A/N: I would like to promise you all that I have, in fact, been working quite hard on writing. Just not necessarily on this story. Stay tuned for that because exciting things should be coming (hopefully) soon.

Chapter 15

"Oh my, you are a pretty bird."

Swallow seemed quite impressed with Luna, Moon was happy to see. Winter had asked him to stop by the house before they went to the scavenger sanctuary in the morning, and the Skywing had been more than willing to check on their new pet. He'd almost immediately approached the raven where she sat on a shelf in the living room, and he appeared to have nothing but admiration for the bird.

"She has very nice feathering, save for where the injury is," Swallow continued, "Oh, and nice, sharp eyes. Very regal. Corvids are particularly intelligent birds, you know."

As if she could hear him, Luna seemed to swell with pride. Standing a little straighter on her claws and flicking her tailfeathers up as if showing them off.

"I thought she was a raven," Winter muttered from across the room. He hadn't quite taken to the bird like Moon had, although maybe that was more to them waking up to a busted vase that had been knocked over in the night by the uncaged bird.

"Ravens are a type of corvid. Corvid is just a broad class of bird." Moon told him, then looked at Swallow. "That's right, right?"

"Yep," he nodded, "Ravens, crows, rooks, and magpies are all corvids, among other birds. Like I said, quite intelligent creatures. I'd almost say more so than scavengers. You know, they say that birds and dragons used to be able to speak to each other, but those may have just been legends."

Moon looked at him curiously. "No, I didn't actually know that."

"Oh yes, there's plenty of old stories where birds can talk," Swallow explained, "Like I said, mainly legends that may or may not be true. And most of those birds were raptors, especially Phoenix and their kin. There were a few I can think of with ravens, though." He paused and peered at Luna, raising a claw. "May I?"

Moon gave a nod and he outstreatched a talon. Luna cocked her head at him curiously, then gently hopped atop his claw. He raised her up to eye level and peered at her with no small amount of interest.

"She's very well behaved, almost like she was trained," he said, "Was she?"

"As far as we know, she's wild," Moon answered.

"Huh. Interesting." Swallow sat back on his hind claws and raised his second claw. He gently touched it against Luna's wing and she gave a small squawk. He pulled on it a little and she squawked louder.

"How is it?" Moon asked, "Is it something she can recover from?"

Swallow shrugged his wings. "Probably. I mean, I'm not trained as a bird healer—you'd have to go to the Sky Capital for one—but I had a bird once with a similar condition and he recovered. She doesn't seem to have any deeper wounds around the wing, so I'm guessing it's just a break. It should heal itself over time, so long as she stays away from any predators."

"Oh, good," Moon breathed a sigh of relief. "So you think it's fine to help her?"

"I'd say so," he nodded.

"You wouldn't happen to have a spare birdcage?" Winter asked, speaking up again. At his words Luna turned to look at him. Moon could almost have sworn she was glaring.

Swallow shook his head. "It's been a long time since I've owned a bird. I can ask some of the other Skywings in town and see if they have one. I think Gale might, actually…"

Moon perked up at that name. "Speaking of Gale, I almost forgot that I have my next reading club meeting today. It's not too long from now, actually."

"Oh, so Coldshock is coming with us to Sanctuary?" Swallow asked Winter, who nodded.

"I'll go wake him up, now that you mention it," the Icewing said, "He's sleeping in a bit today. I think he exhausted himself last night running around with a raven on his head."

Moon couldn't help but giggle at that, and Swallow looked lost. He shook his head. "So are you just going to leave her here?" he asked, lifting up Luna on his claw a little.

"Ye—wait—uh…" Moon paused. She hadn't even thought about what to do with Luna when she was gone. She supposed she could take her with her, but she had no clue how she might react to all the other dragons. Many dragons ate birds, after all. It was just shy of a miracle that Luna even let them anywhere near her.

"If not, I can take her," Swallow offered. "She seems to like me, and I've always been good with birds."

"I—you don't have to do that," Moon stammered, "Really, I can figure something out…"

"It's no problem," Swallow said, "You'll be back by lunch, I imagine? I can bring her back then."

With a sigh (more of relief than exasperation), Moon nodded. "Thank you. I would appreciate that."

Swallow smiled. "It's no problem at all."

A moment later Winter entered the room with a drowsy-looking Coldshock. The little dragonet got some breakfast in him and, with a kiss and a hug, Moon sent him off with Winter and Swallow to Sanctuary. Winter seemed confused as to why they were leaving with Luna in tow, but with a somewhat dubious look didn't actually question it.

With that, it was Moon's turn to get ready to go. She took a minute to grab her scroll and skim it over one last time to make sure the chapter was fresh in her mind. With another pause in front of a mirror to freshen up her scales and look presentable, Moon stepped out into the streets of Sanctuary.

The walk to Current's house wasn't a long one, but the weather was nice and Moon found herself taking her time. Just like yesterday had been, it was a wonderful day for a flight. Which, of course, Moon couldn't actually do, and she found herself looking up jealously at a pair of dragons that zoomed by overhead. With a huff, she contented herself with her walk, trying to put her injury out of her mind.

In only a few minutes she was at Current's house, and just like the last meeting she was welcomed in with open wings by the Seawing, who's enthusiasm she could read in her mind long before the door was swung open for her.

"Come in, come in!" Current greeted her, "We'll be starting in a little bit, but we're still waiting on the Mudwings. Gale made some of her famous cookies, if you're hungry."

Moon said that she wasn't, but out of curiosity she picked up a cookie anyway on her way to Current's living room, where Gale and Lantana were seated and chatting. The two greeted her as Moon sat down next to Gale and looked at the snack she'd gotten. Moonwatcher had never actually had a cookie before, although she had heard of them. They weren't really a thing for Nightwings, nor were they popular in the Sand Kingdom. They didn't look like anything special, either. The thing looked like just a circular blob of sand that didn't crumble as easily as sand did.

Hesitantly, she took a bite and her eyes widened as flavor exploded in her mouth. It was very sweet and sugary, with flavors that she didn't recognize. There was something that tasted vaguely like the Rainwing's chocolate, although she couldn't be sure it was the same. It wasn't meat, it wasn't fruit, but it was definitely good. She quickly took a second bite.

"So, Moon," Gale said, pausing her conversation with Lantana, "I saw you again out yesterday taking a walk with a certain Icewing. You looked like you were having fun." There was a sly kind of grin on her face, and her voice was as probing as it was amusing.

"Who's that?" Lantana asked, intrigued, "It couldn't be Winter, could it?"

"It was indeed," Gale told her, "The two were walking practically wing to wing. I noticed they kept sneaking glances at each other."

Moon shifted uncomfortably, not meeting their eyes. She'd never actually mentioned to any of these dragons what had brought her to Sanctuary, and so as far as she knew none of them would have any reason to know about her and Winter's complicated relationship. The only one that might have any idea was Current after she'd tracked her down to Winter's house to make a point of letting her know when the first reading club meeting was. And Gale had mentioned seeing them walking before. But she'd never given anyone any reason to think that she would be "sneaking glances" at Winter.

Almost as if on cue with her thoughts, Current poked her head in from the other room. "Oh, do I detect a hint of romance, then?" she asked mischievously, "You certainly didn't waste any time getting involved in the town, and now the townsfolk, it seems. And you know, I was quite curious when I found out you were staying in his place."

"Oh, you're staying with him?" Gale asked somewhat dramatically, "This I did not know. I couldn't imagine Winter letting any dragon stay with him."

"Well, we were friends in school, at Jade Mountain," Moon said, still not looking at them, "I was in a bit of a situation, and he's been helping me out."

"Friends, eh?" Gale pushed, "I can't say that you looked like nothing but 'just friends' to me."

Moon twitched her tail but was silent.

"Regardless, kind of odd to think of Winter showing any interest in anyone, if that's indeed what happened," Lantana said, "He was quite active in building the town, but now he only seems to be focused on those odd scavengers of his. It's a weird obsession, if you ask me."

"I think it's fascinating," Current said, "I tried to ask him about it once. He gave me a brief tour and that was about it."

"Probably because you were more interested in him than the tour," Lantana snorted.

"Well, can you blame me?" Current raised a claw in defense, "You can't deny that there's something almost dreamy in that rugged exterior, those eyes that betray such deeper emotion than he shows, and his solace studying the lesser creatures. And those handsome white scales—"

"You read too many scrolls, Current," Gale cut her off with a roll of her eyes.

The Seawing gave a huff. "Just because you all don't appreciate my romance novels doesn't mean they're not good. We've been over this before."

Moon looked up at Current in a bit of interest over her words about Winter. There was an odd emotion there, one somewhat similar to what she'd felt when Peril had hugged him. She couldn't quite place it, though. Or maybe she could, and she just refused to admit it to herself.

"So," Lantana asked, pulling Moon out of her thoughts, and Moon found the Sandwing staring her dead in the eyes. "Is there anything between you and Winter?"

Moon hesitated, a war suddenly breaking out in her mind. Should she tell them what had happened? Could she admit her failings? They'd think less of her, surely. But they'd also find out sooner or later. Really, it was almost surprising that she hadn't been seen by any of them in private with Coldshock already. But still…she hated to think what her friends might think. Even now their minds were filled with nothing but eager curiosity—she would feel crushed if that all turned to disgust at her.

But if Moon had learned anything from her previous fiascos with trying to hide her mind reading, it was that the truth was better, even if caused discomfort at first. She gave a long sigh. "You could definitely say that there is, yes," she told the three dragonesses, "Especially because we have a son together."

She expected some sort of shocked reaction, flashes of disappointment or distain. Instead, she heard…nothing, really. Some additional curiosity, but nothing intensely negative. Perhaps a bit of reservation, but targeted more so at themselves than at her.

"I…see…" Gale finally broke the silence, "And I take it you aren't mates? Like, officially, I mean."

"Correct," Moon nodded, and she did hear a little bit of negativity in the minds of her friends, negativity that was quickly washed away as they chided themselves for it. "It's…kinda why I'm here, actually."

"I wouldn't have thought that of Winter, though…" Lantana observed, and Gale shot her a look.

"It's nothing like that," Moon tried to quickly assure them, "It was…well, it's complicated. But he didn't take advantage of me, if that's what you're thinking. Nor I him. I had a mated and then mated Winter, and that's about all I care to say."

The others looked at her in silence for a long time. Moon still heard curiousity and a little doubt in their minds, but none said anything else. At least until one dragon clasped her talons together lightly.

"Well, what's your son's name? How old is he?" Current asked, a little awkwardly at first, but then her face lit up. "Is he interested in scrolls?"

"His name is Coldshock," Moon told them, "He's nearing a month old now. And he hasn't quite learned to read yet."

"You should bring him to the next meeting," Gale said, "I think we'd all like to meet him." She smiled, "I do adore young dragonets. Always wanted to have one or two of my own someday."

"More trouble than they're worth," Lantana huffed from beside her. Gale swatted her with a wing, and the two began to bicker. The topic was dropped, and Moon began to relax.

Not long later the Mudwings arrived and the reading club began in earnest. Discussing the chapter, discussing their thoughts…it was all Moon expected it to be, and it was enjoyable just being able to talk about something fun for a change. They joked, they dived deeper into the themes. They speculated about what might happen next, and Moon helped herself to another cookie as the meeting went on through the morning.

And Moon felt accepted, and Moon felt happy.

"All scavengers accounted for this morning?" Winter asked Swallow as he scribbled down his notes on the creature's activities. "I've seen twenty-two of them out and about so far. I'm still missing Dandelion and Poppy. Poppy's the female that got stuck in the mud a few months ago, remember?"

"I do indeed," the Skywing answered. He tapped his tail. "I saw Dandelion a while ago next to the red hut, but no signs of Poppy. She should have been out and about by now. Want to go take a look for her?"

Winter shook his head. "Not quite yet. Scavengers are creatures of habit, but whenever we seem to figure one out, they always change. Just hold tight and maybe she'll show up. I don't want to hop in there and taint the day's research with a disturbance."

Keeping track of all the scavengers in Sanctuary was an often frustrating but necessary chore each morning. It was mainly just to make sure that none of the scavengers tried to make an escape during the night, which had happened quite a few times now. So long as they knew they were all there, there was no reason to search the perimeter for signs of escape, and they didn't have to worry about tracking down wayward mammals.

Of course, by this time Winter and Swallow had a very good grasp on the scavengers under their care. After well over a year of study, they'd learned when everything was normal in the miniature village and when things were off. The behavior of the creatures could really be dragon-like at times, and the scavengers showed enough unique individuality to warrant names of their own. Like Dandelion, a tall, yellow haired male who had a mate and was the father of the only scavenger baby in sanctuary. And Poppy, who was a bit of an oafish female, always getting herself into trouble. Of all the scavengers, she'd demanded the most direct intervention from the dragons—not because she'd tried to escape, but because she'd somehow gotten lost in the woods or was pinned under a fallen tree or trapped in excessively deep mud that required Winter or Swallow to fly in and save her.

It was annoying to have to do that, too. Mainly because Winter felt that direct intervention tainted their research somewhat. Whenever they interacted with the scavengers it seemed to disrupt them for the whole day, and Winter worried that too much engagement with them would cause them to change their behavior. He didn't want to study domesticated scavengers like Tulip that lived with dragons (although they had learned quite a bit from Swallow's pet), he wanted to observe how they lived and worked in the wild.

"Oh, look at that," Swallow exclaimed, pointing vaguely towards the small lake, "Phlox and Iris are out swimming together again. I hardly see those two apart anymore. I'd about be willing to bet coin they'll be mates soon, if they aren't already. Ten to one we'll have our second baby scavenger within the year."

Winter agreed with a hum. They'd been watching that young pair for a while now, and the courtship (if that indeed was what it was) was rather reminiscent of a draconic one. There seemed to be genuine emotion there, more so than any other lesser animal Winter had observed. As he watched, Phlox splashed Iris and the female seemed to laugh before splashing him back. Winter, of course, hurried scribbled a note on that.

"And, of course, here comes the Brute," Swallow mumbled. Neither he nor Winter particularly liked the Brute—the only scavenger they'd decided not to name after a flower after the nickname had stuck—but he'd become a sort of leader among the scavengers. They listened and obeyed him, almost like he was the queen bee of their "hive". As Winter watched, the Brute marched over to the lake and began to yell at the two younger scavengers. They hurriedly got out of the water and donned their second-skins before getting back to some sort of industrious task that Winter couldn't quite identify.

That seemed to satisfy the Brute, who gave a huff before joining them. He cast a long gaze at their outpost, which always unnerved Winter. They were supposed to be watching and studying the scavengers, but the Brute more than any other seemed to watch them back.

The Brute's behavior had been well documented by this point, but even so Winter scribbled the details of this particular occurrence in his scroll. More data was always helpful in his reports. What would be even more useful, though, would be a second settlement. It would be interesting to see if the Brute's role in the sanctuary was something that occurred in all scavenger groups. He'd have to look into expanding the scavenger area significantly in the future to accommodate another whole village of them…

Winter was distracted by the feeling of his tail being pulled. He hissed and whipped his head around to see Coldshock tugging on it. His spike of anger quickly cooled, but a sense of annoyance remained.

"Yes, Coldshock?" Winter asked with a sigh.

"I'm bored, Dadda," his son whimpered. "Bored bored bored bored bored."
Winter wasn't sure when that word had entered Coldshock's growing vocabulary, but he did know that he was quickly becoming tired of it. His son normally entertained himself by playing with Tulip when he came with him to the scavenger sanctuary, but Swallow had left his pet at home today. And while Luna was here, the raven only had so much tolerance for play. She'd entertained Coldshock for an hour or so, but after that she'd perched herself on Swallow's desk and sat silently, looking out the window at the sky forlornly.

"Well, the day's only getting started," Winter told him, "You can go home and do something fun with your mother at noon. Right now you need to stay here. I can get you a scroll to draw on, if you want. Swallow, where are those spare scrolls?"

"I don't wanna draw," Coldshock huffed, wriggling his wings.

"Then what do you want to do?" Winter asked, growing exasperated. He'd never had this problem in the Ice Kingdom. Dragonets were practically always kept busy training and developing their fighting and hunting skills. But that needed a teacher, and Winter was busy with his work.

The little hybrid thought for a second. "I want fish."

"Coldshock, we just ate breakfast a little bit ago."

"No, no," he shook his head, "I want fish."

"I think he means he wants to fish," Swallow observed, "Like you did the other day."

"Oh, well," Winter sighed again and gave his son a firm look, "We can't fish right now. I have work I need to do, okay?"

"But I'm bored," Coldshock insisted again, and he gave another tug on Winter's tail.

"You could take him on a short flight," Swallow suggested, "I still haven't seen Poppy out and about yet. It might be good to do a fly over and check the forest for her. And Coldshock hasn't actually been inside the sanctuary yet, has he?"

"No, but…"

"Then go ahead, it'll be fun, and something to do," Swallow insisted, "I'll hold things down here."

Winter twitched his tail. "If you insist…" he looked down at Coldshock. "Do you want to go on a flight, then? And will you promise to behave?"

The dragonet nodded enthusiastically. Winter hesitated again. He didn't want to encourage this sort of behavior from Coldshock by rewarding his complaining. All the same, Swallow was right. It wasn't like Poppy to not be out and about by now. He didn't like it when one of his scavengers was unaccounted for.

"Okay then," Winter finally conceded. He lowered himself and felt Coldshock jump on his back and then climb up his side. His little claws kind of tickled as they gripped his scales, and Winter felt his son's tail brushing against him as it whisked back and forth eagerly.

Leaving the building, Winter wasted no time in launching himself into the sky. With a tilt of his wings to change direction, he was soaring over the wall of the scavenger sanctuary, nearly directly over the little dwellings below. If it were anywhere else, he was sure that the scavengers would be scattering in fear below him. As it was, the creatures just stared up at him and went back to what they were doing. They'd become rather desensitized to dragons, Winter had to guess, and he knew that if they ever wanted to truly study scavenger reactions to dragon predation he'd have to research them outside of captivity.

He leaned forward and dove downward, Coldshock giving a gleeful cheer from his position on his back. Winter's eyes scanned the scavenger living areas quickly just to make sure, and he didn't see Poppy at all. Pulling up, he turned again and flew over the lake and began to patrol over the surrounding forests. Chances are she was somewhere in there. If not, then it was probably time to begin going over the barriers to see if there were any signs of escape.

Actually, I might want to start with that…he thought, angling himself over that way. He Began to fly in the big rough-circle that made up the sanctuary, keeping a close eye to see if there were any ladder-like structures set up against the wall that could have been used to climb over it. He couldn't quite see anything to suggest an escape.

But he did see something a little unusual. There, near the gap in the wall where the stream that fed the lake went in (where he had taught Coldshock to fish earlier), he saw a large gray female wolf. The creature seemed to be pacing back and forth in irritation, right in front of that entrance. It looked like it was in distress, and as Winter watched it gave a miserable sounding howl.
Winter peered at it, debating whether or not to make it a snack, when he heard Coldshock cry out "Dadda!" He turned his head to see his son pointing down on the other side of the wall. His eyes followed the direction and he saw a scavenger sitting by the stream.

There's Poppy, Winter thought to himself with relief. But what's she doing here?

Curious, he decided to see what the matter was. He gently circled in the air, descending slowly, and alighted in a clearing near her. Poppy appeared to tense up as he approached, but she didn't try to flee. The scavengers had figured out that if the dragons wanted to eat them they would have done so already, and as such they had nothing really to fear. Winter did notice that she was holding something in her arms, though, and he peered at her curiously.

He felt Coldshock hop off his back and the dragonet began to approach her. At once Poppy's whole face lit up, her mouth forming an "o" shape. She gave a kind of squeal of delight and approached Coldshock, who gave a confused step back. She was babbling something excitedly at him, and Winter wished he could understand her language (if it even was a language).

"Dadda?" Coldshock asked, unsure what he should do.

Winter gave an amused snort and rolled his eyes. Poppy always was a weird one.

She took another step forward and kneeled down, reaching out to Coldshock. As she did so, Winter saw what she was holding. It appeared to be an odd bundle of fur. He looked closer and it appeared to move. The he heard it whimper. With Poppy focused on Coldshock, it suddenly jerked and wriggled out of her grasp, falling to the ground.

Poppy cried out and reached to grab the thing, but it bounded away from her. But it could not quite get away from Coldshock. With one well-time leap he launched himself onto the animal, pinning it down. It squealed and tried to get away, but Coldshock gripped it tightly.

"Wait!" Winter called out just as his son was about it make it a morsel, "Coldshock, wait. Let it go for a second."

Coldshock did as he was told as Poppy looked on in shock. He mostly stepped off of his catch, keeping only one paw on it. And with that, Winter finally got a good look at it.

It was a wolf cub, just a small little thing. Not even old enough to be weaned yet. It struggled under Coldshock's talons, giving a pitiful whimper.

It must be the wolf outside's, Winter thought to himself. He noticed that it was oddly wet, and it dawned on him that the thing must have gotten inside by using the stream. It probably fell in and got carried inside by a current. Poppy likely stumbled upon it and pulled it out. She probably has a thing for babies, Winter mused, considering her excited reaction to Coldshock. Scavengers must like cute things. I'll need to write that down when I get back.

Winter wondered for a second what to do. On one talon, he was tempted to let Coldshock have his snack. Dragons were predators, after all. On the other talon…he couldn't help but remember the mournful cry of the she-wolf. And he couldn't help but think about his own son…

Maybe animals couldn't feel emotions like dragons. But scavengers sure seemed to be able to, and even Luna—a raven—appeared to be more complex than he'd imagined. Maybe wolves were the same, maybe not, but just like Winter had with the polar bear and her cub all those years ago in the Ice Kingdom, Winter couldn't bring himself to separate a pair like that.

"Here, c'mon, Coldshock," Winter said, stepping forward and gently taking the animal from him, which squirmed uncomfortably, "Let's get the little guy back to its mother."

His son looked at him questioningly, but obeyed, hopping back onto his back. Winter took off, leaving Poppy there (now that he knew where she was, he wasn't worried about her making an escape again). He landed again just outside the wall, where the wolf was still pacing. She peered at him and growled a low, dangerous growl, one that grew more intense when she saw her cub in Winter's claw.

Gently, Winter set the small wolf down. The cub immediately ran to its mother with a loud whine, and the she-wolf nuzzled it while looking at them cautiously. The small wolf whimpered again, and the mother gazed at them for a long time. Winter couldn't quite decipher if there was emotion in her eyes, although he liked to imagine there was thankfulness. Regardless, she didn't make another sound before she grabbed her child by the scruff of its neck and carried it away, disappearing into the woods.

"Well, that went well," Winter hummed to himself, turning back to go to the sky. It was a small thing, but he felt he did the right thing there. He'd make it up to Coldshock with a snack later. In fact, they were right by the stream now. Coldshock had wanted to fish, anyway.

His son tilted his head, still watching the place where the wolf had disappeared. "Prey?" he asked, confused.

"Not everything has to be prey, Coldshock," Winter told him, "Just because it is edible doesn't mean you have to eat it—or even should eat it. Sometimes, there are more important things to worry about. Sometimes, you should do something because it's right, not just because you can, and not because you feel it would make you look good or impress others."

In other words, you don't have to be an Icewing all the time, Winter added in his mind. Which could be easier said than done, sometimes, but Coldshock didn't know any of that. And Winter would not subject him to it. He would raise his son with warmth and love, not with the icy coolness that his parents raised him with.

He nuzzled his son, who still looked a little confused. "We can't stay long, but if you want to, you can try to catch a fish or two before we go," he told him. "Promise to behave after, though? No tail pulling."

Coldshock nodded, then immediately bounded over to the water and peered in, his tail waving high behind him as he prepared to make his catch. Winter shook his head and smiled, then laid down on the ground and watched his son have fun.