Star twiddled a small twig through her talons as she watched the dragons chatting below her from the trees. Some IceWings were conversing with the RainWings around a large table among the jungle trees. She was trying to listen in on the conversation—something about trading fruit and rare wood for some metals.

The IceWings were here to get acquainted with the new RainWing queen, who had taken over as her mother retired: Queen Carinatus.

Star actually admired her so far since she started observing her. She seemed confident in herself, had the full backing of her tribe and mother, and was kind—everything Star thought a queen should be.

Her father was elsewhere right now, saying that he was mapping out the jungle while he could since most of the RainWings were here with their IceWing guests.

They started talking more about the local fruit in the area. Star sighed and brought out a scroll, writing down the list of fruits they mentioned. Her father had ordered her to write down any notes that seemed noteworthy.

It had been almost half a year since her dad took her on this mission. They had been running all around Pyrrhia, and it never became clear to her during the whole trip what they were actually doing.

Her father had been stacking up on self-made maps and ordering her to spy and write notes on what felt like every noble dragon in Pyrrhia—from the young Queen Moorhen and the virus that ravaged her land to Queen Frost in the Ice Kingdom and her future heir. It didn't make sense to her. Why would he have her spy on so many dragons?

She stretched out on the tree limb, her joints popping as she did so, almost groaning from how good it felt. She hadn't stopped growing since the beginning of the year. She was almost twice as big now and could feel it in her muscles, which constantly ached from growing pains. She was now almost as big as her father, and her full adult sheen now showed on her scales, a beautiful reddish-purple that practically glowed in the sunlight. A smile came to her face.

A runt no more.

Snap

Her eyes rapidly shrank as she heard a twig crack behind her. She was about to turn around until she felt something sharp pressed to the underside of her neck.

"Don't… move," a voice hissed. Star panicked as she recognized the IceWing accent and the jagged talons on her throat. She stiffened up and nodded her head.

The IceWing barely let off her… but that's all she needed.

Star quickly dropped down, slipping from the IceWing's grip. As she fell, she twisted to face him, jumped, and tackled him through the trunk of the tree. The trunk exploded into splinters as she did so, making sure to tackle him away from the meeting below in hopes they wouldn't see her and the IceWing.

They both hit the ground hard from the force of the tackle. The moment they hit the ground, they were flung apart. The IceWing got up first, quickly charging at Star with a snarl on his face.

Star smirked, throwing the IceWing off. She pulled the same trick she had pulled on her sister before she left half a year ago: dropping onto her back and throwing him over her with her much stronger back legs. The IceWing crashed into the trunk of a large rainforest tree.

Star jumped back up, hissing. "Stay back!" she said, lowering herself.

The IceWing glared. "I am sorry, but I'm sure I'm supposed to capture any spies I see!"

Smoke started curling from Star's mouth as she prepared her fire. "You can try.…"

They both began circling each other, trying to find an opening. Frost came out of the IceWing's mouth, while smoke drifted from Star's.

They both froze at the sound of cracking behind them. They turned to look and saw the tree Star had tackled the IceWing through start to collapse toward them rapidly.

They both went to jump away, but it was too late. The tree landed on them, pinning them both to the ground out of reach of each other.

Star gave a grunt as the air left her lungs, winded. When she finally caught her breath, she started pushing and clawing at the tree on top of her. The IceWing joined in.

The tree didn't budge.

"GAH!" the IceWing roared in anger. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT!"

Star scoffed. "My fault? You're the one who attacked me!"

The IceWing glared at her again. "You were spying on my queen and the meeting!"

They both roared at each other.

"Yeah, but it's not like I was doing anything threatening. I was just sitting there, and you put a blade to my throat!" Star roared back.

They kept roaring until it turned into grumbling. Star finally sighed. "Look, maybe if we both push together, we can get out of this?" she muttered.

The IceWing scoffed. "And help out a NightWing? HA!" He laughed mockingly.

Star hissed back. "Then stay here. My dad will be looking for me in a couple of minutes, and I can guarantee you he won't be as kind as I am!"

The IceWing's eyes widened before narrowing again. He grumbled, "Fine.…"

Star nodded. "All right. On three," she started. "One, two, three!" She roared, giving a big push. They both pushed at the same time. The moment Star got out from under the tree, she let go and dove out, re-trapping the IceWing.

"GAHH!" he roared as the tree crushed him back down. "YOU DROPPED IT BACK ON ME!"

Star glared and started walking away, ignoring the IceWing's roars.

"Wait! Don't leave me here!" the IceWing pleaded.

Star slowed down, then stopped out of his sight. She groaned. "Why?" she roared at herself before turning back around. She walked back into sight of the tree and started lifting it off him easily now that she was free. The IceWing quickly dove out from under the tree, gasping for air.

When he calmed down, he stood up and glared at her, then closed his eyes and gave her a respectful nod.

Star was about to leave, but the IceWing held out a talon. "My name is Nilas," he said.

Star frowned but shook his talon. "Star."

Nilas nodded. "I'm going to act like I never saw you as long as you don't bother us," he said awkwardly, as if unsure how to speak.

Star suddenly felt awkward too. She nodded. "And I'll do the same. I never saw you."