Eyes In The Darkness

Past, present, future.
These are all things Sharpeye has struggled to keep track of. Despite being so keen in deceit and spying, her life has turned out to be one big experiment in keeping track of these things. One day, she was a tiny dragonet, the next, she was kidnapping Rainwings. This is the tale of the past, present and future of a single Nightwing, caught in the events of the series.
== Prologue ==
The Past
"Her egg is hatching!" Said a tall obsidian-black Nightwing. His wings were large and tattered, and his maw filled with sharp blood-stained teeth. Yet even such a frightening Nightwing couldn't help but feel happy on the day of his daughter's hatching. His bright green eyes focused on the large black egg, which had begun to shake.
"This is good." Said a nearby scientist, adjusting his glasses. "Egg illnesses are at an all-time high, you're very lucky, Mr. Rockcrusher."
A tiny cheeping started as a dragon's snout broke free. A purple dragoness came into the cavern, her wings flapping in delight. "One of our clutch made it!" She said. "Oh thank you so much, scientist."
Although a bit annoyed by not being called by his name, the scientist contuined to observe the egg's hatching. "Hmm, she must have a resistance, I've very rarely seen a case where a dragonet survives in an infected clutch."
The dragonet had only gotten it's front legs out when it started to observe the area, her tiny dark purple talons pounding the ground. Her eyes, a pale green, started to take in her surroundings as she flopped onto the cavern ground.
"Look at her eyes, they are so pretty." Said Rockcrusher. "What do you think, Forktail?" It was unusual to hear such a soft voice coming out of such a big dragon.
"Just like yours." Said Forktail, wrapping her namesake tail around the tiny dragonet. "I think the name Sharpeye is quite fitting."
The scientist got up, and started to walk away, a scroll full of details about the hatching in his maw. Rockcrusher gave one last look before picking the miniature purple dragoness. She bit his nose, but without teeth it didn't hurt in the slightest. "I think we have a feisty one on our talons." Said Forktail, standing up to get a better look at the dragonet.
"You're going to do great things for your tribe." Said Rockcrusher. "I will make sure of that."
== Step 1: Avoid Conflict ==
This first step rang rather hollow among the legions of would-be spies at the training den. They bit and they yelled, they spun and they fell.
All except for one. Her name was Sharpeye. At a side-glance, you would say that she is a nice, polite dragonet, but that only hides what is below the surface. For every word that comes off a forked tongue, is a word trapped in her mind. She was a spy. And a good one.
She never grew up with too many friends. Not that there were too many dragonets around either. It was a lonely world, being one of the members of a "lost clutch". Most dragonets stuck with their siblings, while she had none.
Even her parents were baffled by her carefree and calm attitude. "So, how was training?" Said Rockcrusher, his voice loud and gruff.
"Pleasant, father." Said Sharpeye, her talons light on the earth as she walked along, her body growing muscular and nimble with the coming of adulthood. She was much too thin, food had been low in the past few months. Her ribs poked from her scales, and her eyes had dark bags hanging beneath them. Her grin was unmistakable, tiny and proper, yet somehow... off.
"What do you have there?" She said, poking at her father's leather satchel.
"It's none of your business young lady." Said her father. Avoid conflict, her training said. Whenever she wasn't learning like the other dragonets, she was training in the den. Most dragonets failed and left the den, but she stayed. There was a reason.
As soon as her father picked up the satchel, she had taken careful measures to hide herself in the dark shadows of the caves. Avoid conflict, stay hidden. Her father opened the satchel, and it was a note:
Your daughter has been accept as an apprentice-level recruit for the Eyes of Night. She will be moving in 5 moons to the bunker. Do not tell her this, if she cannot find out on her own, she does not deserve to be a spy.
Sharpeye smiled from the darkness. That was quick and easy. Her father was never good at hiding things, and her mother was.. hard to understand at times, but incredibly honest. 5 moons.. Well, it's never to earlier to prepare.
If only Sharpeye had known what joining the Eyes of Night meant.
== Step 2: Be Swift on Your Talons ==
Sharpeye had arrived at exactly the time required. Not too late, not too soon. For she knew she was being observed, watched and judged by the Eyes of Night. After all, they were much more advanced than she was, and it was said that they could meld completely into any shadow.
"I see that you are smarter than you look." Said a tall, bony Nightwing, her eyes like cuts through her face. "I thought you weren't going to show up at all, but it appears you are smart enough to have come exactly as asked. Come in, come in, I am Darkwielder, the teacher of your classsss." Her voice was unnerving, sweet but vicious.
"Ah." Said Sharpeye, keeping a rather dull expression to hide her nervousness. Inside, she was quaking, although you wouldn't guess by the average expression she wore like a banner.
"Now, whatever you do, do not tell anybody what you know. Not your friends, not your family, not even your deepest love. Emotions are temporary, but secrets are forever." Said Darkwielder, her black scales fading in and out of the shadows as Sharpeye walked down a deep corridor.
The dim torch-fire highlighted Darkwielder's wrinkles and bags, the old dragon she was, and gave her an impression of frailty. Oh how false that was.
Sharpeye frowned. She knew one of her only friends, Starsearcher, would be thrilled to hear Sharpeye was getting enrolled in a specialty program, but she would have to keep silent, because Darkwielder did not look like the dragon would played around.
Suddenly, a blade flew across the room. Darkwielder's tail spun around it, redirecting it to Sharpeye. "Think fast." Sharpeye grabbed it between her talons and threw it to the floor, the blade just barely nicking her snout, sending a sliver of blood down her maw.
"Not bad, but remember to always be swift on your talons, for you may have to dash and run at any second." Said the elder dragon, her maw curling into a sort-of smile. She touched Sharpeye's snout, the blood smearing onto her talon. Darkwielder licked it, her black forked tongue taking in the flavor.
"Type B blood? Relatively average, but useful to know." Said Darkwielder, licking her talon clean from the small drops of blood.
Sharpeye uncomfortably rubbed her shoulder. Having a dragon that could tell everything about you at a glance was scary. Yet, she knew this is what she wanted to be. She wanted to be so knowing like Darkwielder, and she wanted to be so very scary.
"Now, welcome to your class." Said Darkwielder as they arrived at a cave iron-studded cave. About four other Nightwings, all deep-scaled and thin, were scattered around the room. One had a book in talon, two were talking and one stood oddly off to the side. "No introductions, I trust you to find out who they are."
Sharpeye went up to the lone dragon. His eyes were a lime green and his body a night blue. He filled her with a sort of odd bubbly feeling, perhaps a crush, but that was irrelevant.
"Hello, Sharpeye." Said Sharpeye, nodding in respect. She hoped her blush wasn't visible through her scales.
"Hi, I am Watcher. I shouldn't have told you my name, but you have that kind of charisma around you. But you brush up on your skills, because somebody might just take advantage of your openness."
"Yeah. Hey, do you want to train?"
"Why not." Said Watcher, shrugging. He was about a year older than herself by the looks of it, his horns almost full yet not stained or bruised. Sharpeye was amazed she even noticed that, she must be learning already.
Things seemed to be getting better.
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Fanon)
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Content (RimeTheIcewing)