Tales of Rainfall

(Please don't edit without my permission!)"I'm fine." -Rainfall
== Chapter 1 ==
=== Rainfall was done. Done with the cursed piece of parchment sitting on the table in front of her. ===
“Arrrgh! Who came up with dragon history anyways?” she grumbled.  
Rainfall was sitting in the throne room of her mother’s castle. (Well, it was more like an oversize treehouse than a castle, but a castle sounded grander to Rainfall.) She was particularly frustrated with the stack of homework scrolls that she needed to finish before her parents got home from their meeting with Queen Snowfall.  
Rainfall wondered what it would be like to be a queen, with so many people depending on you and looking up to you. She didn’t know how her mother dealt with it, considering that her mother wasn’t. . . as queenly as the other queens. Her mother was witty and clever and beautiful and everything Rainfall wanted to be. Even Queen Snowfall wasn’t as regal as she seemed. Rainfall noticed the doubt and worry the young IceWing queen hid behind her mask. It was a habit of hers. Finding out what dragons were hiding, seeing the real dragon underneath whatever they wanted you to see. She was especially good at it because she hid herself too.
Rainfall herself was a special case. She couldn’t camouflage or spit magical death spit like the RainWings, or read minds or see the future, like some NightWings. Though really, she should have been able to do it all, because she was the daughter of Queen Glory and King Deathbringer, a RainWing and a NightWing. But nope, she just had to be possibly the most harmless dragon on Pyrrhia. (And probably Pantala too.) And she was sick of it. She was sick of watching the other dragonets go to school at Jade Mountain, sick of being stuck in her own house, sick of all the dragonets showing off their death spit and playing hide and seek in front of Rainfall just to tease her. And she was definitely sick of her little sister, who was at the doorway, slinking slowly across the floor towards Rainfall, in full camouflage, probably hoping to scare her from behind.  
Rainfall let out an exasperated sigh. “Do you honestly think I can’t see you, Firefly?” 
“Oh, come on! How do you do it? I’m the best in our class at camouflage! Even my camo teacher can’t find me, that’s how good I am.” Firefly said.  
Firefly was Rainfall’s six-year-old sister, and, unlike Rainfall, pretty normal. She had changed her scales back to their normal colors, black scales dotted with so-bright-they-glowed yellow scales, which stood out boldly next to Rainfall’s dusty blue-green-orange-pink hue, similar to her mother’s. Rainfall also had a rounder and rather unwieldy build. In fact, the only similarities between the two sisters were the tear-shaped silver scales next to their eyes and the undersides of their wings, which were matte black and sprinkled with more silver scales. 
But Rainfall didn’t care about that. She cared about the fact that Firefly could camouflage and spit venom like the other RainWings. And Rainfall couldn’t. And it made her deeply irritated, though she didn’t show it. It wasn’t Firefly’s fault, after all. 
“Maybe I’m just really talented, too.” she replied, not moving her eyes from the scroll.  
“Meh. Ooo, what’s this scroll about?” Firefly grabbed a scroll off the top of the pile. 
“It’s about annoying dragonets who get eaten by a pitcher plant because they couldn’t be quiet.” Rainfall said, absentmindedly, jotting a line down in her essay. Firefly pouted. “Oh, you’re no fun!” 
“Yeah, but now I’m done! See what I did there? You know, because fun and done rhyme—” 
“Aaaaand this is why you don’t have any friends.” Firefly interrupted.  
“Excuse you, I— actually, that’s true.” Rainfall realized. “Well, maybe I’d have friends if I was allowed to go to school!”  
Firefly sighed. “Yeah, I know. But you know it’s for the best, right? Mom is right, there are all kinds of dragons that would love to kidnap a defenseless RainWing princess.”  
“Since when are you all responsible and mature?” Rainfall questioned, head tilted and scrutinizing Firefly. “Me? Responsible and mature?” She laughed. “Tell that to the note I’m supposed to give to mom and dad, apparently about my—and I’m quoting—‘more than concerning behavior’.”
Rainfall laughed. “Point taken.” Firefly turned towards the doorway. “I think they’re home.” Sure enough, Glory and Deathbringer trudged through the doorway, looked tired and beat. It took Glory a minute to realize that Rainfall and Firefly were in the room. “Oh, you’re here. Did you finish your homework, Rainfall?” she asked. Rainfall searched her mother’s face, then slowly replied with “Yes.”  “Good! And Firefly, what are you doing here? I thought you’d be in your room, doing who knows what.” 
“I’m going to bed.” she replied, barely hiding a smile. Only after she left did Rainfall distantly remember that Firefly hadn’t given her parents the note. Glory, meanwhile, approached Rainfall warily. Even Deathbringer was missing his usual teasing manner. “So, I... need to tell you something.”  
Well, that was never good.  
“But don’t get all excited, okay? We don’t know for sure yet.” Deathbringer added from the doorway. Rainfall tapped her claws impatiently. “Yes?” 
“Well, I talked to Queen Snowfall today. . . and you came up.” Glory started, a look of absolute dread on her face. “Yes?” Rainfall prodded. “Come on, just say it.” 
Glory sighed. “The queen and I had a conversation. . .”  
“If you don’t spit it out in the next ten seconds, I’ll claw something—or someone.” Rainfall growled.
“Well, you have your mother’s gusto.” Deathbringer muttered, looking half amused, half—wait was that pride? That was something she rarely got from anyone. Rainfall had never even gotten the chance to prove herself, because she was stuck here, being the perfect little girl in the perfect little rainforest doing her perfect little homework with her perfect little s—” Deathbringer's voice jolted her out of her rant. “I think she can take care of herself, Glory.” Glory sighed again, looking very old in that moment. 
“Yes, you’re probably right. But I’m still sending bodyguards with her, just in case.”  
“What on Pyrrhia are you talking about? Bodyguards? Why would I need bodyguards?” Rainfall asked. Deathbringer straightened.
“We’re sending you to school.”
== Chapter 2 ==
=== At first Rainfall laughed. Then, she noticed the uncharacteristically serious looks on her parent’s faces. She blanched. “You’re. . . not kidding?” ===
Glory rolled her eyes. “No, it was all a cruel joke to tease you because we’re evil. OF COURSE WE’RE NOT KIDDING.” Rainfall stared. And stared some more. “So. . . no one’s gonna jump out and yell ‘SIKE!’?”
“No one’s gonna jump out and yell anything.” Deathbringer promised. Then the other part of their conversation kicked in. “Wait, I need bodyguards? How am I supposed sneak out and save the world or something if I have bodyguards following me around?”
Glory grimaced. “That’s the point. And the world doesn’t need saving. And even if it did, you would be dragged to your room and tied up the second you tried anything." Which wasn’t fair! Her mom had gotten to save the world multiple times, why couldn’t she? But Rainfall didn't say anything, because she knew she would find a way. Her mother wasn't the only stubborn one. Instead, she asked a question she probably should have asked earlier. “But, what does Queen Snowfall have to do with anything?”  
Deathbringer shifted uneasily. “She wants to meet you. In return, she promised one of her best soldiers to be posted as your bodyguards.” 
“Oh.” Rainfall wasn’t very comfortable with the idea of a random dragon (nonetheless an IceWing, who weren’t exactly the cuddliest tribe) following her around. Speaking of which, Deathbringer had mentioned bodyguards, as in more than one. “I’m having more than one bodyguard?” she asked them. “Yes, we’re sending you with three bodyguards in total, the IceWing, and a RainWing and NightWing. In fact, all three will go to school with you.”
“Aren’t they a bit too old for that?” Rainfall asked, confused. 
“No, they’re the same age as you. Well, we haven't picked the Rainwing yet, but they’ll probably be around your age.” Deathbringer explained. 
“And now, you should get to bed. Oh wait, you might want to pack. Do you want to pack?” Glory asked her. 
“What would I pack?” Rainfall pointed out. “It’s not like I really need anything except—oh wait—my scrolls! I’ll pack some of my favorite scrolls—ohhhh—and those new ones from Starflight!"
Glory laughed. “I forgot; the school has a huge library. You and Starflight can gasp over scrolls together.”
Rainfall headed out the doorway, plans and questions forming in her head. Plans for which scrolls to bring, and escape plans and plans to investigate scavengers.  
Her mind was racing with possibilities, so many that she didn’t even notice the camouflaged RainWing hovering outside her window, watching her pack her scrolls. 
== Chapter 3 ==
=== Rainfall was waiting on the platform outside her house, inhaling the fresh scents of the rainforest, when two IceWings landed behind her with a thud. ===
Rainfall whipped around, braced for an attack, when she noticed the sapphire crown adorning one of the dragon’s heads. Queen Snowfall.
“Alright, alright, settle down. There’s no need for any of that. I’m only here to meet you.” she said. Rainfall bowed. “Sorry, I didn’t see you coming.” Rainfall’s gaze moved to the other dragon. She was almost blindingly white and marked with darker blue stripes. Something about the lithe way she moved screamed that she was probably the most dangerous dragon in the forest. Snowfall snorted derisively, looking at Rainfall with disbelief. “What is it?” she asked, trying not to fidget under Snowfall’s gaze. “You’re Rainfall, right?” Rainfall nodded. “Nothing, I guess. I thought that you’d be special, if you really are the dragon from the rumors." Snowfall frowned.
“What? What rumors?” Rainfall asked, dismissing the part about not being special. She hadn’t heard any rumors, especially any concerning her.
“You don’t even know about the rumors? Well, I suppose you wouldn’t. You are dragon ROYALTY, after all. Common gossip is BENEATH you, I expect.”
Rainfall didn’t know how to respond to that. “Um. . . so exactly what rumors are we talking about?”
“Someone told me that a NightWing dragon living in Jade Mountain had recently died.” Snowfall said. “His daughter was one of the teachers at the school was there the moment he died, and was the only one to have heard his last words. Or so I was told.”
Rainfall knew the particular dragon that the young queen was talking about. Her name was Sunny, and according to her mom, she came over often to babysit Rainfall when she was little. Rainfall had fond memories of Sunny and felt grief for her quirky friend. “It’s horrible that he died, but—uh—what exactly does that have to do with me?
“I’m getting there.” Snowfall said impatiently. “His last words were ‘The daughter of the queen of two tribes; will unite dragon and man as allies.’” 
Rainfall started. “Wait, was that a prophecy?” she asked eagerly, hoping against hope that it would be.  
“Stonemover, the dragon under the mountain, didn’t have NightWing powers, and good riddance. Those NightWings are creepy enough already. No offense or whatever. . . and how should I know anyways? Everyone expects me to know EVERYTHING. Anyways, you should be thinking about who we know that ‘is the daughter of the queen of two tribes’?”
“Me.” Rainfall said blankly. Then she shook her head. “No, it could be my sister Firefly. Or maybe Queen Wasp had a secret child.” 
“Really? The now imprisoned Queen Wasp had a secret child no one knew about? They didn’t tell me you were this dim. Well, they did —she gestured to Rainfall’s scales— but not in the head.” The queen took her rigid pose once more. “Anyways, I didn't come here to console some dragonet, I only wanted to see your reaction.”
She turned and muttered something to the striped dragon and then took off into the sky.
== Chapter 4 ==
=== “Sooo.........” Rainfall dragged out. “You’re my bodyguard, right?” The striped IceWing gave a curt nod, examining the trees with narrowed eyes as if she expected a troop of dragon to pounce on them.  ===
I guess she’s not the talking type, then. “I’m Rainfall.” 
The dragonet gave no acknowledgement that she heard Rainfall.  
Maybe she’s deaf. “What’s your name?” Rainfall asked. 
“Stormfly.” she replied, with practically no emotion.  
Well, she wasn’t deaf. Rainfall decided to leave her alone since she obviously didn’t want to talk. Or maybe she was always like that. Either way, Rainfall was immensely grateful when Glory and Deathbringer came swooping down followed by two other dragonets, one of them a glossy purplish-black NightWing and a vibrant green and blue RainWing. Beside her, Stormfly snapped to attention, claws flashing and ready to attack. “Relax, relax. It’s only us.” Glory said, landing gracefully, while Deathbringer and the NightWing dragonet crashed onto the platform. “Only us? Only us? Glory, you’re the queen of the rainforest. And I'm, well, I’m me. You should be screaming to the world ‘Look, it's us!’” Deathbringer told her.  
“Cut the theatrics, O glorious NightWing.” Glory said wearily. It looked like she hadn’t slept in days. “These are the other bodyguards. Safe journey, okay?” 
“Wait, aren’t you coming to drop me off?” Rainfall asked.  
“I’m sorry, I have to get to the healing center. There’s been an accident—apparently rouge MudWings are setting traps in the forest to catch unsuspecting dragons.”  
Rainfall turned to Deathbringer. “What about—” 
“Sorry, kiddo. I’m leading a team out to disable the traps while your mother speaks to Queen Moorhen.” he apologized.  
Rainfall wanted to argue, to ask them; wasn’t she more important than some silly traps? 
But I’m not. Mother had said ‘accident’. Someone had gotten hurt. Surely that’s more important than taking me to school. Mother is a queen, she has duties. I should be supporting her.  
Rainfall sighed. “Alright, it’s fine.”  
But the king and queen had already left. 
 > > > > > > >  > > > > >  > > > > > > > > > >  > > > > > > > > > > > > > > 
“What are your names?” Rainfall turned to the new dragonets. 
The NightWing dragonet smiled. “I’m Dreamwisher. But you can call me Dream, if you’d like.”  
The RainWing dragonet grinned at Dreamwisher. 
“You’re very sneaky, aren’t you, Dream?” he said. Dream turned her snout upwards. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  
“Oh, I think you know exactly what I'm talking about. In fact, you might have just plucked it out of my head.” he said.  
Stormfly inhaled sharply. Her dark blue eyes flickered with mistrust as they landed on Dream. “See, she knows.” the RainWing said. “Wait, what are your names? Mine’s Fossa. By the way.” 
Stormfly stayed silent, so Rainfall took the liberty of introducing her to the unusual dragons. “This is Stormfly, and I’m Rainfall.”  
“You’re the princess.” Dream said. 
“No, she’s a coconut, dodo.” Fossa replied. Dream smacked his head with her tail. “I know that, brainless.”  
Huh. It seemed like Dream and Fossa knew each other beforehand. “Do you guys know each other?” she asked. “We’ve met.” Dream said. 
“What she means is that we’re in the same class at school.” Fossa explained. 
“You go to Jade Academy?” Rainfall asked, gaping at the pair.
Dream shook her head. “No, no, we go to the school here, in the forest. Actually, I’ve never seen you there. Some dragons in the villages even think you’re a myth.”  
Rainfall scowled. She’d had no idea that some dragons didn’t even believe she existed. Curse her homey dungeon!  
Rainfall was about to reply when Stormfly cleared her throat. “We’d better get moving.”  
“Ah, so the IceWing talks! I was starting to doubt myself.” Fossa said, grinning. Dream sighed. “We probably should get started. Be warned, though. It isn’t my fault if you decide to throw yourself into the river listening to Fossa’s ridiculous jokes.” 
Rainfall laughed. She thought she was going to get along just fine with these dragons.  
== Chapter 5 ==
=== Flying to the school was harder than Rainfall had originally thought. ===
After a lifetime of gliding through the treetops, the open air of the desert was overwhelming. In the rainforest, the trees provided shade, but out here, there was only scorching heat. In the rainforest, there were branches to catch you if you fell. But here, when Rainfall looked down, she saw the dizzying drop that she wouldn’t have been able to see in the rainforest. Her wings weren’t used to flying on their own, without trees to propel herself forward. It made her feel clumsy and more different than ever, especially when she noticed everyone else soaring effortlessly beside her. 
“Do you need a break?”  Dream asked her, for what seemed like the hundredth time. Rainfall had refused every time. She was not going to be the weak, defenseless princess who was so useless that she couldn’t even fly a few leagues. “No.” she said, trying not to sound as out of breath as she really was. She looked up, realizing she was lagging behind, and beat her wings harder to catch up with the others. She wasn’t going to relent to the exhaustion nipping at her. 
“Alright, we’re having a break!” Fossa declared, shooting a concerned look at Rainfall. Rainfall frowned. She was that obvious? 
Nonetheless, she was grateful for the excuse to land. The second she landed on the soft sand, she was fixed with an overwhelming urge to lay down and sleep. Don’t be weak, Rainfall. If you take a nap now, they really will think you’re useless, she scolded herself. Stormfly had headed off to scout, though Rainfall suspected that she just resented the heat of the sand. She sat down, curling her tail around her talons, and closing her eyes. Fossa sidled up next to her and Rainfall jerked her eyes open, grateful for the movement. She had nearly fallen asleep.  
“Sorry, did I wake you?” Fossa teased. Rainfall scowled at him. He had hit too close to home. “You should take a break sometimes. You nearly worked your wings off back there.” Dream raised her head to hear Rainfall’s response. 
She really had been obvious, then.  
Rainfall shifted uncomfortably. “I wanted to get to the school as fast as possible.” she lied. Fossa wrinkled his snout. “Bleh. School is boring. You’re lucky you don’t have to go. I’d love to skip facing Bromeliad's constant screaming about how incompetent we are.” 
“Are you sure she wasn’t just talking about you?” Rainfall teased. Fossa held a claw to his chest in feigned offense. “She bites! And, ow, cut me some slack, will you?” 
Rainfall continued, ignoring his dramatic lamenting. “And anyways, I still get plenty of homework, either way. My mom made sure of that. I don’t even get breaks on weekends, like you guys."
“How do you know about our breaks?" Fossa asked her. 
“She probably knows about it from her sister, right?” Dream asked her. 
“Yeah, she brings home news, sometimes. Mostly she just annoys me to no end.”  
“Kind of like our very own Dream, am I right?” Fossa said, laughing as Dream swiped at his head. 
Dream opened her mouth to retaliate, but was interrupted by Stormfly touching down beside them.  
“All clear.” she grunted. Fossa and Dream got up and rose into the air. Rainfall also reluctantly rose into the air.  
“Stormfly, did you fight in the war?” Fossa asked her. Stormfly glanced at Fossa, and replied. “Yes. I was a general. I was the best in the army.” She didn’t say it with pride, or a bragging way. She stated it like a fact. Which it probably was, Rainfall thought.  
Stormfly herself was a curious dragon. She seemed to avoid talking as much as possible, and when she did, it was a dull monotone. There was no expression or opinion in her, it seemed. Rainfall knew better, though. No one was ever truly boring, no matter how indifferent they appeared. There had to be a personality in there somewhere, and Rainfall had to bring it out.   
== Chapter 6 ==
=== Finally, after what seemed like forever, they reached the mountain. ===
It was majestic. No other way to describe it. 
Rainfall had not once in her life seen something so tall and shadowing and grand and just. . . It was proof that she truly wasn't in the rainforest anymore. The dark staggering peaks sitting defiantly in the sky, surrounded by wispy clouds might have been the most spectacular thing she'd ever seen.
"Never seen the peaks before?" asked Dream.
Rainfall, still mesmerized by the scenery, nodded dumbly.
Dream chuckled. "Stormfly, you need to look at their faces. Our poor little RainWings haven't seen much, have they?"
Stormfly glanced at Rainfall and Fossa, and turned back. Dream looked a little confused, and didn't attempt any further conversation with her.
Finally they were close enough to see the entrance to the school, dragons buzzing around it like bees to their hive. Rainfall squinted at the cave entrance. Were they supposed to live in there? That wasn't much better than being stuck in a rainforest! Worse, probably. Here, there would be no light or familiar faces. Just cold, dark, and hard stone. Rainfall slowed down and landed on the stone platform that led to a hallway that was presumably the entrance to the school.
"This is Jade Academy?" Rainfall said.
Fossa glanced around uneasily, and Dream was frowning.
"There's no sunlight! How are we supposed to get our sun time if we're in a cave? My poor scales!" Fossa said, growing more distressed by the minute. 
"We should probably find a teacher, first." Rainfall said, scanning the hall, looking for anyone that she might know. She didn't recognize anyone... 
"Well, there's nothing else to it. We'll have to go in." she decided. 
"So melodramatic. It's just a bit of darkness." replied Dream, although she wasn't moving. Rainfall walked into the wide entryway, dragons milling about. She saw SkyWings, MudWings, and what she assumed were SeaWings. She only knew one SeaWing, Tsunami, who she had met when she was a baby, and only remembered a faint blue glow of her. Rainfall caught herself staring at their beautiful patterns and observing each tribe's differences. She had never seen so many tribes in one place. 
She was then rudely shook from her reverie by a bright blue blur barreling past her, and a NightWing dragon that chased it.
Wait, she knew that voice.
"Auklet, get back here right now!" he sputtered.
Rainfall turned towards the voice and looked at the dragonet's face.
"Starflight?"
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Starflight paused and turned to look at her.
"Rainfall? Wow—you're here already?" he said, not quite looking at her. Starflight was blind; Glory had told her about how he had bravely helped evacuate the NightWings from their self-destructing island. Moreover, he was Jade Academy's librarian and always took the time to send Rainfall any good scrolls that came across him. Rainfall had a real soft spot for him, and (don't tell Glory) she loved fangirling over scrolls with him.
Rainfall grinned. "Hey, Starflight. I just wanted to ask you where the rooms were? But it looks like you need help more than I do, who're you chasing?"
Starflight smiled in return. "It's nice to hear your voice, Rainfall. I'm surprised Glory let you come, she's always edgy about bringing you places.
"And, it might be too late for help at this point. Auklet just came to the Academy yesterday, and she's already tripped three SandWings, poured water on four different napping RainWings, and is generally causing havoc."
"Sounds nice." Rainfall said. "Let me know if you need any help, ok?"
Starflight laughed. "Thank you, but I think I should be the one helping you." He consulted a piece of parchment and faced her again. "So, you're in the Jade Winglet, and rooms. . ." —he scanned the parchment— "are along this corridor, you'll come to a big auditorium, and from there, take the first left hallway. Auklet, no!" Starflight dashed off to go catch Auklet, who was currently dragging her claws down a stalagmite to make a high pitched—and extremely annoying—noise.
P.S. If you made it this far, thank you! If you liked it or have constructive criticism, you're welcome to say so in the comments! Also note that I won't be posting too frequently if I don't get responses. I really just think it's more efficient, I'm not prompting you to reply or anything, just an fyi.
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Genre (Adventure)
Category:Fanfictions (Semi-Canon)