Peril didn't know what was coming for her.
She was walking through the forest, trying her best not to make the trees around her die by becoming as small as possible even though the sticks and grass and flowers she was stepping on died in a heartbeat inevitably as she stepped on them and the smoke from them filled her snout, making her sneeze. She hated her firescales and sort of loved them at the same time. She tried her best not to kill anyone with them for a long time but if there was a dragon who wanted to kill her and about to kill her, she would most certainly kill them with her firescales and it was great because if they wanted to kill her, they couldn't since she'd always win. She shook off the feeling across her spine as she said that. Queen Scarlet was gone. Queen Scarlet wouldn't make her kill any more dragons because she was dead. She hated the idea of working for Queen Scarlet now and she hated that she even thought that killing was her purpose in life when it wasn't, she didn't like killing dragons. Queen Scarlet was the worst by making her kill those dragons, making her think she was a monster. Now, she still thought she was though. Dragons still regarded her as a monster and that would never change unless she didn't have her firescales or she didn't kill anyone. She wished that Queen Scarlet never made her kill thousands of dragons then she wouldn't have been thought of as a monster all the time. If only she was born without firescales and she didn't grow up with Queen Scarlet. She sighed and when she stepped on a twig again, a spear flew past her almost piercing through her foot and when she saw where the spear came from, there was a brown shape that disappeared into the forest. 'Did someone just... try to kill me?'
She didn't know but it didn't seem good that it almost hit her.
She flew back to the academy hastily with her large wings and rushed into her cave and wondered if she should run.
Sky POV:
Sky really hoped they would get to the mud kingdom. It was hard but Sky was hopeful. Wren kept saying that Sky was too optimistic but Sky shrugged it off. Today was gonna be a good day for both of them, he knew it, he could sense it in his bones. It was morning and the sun was low in the sky. Sky was walking with Wren in the mudwing kingdom where mudwings were swarming around and Sky felt relieved there was dragons to talk to here and then a brown shape flashed in his view out of the corner of his eye and he turned around to see a brown dragon close to him, staring at him expectantly. "You look really odd," the mudwing pointed out, walking around Sky. He felt a sense of sadness as he looked at his talons. He did look odd. That was true. He was smaller than other dragons, didn't have fire and was a weird orange colour. He hated how he looked, he wished he looked like a regular skywing but Wren would love him no matter how he looked. He felt the sadness drift into gratitude. He was so lucky to have Wren but he still felt a bit saddened that the mudwing had to say that he looked odd. No, he should be proud of what he looks like, Wren would want that, she would want him to love himself as much as she loved him. He didn't love himself though and he was insecure of being this way. He sighed. He wished that he was a better dragon. Maybe he could prove it somehow to Wren, that would make Wren proud of him. Not a single word came out of Sky's mouth. The mudwing turned to look at him directly in the eyes. "i like that you look odd," he said happily. Who would like what he looked like? It felt surreal to hear that someone liked how he looked like. He shook it off. He shouldn't doubt them but it felt weird for someone to like him. No, it was absolutely weird for someone to like him, no one should like how he looks. "Thanks," said Sky quietly, his wings twitching. He didn't know why but a sense of dread filled him as he stayed near this mudwing and he didn't feel this way near other dragons. Maybe it was because Wren was gripping his neck tightly. "What's your name?" the mudwing asked. "It's Sky," he replied and the mudwing looked like he was shocked by a hundred electric eels. "Uhm, i'll be right back," said the mudwing who turned and ran away. 'That was weird," said Wren on his back. She was right. Why was he so flustered to hear his name? "I think we should follow him. He seems suspicious," said Wren. "If you don't want to, we don't have to."
"No, no, it's okay," He responded. "Let's go follow him." He was scared but Wren always knew the best. Sky flew over to where the mudwing was running to and they were hiding behind a tree. The mudwing disappeared into a hut and was writing on a piece of paper. "We should go closer," whispered Wren. "I want to know what he's writing." Sky didn't know why Wren wanted to go closer because he was just writing on a piece of paper? What did she see with that mudwing? He went further to the hut and saw it. There was a knife pointing to Sky's name and a name, Peril and Queen Ruby's name. 'He wants to kill the skywing queen and someone else? Oh no, we have to do something about this,' he thought. "Wren, we have to go warn Peril first. Let's go," Sky whispered sternly. "Yeah, let's go, Sky," she replied and Sky morphed into the trees, going to warn the dragon who was about to be killed. Along the way, they added on to who they thought Peril was. Wren kept saying that Peril would be a great name for a rainwing because they're dangerous with their camouflage and venom while Sky thought Peril was a good name for a skywing because skywings have fire that is dangerous. The name seemed familiar but he couldn't recall the memories that stemmed out of the name. Fortunately, the location was dotted on a map on the paper so they knew where Peril was. Sky was so grateful for Wren realizing that the mudwing was planning to kill Sky. If she didn't then he'd probably be dead by now. They reached Jade Mountain where Peril was supposed to be and there were dragons coming in and out from the entrance. According to Wren, this must be the entrance. Sky flew down and was greeted with a bulky mudwing and he felt a shiver through his spine. This wasn't the same mudwing from earlier but it still made Sky feel scared. The mudwing greeted them with a hello and Sky asked, "Is there a dragon named Peril here?" The mudwing nodded tentatively and as the mudwing leaded them, Sky felt the burning gazes of the other dragons watching. It was uncomfortable and he felt like he was drowning in water. He couldn't do anything and there was nothing that was able to help him. As he tried swimming he couldn't swim and there was no end to the drowning. He felt like he was about to die right now until he saw her. The memories flooded back in his brain. "Is that... Peril?" said Sky, taking a step forward. Peril looked at him with wide eyes and her jaw dropped. "Sky!" Peril exclaimed, coming forward to Sky. He found it odd that her wings were unusually far away from him. "C-can we hug?" asked Sky, yearning to hug her. She made herself as small as possible and whispered, "I can't hug you. I'm a firescales." Firescales? He rummaged through the memories and found that he couldn't hug her because of them burning him. 'Huh, i can't make her insecure about her firescales,' he thought. "Oh. I can't believe you're here! I thought you were dead!" said Sky, changing the topic. "I thought you were dead too," replied Peril, her talons fidgeting. "I love you, Peril," Sky got more closer to Peril and she flinched. Why did he say that? It was so awkward. He couldn't imagine how weird it was for Peril. "I-i love you too, Sky," Peril stammered. Sky glanced at Wren and she had a genuine smile. "Why are you here though, Sky?" Sky glanced at Wren again and she motioned for him to go on.
"I've come to tell you that a mudwing wants to kill me and you."
Peril POV
A million thoughts ran through Peril's mind like, 'Was it the brown shape that just tried to kill me this morning? THREE MOONS, I HAVE TO RUN OUT OF HERE AND HIDE FOREVER! I will kill that mudwing no matter it takes." But she had to remain calm or else she would mess up. However, she had an idea. "Huh, i think we should do something about it," Peril replied, trying her best to remain calm. "Like what?" Sky asked, scratching his neck.
"I think we should kill the mudwing," she said with a dark smile. Wren and Sky's faces looked as if Peril was a volcano about to erupt. "Kill the mudwing?" echoed Sky. Her heart raced. She knew this would happen. Did she say the wrong thing? Peril nodded reluctantly. There was a long pause with Sky's horrified expression until it was interrupted by Wren screaming with a fierce expression, "I'M SO IN. WE'LL TEAR HIM TO PIECES WITH YOUR FIRESCALES!" Her screaming was so loud that dragons from the other side of the corridor were whispering, "Who was that? Firescales? Is Peril about to tear someone apart?" 'Did she just speak dragon?...' Peril thought. "Oh, i taught her dragon!" he said cheerfully, with a strained smile. Three moons, A SCAVENGER CAN SPEAK DRAGON?! Peril's jaw dropped. "I know. It's surprising but let's move on." Sky's face seemed as if he wanted to say something and she felt sad for him. "It's okay, Sky. You can tell us if you want to tell us anything," said Peril in a kind manner. This would be so awkward if Sky didn't want to tell her anything and she'd recall it everyday. "Well, it's just... how do you deal with having firescales?" Sky asked. Peril was shocked. This was a really, really terrible question because it meant she had to admit to saying Queen Scarlet taught her good when she should've been taught better ways than Queen Scarlet's. Queen Scarlet was wrong about everything and nothing could change that but... she also taught her that her scales could be useful in battle and she was right. She hated it. Hated it so much she wanted to claw out the corpse of Queen Scarlet to make herself feel better. But she had to admit it. Peril took a deep breath. "I embrace it," Peril responded and all her thoughts were screaming at her to stop and think of something else but she couldn't lie to her brother. Sky stared at his talons and asked, "But how?" Peril saw what he was thinking of. 'Oh, Sky. Don't be insecure of who you are.' "Well, i just accept it. If i can't change who i am, i should accept who i am with open arms," she said, the picture of Queen Scarlet appearing in her mind. She wanted to claw out her own brain to make her thoughts stop flooding with Queen Scarlet. She hated her but she still thought of her sometimes NEGATIVELY but she shouldn't have thoughts about her at all. Sky's ears perked up. "Huh... because i can't change who i am," Sky kept staring at his talons. "Okay, thank you, Peril." Peril bowed and then asked, "Should we go kill the mudwing?" Then Peril saw something that she probably never would think Sky was going to do until she heard it.
"Let's kill him," replied Sky with a grin.
Sky POV:
What was Sky thinking? Was this really what he wanted? A picture of his sister dying and himself dying flashed in his mind and that was what he didn't want to create. Wren saved him so this is what Wren would want him to do. "Really?" said Wren. "You don't have to get into this, Sky. Just me and Peril can kill him." Sky tapped on his chin and thought, 'Do i want to get into this?' Yes, he wanted to but he was also scared but he was safe with Wren. "No i want to contribute to this. I want to do something important," stated Sky. "Well then, let's go to his cave," said Peril. "Hut, actually," Wren corrected. "Let's go to his hut." Peril's voice had a tone of annoyance. We'll kill him with me."
Peril, Wren, and Sky were sitting near the hut of the mudwing and nobody moved, not a single muscle. Sky hoped they would be able to kill him because he definitely didn't want Peril and him to die and Wren probably. He was so angry, scared, and sad at the same time. He wanted that mudwing to die, was scared of himself dying and Peril dying and Wren dying, and sad that the mudwing had to die. However, he witnessed a sandwing die so it was for his own good.
The mudwing went outside and Peril jumped out of the side of the hut and roared. The mudwing flinched and cried, "Please! Don't kill me!" Peril recoiled and looked at her talons like they were stained with blood. 'Poor Peril. She probably had to kill other dragons by herself and feels bad when she does so,' he thought sympathetically. Out of the corner of his eye, the mudwing was closer to the side of the hut where Sky and Wren was hiding. Sky felt his stomach twist like he was about to throw up from the anxiousness. 'Think good thoughts sky, think good thoughts, be optimistic,' repeated the thoughts in his brain.
The mudwing was closer now.
The thoughts repeated more and more in his brain, becoming louder each time.
The mudwing flashed in his vision and slashed his talons against Sky's snout. Time seemed to slow down and the screams from Wren and Peril were the only thing he could hear until Sky leaped into the air and flew to the marketplace. Hopefully, they could hide there and hopefully Peril was following. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Peril and the mudwing flying after them but he was far away. Sky's heart was racing as fast as the speed of light right now. Hundreds of negative thoughts filled his mind like, 'WHAT IF WE DIE? WILL WE BE ABLE TO HIDE?' Sky flew down to the market place and went inside a shop and went under the counter with Wren. Peril followed after them and hid under the counter.
'What was going to happen to us? We might die!' thought Sky agitatedly.
Peril POV:
No sound came out of them. Peril was so mad at that mudwing, she wanted to kill that mudwing in the most diabolical way possible. Peril glanced through a crack in the counter at the mudwing and he looked confused. She wasn't scared at all, she wanted him to die already. However, would she be putting everyone in danger? No, she wouldn't, they'd want her to do this. She could kill that mudwing in an instant. She thought of Queen Scarlet and then she denied it, she didn't work for her anymore, she was her own boss and she was doing this for her life. It was important to do this. She jumped out of the counter and the mudwing was bristling. She leaped onto him and snapped his neck. There were burn marks on him already and he screamed in agony.
He was dead now.
They did it.