The Northern Nest

This is a fanfic written for Wings of Writing (WoW) by Sby. 
The prompts used were Ruthlessness, Nightfall, Challenge
Extra challenges incorporated were:
Build up a strong setting
Establish richly-characterized side characters+++++
It was just after dusk, as it always was when the large group of dragons gathered deep in the mountain caves for their weekly meeting. The meeting place was nestled in the mountains way up north in Pyrrhia, on the wing of the Sky Kingdom. The cliffs were steep and rocky, but they were spectacular to look at, mixtures of different kinds of stone making them like mosaics of colour. When the sun set behind the mountains, they were lit in purple, pink and yellow light, but now, the only light was the light of the two full moons, shining in the sky, sitting between two of the three highest peaks in the range. The sky was clear, stars sprinkled across the inky blackness.
Two dragons were walking up a stone staircase carved by the very dragons they were going to meet up with. One was a SkyWing with bright red scales and huge wings, the wings bright orange with yellow markings shaped like lightning. His eyes were and orange-brown, and they were narrowed in curiosity. The other was a SeaWing with navy scales. His wings were oversized, and he had piercing emerald eyes. He wore a smirk. Every step on that staircase had a different marking, and the SkyWing studied them carefully.
“I wonder what these represent,” he murmured to himself as he stepped carefully, still looking closely at every marking. Although they were all different, every single one had a star in the middle, and he was wondering about the significance of those stars when a voice jolted him out of his thoughts.
“Oh my moons, Igneous, quit studying those things and keep your head up!” growled his SeaWing friend. “The last thing we want is to be late because you spent too much time looking at these!”
“Sorry Reservoir,” he said in response. “You’re right, it would be a bad impression to be late on our first day.”
“Of course I’m right,” he replied, then he laughed warmly. So did Igneous. Reservoir could be a bit annoying sometimes, but they had been friends for years, and he knew his teasing was all in good fun. He walked more quickly now, but he did still linger on each symbol and marking, wondering how they related to the dragons he and Reservoir were walking up these very stairs to meet.
Finally, they reached the mouth of the cave, where a bright yellow SkyWing sat, his eyes sharp and fiery, a bored expression on his snout. “Names?” he asked, his tone of voice matching his expression.
He was about to open his mouth when Reservoir answered loudly, “I’m Reservoir, and this is Igneous.” Reservoir jabbed a finger at him, unnecessary in Igneous’s opinion. Other than the yellow dragon, they were the only ones there.
The dragon just nodded and asked, “Password?” in his drawn-out voice.
“Perspective,” Igneous answered almost immediately. He’d been practicing the password so he wouldn’t forget, ever since the scouts they’d met with asked him. He knew the password changed every week, and they’d learn next week’s at the end of this meeting.
There was a pause, and Igneous worried he’d somehow got it wrong, and they’d tie him up and throw him off the cliff for being an intruder. Then the yellow dragon nodded and gestured inside, and he let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. The dragon handed them both torches, and they walked into the cave pathway. It was dark and winding, but the torches lit up the walls enough that he could see more symbols like the ones on the steps.
Suddenly there was a dragon in front of them. Igneous took a step back in both respect and fear, and Reservoir, to his relief, did too. This was a SilkWing. Why there was a SilkWing in the mountains of the Sky Kingdom, he didn't understand, but then again, he was here with a SeaWing.
"Welcome Igneous and Reservoir," she said in a sharp but still voice. "My name is Ringlet, and I will be your guide and shadow during your first few weeks here."
"We don't need a shadow," Reservoir countered angrily, but Ringlet just shook her head and frowned, and he stopped. Igneous watched as she turned around and beckoned for them to follow her, her dusty-brown wings tucked behind her back. She led them into a large circular room, where a dragon stood in the middle of the room. Looking closely, Igneous saw a second dragon next to him, the lead scout from the group that had found them and asked them to join whatever this was. Well, he knew what it was, but not entirely.
All the eyes in the room turned to them, and the dragon in the centre boomed, "Welcome, welcome newcomers! Welcome to your first ever meeting of the Northern Nest! 
There was a smattering of applause as the dragons in the room clapped their hands in unison. Igneous studied the faces looking at him. Some were scarred and bloody, some that looked normal, and some that even looked like dragonets. They were from all ten tribes, as well as many hybrids.
"We have read over your statements," he said, referring to the papers they'd filled out, handed to them by the scouts. "And we have decided where you shall be placed within our system. IGNEOUS, STEP FORWARD!!"
He yelled the last line, shaking Igneous out of his amazement at the different dragons there. With a tiny push from both Ringlet and Reservoir, he stepped toward the dragon who had just called his name. He bowed his head in respect and the dragon laughed loudly, but not meanly.
"You have no need to bow," he chuckled. "I may lead, but we are all equals here. Now, what you've all been waiting for, the choosing!! Igneous, you shall be a..." He paused dramatically, then finished by thrusting his talon to the ceiling and proclaiming, "Peaceflier!!"
He didn't know what that meant, but a group of dragons in one area of the room started cheering and beckoning him over. He looked at the leader, then back at the Reservoir and Ringlet. They were all pointing and nodding for him to go over. 
As he walked away, he heard Ringlet tell the dragon that Reservoir would need a new shadow, and then a SeaWing with colours much brighter than his friend's step next to Reservoir and start talking to him, and Ringlet followed Igneous.
He entered the smiling group of dragons, and received a lot of "welcome!"s and pats on the back. There was a quick moment when he panicked as Reservoir was sorted into the "Aggression" group, which he knew fit him. The moment passed, though, as a SkyWing stepped out and introduced himself as Lyrebird with a big smile. Reservoir would be fine without him.
+++
Igneous walked out of the cave system with his SeaWing best friend, both of them clutching their assigned jobs for the week. He had peeked at the reward, and it was large. The best part was he didn't have to do anything more than steal a few things. That was all he'd ever have to do. He had learned that the sorting was based on skill areas, and the dragon's willingness to do certain things. He was in an area where he wouldn't have to kill or badly injure unless absolutely necessary. 
They waved goodbye to the yellow dragon and made their way down the steps. It was morning, as they'd slept in the cave, and the sun was shining on the side of the mountains. They made their way to the village where they lived, chatting away about their assignments. Reservoir's, as he'd expected, was a bit more violent. He was to injure a dragon's biggest opponent so they couldn't compete in an upcoming race.
"I'm excited for my assignment," Reservoir continued animatedly changing his tone of voice. 
Igneous gave him an incredulous look. He knew his friend was a bit violent, but he didn't realize he was excited to hurt that dragon. "Since when?"
"Since now. Remember the motto, idiot," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Sermo pares successu. Ruthless equals success. Gotta be ruthless to be successful. I sure hope you won't drop whatever you're stealing so you don't have to hurt anyone to escape with it." He looked pointedly at Igneous, whose cheeks turned red. 
"Of course not!" he countered. "Sermo pares successu." Still, he didn't know if Reservoir was convinced. He wasn't fully convinced himself. However, he wanted that reward. He refused to let something like that stop him.
They returned home without much excitement. Igneous waved goodbye to his friend and went inside his home, made of beautiful carved stone and lit with warm orange light. He went to where he stored his food. There, he grabbed a few falcons and a handful of wheat for breakfast. He was starving. As he ate, he thought. Thought about how he would break in to the place he was required to, grab the locket he needed to take, and get out without being stopped.
He knew Reservoir would be able to pull that off in a second. If the clan's motto described anyone, it was his friend, a dragon that would stop at nothing to succeed. Would he? Peeking again at the reward, he steeled himself. He needed that money, needed it for the family he hadn't seen in years. 
It was odd. Reservoir and Igneous may have been good friends, but their reasons for joining the Nest were very different. While Reservoir was excited for the rush of the things he got to do, as well as the rewards, Igneous only cared about the latter. He wasn't afraid to break the law, but he'd only ever done it to support his family and the new, sweet little sister they had adopted when he had left, as they couldn't seem to bare living alone. He loved them all, and he wanted to help them as much as possible.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He wasn't going to fail. He never had, and he wasn't about to start now.
+++
It was midnight now, as he crept toward the large mountain home. It was massive, a home partially carved into the stone of the mountains. Yet there was no time to admire it. He was here for the locket, not to sightsee. Igneous had mapped out how he was to get into the home, and now he went to the secret pathway he had discovered. He walked slowly, carefully, into the stone passageway. It reminded him of the passageway to the Nest, but without those odd symbols whose meanings he had yet to figure out. Almost a week had passed, and he'd finally brought up the courage to carry out his assignment.
His SeaWing friend had finished his much earlier, and had been constantly nagging him to finish this one. Reservoir now inside his head, Igneous could almost hear him talking, snarling, Don't even think about messing this up.
Finally he was inside the home, and he snuck through quietly so he wouldn't wake up the home's inhabitants. He wanted to avoid confrontation so no one got hurt, but still, he was wearing a black mask in the case he was caught. He snuck through each and every room, just in case the owner had moved the locket. He made a few loud noises accidentally and held his breath, but the loud snores of the dragon in their bed continued.
Finally, he came upon the secure jewellery room, where the locket was in a locked cabinet. He knew exactly where it was from using the passageway to sneak in and scout out where everything was. Pulling out his tools, he cracked the lock and pulled out the locket. As soon as he did, however, a loud bell went off and he heard an angry screech coming from the direction of the owner's bedroom.
In a hurry, he dashed to get out, but suddenly he was met with the angry gaze of the home and locket owner, a powerful female SkyWing named Rosé. 
"Give me back that damned locket and no one gets hurt," she snarled, posed to jump at his slightest movement. Igneous had to be careful. So he put his talons in the air and walked slowly toward her, assuring her he was giving it back, that she didn't need to hurt him. Then, as she reached for the locket, he grabbed her talons and twisted her arms behind her back. He couldn't have her conscious, so he smashed her head against a table, cringing at her cries of pain, until she slumped to the floor, unconscious. 
Igneous needed to get out, but he wasn't a killer. He didn't want her to die. So he took a few minutes to shift her into the recovery position, then bolted out of the house, the locket clutched tightly in his talons. Adrenaline and fear was rushing through his body, his heart beating over a hundred beats a minute. Yet among these, and his overwhelming nausea, he could hear his friend's voice saying, Congrats buddy. You got it. 
Now he was going to get his reward.
+++
"I'd like to congratulate Igneous here for successfully completing his first ever assignment!" cheered Ringlet, smiling widely. He hadn't seen the SilkWing in a week, but it was like no time had passed. She was just as nice to him as she had been at the last meeting, and just as bouncy and happy. She handed him his earnings, and Igneous clutched them tightly, not wanting to lose any of it.
His family would be so happy.
Igneous.png|fear (base), me (colour)
Reservoir.png|fear (base), me (colour)
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Content (Sbyman)
Category:Fanfictions (Fanon)
Category:Fanfictions (Completed)
Category:Genre (Short Story)