When Cloudwatcher turned four years old, he fought in his first battle.
A little ways away from the Great Five-Tail River, two sides prepared to clash. A small army, mostly consisting of IceWings, slowly advanced on the army of SkyWings who were defending their territory. A sea of white and blue spotted with yellow faced a sea of red and orange.
Cloud's wing, a group of ten dragons, were near the outskirts. Fissure and Falcon, Falcon being someone who had been introduced to Cloud shortly after his enrollment, were next to Cloud in their V-formation. Cloud was at one of the edges of their formation, mostly there to keep him out of the fighting. He was the youngest here, the others at least two or three years older. The eldest, a poor SkyWing named Goat, was ten years old and the leader of their formation.
Other than Goat, no one in the formation had ever fought in a battle. That made Goat rather insufferable as he stated obvious things about going into battle. Cloud had a feeling that he was placed as a wing leader either by mistake or by absolute necessity.
The opposing side approached as the SkyWings also advanced, wanting to keep the others as far away from their home as possible. The tension in the air was heavy enough that it made Cloud's head want to drop but he kept it up. He had to do everything possible for this battle.
The battle began, two sides clashing in a flash of fire and frostbreath. No one had come over to their section yet, giving Cloud's wing a moment more to prepare. To prepare to fight for their home, comrades, and lives.
"Remember everyone, don't let them get even an inch further into our territory," said Goat, stating the obvious like always. Before anyone could retort, a flash of white appeared next to Goat. An IceWing had broken away from the pack, aiming straight for their wing.
Goat didn't stand a chance, his neck and face frozen by frostbreath before he could even blink. His wings were torn apart by wicked IceWing claws, laid to ruin and uselessness. He fell out of the sky, not even a scream able to escape him.
The wing froze, shocked by the sudden death. The IceWing turned to the next SkyWing in the formation, opening his mouth to spew his frostbreath once more. Cloud was the first to snap out of it, rushing forward without a thought in his mind. He body-slammed into the IceWing, forcing his frostbreath to miss his target. The two of them tumbled in the air for a moment, both disoriented by the blow.
The IceWing recovered first, digging his claws into Cloud's shoulders and gouging them into his underbelly. Cloud let out a scream at the pain, his claws scratching back at the IceWing with vigor. Rather than close his mouth to stop the scream, Cloud remembered the other's frostbreath and summoned his fire.
Cloud clamped his jaws around the IceWing's neck, biting down only a little to not get dislodged by the IceWing's thrashing before releasing the sun that had been building up in his throat. Fire blasted at the IceWing's naturally cold scales, melting them like their owner's namesake. Much to Cloud's disgust, the IceWing's burning flesh didn't taste like melted snow.
The IceWing tried to scream at the pain, unintentionally stopping his attacks on Cloud's underbelly. Cloud grabbed the IceWing's wrists and tore his claws away from his shoulders, ripping into them with his claws to make the IceWing 'scream' more. Releasing both his claws and his mouth, Cloud reached up, grabbed the IceWing's horns, and snapped his neck in a quick and simple motion. It was almost thoughtless, the adrenaline barely letting him think about the IceWing's body dropping out of the air. It barely let him think about the pain as blood poured from his new wounds.
Cloud turned his head, cursing under his breath when he saw more IceWings coming their way. He turned to his wing, ignoring how horrid he looked to shout an order. "Follow me!" roared Cloud, shooting above the danger with the sounds of powerful SkyWing wingbeats following.
The IceWings almost stopped in their tracks at the sudden shift but the SkyWings didn't let them have it easy. Following Cloud's lead, they dropped down on the IceWings from above. Cloud landed on the back of an IceWing, grabbing his throat and cutting into his back. Not giving him much of a chance to defend himself, Cloud dug his claws into the IceWing's throat. Blue blood spurted over Cloud's talons but he didn't stop until the IceWing fell limp.
Letting the body fall, Cloud darted off to assist one of his comrades. A simple spout of flames at the IceWing's back was enough, it distracted her long enough to get killed. The wing followed Cloud again, confident in his strategy even though he had become the de facto leader all of five seconds ago.
"Half of you go up! Drop when you get the signal!" shouted Cloud, not giving much more context as they aimed for the next group of enemies. Five of them flew high, advancing towards the enemies a little slowly. Those who remained with Cloud dropped below the enemies with him, preparing for orders.
"Get your flames ready," ordered Cloud, a hiss coming from him as he did as he was supposed to.
When they were below the enemy group and their comrades were above, Cloud fired away. First, the enemies were jumped and burned by the flames, and then they were dropped on by the SkyWings above. Cloud held back his flames for a moment as he flew up to join the fray, preparing them for something rather dastardly. Aiming for the only SandWing in the group, Cloud bit the weak spot on his tail. He yowled in surprise and slight pain, his pain increasing tenfold when Cloud let his fire rage.
The SandWing's barb fell off when Cloud let go, the owner howling in pain from the event. Cloud didn't let up, landing on the SandWing's back to gouge both his back and his neck with blue stained claws. Thrashing and thrashing, the SandWing couldn't do much of anything in retaliation, his soon limp body showing that.
Playing the distraction for a few others who hadn't killed their enemies yet, Cloud grimaced a little as some pain started seeping through the adrenaline. He wiped that expression from his face when the rest of the wing turned to him. He had to be a leader, he had to be strong.
"Two of the fastest are with me. We're gonna bait out some enemies and the others are gonna attack them from top and bottom," said Cloud, coming up with the strategy on the spot. Falcon and one other SkyWing flew next to Cloud while the others ascended or descended, ready for the strategy.
Cloud went in first, body-slamming a random IceWing to the side to have her spiral out of control. As she righted herself, Cloud breathed fire at her to have her roar in annoyance. She charged at him, Cloud easily keeping out of her range as he baited her towards the right area. Turning around, Cloud took only a second before snapping his wings to his sides to drop out of range of her frostbreath. She didn't get much of a chance to use it, the two who were waiting to ambush her clawing at her viciously.
It didn't take long for her to drop out of the air, her body bleeding despite the lack of life within it. The others who were baited didn't last long either, dropping like flies as slowly more and more SkyWings fought them. As the last IceWing was torn to shreds, Cloud thought of more orders before having to freeze.
Across the battlefield, Jet fought against an IceWing and a SandWing. What he didn't see was an IceWing coming at him from behind. Nobody else did either, giving that IceWing free reign to ambush and possibly kill Jet.
The only one who saw this was Cloud. Without giving the rest of his wing a second glance, Cloud rocketed towards Jet. He dodged other dragons without even pausing, tunnel visioning onto the IceWing. Fire began to build up in Cloud's throat, his claws flexing in preparation. More blue would soon join what already coated his claws.
Frostbreath started gathering in the IceWing, aiming directly for Jet. Cloud slammed into her, knocking her deadly weapon off course so that it hit some random SandWing who screamed at the pain. His claws dug into her shoulders, ripping them apart as he also targeted his wings. Before the IceWing could orient herself with the sudden pain and shift in enemies, Cloud opened his mouth with his telling hiss broadcasting. Flames blanketed the IceWing's cold scales, making her scream as it got in her face.
Not only did it get in her face, but it also got in her mouth and canceled out any more of her frostbreath. If only that mattered, Cloud's claws gouging out her throat canceling out any more of her actions. As her last act and just to spite Cloud, she scratched his chest before falling out of the air.
Hissing in pain, Cloud turned to look at Jet. The general had managed to kill the two that were attacking him, now just staring at Cloud in shock. Cloud only nodded at his higher up, as if that would account for the fact that he just saved Jet's life.
Falcon's flashing orange scales redirected Cloud's attention to his wing. They had darted through the mayhem the same as him, latching onto Cloud's leadership and example like it was their only thing to hope for. Even if Cloud had only been a leader for all of five seconds.
Cloud nodded at them in acknowledgment, glancing around at the battle without any words towards them. Above them, a SkyWing wing was struggling against a larger wing of IceWings and SandWings. "On me!" shouted Cloud, shooting up into the sky without so much as a glance towards Jet.
"Aim for the SandWings!" ordered Cloud, narrowing his eyes at his target.
"Yes, sir!" shouted the others, startling Cloud a little at the sudden address. He shook it off. Time for fighting now, time for freaking out later.
Just like the rest, Cloud barreled into the SandWing. His claws gouged deep furrows into the SandWing's underbelly as they tumbled in the air, the SandWing hissing in pain in response. Cloud disengaged in the nick of time, the SandWing's barb barely missing his side. Unintentionally hissing a warning, Cloud breathed fire at the SandWing before the enemy could recover. Howling in pain and surprise, the SandWing spiraled away only to have Cloud latch onto his back and rip into his throat with unforgiving claws.
Letting the enemy drop, Cloud prepared more fire as he looked around for struggling comrades. Fissure's opponent slashed at him, opening up fresh wounds as the SkyWing backed away with a hiss. Ambushing the SandWing, Cloud gladly let his fire loose onto the enemy's back. Roaring in pain, the SandWing turned to Cloud and gave Fissure an opening. He used it gladly, slitting the other's throat without a second thought.
Cloud didn't have to do much more until most of the enemies were clear, giving the wing that they were helping a moment to breathe. While they did that, Cloud nodded to his wing before diving headfirst back into the mayhem. There were more enemies to kill and dragons to drive out of their home.
After that, everything started to pass in a blur. Barking out orders one second and ripping apart an enemy the next, Cloud didn't stop moving. He didn't stop fighting. He couldn't. Not when the kingdom was on the line.
Only when the IceWing in his hold ripped himself away from Cloud's claws despite the extra damage done did Cloud take a moment to think. "Retreat!" shouted an IceWing, most likely one of the generals. "Retreat!" The sea of white, blue, and yellow turned tail and flew away as fast as possible.
Cloud stared after them in shock, jumping a little when Falcon nudged his wing. "We did it," said Falcon, sighing in exhaustion with a small smile on his face. Even Fissure seemed a little happy about the end of the fight, although he did look a bit smug like he was the reason that the other side was running.
"We did it," repeated Cloud, still slightly numb to everything as he nodded along. "Come on, the others are going," said Cloud, jerking his head towards the SkyWings who were beginning their own retreat. He led his wing to follow the others, forcing himself to not slow or falter behind despite the adrenaline crash that he was going through.
"Glad it's over," commented Fissure, taking his place in the formation on Cloud's left while Falcon took his right. "Also glad that you took control," said Fissure with a chuckle. "That would've been a mess. The calm head on your shoulders has a bit of strategy in it, huh?"
"I was nowhere near calm during that," said Cloud, shrugging a bit before wincing at the pain. With the lack of adrenaline, there was a strong surge and surplus of pain. "I have no idea why you guys followed me. I'm supposed to be the least experienced after all."
"'Supposed' being the keyword in that sentence," said Falcon with a huff of amusement.
"I agree with him. Whether or not you were calm, you took charge and did well at it. If we were to fight in another battle anytime soon, I would want you to be the leader of the wing," said Fissure. "Although I would obviously be the best fighter in that wing."
"Whatever you say, Fissure," said Cloud, chuckling along with Falcon who also seemed amused at Fissure's confidence. "Either way, the sooner I'm out of the air the better. My shoulders are starting to kill me."
"You are quite beat up," said Fissure, taking a moment of silence before letting out a low whistle. "How aren't you fainting from blood loss or pain?"
"Determination and adrenaline, my friend, determination and adrenaline," said Cloud, hissing a little as more of his wounds throbbed with pain. "It's slowly becoming more of stubbornness rather than adrenaline."
"As expected, you are a very stubborn dragon," said Falcon, a small snort of amusement escaping him. Cloud just let out a huff and rolled his eyes, Fissure chuckling at the interaction. The army of SkyWings started descending, aiming for the rather large camp that had been set up. When everyone landed, Falcon and Fissure had to herd Cloud over to the temporary infirmary.
Their wing followed, everyone nursing their wounds no matter how big or small. More immediate injuries were taken care of the moment they arrived, meaning that Cloud was noticed and dragged off the second he came into the doctors' view. Falcon and Fissure even had the audacity to look amused while Cloud glared at them.
The next ten minutes or so were filled with Cloud wincing as his wounds were cleaned, him waiting as they were bandaged, and reassuring that he wasn't hiding any extra wounds. Then he had to wait for Falcon, Fissure, and the rest of his wing to get their wounds looked at and wrapped up. When they were done, all of them decided to rest in the area between all their tents.
Before Cloud could lay down with the rest of his wing, Jet appeared. "Cloudwatcher, can I speak with you?" asked Jet, barely glancing at the rest of the soldiers who stared at him in shock.
"Of course, sir," said Cloud, nodding and pushing his twinge of disappointment to the side. Cloud did nothing more than flick his tail at Falcon's and Fissure's worried looks, not able to do much more as he walked over to Jet. Jet nodded back, leading Cloud away without another word.
The number of curious looks sliding over Cloud's scales almost made him run right back to his wing but he forced himself to continue. Jet didn't even react to them, too focused on his current path to even glance at half of them. Eventually, the two ended up at a massive tent that had two guards out front. Nodding at the two, Jet led Cloud inside. There wasn't much there, a table with a map and a cot making up all of it.
"I wanted to say thank you for saving me," said Jet, stepping behind the table to face Cloud from across it. "Could you tell me your wing leader so I can mark you up for that act officially?"
"It was no problem. My wing leader's name was Goat," said Cloud, digging his claws into the dirt a little to hold back any more reaction. It didn't sink in until then that Goat was dead. That he was killed in front of Cloud.
"'Was'?" asked Jet, narrowing his eyes a little bit in curiosity.
"He's dead, killed by an IceWing who attacked him from behind. He didn't stand a chance," said Cloud, digging his claws deeper into the dirt to refrain from letting out a quiet growl.
"Who took over your wing during the battle? You all were still rather organized," said Jet, waiting patiently for an answer.
"I did," said Cloud without any hesitation.
"You did?" repeated Jet, the surprise in his voice clear as day.
"I was the one who killed the IceWing who killed Goat. After that, the others followed me into battle and went with the maneuvers that I made up on the spot. Although I don't understand it fully, it was most likely because I was the first one who stepped up," said Cloud, shrugging a little before standing to attention. He couldn't be unsure in front of Jet, it would reflect badly on him in the future.
"Most likely," said Jet, absentmindedly agreeing with a small nod. "Considering what little I saw, you were a good leader. I suppose I'll have to give you the rank."
That didn't quite compute in Cloud's mind. "What?" said Cloud, his voice coming out slightly strangled. Him? Getting a rank-up from his first battle? When did this make sense?
"Well, if I consider both your saving of my life and your obvious leadership skills, it's obvious that you should get a rank up. At least enough of a rank-up to be labeled as the wing leader," said Jet, nodding as he thought about it. "You will have to get a little bit of training about doing that officially but it will keep you busy while you wait for your injuries to heal. Maybe you can even make up a few more maneuvers during that time as well."
"I'm not all that sure about the sudden rank-up after only one battle," said Cloud, adding onto his statement when he saw that Jet was giving him a questioning expression. "I don't want to question your judgment but others could consider this as favoritism. My leadership during the battle was sudden and rushed, something that I'm sure that others could do easily. This was my first battle and--"
"Cloudwatcher," Jet cut him off, staring at him with a slightly exasperated expression. "I'll give some advice right now, kid. Don't ever sell yourself short in front of a higher-up. All that you need is training for the official foolery and you will be fine. Others can call it what they want, it doesn't change your skill. Go rest with your wing and prepare for our return. You'll get your ranking at the palace."
"Yes, sir," said Cloud, bowing his head in respect before leaving for the entrance.
"Thank you again, Cloudwatcher," said Jet, not reacting when Cloud glanced over his shoulder.
"You're welcome, sir," said Cloud, leaving without another word.
Fissure and Falcon were going to keel over from laughter. Then they were going to tackle him in a hug to celebrate his rank-up, no matter how injured all of them were. How annoying yet endearing.