Bigwings

Chapter Four

AUBURN

The banner art is of Earth. It's one of my better drawings. 

"Wow!" said the light brown MudWing, his face exploding into a bright smile. "You are my siblings! This is insane! I'm Earth, by the way." Auburn stared at his brother, silent.

Earth looked nothing like them. He looked like a RainWing. He was thin and wiry. His snout looked unusually elongated (like a RainWing's), his tail was longer than usual and his claws were thinner and sharper. He also had the accent of a RainWing, a detail that filled Auburn with irritation.

"What..." Soil said. He swiveled around to glower at Kumquat. "What have you done to him?" he demanded. "He looks nothing like a MudWing!" Earth frowned at Soil. "I'd say you look weird," he said. "You're very...thick." Sienna's eyes were wide. "What do you eat?" she asked. Earth answered right away: "Some meat...mostly fruit, though. I'm not a big meat fan. I read in the scroll about MudWings that you guys are carnivorous. That's so weird! There is SO MUCH fruit in the world! Don't you want to try all of it?" 

Auburn's heart was sinking. This was not, was not, the bigwings he had expected. "Fruit is disgusting," Auburn said. "Listen," Soil said. "I know I was a horrible bigwings. Despite all your oddities, I want you to lead me and my sibs. That's the way it should've been all these years." Earth laughed. "Thanks for the offer," he said. "But I don't have much experience. I'm like the RainWings' little brother. RainWings rarely have eggs now in fear of overpopulation. There's only one dragonet younger than me. Other than that, though, everyone is my older sibling. Especially Kumquat." Earth sent Kumquat an admiring smile and the RainWing grinned back.

"Earth," said Auburn. "Do you want to come with us? Home to the Mud Kingdom?" Earth's smile faded. A look of sadness crept over him. "I--" he said. He looked at the ground. "I do want to see how it looks like," he said quietly. "But I like it here. The RainWings are like my family. They taught me how to live. They sheltered me. They gave me a purpose. I may not be as large as you, yes, but I am still very strong. I work for them, and in exchange for that, they give me many beautiful things. I don't know what I would do in the Mud Kingdom."

Sienna went over to him. "Be our boss, of course," she said to him. "Protect us. Lead us on hunts. Do everything a true bigwings should. Soil is a horrible bigwings! He doesn't even seem to care about our wellbeing!" Earth slunk away from his sister. "I have to think about it," he said. "I need a few days. Her Majesty Queen Cockatiel will shelter you. I promise. She's a great queen." Auburn saw Soil roll his eyes.

Cockatiel sighed as if all the burdens of the world had just fallen onto her shoulders. "Fine," she said, looking at her ring-covered claws. "Fine, I will give you a place to stay, no matter how much I dislike you. I give Earth two days to think about this. Grass, lead Earth's siblings to the peasant rooms." 

Auburn was furious. "WHAT?" he demanded. "THE PEASANT ROOMS?" Earth had already left. "Yes," said Cockatiel. "You'll probably get mud all over my good guest rooms, and you don't deserve to stay in them anyway. Come on, follow Grass." Auburn could see that arguing would be pointless. So he hung his head and followed Grass to the peasant rooms.

"Ugh," said Sienna, eyeing the grimy room where the three of them would have to stay. It had one bed, and even that looked like moths had eaten through it. The floor was covered in something dark and slimy. "Get comfortable," Grass said with a fake smile. She lifted a little off the ground and flapped away, no longer wanting to touch the disgusting floor.

"This is stupid," Soil muttered, retiring to the darkest corner of the dirty room and curling up on the stinky floor. "Sienna," Auburn asked his sister, "Do you think Earth can be a good leader?" Sienna thought for a moment and then nodded. "Yes," she said. "He just...grew up with the RainWings, learning their ways. Reading that scroll didn't make him more like a MudWing. He needs to actually spend time with us and then he'll figure it all out. Auburn sighed and went to the back of the room. The dirtiness of the place was getting on his nerves.

Time passed. The sun was replaced by the moon. Loud snores were heard from above. Auburn was certain he'd never be able to fall asleep in this awful place. Yet soon he found himself sliding to the ground...and he fell into the wonderful world of dreams.