than ever but riddled with fear. "I know where she is, but capturing her won't do anything." He said sadly. "I think…let me talk to her and I might be able to bring her back." He said hopefully, looking to his cousin and hoping she would agree.

Snowfall bit her lip and messed with her necklace. "And if you fail? If she refuses to return? Am I supposed to just allow her to be free?" But there wasn't anger or annoyance in her tone. Instead, she sounded intrigued.

"Because the place where she is, Sora wasn't wrong, she said it is worse than any place in the world. If she truly intends to stay there, no one will ever see her again." Snowfall opened her mouth to speak, probably to ask where she was but he couldn't tell her and risk Snowfall sending soldiers to get her. "I can't tell you where she is. Just trust me, please?"

Snowfall looked down at him and a flash went through her eyes. At least he thought it happened. Just a second later she was staring uncaringly at him;she was just exhausted from the situation at hand. "Ok, go see her and either bring her back or tell her that she can stay. I guess it isn't really my problem anymore. Hailstorm?"

The older Icewing smiled down at Winter, a fierce look in his eyes. "I'm going with you. She's my sister too, remember?"

"What? Hailstorm, you don't understand…this place is awful!" Winter argued. Hailstorm didn't need to go to a place like that but his eyes were unmoving.

"Too bad. I'm not leaving her in the dark anymore. Besides, I owe her after being a Skywing for so long." He joked, ruffling his wings. "Thank you, Snowfall. We'll be back soon."

The Queen chuckled a bit and began to take off. "Fine by me. Just be safe and don't do anything stupid."

"Going to this place IS stupid." Winter thought and he glared at Hailstorm. His brother just gave him a goofy grin back. "So, where IS this place we're flying off too?" He asked, waiting for Winter to lead the way.

Winter sighed in defeat, knowing that his brother was going no matter what. Besides, it might help to have another dragon with him in case something went wrong. "I'll tell you on the way. It's a long trip. A trip across the continent." He said, preparing to fly and Hailstorm followed him through the sky.

The two brothers flew through the air, taking in the scenery. He expected it to take three to four days until they reached the Rainforest. Hailstorm flew close to Winter and his once happy expression fell to a remorseful glance. "Winter? I know you want to see her but…I want to speak with her first."

That did not sound like a good idea. Most of Icicle and Hailstorm's talks were just him scolding her for something before he got captured. "I say we talk to her together. Then once we know she'll come back, you can talk to her. Deal?"

Hailstorm shook his head and Winter rolled his eyes. "I never…I think she thinks I like you more-that I've always liked you more." His voice was hollow and empty. "I'm her older brother, Winter. I should have been there for you way more than I was but at the very least I WAS there sometimes. I was never there for her. I didn't see-"

Winter had never seen Hailstorm look anywhere close to this shaken up since he turned back into Hailstorm from Pyrite. Winter looked away as his brother held back the rest of his sentence. "Don't get sappy on me. I'll let you go first. I-I trust you." He said and looked out across the open land. Hopefully, this was truly the last time he flew to that terrible island.

"Thanks, Winter. Now let's go see this island." Hailstorm said, staring off as the clouds finally parted and letting the sun shine onto the continent.

Final chapter coming next week.