Waking up is no longer the pleasure it was. There is a fleeting moment when Envy was whole again, happy to awaken and even surprised to be alive, but it evaporates faster than summer rain off the burnt earth. Envy opened his eyes slowly, trying to stand up, but something weighed him down, as if gravity decided to ruin his day and increase in force. Envy blinked again, his vision still unfortunately blurry.
"Newt?" He called, but he winced at the pain in his throat. It felt as if someone shoved a sea urchin down his jaws.
Streaks of sunlight penetrate through canopy and blinded him, making Envy wipe his eyes, but something was on his talons. It was soft, though, the substance seemed to stick on his face once he rubbed his eyes. After numerous blinking and wiping his face, his vision finally focuses and clears up, but, Envy's body froze in place.
"Oh moons.." Envy said softly in shock.
The forest that was once so alive now gave Envy the chills. Even with the temperate climate of the Rainforest, Envy was actually shaking, lowering his wings as he slowly looked around. The trees that sheltered so many dragons with their spreading canopy of green and provided so much are now lifeless sticks of charcoal, no more vibrant than old lamp-posts in a poor city. Envy flinched when he suddenly felt something cold hit his back. Seconds later, more droplets of cold hit him. He craned his head upwards, instantly closing his eyes when another droplet hit his eyes. It was raining. Envy shook his scales like a wet dog, not bothered too badly by the rain, but disliked how the water seeped into his scales, making him feel even heavier. The forest still that smell of burning lingers despite the rain, and Envy scrunched his nose. He got back onto his talons.
Miraculously, Envy had no severe injuries, not even burns. His muscles and talons were very sore from the constant running, and his throat ached from inhaling so much smoke, but other than those minor things, he wasn't dying, luckily. Envy unfurled his wings, which were once stained black from the wet ash, but the rain easily washed it off. The black raindrops raced down the membranes of Envy's wings, dripping to the floor; quickly revealing the glittering, mossy-green coloring of the prince's wings.
"Prince Envy?" A voice echoed through the burnt down rainforest.
Envy's ears perked up, the voice called his name again. Envy's ears were swiveling in all directions. Newt? Envy replied in his head. He snorted with uncertainty. That can't be Newt. Newt has never called Envy a prince, even after they first met. Not like Envy cared, anyway. The title 'prince' didn't matter; princesses and queens mattered.
"I'm over here!" Envy tried to yell back, but he only began to cough again. Not only was his sore throat preventing him from speaking without pain, but he was so, so thirsty. Who'd think you could be so thirsty in the rain? Yet, the rain that pattered onto Envy wasn't enough to quench his thirst, anyway.
Envy began to trot into the direction of the yelling. Envy flicked his tongue, his ears continuing to rotate in random directions as he tried to locate the voice.
"Prince Envy!"
His ears turned to the right, and he whipped his head towards the direction. He spotted a quick glimpse of dark yellow dragon zoom through the blackened, leaf-less trees, their bright scales easily seen within the hazy rain. Luckily, the dragon eventually tilted their wings and flew into Envy's direction, finally spotting the NightWing.
Envy smiled once the large SandWing landed a few feet away from him. She was a bit smaller than other SandWings he has seen, but she was still taller than him by a few inches. She had dark specks on her neck and wings, as if paint was splattered onto her and never came off. The warmth that was being emitted from her body was comfortably warm. Magnificent and shiny rings were applied on every talon on her body, there was even some kind of silver band on her tail.
"Are you okay, Prince Envy?" The SandWing asked as she curled her tail, keeping her barb secure. She flicked her black tongue, and blinked her empty, black eyes. "Newt and Conger was searching for you all night, but the fire stalled our progress. We were waiting for the fire to pass, in hopes that you survived."
"Yes, yes," Envy replied with a small smile, resisting to cough. "I have a bad sore throat, however."
"There's a medic in Cinderfell, so no worries. They'll take good care of you, especially after all you've done."
And so, the two dragons flapped back to Cinderfell. Along the way, Envy was drowning in his thoughts.
Queen Ruby set off the fire-- well, she planned the attack. Envy should've expected that. A maniac like her would do that; lure two dragonets that threatened to destroy her into a trap, set off said trap, and kill countless others without even warning them. Should Envy have questioned the RainWings behavior? From what he remembers, the rainforest dragons did act really weird. Important business is what they said. Important business? From Queen Glory? Why? Is what Envy wanted to say if he could rewind time to that very moment. Glory doesn't even know about their abilities, and Envy'd never expect the queen to read a scroll. Queens were too busy worrying about their subjects or when was dinner time-- not a scroll about two weird-looking dragons who has weird powers and are trying to save Pyrrhia. Plus, she didn't seem to be part of the raging war of finding that enchanted pearl. Why would she need help? From Newt or Envy?
If only I noticed the signs. If only I paid attention the details. Stupid. Stupid!
He hissed under his breath as he pumped his wings harder, in an attempt to calm his nerves by burning off energy.
There was one thing that was kept lingering in his mind; why didn't his foresight warn him about this situation? If he saw a vision about the SkyWings attacking him and Newt, wouldn't the forest fire we equally as dangerous? Envy was genuinely confused, but he tried his best to think of the most logical answer. One possibility is that his precognition only warns him about things when another important dragon's life is in danger, which could explain the vision of his brother, and the vision with the SkyWings. Maybe his precognition sensed that Envy was not going to die. Perhaps there was no need for a warning; the prince was smart enough and strong enough to survive the flames all by himself. Even if his foresight 'malfunctioned' during that moment, it didn't matter now. Everything was in the past.
And he had to live with the fact that he pretty much caused thousands of lives to be lost and destroyed.
Once Envy finally arrived at the city of Cinderfell, he spent a few days in bed, recovering. He was given extraordinary treatment for his charred throat and sore body, and he was relieved that Newt wasn't harmed by the fire. In fact, the moment the fire started, he instantly ran out of the forest by miraculously bolting into a random direction, praying that it was the exit. Envy couldn't thank the dragons of Cinderfell enough; honestly, he hoped that he couldn't leave any more dragons to be killed.
And there was one way to lessen the deaths of dragons, and that was looking for the remaining scrolls.
After about a week in recovery, Envy was back onto his talons, full of energy and ready to face these challenges of the world.
"So, we have to go to a scavenger den?" Newt says as he tilted his head. He was laying on the floor as if he was some glorious lion, about three small plush pillows under his belly.
"Yup. There should be one near the Mud Kingdom. Hopefully the SkyWings didn't destroy it when they were conquering the MudWings."
"Isn't that scavenger den pretty close to the NightWing territory?"
Envy nodded. "Yeah, close, but it not like the NightWings are gonna suspect us in a scavenger den, right?"
"We should get going, then. Before Ruby sets another stupid trap once she realizes that we survived that fire."
"Wait, we have to plan everything out first," Envy added. In the corner, Stardust was looking at her talons, before looking up. Envy beckoned her to come forward, and she came.
"Ruby is most likely pretty angry right now," Envy addressed. "I wouldn't be surprised if she decided to bring her army to try to kill us again. With everything that's happening, news spread fast. I expect other dragon tribes, like the NightWings, to come after us too. We need to prepare for this."
Envy moved his gaze towards Stardust. "Dust, you're obviously the head commander of the Vilkra. I need you to prepare the soldiers for a possible battle, because if we need help, I'm bringing a messenger to deliver our signal."
"Right," she says.
Envy glanced at Newt. "Newt, you're coming with me."
Newt confirmed Envy's statement with a firm nod and he stood up.
"Let's hope this'll work. I have a feeling we're close to stopping this mess."
☆.｡.:* .｡.:*☆
Envy had to admit; with everything that has been happening, from the rainforest fire to the SkyWings almost killing them, the sky was certainly calming. The sky is a sombre grey save for the band of salmon pink that hovered over the mountains. Envy inhaled the air deeply.
"The scavenger den should be around here somewhere," said Ceiba, an emerald green RainWing who wore a satchel around her neck. "I remember this area."
Ceiba was Newt and Envy's messenger, just in case they needed some military assistance. She was a calm and temperate dragon, smart and not very naive and idiotic like most of the RainWings Envy has encountered. She wore no jewelry except for a silver-chained necklace which had a little sapphire inside of the amulet. She was much smaller than Envy, but taller than Newt. Sometimes Envy would laugh to himself once he became aware of the fact that pretty much every dragon he has met, they were taller than his IceWing friend.
"There! Look!" Ceiba suddenly exclaims.
The palace was high upon the hill overlooking the town, it's many pointed towers giving it the look of an eccentric crown. The walls were a white stone that glistened in the summer sun and the roof was grey slate. It was as big as twenty of the ordinary houses of the town, and behind the palace, inside of the gates, was a large area filled with green, possibly a garden.
Envy would have never expected scavengers to be intelligent enough to create entire castles and homes, even a wall. The prince thought that scavengers were two legged, brain-dead animals who had the mind of a rock, only surviving on instinct and their craving for treasure. Newt craned his head downwards. "That's a scavenger den?" He questioned. Ceiba, Newt and Envy began hovered in one place, examining the scavenger den from above.
"Yup!" Ceiba said happily. "Looks so gorgeous, right? I always dreamed of going inside and trying to see how scavengers work and what they do, but unfortunately, they have a big disliking for dragons."
Newt turned his head to Envy. "You heard the RainWing! 'A big disliking for dragons'! We're going to get ourselves killed, Greenwings!"
Envy purposely smacked his wing against Newt's wing, causing the ice dragon to yelp and hurtle towards the floor for a few seconds. When Newt flew back up, before he could start screaming insults, the NightWing prince spoke.
"My plan is to act vulnerable and weak. Act injured-- maybe they'll have sympathy? If their brains are capable of building structures like that, well heck, I'm sure they experience emotions too."
"And what if they don't?" Newt countered.
"We'll use force and fight our way to the sword. But otherwise, for now, we are trying to work this out in the most peaceful way possible. Scavengers are still living things, Newt. And I prefer that no one else dies, okay? Okay. Great. Thanks for your cooperation."
Ceiba turned her body. "I'll keep a look out for those armies you mentioned. I won't be too far. I'll be settled in a cave for now, for however long you two are stuck with those two-legged creatures... if you guys aren't killed."
Envy scoffed a laugh, finding the end of the RainWing's sentence humorous. Ha. I'm not gonna die in the hands of petty scavengers.
As Ceiba flew off, Envy looked at Newt. "We better make this realistic. Newt, stay still."
"Wait, wh--"
Envy slashed his talons across Newt's shoulder, tearing at his black, shiny scales, causing him to yell in pain. "You son of a--"
"Shut your snout, jeez!" Envy yelled back. "You can hit me ba--"
Newt's serrated talons easily raked through Envy's tough gray scales, blood dripping to the ground. Envy bellowed a roar, the spikes on his back trembling and shaking, but he calmed himself before he could snap his friend's neck.
"Follow my lead," he said as he winced slightly. "Act like you're dying, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah," Newt said dismissively, his ears rotating back as he got irritated for a moment.
Envy suddenly screeched loudly, his roar echoing for miles as he forced his wings to stop moving, causing him to hurtle towards the ground. But instincts were already taking control, and he unconsciously began to flap his wings. Before he slammed into the ground, Envy took a few quick, brief flaps of his wings to slow down his descent. Once he reached the ground, he fell onto his side, dramatically dropping his wings like dead weight. Envy glanced up at the sky, almost immediately beginning to snicker. Newt was trying to fall without instinctively catching himself in mid-air. The IceWing would close his wings, and begin to fall for a few seconds, before his wings would shoot out, almost faster than lightning, and begin to flap.
Envy turned his back away, still trying to look like he was in pain. The scavengers had to have heard the roar, and they had to have seen Envy fall to the ground.
Newt landed on the ground softly, until he fell onto his back like a possum playing dead.
"This is so stupid and embarrassing," Newt muttered.
Envy began to hear the gates of the scavenger den open loudly, an ear-piercing creaking sound followed by the chatter of multiple scavengers. Envy could not understand a word they said, though. It sounded like the scavengers mixed up random words and put them together, creating whatever sound you call a 'scavenger sound'. Envy purposely groaned as if he was pain, and Newt did the same. Envy sensed the IceWing's confusion and awkwardness.
The scavengers scrambled to the dragons. Most of them were tall, bulky in shape, wearing armor that was somewhat similar to a dragon's armor. The others wore long dresses, long enough to conceal their legs and consisted in dark red to pale yellow. A few dressed scavengers held infants in their arms, cradling them from a distance. Envy could tell which ones were female and male, and he soon realizes how easy it was to distinct one from another.
A male scavenger with a dark red tunic with short sleeves gently rubbed his hands across Envy's scales, until another scavenger, who was way taller and more menacing in appearance, pulled the other away. The scavenger had long, black hair that was braided down to his back. A deep, jagged scar marked the scavenger across his left eye down towards the corner of his mouth. Envy's eyes widen as his heart raced. He didn't like the atmosphere around this scavenger.
But, another scavenger, who wore a white robe, tugged the scary scavenger away, and Envy thought it was female because of her size and her dress. She was shorter than the male by many inches, but her hair was golden yellow and wavy. Her gown must of been made of soft, satiny fabric, because of how flawless and smooth it flowed whenever the wind blew. it was long and loose, semicircular, high collar made of silk-like materials headed the ankle-length robe.
The male and female seemed to be having an argument, but it briefly ended with the female getting the last word, whatever it was. Envy couldn't even read her mind-- he didn't understand the language she spoke, however, he could sense her emotions.
Anger. Frustration. And then, a tinge of happiness.
Envy wondered what she had said that caused her to feel content.
The female scavenger walked to Envy slowly, a small smile forming on her face. Her hands were warm and soft, her fingertips slowly rubbing across Envy's neck. Envy flinched, however. He was on edge-- he didn't know what these creatures were going to do with him. For all he knows, they might kill him, right here, right now.
Eventually, the male scavengers who wore heavy armor approached Envy with large, thick ropes. They tied it around Envy's neck, then tying the ropes around the dragon's legs tightly, too tight to easily take off with a few rubs against rock. Envy panicked, and he started to thrash around. It took about five armored scavengers, who were possibly soldiers, to lift Envy up, but they struggled to keep a grip on the dragonet without dropping him when he resisted. No. No! They're gonna kill me! No! N--
"Shhh!" The female scavenger suddenly said. "Shhh... shhh."
Envy's ears perked upwards and swivel towards the golden-haired female. The tone of the female's voice was calming and pleasant, like a lullaby. Envy's struggles became less powerful as he listened to the female's soft shushes. He had a strong feeling of relief from the shushes, as her own voice managed to hypnotize him to being tranquil. He sensed her emotions again.
Calm. Nervous, yet excited.
Envy completely relaxed once the female gently rubbed his snout and gave him a warm smile. Maybe it wasn't their intentions to hurt him or Newt. Did they really care for dragons along?
The scavenger guards then proceeded to carry Envy into their home. Envy saw a glimpse of Newt with his jaws clamped with ropes as white mist rose from his nostrils. Because he was a smaller, only two scavengers carried him.
Envy turned his gaze to the gates of the scavenger den. Another adventure awaited for him, right behind those walls.