Wings of Fire; The Sinking Continent

Cliffwing - 5

Static flashes illuminated the storm-filled sky. Shortly after Mesa left the gorge, dark clouds had rolled in from off the coast, bringing with them a torrential downpour. It battered her wings and weighed them down, slicking her scales with rainwater and dripping into her eyes.

I wish I had a Rootwing's transparent eye caps, she swore internally. I'd have no problem with the rain then.

Flicking the water from her face with a talon, she looked down. There had to be a place for her to shelter somewhere while the storm passed.

They never used to be this bad.

A gale came from the east, forcing itself under her wings and tossing her across the sky. Wing over wing she tumbled towards the earth, stomach twisting with each flip.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she felt the gravity tug her downward. Drawing her wings in, she tilted her nose down the best she could and fell like a stone. When the winds lessened with the drop in altitude, she opened her eyes again and snapped her wings open, her fall coming to a jerky halt. Breathing a sigh of relief, she drifted downwards to search for a place to rest.

Now that she was closer to the ground, she could see the faint red blood stains left on the grass that were being washed away. There were weapons littered across the open field, both of Cliffwing and Sunwing origins. Where she assumed there had been bodies, there were dark circles of blood or squashed grass. Most of the corpses had been removed and taken back to their tribes for burial. That must be the remnants of the battle from two weeks ago, she thought.

She landed lightly in the grass by the edge of the adjacent forest. Stepping under the trees, she felt a momentary relief at the lack of drumming rain against her spine. Shaking out her wings, she continued forward through the wood.

The pleasant sound of rainfall filled her ears. It rolled off the leaves overhead and fell upon the puddle covered ground, ripples disturbing the reflective pools. Mesa's talons splashed in the mud, her face cringing with each step. The messages had better not be soaked. She growled under her breath at the thought. I should probably memorize them, just in case. She held her tail up away from the ground, ensuring it wouldn't get muddied.

After a while of wandering the patchy forest, she came across a dip in the earth. It gave way to a low-roofed cavern with roots dangling from the ceiling and cool stone floors. It looked damp, but not nearly as wet as the land aboveground.

Settling in the mouth of the cave, just out of reach from the pelting rain, Mesa breathed a plume of flame over the stone below her. After a little bit, she laid down on the warm rock and lifted the leather bag over her head. Resting the bottom of it on the ground, she uncliped it and reached inside. Thankfully it still felt dry, and when she pulled out the first message- which upon closer inspection was addressed to Queen Velvet- the scroll was just as crisp and tightly sealed as when she had gotten it. Cobalt's, however, was crinkled, and the graphite lettering was smudged slightly across the paper.

At least I can still read it.

She set it aside and took the scroll back into her talons. It had a wax seal, which she grinned at. "Oh, Queen Anaconda thought she was clever," she purred, carefully scraping off the wax. It came off intact and in one piece, which she placed on top of her bag. Unrolling the parchment, she admired the formality of the letter before she started reading.

"Dear Queen Velvet,
I did hope that you'd be more rational in your actions in these difficult circumstances. If I understood correctly, you sent a single dragon into my kingdom to abduct one of our dragonets. She was unsuccessful, and I've placed her under careful watch in one of my prisons until further notice. I urge you to not make any further advances into the Mangrove Forest, or I will be forced to retaliate.
Queen to Queen, I can assure you the last thing either of us wants is unnecessary bloodshed. If you agree to a meeting in which we can settle the issues persisting to trouble our tribes, I will bring your spy along to release back into your custody. If not, I promise no harm will come to her during her stay in my kingdom.
May the tides ebb,
Queen Anaconda"