Nightjar flew through the dark veil of night, guided only by the light of the three moons and the stars. She was getting close to the border of the kingdom and decided to land for a moment to check her route. She landed silently between several trees, shielding herself from potential eyes with the foliage above her. The ground was hard and the grass was greener because as she continued on her way, the swampy weather was fading.
She rummaged in her satchel, took the map of the continent that she had previously put in her satchel and unfolded it under her eyes. In the absence of a strong light source, she could help herself with her night vision that she had inherited from her father's clan. "I should be located not far from the Diamond Spray Delta" she thought. Nightjar knew the topography of the area perfectly, but she had not had the luxury of studying the topography of the other kingdoms. Her goal was to get to the Sand Kingdom. If Root had really been right, her parents' attackers had to be in this area for sure.
The biggest problem of this plan was the mountain range that separated her from that promised land. It had been occupied by bandits for almost ten years now according to the information of the mudwings and they were becoming more hostile every day and nobody knew why. Nightjar couldn't risk dying foolishly and chose instead to be cautious by passing this great chain for safety. So she had no choice but to make a stopover by the sky kingdom. "At least I would see some new clans. I wonder if Queen Falcon has completely abolished her mother's authoritarian reforms" she thought curiously. Indeed, the hybrid had rarely had the opportunity to see dragons from other clans. The only ones she had seen were skywings and only from a distance.
"But first, I need to get across the fierce armed border." she thought fearfully. Nightjar knew that this one was constantly guarded by Swamp's colossal border guard. Her only option was to walk for the next few hours while remaining aware of her surroundings, hoping to slip through the cracks. The only thing her ears could hear were the crickets and the leaves of the oak trees in the wind. She checked her position one last time before putting her map back in the leather bag.
Just as she was about to move forward silently, she was frightened by the cracking of a branch behind her. Nightjar turned and stood on guard, eyes wide open and baring her fangs, hoping to be threatening. But there was nothing, not a trace of life. She could only see trees on the horizon, and an owl on a slightly higher branch, staring at her, eyes fixed, with curiosity. However, this sensation of being spied on by someone was not a simple impression, she was persuaded to have been followed at this moment. "I did check that nobody was following me, I'm sure" she panicked in a low voice. She could not afford to raise her voice to frighten her opponent. She would risk attracting attention.
At the same time, that owl that had been loitering on the branch redirected its attention to a small bush not far from her by turning its head sharply. Its pupils dilated, it wiggled its wings a little and dived violently behind the bush. Brown wings sprang up from the bush followed closely by the entire body of a mudwing, revealing a familiar face. "Reed ?" shocked Nightjar, not feeling afraid anymore. The younger brother struggled with the bird as it hovered around the spy for a moment before flying back into the depths of the forest. He had cowered in on himself, talons on his head, before finally glancing up, meeting his sister's deep, furious violet eyes. "Oh..." he seemed to realize his stupidity. "Hey Nightjar... I was just wandering around and ny luck I...
- Shut up right now before I decide to roll your face on the bark of this oak tree" she said coldly, pointing quickly at the large plant. If her Toad were here, he would be ashamed of her. The hybrid herself felt guilty. She was angry at herself for making such a stupid mistake, but she was especially angry at herself for involving her brother in her adventure. And the other problem was that it seemed that her camouflage of black scales of night wings was not proving as effective as she had hoped in the night. Seeing Reed's wet, guilty eyes directed at the grassy ground, she regained her composure for a moment before resuming, "Sorry, I'm a little angry and nervous since I didn't plan for anyone to find me. First of all, why did you follow me? She was really trying to stay clear-headed and definitely not start yelling at her sentimental brother.
- Well, I was worried about the fact that "I don't know", he said, mimicking quotation marks with his claws and finally looking her straight in the eye, that my sister I care about have suddenly decided to leave home. And also by the fact that she lied to me and our family !" he took offense.
She didn't know what to say, she was now the guilty one. And she felt uncomfortable with this evidence that she could not answer.
"You're planning on finding your parents, right?" asked Reed, his face worried.
- Listen, I couldn't...
- Did you ever think about how it would feel when you suddenly disappeared ? Do you have any idea what it means to leave like that, how dangerous it is outside the kingdom ? You know about these bandits who...
- I know all that ! But I do NOT have the choice! she interrupted him in her turn dryly, That makes me mad and I feel like I'm losing my mind. I need answers, I need to find my parents' gravediggers. I know who they are and I can't afford to live with peace of mind until they've suffered the consequences of their deaths !
- Because you know who they are now ? Again, you lied to us ! Is there anything else you're not telling us, you're not telling me !
- Since when does it concern you ? Nightjar said angrily, It's up to me to find out what's going on! If I had told you about this project, you would have done everything to stop me.
- I don't want you to die for this stupid quest !
- Stupid ? STUPID ?! she repeated, This is my life we're talking about ! Of what my parents were!" she screamed emotionally, claws clenching on the ground.
She had tears in her eyes and a lump in her throat. Knowing that her family wanted her to return at all costs and prevent her from finding was something. She was already aware that they would react that way. But to have her own brother describe her and her parents as something "stupid", trivial and even something that do'esn't matter : that was a big mistake. She wanted to lash out at him, to insult him, to despise him so she could vent all her anger. Instead, without thinking, she turned her back on him and said coldly like a blizzard: "Go away. Or don't follow me.
- I beg your pardon?
- You heard me very well. I will not repeat it." she answered by turning her head towards him. Her eyes were empty and a new tear flowed, as if it had absorbed all the sadness in her soul. "Another tear." She felt weak for always crying. "You said it yourself, she continued, the journey will be long and perilous. And I can't afford to drag you behind me."
Unable to hold this conversation any longer and she wanted to take flight with an even heavier heart than when she left before even listening to her brother's answer. But she heard voices at their backs. Despite their argument, Nightjar cared about Reed and she reflexively rushed with him out of survival reflex behind the bushes. "What are you..." gasped Reed. The half nightwing did not answer him in order to be sure she knew where the strangers were. Her instincts were right as the two dragons soon saw the distant glow of a torch. "Maybe, THERE !" shouted a black dragon as it emerged from behind a tree trunk. From its voice, the stranger sounded more like a dragoness, and from her scales, anybody could tell that she was a nightwing.
Nightjar watched through a small hole in the bush and her fear left her for a moment at the sight of the stranger. "She's from my father's tribe." she thought to herself, watching her more carefully. Her scales were dark with a purple tone, her horns were white and pointed as were the spines that ran down her back. "But what is she doing here ? She's still in the realm of the mud wings." Her heart began to beat faster as she remembered that if strangers had managed to get into the kingdom while there were guards everywhere on the border, it didn't mean anything good. "Strange, the newcomer said thoughtfully, I was sure I heard someone shouting over here.
- You know, I really think you're getting crazier every day." a deeper voice replied. The one to whom this voice belonged emerged from the darkness, torch between his claws and sporting black and yellow striped scales.
"Shut up you moron, I'm sure of what i'm doing this time !
- And you say that every time." said the hivewing colleague while sighing.
Looking at him more intensely, she deduced that this stranger was a hivewing. She figured it out by the large dark horn he sported on his head and he had two pairs of wings with a shape reminiscent of an insect. Nightjar didn't know if it was because of these ones but he was immensely tall and his huge tail increased that feeling. She estimated that she was only up to his chin. There was only a little bit of information about them since they came from Pantala, another continent. With the clan of the silkwings as well as the leafwings, they had arrived on the west coast of Pyrrhia, near the border between the Sand and Ice Kingdom. The silkwings and the leafwings had moved to the rain wing forest and had settled, with the agreement of Queen Tulip, in this immense territory while the hivewings had settled in the Diamond Shards Delta. However, the biggest problem was the presence of the night wing. Their kingdom was on the opposite side of the continent, to the southwest. They did have clandestines, who had fled their clan, but that usually meant they were engaged in unsavory activities.
Reed must have been thinking along the same lines because he whispered to Nightjar: "Do you think that...
- I'm sure of it. They're mountain bandits. It's the only valid explanation."
"And we could have avoided this if you hadn't followed me", she thought loudly in her head. But now was not the time to complain. Right now, they had to come up with a plan to avoid them. Either they would wait for them to pass, or they would go straight to the confrontation. But given Reed's fighting skills and the size of the opponents, Nightjar couldn't afford to have a one-on-two fight. So their only option was to wait or to leave quietly.
- Listen," said the hivewing, "I want to finish this trip as soon as possible. If we don't find anything, it's not bad. In any case, the boss will send us back here and we'll come back next week.
- But still Hornet, imagine if we find THE jackpot. We won't have to wander around in these horrible swamps with boredom anymore. declared the Nightwing with excitement
- Yes, but I don't have much hope. It's been 5 years since there is this reward and in 5 years of research what has been found ? questioned the supposed Hornet while complaining, "Nothing. Nothing. The complete void ! Not even a small clue."
As Nightjar spied them hoping to find a moment of inattention where the two survivors could have left, her ears were violently hurt. "NIGHTJAR ! shouted Reed.
- You're such a... "But she didn't have time to answer when a tall figure rushed at her. It charged her chest, shoulder first, and the hybrid gasped. She flew out of the bushes, tumbling to the ground, cowering and staring at the cold grass in pain. When she could breathe normally again, her heart raced again. She cautiously and fearfully raised her gaze and met the surprised face of the nightwing. "What the... May I ask you who this damsel in distress is Foeseeker ?" said the nightwing offended.
Nightjar wanted to leave, redirecting himself to Reed, but a colossal pressure was exerted on her back and powerful arms gripped her horns, his head now immobilized in the opposite direction of her former hiding place. "I think I've found exactly what we need. replied a female voice from behind her back.
- No way it is... NO-WAY! WE'VE DONE IT!" shouted with joy this one while looking with excitement at Hornet.
The excited one of the group of strangers continued her hymn of joy: "See, she said, addressing the hivewing, you just have to be patient and most of all to ask. Jack-pot !
- Wait we can... " But Nightjar didn't have the luxury to continue because of the violence she suffered on her neck. Making her fall into a deep sleep. "Not again..." she thought in fear before she passed out completely.
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Yep, my girl is being kidnapped and will probalby met someone. Who knows ?
- Just A Guy Chilling