(11 years into the war)
Asha rinsed her blue-stained claws in the river, and watched trickles of the ink-that-wasn't-ink drag away into the water. She shuddered, and a few drops of her own blood fell in, making red splashes. Her sisters sat a few feet away from her, tending each other's wounds.
"Does this hurt?" Egret asked gently, applying a bandage to Cattail's wing.
"No," she grimaced.
Her little brother Squelch had buried himself in the banks of the river, quietly shaking. Luckily, he had not been wounded in the battle, but Asha was afraid that he was hurt mentally. She wondered if that was better or worse.
Their eldest brother, Bramble, sharpened his spear by the fire. He looked into the forest, dazed, worried. She guessed he was wondering how he could protect them all when the next battle came. If he could protect them all.
They had lost their bigwings two weeks before.
Today's battle hadn't felt the same. The raking of the Icewing's claws, and the sting of their frostbreath, hurt just as much as it always had. But that feeling of hope, the feeling of spotting Gator just ahead of her, batting away spears and outstretched claws, shooting fire at a dragon attacking from behind them, was gone.
She shuddered again. War had never got to her before; she was good at fighting, especially with her siblings by her side. But without Gator, a hole had opened up in the family. Cattail had become more secluded, more rough and angry. Squelch had stopped laughing, and his happy-go-lucky nature had crumbled into constantly nervous, painfully paranoid energy. Bramble had become anxious and self-doubting. And Egret had taken to crying at night, in constant grieving, but strong enough to care for her siblings still. It was like she became the new bigwings, even though technically it was Bramble's position.
And Asha was left feeling restless, empty. She began to hate the war, hate the dragons that had forced her tribe into it. What were the Mudwings fighting for, anyway? Icewings, too, for that matter. Why couldn't the stupid Sandwings figure their affairs out for themselves?
She subconsciously started pacing, and Egret looked up at her. "Asha, you're still bleeding."
"Oh," she said indifferently. "It's not that bad."
"Asha, come here," she said sternly, brandishing a bandage at her. She rolled her eyes, but walked over and sat down.
"Icewings are the worst," Egret whispered, ducking under Asha's neck and pressing a wet cloth to a deep scratch on her chest. "Are you sure you're alright?"
She nodded. Bramble was looking at them, his eyes filled with regret.
"I-I'm sorry I didn't do better," he said, looking down at the mud beneath his talons. "Gator wouldn't have-"
"Stop comparing yourself to Gator," Egret said, gently but firmly. "You and Gator are different, and do things differently, but you both do a good job of keeping us safe."
Bramble shook his head a little, but didn't argue.
Cattail stood up with an effort. "I'll find some prey," she offered. "We could all use a little." Asha thought she saw a glimmer of unshed tears in her eyes, but she discarded the idea. Cattail didn't cry.
"P-p-please do," little Squelch said, trembling a little.
"Come here, Squirt," Bramble said to him, a glimmer of the sweet dragon he used to be emerging. "It's warmer over here."
Squelch got up and took shelter under his brother's wing as Cattail took to the sky, her right wing beating a little harder than her left. She winced with each wingbeat.
"Cattail, I can get it-" Egret offered.
"Take care of Asha," she ordered.
"I'm fine, really," she said, loud enough to be heard. Cattail snorted and kept going.
"Asha, you got wounded the worst out of all of us," Egret said, moving to apply some poultice to her tail. She lowered her voice and said, "We can't lose another sibling."
She felt her eyes welling up, and a lump rose in her throat. She couldn't say what she wanted to say: that Egret was right.
She couldn't afford to lose anyone else.
