The Empty Grave

Started: 14/10/21 || Finished: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
==Note==
This story does not take place in the main Wings of Fire timeline (Dragonet Prophecy Arc, Jade Mountain Prophecy Arc and Lost Continent Arc.) But it will follow a similar layout of events.
Title inspired by BBC Sherlock's: The Empty Hearse.
==Zero==
It was common knowledge that the SkyWings had no tolerance for dragons who were different, firescales and animus dragons were thrown from the cliffs, before they could use their terrible powers.
A young SkyWing mother clutched her egg tightly to her chest, she didn't know why her daughter's life was in danger, but mothers always seem to know when their child's life is at risk. The translucent walls of the egg were warm and just beneath was a life that wouldn't and couldn't start.
The heavy rain beat down mercilessly on her crimson wings, she couldn't fly on like this forever, she needed to rest, to let her egg hatch safely. She wasn't getting any help from the dragonet's father, no, he couldn't be trusted and he would most certainly tell the queen. Her dragonet would be taken from her and executed, and she'd be put on trial for treason, and then meet her daughter's fate.
Aellos touched the blue-green opal dangling from a thin chain around her neck. The only piece of me my dragonet will ever have, she thought sadly, But it's for the best she never mets me, at least for now, Slipping the necklace over her head, she angled her wings downward and gently glides to a large tree at the edge of the Rainforest and tucked her egg into a hole in the side, just large enough for a grown dragon to stick his head through. Aellos draped the gold chain over her egg, turned towards the Sky Kingdom and took off for home.
Terrifying images flashed through her head as she flew away — RainWing fruit gatherers finding her dragonet by accident, or MudWings stumbling on her and taking her back to the Sky Kingdom. It didn't matter, her dragonet was in the safest place for now, And I'll come back for her. Once Scarlet is dead, I'll return She thought fiercely, Nothing will keep me away from my dragonet.
The Palace was in an uproar when Aellos returned, Scarlet was displeased, never a good sign, she quickly made her way to the hatchery, her heart sinking as she passed her nest, her empty nest, where a healthy dragonet had been just hours earlier. It didn't matter, she snatched another dark-coloured egg that closely resembled her own and placed it in her nest. She went over to the empty nest and messed up the straw slightly, scattering a few pieces onto the stone floor. 
Just then, her sharp ears caught the sound of talons making her way to the hatchery. Aellos leaped over the nests and ran to 'her' egg. Gently stroking the sides. The egg was a perfect alibi no one could say she got rid of her egg, it was right here, and going to hatch in a few days. Aellos felt no pity for the mother of the egg, she was cruel and untrustworthy, and possibly awaiting trial, she deserved to lose a dragonet.
Just then, two guards burst in. "Aellos of the SkyWings!" One of them shouted, "You are under arrest for conspiracy against Her Majesty and the SkyWing Queendom!"
"What?!" Aellos shrieked, "I have not, I've been here, tending to my egg!" She pointed frantically at her nest, the blood-red egg still sat there, being very non-threatening and egg-like.
"That doesn't matter," The other dragon growled, "Seize her!"
The other guard tackled her, Aellos fought, determined to survive, she deserved it! She'd suffered enough, lost too many dragons she cared about. She would not let herself be taken away. She struggled to move towards the egg, determined to sell the act that she was protecting her egg.
The other guard noticed what she was looking at and smiled coldly, he snatched the egg off the pedestal and marched out of the room with it.
"No!" Aellos screamed, "No you can't take her!" She stopped fighting for a second and tried to run to the door, but before she'd taken three steps, something hit her in the back of the head with a nauseating metal clunk.
୨⎯⎯୧
The trial was set for later that day, Aellos awoke on top of one of the prison spires above the arena, her mouth bound, she guessed so she could yell about her innocence. She noticed that there were extra metal bands around her talons, perhaps to tie her down when the actual trial began. With nothing else to do, Aellos put her head in her talons and weep silently. She hadn't planned to die, she was supposed to be free! She didn't belong here and this was a mistake! She deserved to be with her husband! She was a Noble SkyWing! She had status and wealth. Sure she was barely an adult, being only a couple months past her eighth hatching day, but she was going to die. Her family would be too cowardly and not stand up against Scarlet, they wouldn't dent a single scale to help her.
The evening came quickly, guards came at noon and dropped her a measly rabbit for food, which she devoured in two bites. Guards came just before sundown to haul her away, and this time she didn't struggle, she barely paid attention to Scarlet as she laid out the crime for the audience to hear.
"Your Majesty," Scarlet's eldest son said from her left, "It is obvious that this trial will be quick. And the facts are so clear they're practically glass; you ordered for her egg to be destroyed as her bloodline has hatched firescales dragonets in the past, she refused and fled the kingdom with it. She then foolishly returned with her egg and tried to smuggle it back into the hatchery, but your valliant guards found her and arrested her, there is no need to drag this out, let's kill the dragonet and make her watch!"
"Very well spoken," Scarlet said in an annoyingly superior tone, "I believe we can conclude this trial, unless Osprey wants to speak in the prisoner's defence?"
"Yes," The old dragon said, "I do have a statement for the prisoners' defence. You see, Aellos believed her daughter's life was in danger, it was only natural that she tried to protect it. This doesn't make disobeying an order right-"
"So we're all in agreement, then?" Scarlet said cheerfully, "BRING THE EGG!"
Two guards came forward carrying the blood-red egg. He carefully handed it to Scarlet who held it delicately between her talons. Aellos gave Scarlet the most hateful glare, Scarlet noticed this and threw the egg at her feet. It shattered, revealing the dragonet inside, its ruby red scales matched hers, albeit, not exactly. Aellos bent over and inspected the tiny dragonet, whose future had been shattered, like the egg it had once called home. Aellos could stop staring at the dragon's eyes, it looked lifelessly at her, it's face utterly calm, before Vermillion flew down and set the tiny dragon's body on fire. It was horrifying to watch, yet Aellos couldn't look away.
==One==
===One.One===
Six years later
Aziraphale stood over a grave on Spirits' Peak. The sun shone on the stone which read; Unknown, daughter of Aellos of the SkyWing. That was her grave. Supposedly, there was the body of a small dragonet with blood red scales, just like her, underneath the stone.
She touched the necklace around her neck, the only thing her mother left her. She'd hatched in a hollow tree, with no warmth.
The MudWing patrols had come barely a few days later.
"SkyWing!" Buck the MudWing yelled from behind her, "Enough ogling your grave! The Queen wants us back at the Palace for a patrol report!" 
Aziraphale nodded, and lifted off into the sky. She'd never thought about why her mother hid her in the trees just days before she was about to hatch, but she really didn't care.
Moorhen was her queen now, and as far as Aziraphale knew, she was better than Scarlet in every way. Buck didn't say a single word to her on their flight back, Aziraphale thought it was because she was a SkyWing, and that they- despite being allies- shouldn't be in each others' territory. She also had a guess that it was something to do with his deceased sibs, and she joined his pod as an 'unsib'.
"Do you not like having me in your pod?" Aziraphale asked suddenly, "I-I know I'll never replace your real sibs, but-"
"No!" Buck interrupted her, "It's just that you- I don't know, make it weird, I want to protect you, but it- I mean- almost feels wrong to." He shrugged and gave her a helpless look.
Aziraphale kept her eyes trained on the ground as they flew, not trusting herself to say another word.
"Do... you hate being in my pod?" Buck asked.
"What?" Aziraphale finally looked at him, "No, I rather like having you on my wing. I think I'd say that about any dragon, I like having you there, makes me feel like someone wanted me in the world." Both hers and Buck's eyes fell to the opal on its chain. Aziraphale knew it belonged to her mother. 
"You're sure that's from your mom?" Buck asked, "And not your dad?"
"Yeah," Aziraphale said, confidently, "SkyWing fathers' aren't really in the picture, they just meet the mother on breeding night and then go back to their daily lives."
Aziraphale was silent for the rest of the fight, only mumbling 'yes' or 'no' to any question Buck asked her. Eventually he got the hint and stopped talking to her.
Aziraphale didn't even speak to the Queen as they arrived, letting Buck tell her about their patrol. Once she'd been excused, she rushed to the library. She and Buck had been working for the Queen for their entire lives, and they had neighbouring rooms in Sunset Tower. 
Moorhen's library was vast, and one of the only places Aziraphale felt that she could be without eyes being on her 24/7. Aziraphale found her favourite spot in the library; a high window with a ledge large enough for three dragons to lay down comfortably. Much to her delight, the scroll she'd left there the previous night, History of the Queendoms was still on the ledge.
Aziraphale sat down and took out a blank scroll, a quill and pot of ink from her bag and began to read while taking notes. She worked through the scroll until the sun began to dip below the horizon, Aziraphale looked at the progress she'd made, she was halfway through the section on SkyWings and was just beginning to read about their traditions. Aziraphale spotted the words animus and firescales a few times in the text so she decided to keep reading.
SkyWings are the only tribe that does not value differences. The scroll said, A dragonet who hatches with the condition firescales, the ability to burn through anything with just a touch, is killed immediately due to the threat that they pose to the tribe. Dragonets with any unusual condition are thrown from the highest mountain peaks.
Aziraphale stopped reading, Did my mother hid me away because she thought I'd be a firescales? She thought, No, that can't be right, the scroll said that firescales dragonets usually hatch with a twin. She shook her head slightly and realised she was dripping ink all over her talons.
After another hour of reading, Aziraphale had gotten nowhere. And to make matters worse, she'd snapped her quill out of frustration. 
"Ahh!" She growled at the quill. "Quill, unbreak yourself and help me or I swear by the moons..." she trailed off as the quills' tip magically snapped back together.
She stared at the quill, inspecting it. There was no way that could have happened, but it was there; perfect and whole.
===One.Two===
Aziraphale was quiet all through breakfast. Buck occasionally shot a worried glance in her direction but she seemed to be intentionally avoiding his eyes.
"Buck?" Queen Moorhen asked, "Did you hear what I asked?"
Buck blinked twice and bowed his head, "No, Your Majesty." He said, "I am sorry, could you repeat it?" A few of Moorhen's advisors snickered.
Moorhen cleared her throat, "I was thinking," She said, "That since you and Aziraphale are now six, you can go on solo missions." Aziraphales head shot up at this. 
"By ourselves?" She asked, disbelievingly, "Out on the continent?"
Moorhen nodded, "I have a mission for you actually."
"Which is...?" Aziraphale prompted.
"An IceWing loyal to Princess Blaze is meeting a SeaWing of all dragons, in the Scorpion Den," The Queen explained, "I worry if another alliance is being built behind our backs."
"And you'd like me to spy on these dragons?" Aziraphale asked.
"Yes." Moorhen affirmed, "You'll depart this evening."
Aziraphale nodded and rose from the table, "Oh course," She said quietly, bowing, "I'll get ready for tonight."
Buck watched the little SkyWing leave. He quickly finished the pheasant in front of him, asked to be excused and hurried after her. 
"Az!" He whisper-shouted when he reached her door. "Az, open the door." He stood there for about five minutes, constantly knocking on the door. When Aziraphale eventually did open the door, he nearly bopped her on the nose.
"What?" she hissed under her breath, "I'm busy!"
Buck pushed into her room, Aziraphale gave a squeak of protest but didn't try to block his entry. Aziraphale quickly closed the door behind him.
"Spill," Aziraphale commanded, "This better be good."
"I'm worried about you," Buck admitted, "You were all worried during breakfast, and you kept looking at your talons like they would act on their own."
"I'm fine," She assured him, "Moorhen informed me of potential solo missions last night, when you were asleep." She stepped away from the door and began to back a small bag with various items; a scroll, two knives, a bottle of ink and quill.
"You're not fine," Buck insisted again, "I've known you for the better part of six years, I can tell when someone is bothered by something."
"Right now," Aziraphale said icily, "You're bothering me, so please leave me alone." With a huff Buck turned on his heels and marched out the door, making sure to slam it as he left.
୨⎯⎯୧
Aziraphale looked down at her bag. She'd tried to put on a brave face, but there were so many thoughts rushing through her mind. She was an animus! Her! The rarest of all dragons, and her former tribe would have her head for it. She picked up a scroll and threw it in her bag, she needed to get out of the Mud Queendom to distract herself. She didn't think she could resist using her magic without something else keeping her attention away from it.
The evening came quicker than Aziraphale would have liked, Moorhen and Buck were waiting for her in the pavilion outside the Sunset Tower. Moorhen handed her the scroll of the IceWing's description and previous locations. Aziraphale took the scroll wordlessly, bowed to her queen and took off into the crimson sky.
===One.Three===
The Scorpion Den was messy. Not MudWing Queendom sort of messy with mud and humidity, but cluttered and unorganized kind of messy. Aziraphale carefully walked through the streets, stopping briefly for a Six-toed SandWing and a smaller SandWing, maybe his son? 
Aziraphale stepped through the crowds, just as a swarm of dragons can running through the streets. She pressed her back against the wall and tried to step back into the street, but was pulled from behind by a pair if dark talons.
Zira spun to face her attacker. He was a large, burly NightWing. With wickedly curved talons and a compact of metal boxes around his neck.
"What are you doing in the Scorpion Den, SkyWing?" The NightWing demanded.
He can read my mind! Aziraphale realised. She mentally took a deep breath. "I could ask you the same question." She said calmly. Making sure her thoughts mirrored her speaking.
The NightWing narrowed his eyes and tapped one of the boxes against his chest. "The same as you." He said eventually, "Observe." He stalked away.
Once the hulking dragon's talonsteps receded, Aziraphale deflated in relief. She tore off her satchel, looking for something to enchant, something to keep her safe.
She upended her bag and examined it's contents. Perhaps I could buy a piece of jewelry in the market, Aziraphale thought, But jewelry can be removed, stolen or go flying off in a fight. She thought for a couple moments. Darkstalker had invulnerable scales... what it I enchanted body part like he did?
Aziraphale collected her things back into her bag and closed her eyes, I enchant my skull the shield my thoughts from any and all telekinetic readings and/or attacks or enchantments placed on my mind that are intended to change my thoughts or feelings towards anyone and anything. 
Once that matter was taken care of, she decided to actually get on with her mission. It shouldn't be too hard to find a SeaWing and an IceWings in the Kingdom of Sand, right?
Aziraphale was 100% wrong on that matter. There was no inkling of evidence that a SeaWing had been here in the last couple of months. Pity, Aziraphale really didn't want to go back to Queen Moorhen and report nothing. But she need to tell her queen what she was doing.
୨⎯⎯୧
Zira was back out on the continent. Queen Moorhen had ordered her to keep an eye on Pyrrhia and underground groups that might have information on other tribes. The Talons of Peace was a good start, despite the war being over, Aziraphale found some comfort in the group of misfits.
Pyrite was the most recent member, save for her. Zira pitied the young SkyWing. She really sold herself short, plus was really clingy. 
She wouldn't dare bring up her history with the SkyWings. Knowing her, Pyrite would go on a long tirade about Queen Scarlet and how, if she were in Zira's position, would have turned herself in and begged for forgiveness. Because that's what any loyal SkyWing would have done.
The rest of the Talons were quite tolerable, except Squid. If she was ever along with the False Prophecy dragonet, she didn't know if she could restrain herself from using her magic to make him fly away and never come back.
The air was warm on this particular day. Cirrus and Pyrite were conversing quietly behind her as she lay spread eagle across the warm stones. Avalanche was keeping watch for any dragons and also keeping her ears open in case Nautilus or Riptide called for them.
A flash of silver flickered in the corner of her eye but Aziraphale ignored it. 
"Do you think that was someone trying to get in contact with us?" Pyrite asked, wringing her talons.No, Zira thought sarcastically, It's a scare tactic for the little scavenger settlement.
"Probably," She admitted, "'Don't really see why anyone would seek out the Talons of Peace anymore, now that the war is over." 
A high-pitched whistle caught Pyrite's attention as she nervously stood up. "That's Riptide's signal that the rest of the Talons are needed," She said softly.
Zira felt a stab of pity for the young SkyWing, she hadn't fully adapted to life in the Talons. To be fair, she was even newer than her but Zira knew how to mask her lack of understanding.
Badger, one of the MudWings in the Talons emerged from the bushes, a few minutes after they had heard Riptide's whistle. "There's a couple of dragonets from Jade Mountain requesting to question the SkyWings here." He glanced at Pyrite, Avalanche, Aziraphale.
"Jade Mountain?" Zira asked as they walked back to where the dragons were waiting. "What does that place want with us?"
Predictably, she didn't get an answer before they met with the dragons. There was an IceWing, a NightWing, a RainWing, and a SandWing. Zira flexed her talons unconciously at the sight of the little NightWing. Her encounter with the other dragon from her tribe was still branded into her memory and was not going to leave any time soon.
As soon as Pyrite saw the dragons she erupted into an abrupt speech, wings twitching. "Hi," She said awkwardly fiddling with her talons, “Listen, whatever it is you need, I don’t think I can help you. It’s not that I wouldn’t like to. I would like to, really, I wish I could do all kinds of things, but the truth is I’m not very good at anything and I’m sure I’m not the dragon you’re looking for, so ...” She trailed off.
"We're not asking much," The IceWing said. "We just want you to look at a sketch and see if one of you recognizes it — and if you do, maybe you could give us directions on how to get there."
"Why should I help you?" Avalanche demanded.
"Because we’re at peace now," Riptide said sharply. "And dragons at peace help each other. That is kind of the entire premise of this entire group.
Pyrite touched the little bag on her necklace, Zira noticed that she never took it off, rolling it anxiously between her claws. "I don’t know, I mean, I have a terrible memory," she said. "And an awful sense of direction."
"Just give it a try, please, Pyrite," Riptide said, using his 'special voice' reserved just for her.
The NightWing took a scrap of a scroll with a sketch out of the satchel around her neck and spread it out on a flat boulder, revealing the odd shapes she’d drawn.
Avalanche stomped over and glowered at the drawing for a moment. "Doesn’t look familiar," she muttered.
"All right," The NightWing said with a sigh. "Thank you anyway."
"Can I go now?" Avalanche demanded, squinting at Riptide. He nodded, and she leaped into the sky, flapping away with noisy, powerful wingbeats.
"Pyrite? Aziraphale" Riptide said, indicating the scroll.
The thin SkyWing edged up to the NightWing, glanced quickly at the paper, then shook her head, saying, "Sorry, sorry, sorry. All trees look the same to me."
Zira stood examining the paper for a while. She recognized those mountains.
"It’s not a tree," The small dragon said firmly, pinning Pyrite with her gaze before the SkyWing could retreat. "It’s a mountain, and you do recognize it. Tell us where it is."
Zira squashed down a feeling of unease, This dragonet can certianly read minds, she thought, Good thing I hid my thoughts the last time I ran into a NightWing.
Pyrite gave her a surprised, guilty look.
"Oh ... I suppose it’s a bit familiar," Pyrite said unhappily, squinting at the sketch again. "I’m sorry, I don’t usually, um, do anything useful, so ..."
"It’s all right, don’t be nervous,” The RainWing said, her scales shifting to a warm golden colour similar to Pyrite’s. "Anything you can tell us would be helpful."
"Well — I suppose it’s not too far away," Pyrite admitted. "If I remember right, it’s southwest of the Sky Palace. Ish."
"Hmm,” the SandWing said. “Can you be any more specific?"
"Maybe you could help us find it," The RainWing suggested.
"Oh dear, no," Pyrite said, stammering and shuffling backward. "I couldn’t, I’m sure."
"Why are you looking for this place?" Cirrus suddenly demanded. Zira hadn't relised that he was there at all, "What do you really want?"
"It’s a fair question,” Riptide pointed out. "If you want Pyrite to go with you, we should all know what she’s flying into."
The IceWing and SandWing exchanged a look, waiting for the other to decide whether to reveal the truth.
"We think this is where Queen Scarlet is hiding," The IceWing said cautiously.
Riptide sucked in a startled breath. Cirrus sank lower to the ground and hissed, his tail lashing furiously. Zira's wings twitched around her body protectively.
But Pyrite turned shining eyes to the Ice dragon. "Queen Scarlet? She’s all right?" She picked up the drawing and held it close to her chest. "And you think she’s here? I’ll take you there if she’s there."
“I’m not sure that’s wise,” Cirrus growled. Zira nodded frantically, worrying about what would happen if the former SkyWing Queen would do to her specifically.
"Why would you get a vote?" The IceWing demanded, earning him a little respect and hatred from Aziraphale. "She can help us if she wants to."
"I can try," Pyrite said. "I mean ... I might get us lost, but ... I’1l do my best, for Queen Scarlet. I always do my best for her. Did, I mean."
She let out a little sigh, settling her wings.
"Thank you," The IceWing said.
"I don’t like this," Cirrus interjected. "What good could come of finding Queen Scarlet? What are you planning to do if she is there?" He suddenly gave the IceWing a sharp look. "Did you say Prince Winter?"
"Mind your own business," Winter snapped.
"It’s all right, Cirrus," Pyrite said. Twisting her claws together, she gave Winter an apologetic smile. "He kind of takes care of me. He’s just being protective."
"I could go with you, Pyrite," Zira offered, then mentally kicked herself. She did not want to go waltzing into the potential hideout of a Queen who specifically wanted her dead, but she had offered. "I mean- I'm much better at fighting than her and she'd probably get turned around before you dragons even took off."
The little NightWing gave her an odd look, She's probably trying to read my mind, Zira thought gleefully, Too bad, NightWing!
"Then it's settled," The SandWing, Zira really needed to learn his name, "Aziraphale and Pyrite will lead up to these mountains."
Winter reached over the grab the drawing from Pyrite. He froze, just briefly as the young SkyWing's talon touched his. His eyes showed visible confusion and worry.
That's not ominous at all, Zira thought.
===One.Four===
Aziraphale wished she was like the little NightWing in their group. For on thing she could read minds, that was a super awesome-and totally unfair power to have. Zira wanted to know what the other dragons were thinking, they seemed suspicious of her. And on another talon- Moon, she found out her name was Moonwatcher- had Qibli and Winter wrapped around her talons. Both were very instrested in her.
From her observations Qibli was attracted to her because of her gentle nature and kindness, and Winter liked her because she wasn't like the other NightWings since she grew up in the Rainforest.
The RainWing, Kinkajou, was a little harder to figure out. She loved Moon like the big sister-slash-protector that she never had and was also fiercely protective of the whole group.
Pyrite was being her usual, clingy, insecure self. She'd basically glued herself to Winter's side even though he was the least friendly of the bunch.
He glanced over his shoulder at where she was flying, barely a wingbeat behind him, casting fearful looks at the mountains below them. 
"So, Pyrite," Qibli said in a friendly voice, swooping up on her other side.
Pyrite jerked away from him and nearly bowled Winter out of the sky. Her wings thwacked around his snout for a moment.
Winter shoved her off him and righted himself. "Watch it," he snapped.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry," she mumbled. She flicked her tail at Qibli. "You startled me."
Qibli made a 'what is wrong with this dragon?' face at Winter. "I was just wondering how you ended up with the Talons of Peace," he said. "You don't seem like the type to desert and go out to find a group of rebels to join."
"N-n-no." Pyrite agreed, shakily, "I'm not like that at all. I'm completely loyal. I would have kept fighting for Queen Scarlet as long as she needed me," She shot a look behind her at Aziraphle, "But when Ruby took the throne, she made everyone swear an oath to her. And I just couldn't do that, you know? I'm completely loyal to Queen Scarlet, always and always and always."
Aziraphle visibly rolled her eyes at the young SkyWing and it seemed that didn't go unnoticed by the observant Qibli. He also didn't seem miss the very pointed look Pyrite shot her a couple of seconds ago.
Pyrite kept talking about how she had come to join the Talons, then shot a hopeful glance at Winter when she mentioned this not being a wild goose chase.
"Aziraphle?" Qibli asked, slowing down a couple wingbeats so she could catch up to him. "What did Pyrite mean when she said she was completely loyal to Queen Scarlet?"
"I'm talking ready-to-set-the-world-on-fire kind of devotion," Zira explained, "She would do anything for her Queen Scarlet, downright stupid and suicidal things."
Qibli nodded, "And what about you?" he asked, "Why'd you join the Talons?"
Aziraphle shot a glance at Winter and Pyrite, but the latter was still talking animatedly to the IceWing about Scarlet. "My mother had me outside of the Sky Queendom," She explained, "Said something about Scarlet wanting me dead because of blood issues..." She paused for a millisecond trying to compose this lie she was telling. "Apparently, Scarlet was worried about me being a potential threat to her crown and would put into question. And since I was in a twin egg, she was worried about firescales. One firescales is easy enough to control, but two? Especially if that other firescales is a grown dragon with her own thoughts and opinions. She wouldn't be so susceptible to being groomed or conditioned into being Scarlet's perfect attack dog." She sighed, "So I decided instead of running and hiding from Scarlet for the rest of my life, I join the Talons."
They stopped to rest for the night in a valley dappled with clumps of small white flowers that made it look as though someone had been tossing down snowballs from the peaks around them. Qibli started a fire and cooked the squirrels Moon caught, while Winter got himself a fish from the stream and ate it raw. Aziraphale watched as Winter ate the entire fish raw, she couldn't understand the appeal of the slimy thing working it's way down ones throat, although it still sounded more appetizing than the wild cherries and plums Kinkajou had for dinner. Zira had caught a small rabbit for herself.
Pyrite picked halfheartedly at her squirrel, her scales glowing in the firelight. She was still sticking very closely to Winter, almost like a replacement for Cirrus. She didn’t say much and barely seemed to be listening to Qibli as he told the story of the dragonets defeating Burn and Blister and giving the SandWing throne to Queen Thorn. He’d been there and seen the whole thing, and he was a compelling storyteller, too. Moon and Kinkajou were rapt, although they must have heard it all before.
Finally everyone curled up to sleep. Winter volunteered to keep the first watch, which was a concept that seemed to endlessly puzzle Kinkajou. Why did anyone have to stand guard? Who would attack sleeping dragons? What did they have to fear, now that the war was over?
Zira wished for the innocence that came with being a RainWing. So careless and without worry. She often wondered what she'd be like if the RainWings had found her instead of the MudWings.
Darkness lay quietly over the valley. One of the moons was a sharp crescent just over the peaks, while the other two were a little more full and higher in the sky. The night was still, the perfect conditions for sleep; the wind was just barely making any noise and the animals weren't making any loud sounds. Even the fireflies were still tonight. But sleep still evaded Zira.
It seemed that was a good thing.
A couple hours into the night, Zira heard a body shift. 
"Moon," Winter's voice barely stirred the night air. 
"What's wrong?" She whispered after a minute.
"Is Pyrite truly asleep?" He asked as softly.
Aziraphale tried to be as still as dragonly possible as they moved through the campsite. Moon was nearly invisible to her, but Winter's shiny scales reflected the dying embers of their campfire. Aziraphale strained to hear them from the distance they were standing, it was hard, but not impossible.
"I think Pyrite is an animus," Winter said.
"Oh ... that’s interesting," Moon said. "If she is, she does't know it, or she never thinks about it. Wouldn’t that be strange? To know you have the most powerful magic in Pyrrhia and not think about it once all day? I'd imagine an animus would constantly be thinking, ‘I could just enchant this one thing and it would make my life easier.' And, 'but what if I go too far and lose my soul? Is this one thing worth it?' All day, I would think, it would go back and forth. Maybe that's just what my brain would do, though. In any case, I didn’t hear anything like that in Pyrite’s head."
"What do you think of her?" Winter asked.
"Well ... I feel sorry for her," Moon said."Her brain is very odd. It's like her thoughts are stuck in a circle. I don't know if she's been hit on the head really hard or something, but they just go round and around: I'm completely loyal to Queen Scarlet. I'm not very good at anything. I'm glad I'm a SkyWing. I'm clumsy and not very bright and generally useless. And then back to, I'm completely loyal to Queen Scarlet"
"Maybe she isn’t very bright," Winter suggested.
"Or she’s worried about the same things so much for so long that her thoughts have worn grooves in her mind, where they keep spinning and spinning," Moon said. "I don’t know. I haven’t read anyone like her before. It's very ... okay, this sounds weird, but it's very shallow in there."
Zira sighed, she'd been right about Moonwatcher's mindreading abilities. She wasn't being paranoid about the possiblity of encountering more mindreaders.
"Really," Winter said, while she was thinking. "You've been surrounded by RainWings but never met anyone shallow before?"
"That is a really narrow-minded view of RainWings," Moon said disapprovingly. "You must have noticed that Kinkajou and Glory are anything but shallow." She paused, then added with a small laugh, "Well, all right, there’s Coconut. I suppose he isn't much deeper than Pyrite. But it still feels unusually weird in her head."
"Maybe because she’s an animus," Winter jumped at his point again. "Maybe she's using some kind of magic to hide her power from other dragons."
"That makes her sound very ominous," Moon whispered.
"That's exactly what I'm worried about." Winter said. "What if she's a lot more dangerous than she seems? What if she can hide even from you? How can we trust her?"
"Beware one who is not what she seems," Moon whispered, sending a chill throughout Aziraphale's entire body. "Could that be Pyrite?"
So, Zira thought, Not only can this little NightWing read minds, she can also see the future. Was that part of a prophecy?
"We need her help, though," Winter said gruffly. "It's not like we can just fly off and ditch her."
"We still have Aziraphale." Moon said, "She seems a lot more secretive that Pyrite."
"What?" Winter hissed, his voice raising slightly. From the corner of Zira's vision she could see the glowing dragon pace under the tree. "What could you mean? Can't you see that she's more normal than Pyrite?"
"I can read Pyrite's thoughts, though." Moon whispered. "Aziraphale's somehow blocking me."
"What?" Winter sounded more agitated than he had previously. "Like skyfire?"
"No it's completely different." Moon explained gently. "With skyfire there's this gentle serenity where one's thoughts would be, this is like... Well it's like approaching a fence, but you can't see over it without moving it, but whenever you try to move it the wall reacts, not like 'I've got secrets, keep out'. More like. It throws me out with a vengeance. It's like trying to move a curtain of lightning to reach the eye of a storm. There's nothing to see in her mind."
Aziraphale couldn't help but smile to herself, she hadn't intended for her spell to attack mental intruders, but she was glad it did.
She could hear Winter suck in a breath, "What does that mean," He asked, worry evident in his voice.
"It means," Moon whispered, "That we need to be especially careful around her."
୨⎯⎯୧
In the morning, it seemed that Moonwatcher alerted to the rest of the group of Aziraphale's suspicious behavour. Qibli especally was paying close attention to what the young SkyWing was doing.
Kinkajou didn't seem to be clued in and happily chatted up the group during breakfast. Pyrite was still glued to Winter's side, much to his annoyance. 
Aziraphale led them slightly more towards the Queendom of Sand than before and by midday she could see the mountains in Moon's sketch.
"It's there." She called back and put on a burst of speed.
Kinkajou said something behind her that sounded like a complaint, Zira honestly couldn't care what she was talking about, but it prompted a resonse from Pyrite, who had her 'superiour SkyWing' voice. Which then prompted Moon to hastely rush into the conversation. Then Moon and Kinkajou shot ahead of her, but a few strong wingbeats and Aziraphale had caught up to them.
Azirapale noticed that Winter and Qibli were not zooming ahead with the other and instead where talking amongst themselves quietly.
"I don't think Pyrite's an animus," Qibli said quietly. "And I know that I mentioned that last night, but SkyWings haven't had any dragons with abnormal abilities in centries maybe even as long as the IceWings. Peril, being the acception."
"I know that," Winter snapped, "But think about it, Scarlet makes an acception for a firescales SkyWing to enforce her iron grip on the SKyWing tribe. If I were her, and there was a possibility of an animus hatching, I would make sure that she does and make her the most loyal dragon to me."
"Yeah," Qibli agreed, "I get that. But think about it genetically; every SkyWing with animus power has been killed before they could pass on their genes to a dragonet, it's basically impossible for a SkyWing today to have the animus gene."
"That doesn't explain the feeling I had when I touched Pyrite though." Winter argued, "It was the same feeling when I stepped into the NightWing Tunnels, which were magic. I got the same feeling when I touched her talons accidentally yesterday."
Qibli was silent for eight wingbeats, "That I can't explain. Also Aziraphle didn't do anything weird last night. She was sleeping normally- even through Pyrite's sleepy mumbles.
There's nothing to suggest that she has ulterior motives about helping us find Scarlet and she actually told me about her history with Scarlet. She's terrified of the dragon."
"Hey!" Moon called back to Qibli, Winter, and Aziraphale, "There's something here!"
They landed by a lake where the remains of a structure once stood. Long branches stripped of their leaves were scattered across the ground, and vines still tied in knots lay in crushed piles, as if they had been trampled by angry talons. The entire mess was covered in ripped-up flower petals, rose and violet and daffodil-yellow shredded scraps everywhere. The only remaining intact piece was a canopy woven from vines that tilted lopsidedly in the tree overhead.
"Yikes," Kinkajou said, "Someone was not pleased about something."
"I don't like this place," Winter growled, ice crystals rising from his snout.
"Agreed," Qibli interjected, "It's a creepy, being watched feeling."
Suddenly Pyrite gasped, and dove towards a pile of leaves that didn't look an different than any other in the ruins of the structure. Caught in the pile was a dark oranage scale.
"That's one of Scarlet's!" Pyrite shrieked in despair, "But what happened to her? Did something terrible happen to her?!"
“There’s no sign of violence,” Qibli noted, moving one of the branches aside to look underneath. “No blood, no claw marks on the surrounding trees. It looks more like she destroyed her shelter in a temper and left.”
“Perhaps she somehow found out we were coming,” Winter said. Dread crept slowly under Aziraphales claws and up along her spine.
“What? How would she know that?” Kinkajou said in alarm.
Winter, Qibli, and Moon all looked at Pyrite. The SkyWing was overturning bits of foliage and scraping through the moss as though she expected to find Scarlet buried in it somewhere. Preoccupied with muttering and hissing and grumbling, she didn’t notice their attention on her.
“Pyrite,” Qibli said. “Did you happen to see Queen Scarlet in your dream last night?”
She glanced at him and shook her head doubtfully. “I don’t think so. I don’t really remember. I think I had a weird dream about snow, maybe? But that happens whenever I sleep near Cirrus, too.”
"Aziraphale?" Moon questioned. She looked at her, expecting her to know the rest of the question.
"No-" She snapped, her wings close to her sides quickly. The opal around her neck jangled slightly. "And stop with your suspicion of me. I have gone out of my way to help you find Scarlet and Winter's brother, and this is the thanks I get?" She started pacing, "I don't appreceate your mistrust of me, I am not going to turn you in to Scarlet, and I am not the dragon in your prophecy." She directed the last part at Moonwatcher.
The range of reations was interesting, Moon and Kinkajou look guilty, Winter looked furious, and Qibli was inspecting her like she was a are jewel. Pyrite was still trying to unearth Scarlet from the wreckage of the camp.
“It’s still possible,” Moon said, trying to visibly squash down her guilt. “Even if she doesn’t remember it. Scarlet could have interrogated her in her dream and found out what she was doing and where she was going.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Winter snapped. “What matters is that Scarlet’s gone and so is Hailstorm.” He ripped a large branch off the nearest tree and hurled it into the forest.
“Stop, stop it,” Qibli said, suddenly in front of Winter, taking his shoulders and shaking him. “I see you going to the giving-up place in your head. Get yourself out of there right now. We do not know he’s dead any more than we did an hour ago. What we have to do is keep searching, because he’s only definitely dead if we give up and sit here like moping camels. You are not allowed to mourn until you see a dead body, do you understand me?”
“What else am I supposed to do?” Winter snarled. “What’s your next brilliant idea? How can he still be alive?”
"We can find Scarlet and kill her!" Aziraphale snarled, viciously.
"No!" Pyrite wailed, "We are not killing Queen Scarlet! She's the only hope the Sky Queendom has, she the best queen my tribe has ever had!" She looked at Zira venomously when she said 'my tribe'.
"And who's he?" Pyrite asked, getting with what Winter was saying about his brother, "He is not important. Queen Scarlet is."
"We split up and search the whole valley,” Qibli said, ignoring her. “I’ll go with Kinkajou and Aziraphale and you go with Moon. Look for clues about how long Scarlet was here and where she might have gone. Look for a cave or something else that could have been used as a prison. Figure out where and how she actually kept him and see if we can guess how she’s transporting him. Were there other SkyWings helping her? Or how else was he guarded? Is she traveling in a group? With a chained IceWing behind her? Because that’s going to be a little obvious, don’t you think? Look for messages she might have left behind. Look for anything that will actually tell us something."
Winter gave Qibli a strange look, but nodded. Before he could take off Pyrite interjected, "I’ll go with Winter. Not that anyone asked. But. I figure. That’s ok, right? Although ... what are we looking for?"
:Signs of Scarlet being here," Winter told her. "Anything that looks like the detritus of dragons."
She accepted this with a puzzled shrug.
Qibli lead their group along every river in the valley while Kinkajou would periodically poke dragon sized bushes for signs of Scarlet. Aziraphale's SkyWing eyesight proved useful several times as Qibli was hesatant to fly to high to see at the risk of being spotted by the former SkyWing Queen.
When they regrouped, Winter let Moonwatcher take the first watch. Thankfully Aziraphale got to sleep tonight.
===One.Five===
The peace was short lived, Aziraphale woke to the sound of Winter growling in his sleep. He was thrashing slightly and trying to get at his ankle.
Panicked, Aziraphale grabbed his shoulders in attempt to comfort him. She knew IceWing scales radiated cold, but this was a totally different sensation than she was used to. This was like plunging her talons into liquid nitrogen after revieving second degree burns. She hissed in discomfort, she knew she wasn't actually being hurt and the warm air was probably making the mental sensation worse.
Moon went for the thing around his leg that he was so desprately trying to take off.
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Fanfictions (Semi-Canon)
Category:Content (Orphiceunoia)
Category:Genre (Adventure)