King of The Dragons (Wings of Fire X Monster Hunter)

Part 2: Chapter 7 & 8

Part two: Into the Deep

(Tsunami 3rd Pov)

Overwhelmed, Tsunami spread her wings to float on the water and gazed around.
They were inside the island, surrounded by by towering cliffs on all sides. Far above them, sunlight filtered through a thick green canopy - the vines and treetops she'd seen from the sky, woven so thickly it looked like a jungle from above. Like an emerald umbrella over the island, the canopy protected the Summer Palace from view and gave the light a sea-green quality that made Tsunami feel like she was still underwater.

Waterfalls cascaded down from several holes in the cliffs, like slender dragon tails of silver, bursting into spray as they hit the lake. The only exit Tsunami could see was the tunnel behind her.

Four pillars of blue-tinted white stone spiraled out of the water, winding toward one another until they formed a towering pavilion in the middle of the lake. The pavilion had twelve circular levels, each one smaller than the one below. There were few walls, most of them very low, and the whole structure was latticed with curving shapes and holes and little wading pools. It didn't look like like it had been built; it looked like it had grown that way, although Tsunami was pretty sure that was impossible.

Dragons were clustered along the edges of the pavilion, on ledges of the cliffs, and all across the water. She'd never seen so many faces like her own, dark blues and pale greens and sharp see-in-the-dark eyes staring. The only sound was the splashing of the waterfalls, the soft hush of dragons breathing, and the quiet lapping of waves on the beaches around them.

After a moment, Starflight spotted the nearest stretch of sand and set off for it in a frantic paddle that sounded horribly loud in the silence. Sunny and Clay and Glory followed after him. It wasn't much longer until Stormcaller seemed to ascend out of the water as he climbed up onto the beach.

Tsunami stayed where she was, ignoring the tiredness that was flooding her scales. She wanted to make a good impression on the dragons of her kingdom. Many of them were floating on the water, like she was, but many more were perched in cave openings all along the cliff or on rocks that jutted out of the water, while others lined the shallow beaches. Tsunami wondered what they'd all been doing before she appeared to capture their attention.

She spotted Shark hunched on one of the spirals of the closest pillar. She rather thought he should have given some sort of welcoming speech, but he he only stared at her with his pale, unblinking eyes.
In the story, the royal parents had swept forward with a parade and a whole orchestra to welcome back their missing princess. But her parents weren't here yet, and now that she thought about it, dolphins playing harps would probably be a bit silly looking.

Well, she was a future queen, and she wasn't going to be intimidated by crowds of staring dragons. She shook her head and lifted her neck out of the water.
"Hello, fellow SeaWings," she called, and then paused as her voice echoed off the rocks, much louder than she'd expected. "I'm Tsunami, and, um- I'm very happy to be home at last, and - I look forward to meeting each of you."

Three moons, was that the most awful speech in the history of Pyrrhia? What were all these still, silent faces thinking? Could the dragons see Tsunami's natural royalty? Were they excited that she'd be their queen one day?

She remembered her royal stripe patterns and lifted her wings out of the water so everyone could see them. To be sure they were visible, she lit them up, and then, with a sinking feeling, remembered what she'd accidentally said to Riptide. She really, really hoped she hadn't just told her entire kingdom that they had delicious fish breath or something.

A murmur ran through the gathered dragons, but she couldn't tell if it was good murmuring or bad murmuring. She turned to Riptide, who was watching Shark with a grim expression.