New chapter, go and read it.
The group landed in front of the gates to a town in front of them. Walls guarding all sides of the dusty town.
The Scorpion den was the first stop on their way through the Sand Kingdom.
"All right guys, let's start asking some questions, but don't go and act out of place, there is apparently a bunch of criminals here," Starflight said as he walked into the town.
"Ohh yeah, because a SeaWing walking around the desert isn't strange at all," Tsunami said sarcastically.
"Actually, you will fit in better than you think, this kingdom mainly has SandWings, but there is a ton of other tribes that come here to get away from their kingdom and the war," Starflight explained.
"Where do you think that the town leaders would be for the den?" Turtle asked out loud.
Starflight shook his head, "There is no "Town Leader" here, this place is run by two gangs that are constantly fighting, the "Outclaws" and the "Talons of power", there are other smaller gangs, but those two pretty much run this place." Starflight explained.
"Then why are we hear?" Winter asked, wiping the dripping sweat off his face.
"Because this is the main town in the Sand Kingdom." Starflight answered, "All the other towns are much smaller like Redstone, and you never know, you may find a diamond in the rough,"
They were all walking through the town, besides the vendors overrunning them by presenting the group with their wares, it seemed to not be a bad town.
"Starflight, I thought you said that this was a seedy town?" Clay asked confused. He didn't see anybody that looked like they were in poverty or criminals.
A shopkeeper overheard them, "And you would be correct to assume that about this town, until a couple of weeks ago, It seemed like overnight that the crime started stopping."
"What happened?" Sunny asked the shopkeeper curiously.
"Nobody here knows for sure, but there were rumors that it had to do something with the Outclaws." The shopkeeper explained.
"Do you know how to find the Outclaws?" Starflight asked.
"Oh yea, everybody here knows, they regulate the oasis here and make sure it never runs dry, just head towards the center of town, you'll find guards from the Outclaws there." The Shopkeeper finished.
"Thank you!" Sunny said nicely.
The group made their way towards the center of town, politely declining offers from vendors all the way through town until they reached the center.
It wasn't very hard to find the oasis. It was in the center of town like they were told, but there was also a huge line of dragons leading up to it with guards helping the villagers get water.
"Go to the back of the line, we promise that every dragon here will get some water," one of the guards shouted at the group.
"Actually, we weren't looking for water, we were just wanting to ask you a few questions?" Sunny said, stepping up.
"Three moons, no we won't hel-" the guard shut up when he caught sight of Sunny's tail. The guard hesitated for a bit but then bent over to the other guard, getting his attention and pointing at the tail.
The other guard walked up to Sunny, "Excuse me if I am being rude, but... did you get an injury on the end of your tail?"
Sunny grabbed the end of her tail defensively, "No, and there is nothing wrong with my tail,"
The guard nodded at the other guard, "You're not in trouble or anything, but I think our leader Thorn would like to meet you real quick." The guard said.
Sunny perked up, "Oh wow, that was easy..." she said as she followed the guard leading the way, the group following her.
"Wait, the rest of you are not welcome to come, not without Thorn's permission." the lead guard said sternly.
"Is it fine if they just wait outside?" Sunny asked nicely.
The guard looked back at the group. It was a big group, sure... but they didn't look like they were looking for trouble, he had seen enough of that to know what trouble looks like.
The guard sighs, "Fine, but no looking around the base."
The group continues forward, following the guard.
Sunny shifts over towards Starflight as they walk, "Psst, hey Starflight, what does the guard think Thorn wants me for?"
Starflight looks over at Sunny, "Not going to lie, it's a bit surprising if what he is thinking is true, and if it is, I can't ruin the surprise..." Starflight said mysteriously.
Sunny bumped him as they walked forward in annoyance.
The group finally came up to what was definitely some type of compound in the city.
There were guards at the entrance to the compound, and they could see guards on the inside walking around.
The guard that had led them here looked at the group, "This is where you shall wait while we bring your friend to Thorn," The guard said.
Everybody just nodded.
Sunny and the guard are walked into the compound. Sunny looking around at all the dragons around her. They were all in various ages, ranging from dragons as young as her to dragons that weren't too far away from being called elders. The main difference between her and them was how they looked. Almost all of them had huge scars on them or looked grizzled from war.
The gourd saw her looking at all the dragons. "Most of these dragons have been fighting for years for Burn, Blister, and Blaze. They realized they were fighting for the wrong reason, so they came here looking for a new place in life." The guard said proudly.
Sunny looked at the proud look on the guard's face, "And I take it you are one of them?"
The guard nodded and turned around. "Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Six-Claws," Six-Claws said as he held out a... six-clawed hand.
Sunny giggled and shook his talons, "Wow, your parents were sure creative," she said as she introduced herself, "My name is Sunny."
Six-Claws smiled at the young dragon, "Come on, Thorn is over here," he said as he motioned over toward one of the tents in the compound.
Six-Claws stopped outside of the large tent, "Thorn, I hope I am not interrupting anything, but I have another SandWing that looks strange like you asked."
"Hey, I don't look strange!" Sunny said defensively.
"It's nothing personal, it's just what I asked of him," A voice said from inside of the tent. "Come on in."
Six-Claws motioned her in.
Sunny walked into the tent and immediately took notice of all the dragons in the tent.
There was a large female SandWing behind the table, a male SandWing that was her age to her left, and a male NightWing that she recognized to the Female's right.
"Stonemover, what are you doing here?" Sunny asked, looking at the now healthy-looking NightWing.
The female looked at Stonemover, "You know this dragon?"
"Do I know her, Thorn? She was with the NightWing that helped me realize my mistake staying away from you," Stonemover said happily.
"And you did say she was one of the Dragonets, right?" The female SandWing that had been revealed to be Thorn asked.
Stonemover nodded. "That's what the NightWing introduced them as at the time."
Thorn looked back to Sunny, "Are you one of the Dragonets of Destiny?"
"Thorn, surely you're not just going to believe whatever answer she gives?" The young male asked.
"It will be fine Qibli, Stonemover will check her to see if she speaks the truth," Thorn said sternly. She looked back at Sunny for answers.
Sunny nodded, "Yes, me and my friends are the "Dragonets of Destiny"
Thorn looked over at Stonemover with a look. Stonemover nodded and looked down at an ink quill on the table and a scroll.
"I enchant this quill to write on this scroll to tell me if what this dragon just said is true" Stonemover enchanted.
The quill seemed to start dancing over the parchment, writing a very simple answer. "YES"
Thorn looked back up at Sunny with a new look in her eyes. Hope.
Sunny was curious. "Why did you want to know if I was one of the Dragonets of Destiny?"
Thorn looked over at Qibli, "Give Sunny's friends a tour of the compound Qibli... I want to have a talk with my daughter."