Wings of Fire: Growing Under Nothing

NOTE: THIS STORY FEATURES HEAVY-ISH VIOLENCE.
Another Note: This novella-ish was actually supposed to come out after 'The Final Breath', and many details will be explained in that installment.
Buttercup stretched her wings behind her, yawning. Her
eyelids were heavy after working all night. But she did it. She finally made a
blow dart powered by leafspeak, that she could use to help others. She called
it a Growing Under Nothing, or a G.U.N. Easy on the tongue. As all things
should be.
            “Butter…” A
groggy voice sounded behind her, and she turned to see a bright yellow RainWing
rubbing his eyes as he walked into the hut. “What’re ya doin’?”
            Buttercup
smiled, floating over on her six, odd, yellow wings. “Banana! I’ve been working
all night, and I’ve finally got it!”
            She held up
a sprout wrapped in a large green leaf, forming a cone shape with the brown
seed at the narrowest part. “I call it a G.U.N.!”
            “Gun?
That’s… An odd word…” He placed a wing over her and studied the leafy
contraption. “It looks a bit simple for you to have worked on it for six
years…”
            “Well, one,
it’s G-U-N. Growing Under Nothing! And, it’s actually quite complicated!” She
leaned into his touch and pointed at the seed. “This seed requires the right
conditions, the right times, the right everything
to grow! And even then, it’s hard to even mess with after it’s sprouted!
Also, this leaf is very rare! The two combined took about two years! And then,
there was the matter of-“
            Banana
shushed her gently. “It’s fine, I get it. I’m happy you stayed here for so
long. I met you,” he said, holding her talons in his, the G.U.N. between them. “And
that’s all I could ever want.”
            Buttercup
smiled, and bumped his snout with hers. “And that’s all I could ever want… But, Banana?”
            Banana
tilted his head. “Yes?”
            “I…
Actually have been planning to go home,” she shrugged. “To see Mom and Dad
again. I know I-“
            “It’s
fine.”
            Buttercup
looked up in surprise, her antennae and ears flicked upwards. “W- What? Really?
I mean- Are you sure?”
            “Of
course,” the RainWing replied, his scales swirling with a happy shade of pink.
“You haven’t seen them in six years, and you’ve seen me every day for six years. They’d be so happy.”
            Buttercup
smiled. “Thanks… Do you-?”
            “No, no.
Besides, I have something to take care of here, remember?” He raised an eye
ridge, and Buttercup smiled.
            “Right. The
wedding. You’re amazing, you know that?”
            “I do.”
            They
laughed, and Buttercup moved, getting her things together. “I don’t have much,
and besides, I’m coming back soon.”
            “Alright-
Wait, so early?” Banana blinked.
            “Of course!
Mother always takes care of her garden around noon, I need to get there around
then!” She smiled, walking to the door and twining her tail with his. “Remember,
I’ll come back. Because I love you. To Possibility and back. Or…” she paused.
“Maybe here and back? You know what I mean. That’s where I’ll be if there’s an
emergency.”
            Banana
blinked. “Wait. Possibility?”           
            “Um, yeah?”
            “The one
near the  Stronghold?”
            “Yep.”
            “The one
near the Scorpion Den?”
            
            “Well, not too close.”
            Banana
gripped her talons tightly. “Be careful. Apparently, there was an animus going
crazy around there. Please, please be
careful.”
            Buttercup
returned the grip and smiled. “I’ll be fine. Anyways, bye. I love you,” she
said, pressing her forehead to his before she turned and flapped her wings,
becoming airborne after a few tries. “I’ll see you next week!”
            “Bye!”
Banana waved, then started changing his scales and putting on a show for her as
she left. The hybrid laughed, and flew over the trees, leaving her fiancé
behind her.
            Possibility
wasn’t too far away, but Buttercup was struggling. Her sixth wing always lagged
behind her, weighing down her flight. She rested frequently, and one day, as
she was lying across a flat rock and absorbing some sun, a SandWing with a
caravan trotted by, and she opened an eye. He was a deep, brown color, his
spine a darker brown. He had a jolly face, smiling as he hummed a tune.
            Buttercup
sat up. “Who are you?”
            The
SandWing stopped, looking over with quizzical black eyes. “Me? Why, the name’s
Bronze. ‘Ah’m in me own kingdom. What’s ye doin’ ‘ere?”
            “Travelling.”
            “Jolly!
‘Ah’ve gots some good grub, if ye’re ‘ungry! An’ if ye gots anythins to sell,
‘Ah’ll buy it righty off of ye!”
            Buttercup
shook her head. “No thank you. But… We’re in the middle of nowhere, isn’t that
bad for business?”
            Bronze
paused. “Well, ye see. ‘Ah’m headed o’er to Possibility. There’s a client ‘Ah
gots to meet.”
            Buttercup
pricked her ears. “Possibility? That’s where I’m going! Do you happen to have
room in that thing?”
            Bronze
paused again, worrying her, then nodded. “Ye, just don’t be touchin’ nothin’.”
            She nodded
and smiled. “Here’s some gold for your trouble,” she said, floating up and
dropping a few coins in his outstretched claw (it seemed as though he was
already expecting it), then ducking behind and into the red caravan. It was
filled, nook and cranny, with items, but there was a small space big enough for
her to curl up. “How long will it take?” She shouted as they started to move.
            “’Bout two
‘r three days, give ‘r take!” the traveler replied, and she lay down, flicking
her tail over her snout.
                        "'Ere!"
            Buttercup yawned, and stepped outside onto the brown grass. She stretched, then looked around. They were in the center of Possibility, vendors and shops open all around them. Bronze pushed past her and started unloading his wares as he set up the caravan for business. Every now and then, he looked around, as if looking for something... Or at something!
            "Isn't it great!" Buttercup exclaimed, assuming he was simply bedazzled by the busy town.
            "Eh? Oh, yep, 'Ah s'pose so," the SandWing blinked, surprised, and started looking around the plaza with an 'awed' expression.
            "Welp, I have to get going! Thanks again!" Buttercup waved, then flew off. As she did, she thought she saw Bronze's black eyes latch on to a limping SeaWing, but she dismissed the thought. She was going to see them again. Her parents.
            She saw the hill appear over the buildings, the ocean beyond the cottage at the top. She could see the orange scales of her mother already! The SilkWing was tending to the yellow flowers her daughter was named after. The daughter that was landing right behind her.
            "Mom!" Buttercup exclaimed, and her mother whipped around, surprised. "It's me!"
            Wide gray eyes narrowed into suspicion and confusion, and she swallowed. Something wasn't right.
            "Who?"
            "Buttercup! Your daughter!"
            "Um- I-" Dash blinked a few times. She remembered! "Basil, darling!"
            "Yes, sweetie?" A deep green LeafWing came out of the cottage, taking off his glasses. "Oh! Why, whoever is this?"
            They seemed honestly confused. Buttercup tilted her head. "I... It's me... Buttercup. Your... Daughter...? This is-" she laughed. "Very funny. The dragonet who wanted to be a doctor? I left to study medicine?"
            The two dragons exchanged a look, then made weak smiles at her. "Of course, sweetie! Buttercup, how could we have forgotten...?" They wrapped their wings around her, but she didn't feel right. This didn't feel right. They pulled back, waving her in. "Come in," Dash said. "You must be hungry!"
            She was. A little bit.
            The rest of the day went by slowly, as they asked her about her time in the rainforest, and as she told them they were invited to her wedding. They looked happy, but not in the way her parents would. Buttercup felt something leave her, but she didn't know what.
            That night, she slept in the attic. It was dusty and gross, but it would have to do for a little while. Buttercup lay awake, thoughts flying around her head. She heard voices from downstairs, and pressed her ear to the floor to listen.
            "Does she really think she's our daughter?"
            "Yes, I'm quite sure..."
            "Well, we can't keep playing along, Basil! We're struggling to support ourselves already!"
            "But it would crush the poor thing."
            "I know, but... Whatever's best for us must be done, right?"
            "I don't know... I've kind of grown attached. I mean, this is our chance to have a little girl, like we've always wanted!"
            "But she's not our little girl. She has to go. Maybe we'll just send her back to the rainforest."
            "I... I guess so. When?"
            "As soon as possible."
            Her heart felt like a moth with one wing, slowly fluttering down in broken spirals.
            ~
            Buttercup didn't sleep that night, and she went downstairs to find the old couple smiling sadly. Before the strangers could say anything, a green vine burst out of the dusty floor, wrapping around the LeafWing's body. His coffee-brown eyes bulged, his claws starting to bleed as he tried to tear at the thorny plant. Buttercup could feel him trying to use his own leafspeak, but hers was stronger, and she could hear the plant's purring to her voice in her head.
            The orange SilkWing was screaming, trying to run away, but she tripped over a loosened floorboard and toppled over. Buttercup was pinning her to the ground in a second, her talons digging into her wrists. She let some glue from her own wrists coat the dragoness' frail claws, and stepped back. She looked behind her at Basil's body, blood caking his scales, and she grimaced. What was she doing?
            Buttercup looked down at her talons. No, not her talons-
            The ones of a monster.
            She thought for a moment, then a deadly smirk spilled across her face, gray eyes gleaming. The adrenaline pulsed through her, roaring in her ears.
            A monster that wanted to have fun.
            Her jaw hung open in a crazed smile, and she straightened, standing tall over the feeble SilkWing. She couldn't say anything, the poor dragon. Her throat was too raw.
            "Dash..." Buttercup snatched her jaw in her talons, and jerked it to the side, breathing into what was once the ear of a kind, motherly figure. "How many ways... Can a dragon die...?"
            ~
            Buttercup stood outside of the cottage, in the garden where she'd realized she wanted to be a doctor. The yellow petals were crushed and stained red beneath her feet, looking more like roses than buttercups. The wind blew through her red-splattered, yellow wings, carrying the scent of death out to the ocean. She'd moved her new potted plant outside, and now had new decorations on the tree she'd once climbed on. Wings were splayed out across the branches, around their former body.
            She felt a little sad, but mostly felt happy. She'd have to scrapbook the occasion later. But she had someone to visit. Two someones. She flew out towards the plaza, hoping he was still there.
            Landing with a tired sigh, Buttercup looked around the plaza, filled with dragons of every Tribe. She saw Bronze's caravan, but no Bronze. Just an oddly shaped MudWing. She blinked. That was Bronze. He looked kind of like a MudWing... Somehow. Maybe some past genes. She shook her head. Unimportant.
            "Bronze!" She called across the plaza, and made her way over.
The SandWing groaned. “Back already? What’s ye want now?”
“A ride.”
He groaned again. “‘Ah just gave ye one!” His black eyes looked down and saw Buttercup’s bloody talons. “Eh- ‘Ah reckon ye’re on the run. Ain’t ye?”
Buttercup nodded. “A little bit. I need to go to the rainforest.” She held up a pouch of gold coins, which held Bronze’s gaze for a good second.
“Hm…” Bronze thought for a moment. “Will ye kill me if ‘Ah don’t lend ye me claw?”
“Maybe. Probably not.”
“Well now ‘Ah barely trust ye. What’s yer name, girly?”
“Buttercup.”
“Buttcup. Aight, Buttcup.”
“Buttercup.”
“Buttcup. ‘Ah’ll take ye over yonder, but “Ah’mma make multiple stops. Ye good with that?”
“I suppose,” Buttercup was still frowning at his shortening of her name. She dropped the pouch into his outstretched claws and got in the caravan.
“Don’t touch anythings!” Bronze shouted as the caravan began to move.
Buttercup paused. He’d said that the first time, too. He was either a germaphobe (which she highly doubted, given the sand coating the surfaces), paranoid about others touching his wares (even though he sold them with hardly a blink of an eye), or… She looked around, and saw a goblet catch the light. She turned her head to see it better, and saw a faint violet-green sheen.
“So… What’s your business?”
“‘Ah sell me things. An’ other uns’ things. ‘Ah sell things.”
“Poisoned things?”
The caravan shook, having either caught on a rock or the driver having flinched. Heavily. “‘Ah suppose ye’ve caughts me. How’d ye know?”
“Well…” Buttercup thought for a moment. “Your items have SandWing venom coating them. You were eyeing that SeaWing, who happened to be limping while wearing a gold bracelet. The one right next to me,” she said, looking down at the piece of jewelry. It had a little bit of blood on it.
“Ye’s a gud one, ‘Ah’ll give ye that,” she heard the SandWing sigh. “Welp. Now ye know.”
“Why do you do it?”
“‘Ah could ask ye the same ‘q’.”
Buttercup paused. She tried tearing apart her brain for an answer, but couldn’t find one. Where was it? Did she really not know? Her mouth moved faster than her mind. “I… Don’t know.”
Bronze was silent, and Buttercup decided she should just go to sleep. She had a big day coming. She needed rest.
'''
The smell of fruit and moist soil wafted towards Buttercup, and she smiled. It was her wedding day. She was wearing a cloak made of flowers, with jewelry adorning her horns and claws. Banana was smiling at her, wearing a moss cloak. Their pet sloth, Cocoa Butter, laid between his horns. Their tails twined together, yellow scales on yellow scales.
Birds and animals were standing around them, and so were the RainWings. Queen Hornbill was there, too! Even Buttercup’s parents, smiling at their daughter lovingly. Bronze was also there, for whatever reason, and he was selling cupcakes with a big smile on his face. Buttercup paused and narrowed her eyes to see what they looked like, and they looked completely normal. She knew they were completely normal.
But the wedding wasn’t.
Suddenly, her mother’s wings fell off of her and onto the ground, and plants came growing, snapping out of her father’s throat. Bronze dropped the cupcakes, with an almost worried expression on his face, and looked around in fear.
“Buttcup! BUTTCUP!”
'''
Buttercup woke up with a jolt, and looked up to see Bronze standing over her with a worried expression, just like in the dream. Every now and then, he’d look around in what looked like a dash of fear. She sat up, rubbing her head, and the SandWing gave a sigh of relief.
“Three moons, ‘Ah thought ye’d touched one of ma things,” he said, giving her a sad smile. “Ye looked so pale when ‘Ah opened up the back. Ye didn’t reply the f’rst ‘undred times ‘Ah called ye name, gots kinda worried.”
Buttercup stood, stretching. “Well, I’m okay, don’t worry. I didn’t die or anything,” she assured him. “Besides, I thought you wanted to kill dragons by poisoning them.”
“Eh… Not alls the time… ‘Et depends on the dragon, ye see…” He turned to look at the rainforest they were parked in front of. “Anywho, ‘ere we are!”
Buttercup smiled wickedly at the trees. “Delicious…”
“Trees ain’t delicious.”
“It’s a phrase,” Buttercup retorted, and she stepped forward. “Well… I suppose it’s time.” She turned to look at him. “Do ya have any knives back there? Clean ones.”
Bronze blinked, then raised an eye ridge. “Ye sure ye trust meh enough te give ye that?”
Buttercup paused. She wondered if she really should trust this killing merchant… She nodded. “Yes.”
The SandWing opened and closed his mouth, then laughed under his breath and went into the caravan, digging out a knife. He tossed it to her, and she caught it by the blade, making him flinch. “S’rry, don’t kills meh.”
Buttercup simply laughed and entered the rainforest. She knew that he knew that she’d come back. Many times over. The sounds of the creatures clicking, chirping, and screaming filled the humid air, the noises becoming more and more silent as she walked further in.
She finally saw the green huts start to come into view, and found herself walking through the village. RainWings soared above her, waving their cheerful greetings. None of them batted an eye at the red staining her scales, most likely because they didn’t see it.
But her eyes were looking for the familiar flash of yellow.
Deeper in.
Buttercup floated over to the hut she’d shared with Banana, and found it empty. The firefly lanterns were dim, and her blueprints still lay out on the desk, along with a small scroll. She walked over and picked the smooth yet fruit-stained paper up in her claws.
Deer Butttercoop
I dont no haw too rit too well but heer
Meat in the place yuu liek
Buttercup stared at the note for a good five minutes, then sighed and flew out. Idiot, she thought with a snort. She could see the white curtains in the distance, almost blinding against the green undergrowth. A bright yellow dragon was flying around, sprinkling petals in random spots, and he turned to see Buttercup fly into the clearing.
“Butter!” the RainWing cried, and he made a move to fly towards her, then glanced at her talons and paused, landing softly on the grass. “Butter…?”
Buttercup landed away from him, and could only stare in silence. “Banana…” She looked down at her claws, then placed them on her face. “I’m so sorry… My parents… They forgot me, I had to-”
“Shh…” Banana looked scared, but he stepped forward anyway. “Come here, Butter… I’ve got you now… I doubt you meant to.”
Buttercup collapsed in her fiance’s arms and started crying. Banana’s talons stroked back her antennae, then stopped. The heavy weight of his body collapsed onto her, and the red puddle around them grew as Buttercup laughed.
“Idiot!” She cried, wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes. “I can’t believe you’re so stupid!” Buttercup backed away, letting Banana’s body fall to the ground, the blade sinking through his back into the ground. The white fabric that had been laying around them was now turning red, and Buttercup smiled at the eerie beauty. “Delicious!” 
She turned away from the corpse and its glassy eyes, and flew up through the trees. She perched on the highest branch, the one where she and Banana would perch and watch the world below. She could see to the Claws of the Clouds Mountains, and a lone SandWing flying towards the Hives. The sea glittered beyond the towering structures, and Buttercup thought she saw the orange flames of battle in the green-brown of the Mud Kingdom.
She saw Bronze’s caravan rolling towards the golden desert, and a fleet of MudWings flying back from Jade Mountain to their swampy home. There was a dark red dragon flying towards the Silk and Leaf Kingdoms to the north and a pair of SeaWings flying together over the ocean.
Something was happening.
Someone was coming.
And if she weren’t the main event…
What kind of dragon was she?            
Category:Wings of Fire
Category:Star's stuff
Category:Literature
Category:Fanfictions (Finished)