Under the Trees, A Rainforest Love Story

Constellation is a NightWing who loves the rainforest. Jaguar is a RainWing who doesn't feel satisfied with his life. When these two dragons meet, their love will change the world.
=== Prologue ===
What is happening?
Shadowclaw was pushed along by a seething tide of black and silver scales, his talons scraping over black rock. When did everything go wrong? Sharp claws stamped down on his tail, and he bit back a growl. 
Where are we going? One moment, he was standing in the great hall, trying to convince Princess Greatness that he was strong enough to fight RainWings, and the next, everyone was fleeing, running away from their fortress, the only home that Shadowclaw had ever known. 
The volcanic rock rumbled under his talons, making him stumble. A NightWing that Shadowclaw had never spoken to pushed him back up, shoving at his tail. He turned and glared at her, yanking his tail closer to his body. 
Is the volcano about to erupt? Are we all going to die? Shadowclaw shook his head. No. He was not going to die. Not before ever going to the continent. Why does Morrowseer insist on these precautions? As if the RainWings would attack us! The dragons in front of him stopped abruptly, and Shadowclaw nearly crashed into them. 
“What’s happening? Is the volcano erupting?” “No, of course not! Mastermind said we had longer!” “Well, take a look at that mountain! I think that it’s definitely erupting!” Panicked NightWing voices cut through the hot and smoky air.
Shadowclaw was struck by a sudden thought, and frantically jerked his head around, searching for his mother and sisters. His eyes caught on a familiar silver moon necklace, and he rushed toward it, ducking under midnight-black wings and stepping over ebony tails. “Galaxy,” he burst, grabbing his older sister’s talon. Galaxy whirled around to face him. “Shadowclaw! Where are Mom and Constellation?” “I don’t know,” Shadowclaw panted. Galaxy looked at her claws and sighed. “What’s happening to our island?” Shadowclaw asked. “Is the volcano erupting?”
“I don’t know, Shadowclaw!” Galaxy said. “All I know is that something is happening, and we’re not all together! What’s important right now is that we need to find Mom and Constellation.” Shadowclaw took a step back, looking up at his sister. Galaxy shook her head.
“I’m sorry, Shadowclaw, but I’m really stressed right now.” She put one of her wings around Shadowclaw’s shoulders. “Everything’s going to be fine.”
The shouting continued, ringing in Shadowclaw’s ears. 
“They’ll never let us through! We have to take the rainforest by force!”
“We can’t fight them! They infiltrated the island, took out all our guards, and escaped with the prisoners, and we never even knew they were here. They’ll kill us the moment we step into that tunnel.”
The volcano rumbled, shooting fiery rocks into the air. One of the dragons next to Shadowclaw whimpered.
“Listen to me!” Somebody shouted, and Shadowclaw turned. It was the prophecy NightWing, the one that had spent a few nights in the dragonet dormitory. Starflight, if he remembered right.
“There is a way to escape safely. I promise you that the RainWings will show mercy if you accept Glory as your queen.”
Shadowclaw stared at Starflight, hovering above the crowd. 
“How can a RainWing lead our tribe?” Shadowclaw’s friend Fierceteeth shouted.
“Better than Queen Battlewinner can,” Starflight shot back. “Since she’s dead.”
Galaxy gasped, stepping back. The crowd fell into a shocked silence. “But Greatness…” A NightWing said. 
“I’ve already agreed to this plan,” Greatness said, swooping up beside Starflight. “It is the only way for our tribe to survive.” Shadowclaw looked at Galaxy, who was staring at Starflight in disbelief. 
“Glory will take care of you,” Starflight said firmly. “She will be a fair and just queen, and you’ll be safe in the rainforest instead of trapped here.” 
The smoke was getting denser, and Shadowclaw could barely see Starflight and Greatness anymore. He put his tail across Galaxy’s to reassure himself that she was still there. 
“I’ll do it,” someone from the front of the crowd said. “It has to be better than this.”
“How do we know they won’t kill us all?” a dragon not too far from Shadowclaw asked.
“I trust her,” said Greatness.
“And guess what really will kill you all,” Shadowclaw stared more intently at where Starflight and Greatness were hovering. There was another dragon there too, the other dragonet of destiny. The bouncy, cheerful one. “That volcano. So, come on, let’s get out of here! All hail Queen Glory!” She flew toward the tunnel.
“Queen Glory!”
“Queen Glory!”
More and more dragons started shouting, and Shadowclaw felt disgusted. They were accepting a RainWing as their queen? This was terrible! They were NightWings? Where was their dignity?
“To our new queen!” several dragons cried. “Queen Glory!”
Shadowclaw was pushed forward again, being shoved toward the tunnel. “This is so wrong,” he muttered. 
As he neared the tunnel, he heard the SeaWing dragonet talking to Starflight. 
“We’re making them all say ‘Queen Glory on their way past,” Shadowclaw’s heart sank. The SeaWing grabbed a NightWing’s tail. “Hey, you, speak up.” The NightWing was Strongwings, a burly, clumsy NightWing who had left the dragonet dormitory a few years ago. 
“Queen Glory,” he grumbled.
“Once more, like you mean it,” the SeaWing said. “Or you can discuss it with the volcano up there.” 
The volcano growled, making Shadowclaw jump.
“Queen Glory!” Strongwings blurted.
“Better,” the SeaWing said, letting go of his tail. 
Shadowclaw approached reluctantly. The SeaWing glared at him expectantly. He rolled his eyes “Queen Glory,” he muttered. The SeaWing poked him with her claw. “Again,” she said. “Queen Glory.” he repeated. “Louder!” the SeaWing said. “Queen Glory!” he said. “Much better.” she shoved him in the tail, and he stumbled through the tunnel. 
Shadowclaw’s scales prickled, and he stumbled slightly. He had never been to the rainforest before, and he snapped his wings open as he left the tunnel to keep himself from tumbling to the rainforest floor. As soon as he landed, he turned around to look up at the tunnel, expecting Galaxy to burst out. But she didn’t.
Instead, a MudWing came out. What? Shadowclaw thought, then remembered that Morrowseer had brought the Dragonets of Destiny to the NightWing island, and had dumped them in the dragonet dormitory. The MudWing was boring and stupid, like all MudWings.
Shadowclaw tried to run back toward the tunnel, but more NightWings kept pouring out of it, making it impossible for him to get back. I have to find Galaxy! He thought furiously, and pushed harder. 
“Shadowclaw!” 
Shadowclaw whirled around, and met his little sister’s eyes. “Constellation!” He cried, and wrapped his wings briefly around his sister then let go. “Where’s Mom and Galaxy?”
“I thought Galaxy was with you!” Constellation said, looking panicked. 
“Everyone calm down!”
“Listen! Your new queen is speaking!” Shadowclaw rolled his eyes, but turned to the two RainWings. One of them climbed onto a high boulder and flapped her wings loudly. 
She looks so small. Shadowclaw thought with a smirk. Way smaller than the NightWings around her. A dragonet shouldn’t rule us, let alone a RainWing dragonet.
 “NightWings,” Glory said firmly. “Your home is gone. Your queen is dead. But this is your chance to start over. If you mess it up, you’ll lose this home, too.” She pointed at the RainWings. “You will treat these dragons with respect, and in return, because that’s the kind of dragons they are, they will be much kinder to you than you deserve.” Shadowclaw looked at the RainWings. One of them made a face.
“Tonight you’ll stay right here,” Glory went on. “I don’t want any NightWings wandering off until we can count you and write you all down. You will each be assigned two RainWings to keep an eye on you. And yes, if you’re feeling like perhaps we don’t trust you very much, it’s because we don’t. None of you are welcome in the RainWing village until you earn that trust. We will find you somewhere else to live.”
“We’ll get wet out here,” a NightWing near Shadowclaw complained.
Glory glared at him. “Feel free to go back and sleep on our nice dry island instead,” she snapped. “I hear it’s quite warm there.”
Shadowclaw looked at Constellation. “This is so wrong,” He said quietly to her. She glanced back. “At least we’re not on the volcano anymore,” she retorted. “It’s amazing here.” “But is it worth it? Being ruled by a RainWing?”
Constellation opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by two deep red RainWings dragging the tribe scientist, Mastermind, in front of Glory. 
“This one!” One of the RainWings growled. “He can’t stay here! He’s the worst of all of them.”
“He’s the one who did all the venom experiments on us,” hissed the other. 
“I’m sorry,” Mastermind croaked. “It was… I was just… for science…” he stopped with a sputter, and cringed away from the RainWings. 
Glory flared her wings and several colors rippled through her scales. “Tie him up. We’ll figure out what to-” 
“Look out!” a dragon near the tunnel shouted, making Shadowclaw jump. “Stand clear!” 
The alternate NightWing zoomed out of the hole, and the SeaWing followed her. “Everyone get down!” she roared. 
Shadowclaw threw himself to the ground, dragging Constellation down with him. A blast of scorching-hot air shot out of the tunnel. Two more dragons shot out of the tunnel, a MudWing with his wings wrapped around a NightWing.
“Stay back!” the SeaWing shouted, beating her wings at the NightWings surrounding them.
“Starflight!” someone shouted.
Glory jumped off her boulder, flying to the two dragons. Shadowclaw thought that one of them might be Starflight. Glory pushed past him and the other NightWings. “Oh no…” she said. 
“Will he be alright?” the MudWing said, looking very worried. 
“Get out of here,” the SeaWing said, glaring at the NightWings. “Go on, shoo.” 
Shadowclaw was pushed away by the crowd of NightWings. Where did Constellation go?
  Glory signaled to a pair of RainWings, who brought a hammock made of vines that they gently laid Starflight in. 
Shadowclaw craned his neck to get a better look, but someone grabbed his shoulder, and he whirled. His eyes met the dark green eyes of his mother, Blackstar. “Mother!” he cried, and grabbed her talon, squeezing it. Blackstar squeezed it back, then let go. “Where are Constellation and Galaxy?” she asked, her tail twitching violently. 
“Galaxy was with me on the island, and Constellation was with me a few minutes ago, but I don’t know where they are now…” He trailed off as, again, his eyes caught on a silver crescent moon on a chain, glittering in the moonlight that shone through the clouds. “Galaxy!” he shouted, making Blackstar jump. Galaxy turned, and caught sight of him and Blackstar. 
Blackstar turned as well, and caught sight of her daughter coming toward her. She wrapped her wings around Galaxy, hugging her tight. 
Someone suddenly grabbed Shadowclaw’s tail, and he whirled around. Constellation stood behind him, looking scared. 
Blackstar looked up and saw Constellation. She opened one of her wings and pulled Constellation into her embrace. 
Shadowclaw looked up at the tall trees in the rainforest. Are we really staying here? He thought. Are the NightWings really going to live here, bowing to RainWings? He turned to his family,  with their wings wrapped around each other. He sighed.  I guess we are. We’ll be safe here. He narrowed his eyes. But when we’re strong enough, I’m sure other NightWings will rise up. We won’t live like this forever.
 He looked up at the stars, then down at his talons. He curled his claws inward. 
This is only temporary. We’ll be ruling the rainforest soon.
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Genre (Romance)
Category:Fanfictions (Canon)