Wings of Evolution (WoF AU)

Chapter 34

Of the Mire

The sky above the sea was perfectly blue, bluer than Mire had ever seen it. She'd wondered often why the sky here was bluer than back home, but she'd long since given up on understanding the phenomena.

All Mire knew was that the island wasn't that bad, the dragons were nice, there was very little fighting, and there was a really nice mud puddle just outside the base where all the mudwings liked to socialize.

It was much better than the front lines that she'd fought in for the last three months. The sounds and sights of bloody battles still waged behind Mire's eyes. It hit every dragon differently; thankfully, most generals were trained to spot the battle fatigue. They were trained to look for the signs that a dragon was no longer well in the head and couldn't fight anymore.

Those soldiers were usually stationed at peaceful bases like this one. Bases where fighting was rare and other operations vital to the war effort took precedence. Operations like the growth of an annoyingly stubborn weed.

Mire wandered into the large greenhouse that they'd built specifically for this use. It was large enough to grow enough Greentop to cure several hundred dragons. Theoretically.

It wasn't working though.

Mire prodded the wilting leaves of the nearest planet with a frown, sighing as she passed it over. After the initial planting and watering, everything seemed like it was going well, and the plants grew. But then they hit a strange wall. They stopped entirely after the first week of growth and immediately began to wilt, as if they hadn't been watered enough, or as if they weren't getting enough sunlight. Or maybe they needed to be fertilized.

All Mire knew was that the plants weren't growing, even with the princess's express orders to grow them at this base which was supposed to be more effective.

Mire propped up the wilting leaves with a worried look, glancing at the plants they'd increased the sunlight for and deciding that it wasn't helping. She sighed and got out the fertilizer, wrinkling her nose at the smell as she began to spread it on a different batch. It was essential that they figure out what would be the best way for greentop to grow.

Her entire world depended on it.

Mire felt entirely unprepared for the world depending on her. And while she knew in theory that there were other bases growing this plant, she'd been told that it had the best chances of growing on this island. And if this was how badly it was growing here, Mire could only imagine how little progress the other bases were getting.

She sighed and turned toward her assistant, a fidgety rainwing who woke up screaming most nights. He was frowning at the half-dead sprouts as well. What was his name again? "They weren't doing very well in the first place, but this..." he shook his head as his scales shifted through a barrage of sad colors. "Maybe the princess will have more ideas when she gets back?"

Mire nodded, "perhaps."

The rainwing seemed almost hopeful, but Mire already knew they were doomed. Oh, so doomed. At this rate, there would be no freeing of any of the soldiers.

Mire shook her head while the rainwing wasn't looking, and felt the leathery leaves of the weed. They felt alright, but the leaves weren't the part used to make the cure. It was in the flowers, and those wouldn't come unless the plant was indisputably healthy.

They'd only gotten three plants to flower so far, and-

Screams erupted from outside.

Mire and her assistant jumped, looking toward the screams. "Are we being attacked?" the rainwing asked immediately, scales turning green with fear.

Mire frowned and shook her head, "that's very unlikely. I'll go check it out, you can stay here and hide if that makes you more comfortable."

The rainwing nodded sharply and rushed deeper into the greenhouse as Mire rolled her eyes and opened the door softly. It seemed peaceful outside, or as peaceful as things tended to be, the sun was still high, a stupid time for an enemy to attack an unknown base.

Mire walked outside, following the shouts and screams, the greenhouse wasn't in an ideal spot to observe the base, it was behind a grove of trees and Mire had to go through that before she knew what was happening.

What she saw stopped her in her tracks.

Her assistant was right.

The pains of battle reached even this haven from the sights behind her eyes. Mire remembered oh so many battles at that moment, she remembered watching Pigeon falling falling falling... down a cliff, nothing to remember him but a broken wing and a useless sister. They'd lost their other two siblings years before and had somehow held strong into adulthood, but now Mire was alone, because of these battles.

She watched Pigeon falling again, watched the enemy surging forward as the traumatized dragons of this peaceful base failed to protect all they held dear. She watched as several took up the spear again, the sword, the bow, attacking fighting, and living for all their dreams.

And Mire couldn't do it. Mire was broken and she couldn't do it.

When one of the enemies spotted her, watching. Frozen on the edge of the battlefield, it wasn't long before Mire was out of the picture, darkness clouded her vision as blood seeped out of her side, wounded. Not fatal! Her battlefield first aid shouted, bind it up and you'll be fine!

But Mire didn't do anything. She lay there in a pool of her own blood and didn't even wonder if anything she'd done was worth it.

---

When Mire came to, she was bound. Healed by unknown talons and tied up with several others from the base, a NightWing walked up to her as Mire let her eyes flutter open, still only seeing the terrible sight of Pidgeon falling.

The NightWing crouched in front of her, green eyes staring past Mire's face, not seeing but still doing. Mire saw herself in those eyes, broken, sort of. He handed her a wad of crushed leaves, and numbly she took them, barely caring that this was an enemy in front of her.

"Eat this, and you won't have to do it anymore. They'll do it for you and you can still be of use."

Mire looked at the leaves, part of her remembering that this was a reasonably common plant she was used to seeing, it was from the rainforest from what she remembered, a large and leafy fern that didn't mind growing in the swamps.

She'd never eaten it, why would a dragon eat plants? But right then she didn't really care, let someone else deal with it. She held the leaves and counted them, keeping them precisely for several minutes. Then one by one from smallest to biggest, Mire ate the six leaves.

They were bitter, but she still chewed and swallowed the entire leaf.

After the sixth, Mire felt something in her mind bloom. It seemed as if it had always been there, but she was only now seeing it. A sort of connection that was foreign to her but also more familiar than the rising and falling of Pigeon's breath.

All it said was fly, and Mire graciously let it take over. She spread her wings but noticed the ropes still around her, so she waited for the helpful NightWing to untie her, and really, this was better.

Now fly. Fly as far as you can, child, follow those who guide you, and let all your worries fall to me.

Mire let the voice show her what to do, and finally, the sight of Pigeon falling off the cliff faded into the background. Blessedly, Mire was free. 

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Yay? Perspective? 

;-; Mire gets an hour of therapy for every Vote.