𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 31

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✍︎ CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE ✍︎
WE WON'T KILL EACH OTHER

TSUNAMI AND STARFLIGHT STOOD, looking at each other. Tsunami's sides were heaving, and she was covered in Gill's blood. She looked scarier than usual, and Starflight clawed the sand nervously as if he wasn't sure she wouldn't snap and kill him. Slowly Tsunami walked over to Starflight. He opened his wings, and she leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. IceMoon smiled, but her heart patterned cold, unnaturally. Do I like him? She thought, "BOOO... ooo?" Called a solitary voice from the crowd, dropping off as no one joined in. "Awww," went a few in the upper seats far enough from the queen to be recognized.

"This is getting worse and worse," Burn hissed through gritted teeth "aren't you going to fight?" Queen Scarlet called. Tsunami and Starflight didn't even look up "this is very annoying," the queen added, and IceMoon scowled at her, Have a heart, she thought. "Go on; you've been stuck with each other for years. You must be ready to kill her Nightwing. Doesn't she drive you mad?" IceMoon looked over at Clay and glory, wishing that the RainWing had smiled at her. Clay did. But the colorful dragonet stayed silent and had her eyes closed.

"No?" Scarlet asked, leaning forward "oh fine, be the worst gladiators ever. Vermilion! Release the scavengers!" Vermilion flapped his wings, and after colossal cage came rolling out of the tunnel. The queen's son flew to the top of it and but down to scar the cord that held the door. The door fell open, and four scavengers burst onto the sand, waving claws and squeaking ferociously, "scavengers? To kill the dragonets of destiny? Are you mad?" Burn snarled "well, it only took one to get your mother," scarlet observed. Burn's head whipped aorund her venomous tail arching up toward the Skywing queen.

"Oh, calm down," scarlet said with a snort, "it'll be fun. I've got more rings waiting in the wings to Jill them if this doesn't work. This is the only exception for the hybrid I have of a NightWing, and he's probably the only one I'll ever get in my arena, and I want to see him fight everything" IceMoon leaned forward, worried. Be careful, my friends, she warned, and they hummed. The dragonets had never practiced fighting or hurrying scavengers. Scavengers only attacked dragons with treasure, and the techniques were in the scrolls that Starflight had, but IceMoon doubted he had anything about it in them.

Then again, scavengers were still prey, only a little fiercer and pointier. The guardians would often reales animals in the caves for the dragonets to chase so they could learn hunting skills. So, were scavengers any different from lizards or goats and ostriches? Tsunami pushed Starflight back against the wall and spread her wings before him, baring her teeth at the scavengers. IceMoon felt her scales crawl with the list of helping her friends. Three scavengers ran right at the SeaWing dragon; the fourth one looked and bolted for the tunnel entrance. Well, it wasn't normal for prey to run at dragons.

So perhaps scavengers were a little different after all.

"THIS IS GOING WELL," Burn muttered "the Nightwing isn't even doing anything" the other two scavengers are female," Scarlet pointed out, "they sometimes last a bit longer," one of the scavengers pointed. They split up, circling Tsunami's back, and threw herself at Starflight. As the night wing tried to hat her away, a sudden cold shot before him, and the scavenger fell to the ground, frozen to death. All the crow, Tsunami, Starflight, and Clay and scarlet and burn looked beside Clay where a specific hybrid was standing.

They saw her standing with frost smoke curling like Skywing smoke through her mouth, which was open a bit. Her blue eyes glinted angered, her icicle spikes bristled, and her tail trashed. Her black scales glinted in the sunlight as if it was on stars. "What just happened?" Burn spat, her tail arched. None answered her, and once more, another ice breath blasted at the scavenger that Tsunami was chasing; with a dying scream, the little creature froze and became an ice statue. "You're right," Scarlet said with a faked sigh to the SandWing princess.

"This isn't as thrilling as I thought it would be. Let's go straight to the IceWings!" She shouted across to vermillion. He signaled to ignore the burning gaze of the hybrid who could have iced him to death right then and there. Soon guards took off from all aorund the stadium. IceMoon watched steady, ad they scattered to the IceWing prisoners. My other tribe, she thought and felt yet another frost breath build-up, but she didn't blast it.

You and I will have a stern talk afterward, came Tsunami's voice, and the hybrid growled but kept otherwise quiet. She turned her attention back on the IceWings and counted at least eight up there: she vaguely remembers something from one of StarFlight's lectures about how IceWings hated Nightwings from some long-ago war. But, of course, she didn't hate Starflight or any Nightwing. "Finally, a smart idea," Burn hissed, "let me fight too," Clay suddenly pleaded, "put me in there with them!" No clay! IceMoon roared even if the four of us had any chance against eight IceWings.

But I would instead he down there with our friends than up here stuck on this balcony, unable to help. Don't you want that too? The mudwing dragonet laid his warm wing over the ice-cold scales of his crush. The cold of her scales with herds and just the same cool feeling rushed to meet Clay's wing membrane. Suddenly a cloud seemed to pass over the sun. The fluttering of wings made all the dragons look up as a wave of darkness flew overhead. One piece of the night separated from the rest and spiraled down into the arena, ducking under the web of wires. As he descended magnificently onto the sand, wings outstretched, IceMoon recognized him.

Morrowseer had arrived at last.

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𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄: The dragonet of two tribes | ✔️Where stories live. Discover now