Wings of the Fated

Disclaimer: If I accidentally put an OC like yours in here, sorry. Don't worry, this isn't meant to steal your character
=== Prophecy ===
A dragonet in the sands,
Wrenched from paradise, forced into pain-filled lands,
Not black but amber eyes,
Seek the blazing sunrise.
A dragonet curled up in piles of leaves,
Scales damp and barely breathes,
Worthy of a thousand jewels,
Seek the raindrop who will rule.
A dragonet under the waves,
Living in the hidden caves,
Yearns for freedom, wishes to roam,
Seek the bubbly, graceful seafoam.
A dragonet encased in ice,
Committed ancient crimes and paid the price,
Thawing now, cries growing louder,
Seek the swirling, soft white powder.
The dragons are coming to destroy,
The dragons are coming to shatter the joy,
Breaking all known laws,
Pyrrhia, beware the claw.
The four dragonets,
Will meet with those of destinies,
Combine all three prophecies,
The wings of the fated unite…
== Chapter 1- Sunrise ==
Sunrise looked up at his mother, Cactus, and his older sister Agave. They were considering which town to live in, but Cactus wasn’t satisfied with three of the towns they’d visited.
“Why are you so worried, Mother?” Sunrise asked. “The War of the SandWing Succession is over, the Darkstalker has been defeated, what is there to worry about?”
“There will always be bad dragons in this world, Sunrise,” Cactus warned. “You’re only four and a half years old. I’m not sure you understand.”
“Well I do,” Agave said, showing off. It made Sunrise want to scream, URGH, WE KNOW, AGAVE, YOU’RE A BETTER CHILD THAN ME NOW STOP RUBBING IT IN. Sunrise was always the one late, too clumsy, or something while Agave managed to perfect every order Mother had ever given her. “We can’t move to the wrong town or else someone evil might live there and we’ll die. The end.”
“I’m pretty sure there isn’t some evil monstrous lunatic next door to the hut we’ll be in. Or cave, whatever,” Sunrise said. “Do most dragons buying houses think this way? I don’t think so. Isn’t it usually all Oooo, this is pretty, What a nice neighborhood! and Is there a good school for my little dragonet to go to?”
Even though his tone was irritated, Sunrise actually held relief in his gut that all threats to Pyrrhia had been neutralized. He recalled only shreds of memories of his father, who was dead, killed by the rocks tumbling down from the Darkstalker shaking the earth. A warm smile, gentle paws, and a flash of sandy yellow scales. That was all he remembered.
Just to show Cactus that he was being a jokester and not actually a grump, he spread out his wings a little more and gave her a quick hug.
“Let’s try this place,” Sunrise suggested. They were flying, and he sped up towards a town not too far away. “Look, the name is perfect. ‘Hope.’ What better a place to settle down than Hope?”
“Oh, alright,” Cactus sighed. “I suppose you have a point. We can’t search forever.”
You mean you can’t search forever, Sunrise thought, but he kept it to himself. You’re the one who’s been going home-hunting since the shelter by the cliff broke.
“Let’s go, let’s go!” Sunrise turned around to nudge them forward, and they arrived in Hope after a few minutes.
Cactus immediately set to work examining the dragons around them and the mood of the neighborhood.
“I think you’ve found the place, Sunrise,” she said after a while. “Hope is a sleepy little town, and we can lead great lives over here.”
“YES!” Sunrise yelled, gleeful. Agave rolled her eyes, but he didn’t care. “No more boring flying! No more whining about the town!”
“We have to find a hut now, stupid,” Agave said. “Let’s go see if we’re allowed to build one.”
Sunrise tackled her playfully. “Race you to that rock!"
Life was perfect. They’d built a hut of rocks and what few twigs existed, and used expensive pale pink silk sand for their beds. They also had a firepit to roast their food, just because Cactus believed it tasted better that way. For a few months they lived contentedly, learning at the school, munching on the endless amount of desert animals, sleeping with the family. Sunrise felt like he was in paradise. His sister annoyed him, sure, but it was fine (he annoyed her, too. REVENGE!!!)
Sunrise woke up, stretching out his body and talons, almost knocking over Agave, who was already awake.
“Watch where you’re stretching,” she snapped.
“Sorry.” Sunrise ducked his head out the door and scampered off to catch breakfast. Then he caught his breath at the beauty of the desert.
The sun was just rising over the horizon, spilling rich golden light onto the sand. A cactus was tinged gold-orange in the light of the dawn. The sky was a gentle pink, painted next to hues of light indigo, red, and amber orange. Sunrise looked down at the water in the oasis below him, where he usually hunted. His eyes reflected and he saw that the orange depths mirrored the orange in the sky.
Returning to his hunt, he noticed a roadrunner with its head facing the water, slurping greedily. It hadn’t noticed him yet. Quickly, he put himself behind the roadrunner and the water. He dove at it, and picked it up in his claws. Sunrise aimed his venomous tail at it and jabbed, enough to kill the little roadrunner instantly. He swooped back home, ready to share his catch with Cactus and Agave.
“Look what I brought!” he trilled cheerfully. But then he heard sounds of fighting coming from inside the hut. Immediately he dropped his prey and flew into his home.
Agave and Cactus were trying to fend off some attackers. One was a NightWing, the other a MudWing. A SkyWing lay moaning on the ground, on the brink of death. Sunrise guessed he’d been stung by his mother and his sister.
Sunrise joined the fight, chomping on the NightWing’s tail. It--no, he--roared in pain, and he gave it a sharp sting, injecting as much venom as he could. But there was still the MudWing left, and Cactus had a lot of wounds. Blood flowed from cuts on her shoulder, back, and face. Agave was doing her best, but weariness was in her eyes. They’d been fighting hard for a while.
Two new enemies entered. One had a silver armband winding up one of his forelegs.
“One’s enough,” he barked. Suddenly, all of the attackers focused on Sunrise. He crumpled as one knocked the breath out of him, and another smacked his head. Hard. As Sunrise’s consciousness faded, he was aware of his body being lifted while Cactus and Agave cried out.
== Chapter 2- Toucan ==
Toucan was hunting for his sloth, Meringue. She had a tendency to wander off when Toucan wasn’t looking, or maybe Toucan had a tendency to forget to watch Meringue. For all he cared, Meringue could go get eaten by a NightWing, but Toucan’s parents insisted he take care of her, because she’d chosen him.
Then Toucan noticed a little leaf pile moving gently, as if something lived beneath it. Curious, he landed next to it and brushed off the leaves. At the last second, he panicked, worried that maybe there was a poisonous animal lying beneath.
But then he gave a sigh of relief. It looked like a dragonet. The more he uncovered, the more it looked like a RainWing, barely alive, and only two or three years old. He was five himself.
Something seemed to smack Toucan in the face. He gasped, and a vision pounded his mind of dragons killing dragons. Words tumbled out of his mouth, pounding his skull.
A dragonet in the sands,
Wrenched from paradise, forced into pain-filled lands,
Not black but amber eyes,
Seek the blazing sunrise.
A dragonet curled up in piles of leaves,
Scales damp and barely breathes,
Worthy of a thousand jewels,
Seek the raindrop who will rule.
A dragonet under the waves,
Living in the hidden caves,
Yearns for freedom, wishes to roam,
Seek the bubbly, graceful seafoam.
A dragonet encased in ice,
Committed ancient crimes and paid the price,
Thawing now, cries growing louder,
Seek the swirling, soft white powder.
The dragons are coming to destroy,
The dragons are coming to shatter the joy,
Breaking all known laws,
Pyrrhia, beware the claw.
The four dragonets,
Will meet with those of destinies,
Combine all three prophecies,
The wings of the fated unite…
Toucan’s mouth was open, sucking in air. The visions he’d had were terrible, filled with bloodshed and hatred. He stared at the little RainWing. Tentatively, he touched her scales. They were damp. Toucan shuddered. This was one of the dragonets in his prophecy. She fit perfectly. Her scales were damp, she was in a pile of leaves, and she was barely breathing.
Wait. Barely breathing? Toucan rushed her to the RainWing healers.
“Dad?” Toucan asked as he brought Meringue into the house. She’d been snoozing on a tree bough. His father, Parrot, looked up from his mango. “Are there any NightWings in our family tree?”
Parrot smiled. “Your mom is a NightWing and a RainWing, son.”
“Mom’s a NightWing?” Toucan yelped. So it was true. Toucan was a prophet, even if this was his first prophecy and first vision.
“What’s so bad if Papaya is a NightWing, too?” Parrot asked. “Look, the tribes are at peace. There’s no need for us to be so discriminating to the other tribes.”
“Where is Mom anyways?”
“She’s talking to Queen Glory.”
“Well, I need to go check on the dragonet I found,” Toucan said. He went to the door.
“See you soon,” Parrot said, returning to his mango.
The dragonet was with Bullfrog in the healer’s hut. When he entered, Bullfrog broke into a grin.
“She’s awake, Toucan,” Bullfrog said. “She’s eating right now. Why don’t you go talk to her?”
Bullfrog led Toucan to a spot where the dragonet lay next to a small pile of mangosteen and bananas. Bullfrog left them to talk in private, or maybe he was still around, eavesdropping.
The dragonet nudged a mangosteen towards Toucan.
“I can’t eat them all,” she said. “You take one.”
Toucan twisted off the sturdy top half of the fruit and tossed a piece into his mouth. “What’s your name?”
The dragonet hesitated before saying nervously, “Raindrop. You’re the one who took me here, right? I can barely remember.”
“Right. I’m Toucan.” Tentatively pressing on, he asked, “Do you remember how you got there, Raindrop? Who are your parents?”
Raindrop shook her little head. “Bullfrog says I have amnesia. He also says I should go to Jade Mountain Academy.”
“Really?” Toucan said, perking up. “I’m going. You can come with me. I really need to go see the dragonets of destiny.”
Raindrop grinned. “When do we leave?”
“In a few days.” Toucan placed his wing around the little dragonet, who was beginning to feel like a little sister to him.
== Chapter 3- Seafoam ==
Seafoam, the caves whispered. It sounded like her mother and father. Seafoam, Seafoam.
“STOP IT!!” Seafoam roared. “Stop! Stop, stop, stop! It’s torture!”
Seafoam was four years old. She’d been held captive in this cave of mental torture for two weeks now. She was an orphan with no friends. There was no one to miss her. The voices were meant to make her suffer, make her go insane. And it was working.
“STOP!!”
Seafoam, Seafoam.
Seafoam, my daughter.
The words struck a chord. Roaring in absolute fury, Seafoam smacked the cave walls. Her animus-touched bracelet prevented her from escaping the cave and from taking it off. It was also the cause of all the voices, she was sure of it.
“Seafoam.” This time the voice echoed in the cave and not her head. She whirled around and faced a fellow SeaWing. She looked like she had once been pretty, but her face was disfigured with countless scars of all sizes. Her mouth was twisted in a permanent sneer, but she was fighting it with a kind face. The result was a forced smile and hard eyes. “I’m here to get you out of here.”
Seafoam was wary. “Why should I trust you?”
The dragon made a hissing laugh. She melted into the sneering face. “Ah, you’re sharp. Of course I’m not here to rescue you. I’m to take you to the Claw.”
“The Claw?”
“You’ll see.”
Seafoam pointed to her armband. “It’s enchanted. I can’t take it off and it won’t let me out.”
Her captor smiled coldly. “I can deactivate it easily.”
She took out a glittering red ruby and pressed it against the bracelet. The ruby suddenly flashed and was...a sapphire?
“I love animus-touched objects,” she sang. “Come along now, let’s go to the Claw.”
Seafoam found that she could now walk into the tunnels that led to and out of her cave. The armband really had been deactivated.
“What’s your name?” Seafoam asked. The dragon stayed silent. “Fine then, let me guess. Or better yet, what about a nickname? Hmm...I’m going to call you Giggly. That suits you perfectly, huh? Giggly the solemn SeaWing.”
Giggly didn’t reply. Seafoam shut her mouth and followed her through the twisting tunnels. Some had lakes of seawater, and one lake was even freshwater. But Seafoam soon lost track of  where they were going.
Finally they entered a chamber where a golden throne sat. Perched in it was the oddest dragon Seafoam had ever seen, and he was huge. He wasn’t a SeaWing, RainWing, IceWing, MudWing, SkyWing, SandWing, or NightWing. He was a dark blue indigo with a few black stripes and odd black markings. His talons shone in the torchlight, gleaming a cool silver. His face was mauled, and pale yellow light emitted from his eyes. They glared down at her coldly. A bright golden armband snaked up his foreleg, decorated with diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies, opals, amethysts, every kind of gem Seafoam could imagine.
“I have your prisoner, Claw,” Giggly said, throwing herself in a deep bow.
“Bow, brat.” A small flame nipped Seafoam’s wing and she yelped. She forced herself to bow to the brute before her.
“Leave, Fog.” Giggly--Seafoam guessed her name was Fog--raced out of the cave and disappeared in the tunnels.
“Seafoam, I have something to tell you.” She looked up at the Claw, whose yellow gaze brimmed with hatred. “Do you remember Queen Scarlet? And the Darkstalker?”
Seafoam nodded. “They were evil.”
The Claw continued, “And as much as they would like you to think, they were not the leaders of their operations. Guess who.”
Seafoam shivered. The answer was obvious, the way he was aksing her. “You. But how?”
The Claw spread his enormous wings and smiled. “I was born during the Scorching. I enchanted myself to live for ten thousand years. I am the mastermind of all these evil plots. I live to destroy the tribes that cast me out. My ambitions for the world did not fit theirs. So I had to go underground, live here and there, persuading all evildoers to do that evil.”
“No dragon can do that.” Seafoam began backing away. Even if he wasn’t actually the evil mastermind, she had no trouble believing that he was capable of killing her. “You can’t do that.”
“I was misunderstood,” the Claw insisted. “I wanted to have a king and a queen in every kingdom. I wanted to have a tribe for misfits like me. Have you noticed my coloring, my body shape? Instead they threatened to kill me. Do you understand me now?”
Seafoam’s heart was pounding with fear.
“You are in the prophecy to stop me.” The Claw glowered at her. “You and three others have the power to stop me. I won’t let you.”
He advanced, claws extended. Slowly creeping closer. Seafoam yelled and turned, flying away. The Claw roared. He followed her, but Seafoam fled as if her life depended on it. Which it did.
Seafoam flew through the tunnels, panicked. What if she just got lost in the maze? She was pretty sure that the Claw knew his way around while she didn’t.
By a miracle, Seafoam made it to a cave that lead outside. The Claw bellowed in rage. He wasn’t a SeaWing. He couldn’t swim outside in the open ocean with the same speed she could.
Seafoam was free.
== Chapter 4- Powder ==
Perfect silence surrounded Powder. She couldn’t move. She hadn’t been able to since Queen Freeze froze her and used animus magic to keep her there. She couldn’t even open her eyes. All Powder could do was turn the moments over in her head. When she’d killed Terrorclaws. How no one would hear her side if the story, how the tears fell when she spilled Terrorclaws’ blood. She was six when everything happened, and she didn’t seem to be aging. Queen Freeze could be evil when she wanted to. Powder would never receive the mercy of death.
Not even a thousand years would heal the pain she had. And Powder was pretty sure she’d been there a thousand years. Her “crimes” were stuck with her the way she was stuck to the ice.
Or not.
Powder gasped inside her head. She’d just been messing around with her limbs, but one of her talons could move. The ice was melting, and moving some more would help dislodge it, right?
Every day Powder wriggled a little more. And eventually she could move all her claws. The jackpot was when she could move her muzzle.
“Help,” she said softly. She still couldn’t see. She raised her voice, something she hadn’t used in a thousand years. It was scratchy and low, nothing like she remembered it. “Help!”
After a minute or so, Powder gave up. There was no one around to save her. Disappointment and sorrow weighed at her heart, but she knew she just had to wait. Wait for the day when she could move freely.
When Powder could open her eyes, she bellowed to release the joy trapped inside her. Colors swam before her, bright beautiful colors. The ice holding her was blue, and she was in a cave. The rest of the ice in the room was clear. Gray stone, and chill air. Powder felt the thawing progress.
The great day came what seemed like months after. Powder watched giddily as the last bit of ice holding her leg melted enough to move.
“YES!!!” Powder roared gleefully. She wriggled around happily, stretching out every inch of her body. She galloped out the narrow tunnel exit. It wasn’t large enough for her to fly, but she didn’t care. Flying could wait a little longer.
Powder spotted the mouth of the tunnel. Filled with exhilaration and excitement, she raced out and opened her wings the millisecond she was outside.
The sun. Powder laughed. She hadn’t seen the sun in years and years. It blazed its pale yellowish light on the snowy mountains. She swooped around joyously, giggling uncontrollably. Nothing could squash how happy she was. Absolutely nothing.
Finally she calmed down. Powder wracked her brain, trying to remember where she was. All she could recall was that Queen Freeze had led her there. Powder flew around, looking for some marker as to where she was, or something in her memories. But time seemed to have covered up the dead tree, the goat carcass, and the pile of rocks.
Powder swiveled her head, and spotted a little shiny thing in the distance.
Could that be the Ice Palace? Who was queen now? Powder felt a shiver of excitement. She could make new friends, get over killing the one friend she’d had…Powder shook her head, trying to dislodge Terrorclaws from her mind.
Powder reached the Ice Palace by nightfall. She was brimming with energy, so ready to go meet some dragons.
A pale white-blue IceWing was flying around. Powder headed for him. Her mind went, Another dragon! Another real-life, flesh-and-bone-and-scales dragon!
“Hello,” she said cheerfully. His response was a gruff “hmf”. Powder continued, “I have a question. You know, I always forget the year. How long has it been since the Scorching?”
“Around five thousand years,” he replied. So I was there for a thousand years! “Now please excuse me, I’m a messenger from Queen Glacier. She wouldn’t like it if her royal messengers were delayed.”
“Oh, right, see you later,” Powder said. The messenger flew away.
Oo, Queen Glacier, Powder thought. What a pretty name. When I was little I wanted to name the first daughter I had ‘Glacier’, but I guess I can’t now. Really odd to have a dragonet with the same name as the queen.
Powder landed at the palace and went to the nearest guard.
“Excuse me, I’d like to speak to the queen,” she said.
“The queen requests that a dragon schedule an audience with her before they talk,” the guard said, hefting his spear. “You’re a dragonet, right? She recommends that dragonets go to Jade Mountain Academy. It’s a nice place, you’ll see.”
School? Powder got excited. Other dragonets to befriend! Then she rolled her thoughts around the name. Jade Mountain was a place she’d visited, growing up. She wouldn’t have to embarrass herself asking for directions. Powder smiled. Life was getting better and better.
“Thank you, uh, uh, what’s your name?”
“Chilly.”
“Okay, Chilly.”
Powder was so, so, SO super excited. She could begin her life anew, practically reborn. A grin was plastered to her face as she headed to Jade Mountain.
== Chapter 5- Sunrise ==
“The Claw would like to see you.” Sunrise turned and faced the SeaWing in front of him. Her face was scarred all over, and her eyes glowed with hate.
“Where am I?” Sunrise demanded.
The SeaWing chuckled. “The Claw just returned from his hunt. He’s furious that the prisoner escaped, even though he managed to catch her. Do your best to please him.”
Then she blew a dart at him. Too late did Sunrise realize that it was a very potent RainWing tranquilizer. He blacked out.
“Get up, SandWing,” a voice said. Sunrise opened his eyes and saw the weirdest dragon in existence. He was indigo blue with a few black stripes and whirls of black like tabby markings. His eyes glowed with malevolent pale yellow light.
“Are you the Claw?” Sunrise asked, groggily picking himself up.
He nodded. “Yes, I am. I have a story to tell you. Once there lived a dragon after the Scorching. Pyrrhia was still organizing the dragon tribes. This dragon was the odd one out, you see. He didn’t look like other dragons. He also had crazy ideas. The generals of the Scorching armies--Ice, Night, Rain, Mud, Sand, Sky, and Sea--wanted to be queens. Most dragons were fine with that, because they were the greatest generals they’d seen. But this dragon wanted queens and kings to rule and for misfits to be given a chance. The queens wouldn’t allow it. Their rules for those who could challenge for the throne had already been implemented, and the misfits had been banished. So the dragon gathered an army to fight these queens and give the male dragons a chance for the throne. But the queens argued we would be like ancient scavengers if we did that. The queens also had the support of most dragons in Pyrrhia because of their roles in the war. Before they were queens, General Ice was the one who made plans to cut off the scavengers’ resources. General Sand carefully selected and executed the right assassinations. General Mud trained the best armies. General Sea took charge of making sure the scavengers couldn’t send messages through the sea, and sent tsunamis to wipe out seaside scavenger cities. General Sky patrolled the skies the way General Sea did the ocean, and led many great attacks on the scavengers. General Rain was the mastermind behind the massacres and executed the best of them. General Night was the one who single-pawedly overwhelmed the wing of scavengers stationed to protect all scavenger leaders as they held a meeting, and killed all those leaders.
“This dragon wasn’t the only misfit. There were others who weren’t IceWings, RainWings, MudWings, NightWings, SandWings, SeaWings, or SkyWings. These were the dragons who made up his army. They valiantly fought for the right to be allowed into a tribe. But they were all slaughtered by the queens and their followers,” he added bitterly. “The dragon fled and enchanted himself to live ten thousand years, unless killed. He couldn’t be invincible, as his powers were very limited. He lives as the mastermind to all evil plans, getting vengeance for his dead comrades on the tribes that cast them all out.”
“You’re that dragon.” Sunrise was shocked by the story. “You…”
“Queen Scarlet was my loyal soldier,” the Claw said. “I led the Darkstalker down his path. All evil was guided or planned by me. And you, my friend, have amber eyes. You’re a SandWing. They should be black.”
“Mother said they make me special.” Sunrise was on the defensive now. His pity had evaporated when the Claw admitted he was the wicked mastermind.
“But they help you fit the prophecy that will defeat me.” The Claw crept closer. “Join the SeaWing. I’ll hold you two until all this blows over, and the prophecy will go unfulfilled.”
“Fog!” the Claw called. “Take the SandWing away to Seafoam.”
The SeaWing from before yanked on Sunrise’s foreleg. She half dragged, half pulled Sunrise to a cell. The bars of the cell were made of small rock spires, and Fog placed an emerald against a small silver plate against one of the bars. The emerald morphed into a purple gemstone. She shoved Sunrise at the bars, and instead of smacking his face, he went through.
Sunrise watched helplessly as Fog put the purple gem against the silver and it reverted to emerald. She walked away, talons clicking on the stone floor.
In the corner of the cell lay a dark blue SeaWing. Tears trickled down her face. Sunrise went up to her. “Are you okay?”
She lifted her head, hopelessness drifting through her eyes. “Nothing’s okay. I tried to escape, but the Claw’s loyal SeaWings caught me. I had the chance to stop him. I’m apparently part of some prophecy. Now...what’s going to happen?”
Sunrise knew she needed a hug. He spread his wings and embraced her. She sobbed, the tears spilling onto his wings. Sunrise knew his first step to getting away was befriending this dragonet. After all, his chances of getting out alone were slim. She might have lost all hope, but he would try to bring her back from the dark pit of despair.
Slowly, the flood of tears stopped. The dragonet looked up at Sunrise.
“I’m Seafoam,” she said, her voice hiccuping from the onslaught of misery.
“Sunrise.”
Seafoam was very pretty. Her face was gentle-looking, and her luminescent scales glowed comfortingly. Sunrise gave her a short hug, making her expression brighten a little.
“Escape plan?” Sunrise asked.
Finally, Seafoam showed a hint of a smile. Her eyes glittered slyly. “Let’s get plotting.”
== Chapter 6- Raindrop ==
“RAINDROP!!” Raindrop whirled around and spotted a banana yellow dragon charging towards her. “Hi, welcome to Jade Mountain! My name’s Kinkajou.” She grabbed Raindrop’s front claws and shook them almost violently. “Haha, wondering why I know your name? I saw it on the list Tsunami showed me! It’s so cool, I get to see every dragonet coming, so I chose you to meet first! Isn’t that great? Maybe we can be friends!”
Raindrop nodded. She felt herself slowly come out of the shell of nervousness. “Have you seen a dragon named Toucan around? I came here with him and now I can’t find him.”
Kinkajou lit up even more with recognition. “Oh, Toucan! I remember him from when we were little! Yeah, he’s talking to Clay right now. Don’t know what for, but his face was all serious. Come on, come on, I’ll show you your winglet. We’ve had to add more winglets since we have more and more dragons enrolling. Let me see if I can remember…oh yeah, you’re in the Shine Winglet. Come on, I’ll take you to your sleeping cave. You get to meet your clawmates and stuff.”
Kinkajou tugged Raindrop towards a cave. There was a ledge to sleep on, softened by some odd large leaves, and a bed of moss on a lower ledge, close to the ground.
“This is where you sleep,” Kinkajou told Raindrop. “Let’s wait and see who your clawmate is.”
Just then, a head popped into the cave.
“Oh, hi, clawmate!” she said cheerfully. She was an IceWing, with glittery blue-white scales. She looked a few years older than Raindrop. “Sunny told me to come here. My name’s Powder. What’s yours?”
“I’m Raindrop.” She settled herself on the mossy bed. “Mind if I take this bed?”
“Sure, no problem,” Powder replied.
“I’ll be going now,” Kinkajou said. “Lots more dragonets to meet and greet, see you around later!”
With a dazzling spin of rainbow colors, Kinkajou swept out of the cave.
“Well, I’m tired,” Powder said, yawning. “I think I’ll take a nap.” She flopped down on the leaves and curled up, quickly falling asleep.
Raindrop decided to explore. She wandered into the library, where the blind Starflight worked.
Yay, a library, she thought. There might be some good stories to read.
“Hi, Starflight,” she said. He raised his head to hear her. “My name is Raindrop. I was wondering if you have any good scrolls to read?”
Starflight smiled. “Oh, another scroll lover. Here, this is the fiction section. For dragonets your age, I suggest The Seashell Princess. It’s about a princess who owns seven magical seashells--I think you’ll find it very interesting.”
Raindrop took the scroll Starflight handed her, along with a stamp he explained was part of the checkout system.
Raindrop checked out the scroll and headed back to her cave. On the way, she heard voices. They weren’t yapping like the other dragons, but dead serious.
“The dragonet in piles of leaves who’s worthy of a thousand jewels….you think that’s Raindrop?”
Raindrop stopped immediately and began eavesdropping.
“Yes, I’m sure of it.” That was Toucan’s voice! Raindrop felt hurt. The dragon who wasn’t her friend, but almost there, was hiding things about her. “And the next lines of the prophecy: The dragons are coming to destroy, the dragons are coming to shatter the joy, Breaking all known laws, Pyrrhia beware the claw. What do you think that means, Clay?”
Wait, wait, wait. Raindrop was a part of a prophecy? And she was worthy of a thousand jewels? That did NOT sound like fun. Well, the jewels did. But if that meant she had to fight dragons who were coming to destroy and shatter the joy? Absolutely NO WAY.
“I have no idea, but we have to be on the lookout,” Clay said darkly. “Just recently, a SandWing was kidnapped, and a few weeks before that, a SeaWing disappeared. ThenSandWing’s mother wanted us to look for a dragonet with amber eyes, which perfectly fits your prophecy. I think our enemy somehow knows about the prophecy and is taking the dragonets.”
Raindrop was scared. She was so, so scared that she wanted to dash back to her cave, but the noise would reveal where she was.
Then the two exited the room. Too late. Toucan’s face was wide with astonishment.
“Raindrop? Did you hear our conversation?” Raindrop nodded guiltily. “How much of it?”
“Starting at the part about me,” Raindrop said. “Look, I can’t be the dragon you’re looking for. I am so not ready to fight a bunch of evil bad guys. I don’t care what the lines of the prophecy say. I don’t want to be a part of this.”
Raindrop, scroll in claws, went flying back to her cave, ignoring the sign that said “NO FLYING IN THE CAVES. Thank You. -Starflight”.
She returned to her cave with her gut roiling with multiple emotions. She watched Powder doze peacefully in her bed. Raindrop put The Seashell Princess in the scroll rack and tried to sleep, but it was a long time coming.
She woke up and glanced at Powder, who was placing a scroll in the scroll rack.
“Hey, Raindrop,” Powder said, “wanna go to the prey center? I’m hungry. If you aren’t, that’s okay with me,” she added quickly.
“I haven’t eaten in a while,” Raindrop admited. Powder grinned.
“Come on!”
The prey center was in a massive cave. Dragons fought over pieces of food, and Powder went immediately to the birds.
“Mmm, pigeon,” she said. “I know it’s small, but do you want to share?”
Raindrop stared at the weird fluffy bird thing. “Um, it looks disgusting, but I think I’ll try it. Maybe without feathers? And just a tiny piece?”
“Sure.” Powder ripped off a piece and de-feathered it. “Here, it’s actually really nice and soft.”
Raindrop nibbled it. “It’s…okay. I like mangosteen better.”
Powder shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
Raindrop headed for the fruit pile, and caught Kinkajou’s surprised stare.
“Ew, did you just eat bird?” Kinkajou said. “I thought ALL RainWings were vegetarian.”
“Oh, it was just a taste,” Raindrop replied. “And I thought I should just eat outside the box.”
Raindrop rolled a mangosteen over, and twisted off the purple shell. The white segments of fruit inside looked tantalizing, and Raindrop immediately popped some in her mouth.
“Want a piece?” Raindrop handed a piece of mangosteen to Kinkajou, who accepted and eagerly gulped it down.
Raindrop ate a few more fruit before going back to Powder, who was finishing up the remains of a fish.
“We have our first class with our winglet,” Powder said. “Apparently it’s about discussions.”
Sunny sat at the front of the classroom, and Raindrop guessed she was the teacher. A few other dragons filed in. There was a SkyWing, SeaWing, SandWing, MudWing, and NightWing. Raindrop gave them a friendly smile.
“Okay, listen up everybody,” Sunny said. “Get in a circle. Let’s do some introductions, starting with you.” She pointed to Raindrop.
“Um, my name’s Raindrop,” she said. “I can’t remember anything before a few days ago, and I was found on the rainforest floor. My favorite food is mangosteen.”
Powder went next. “I’m Powder, and, um, um…my favorite color is sky blue.”
“Anything else?” Sunny pressed. “Tell us something about yourself.”
“I…used to live in a cave?” she ended uncertainly.
Then the NightWing spoke. He said, “I’m Fearcrusher. I really don’t like my name, because it sounds mean. My favorite food is goat.”
“My name’s Whitecap,” the SeaWing said sweetly. Her face was held in a bright smile. “I really love salmon, and I want to learn as much as I can at this school!”
She seems really cheerful, Raindrop noticed. Would she make a good friend?
“I’m Celadon,” the SkyWing said. He carried his right foreleg, which was twisted oddly, gingerly. “I was always picked on by bullies, so I fight well. Don’t make fun of me. For my sake and yours.”
“I’m Agave,” the SandWing said. “My brother Sunrise was kidnapped, and my mother is so worried that she sent me here, where it’s safer. I’m worried for her, because anything could happen to her while I’m gone. My favorite time of day is at dawn, because the air is cool and the colors of the sky are so interesting, and the orange reminds me of my brother’s eyes.”
WAIT. Agave’s brother was kidnapped AND he had orange eyes. Was he the one Toucan and Clay were talking about?
“And my name’s Bark,” said the MudWing, who was a little on the plump side. “I’m the only boy in my family. The rest of my siblings are girls. I’m also the youngest. My favorite food is anything.”
Raindrop giggled. So this MudWing really loved food.
“Now, let’s get to discussion time!” Sunny clapped her paws together. “How about we talk about an ancient crime committed a thousand years ago. Powder, the criminal had the same name as you, so I thought maybe we’d talk about it. It’s really interesting.”
Raindrop felt Powder shift uncomfortably next to her. “Um, yeah, we’ve got the same name. I heard she killed her best friend.”
“That’s right,” Sunny said, nodding. “She was very evil. We don’t know much about her. Anyone want to take a go at this story?”
“Oo, what if she was an animus and she went insane and killed him?” Fearcrusher suggested.
“Maybe too many sad things happened to her and she just lost it,” Agave said.
“Or everyone was being a jerk to her and she just went and killed him,” Celadon said.
“That doesn’t explain why she killed her best friend,” Whitecap said.
“Yeah, only Fearcrusher's theory made sense,” Bark agreed.
“What if…what if her best friend was the only friend she had, and then he betrayed her. He betrayed her so deeply, like, like killing her mom and dad and favorite aunt…and she felt she had to get revenge, because she wasn’t thinking right and she was so angry and hurt.” Powder kind of shook as she made her guess.
“That’s really interesting,” Raindrop said. She noticed Powder’s discomfort with the topic. “Why don’t we talk about the Scorching legends?” Powder’s face melted into relief.
“Oh, I love those,” Whitecap said. “I heard that scavengers were organized into huge tribes, and they worked in a society a lot like ours.”
They discussed legends before the Scorching until the first gong sounded. As they exited the cave, Raindrop sidled up to Powder.
“Powder, I think there’s something you need to tell me when we’re in privacy. About your past,” Raindrop whispered. Powder looked at her and nodded silently. Raindrop had suspicions, but she wanted to hear it from Powder herself.
== Chapter 7- Seafoam ==
Seafoam curled up with Sunrise. He was a SandWing, so he was really warm, and the cell was quite cold. Or rather, that was her excuse for wanting to be with him. Inside, she knew there was a deeper reason than that.
It’s just a crush like all the dragonets have in school, Seafoam assured herself. Perfectly normal. Even if she liked him more than she did Ray when they went to school together.
Ack, feelings were SO frustrating.
Sunrise didn’t complain. In fact, he’d actually invited her. Seafoam felt a little flutter of hope but squashed it down. She needed to be planning their escape, not following this handsome, cute dragonet.
ARGH! Why couldn’t she smother these thoughts?
Escape plans spun through her mind. The first step would be to steal an enchanted gem from their jailers to disable the bracelets around their legs. The difficult part would be unlocking the bars. Then a thought shot through her like a bolt of lightning.
“Sunrise?” Seafoam whispered. He shifted next to her.
“Hm?”
“I figured it out.”
They had many guards, but they seemed to be Fog’s favorites. She was the one there most and enjoyed activating the voices in their heads. The other guards did what they needed to and nothing more. Sunrise and Seafoam agreed that Fog would have to be their victim.
“Hello, little ones,” cooed Fog’s malevolent voice. “I’m here again today. Have you missed me?” She gave them a wicked smile.
Sunrise’s venomous tail shot out and stung her neck. Seafoam reached out with her tail and wrapped it around the jewel as Fog thrashed and writhed in agony. Seafoam thanked the moons that she’d played many games using her tail when she was little. Seafoam moved the emerald into the cell and picked it up with her claws, a much easier way to handle it. She padded up to the bars and reached out, pressing the emerald to the silver and it morphed into an amethyst. Seafoam motioned for Sunrise to follow her and they walked through the bars.
Fog didn’t scream. Sunrise’s aim had hit true, the full load of venom acting first on her voice box. Fog’s writhing had lessened a little, as if she didn’t have the energy to continue moving. Her eyes glowed with fury and hatred. It creeped Seafoam out how Fog’s gaze followed them as they left her dying body in the jail cave.
They crept quietly through the tunnels. A few times they met the Claw’s followers, but Sunrise’s perfect aim kept them quiet. And dead.
Finally they made it to the exit.
YES!!!! Seafoam thought. We’re free!!
Seafoam held Sunrise tightly as they swam through the open water. A little shiver of excitement went through her as she hugged him close.
There was no time for speaking. Seafoam kicked her powerful legs and wings as hard as she could. Sunrise could only hold his breath for so long. Also, someone would notice the dead bodies lying around.
They actually weren’t that deep underwater, probably so that the Claw and his non-SeaWing followers would make it.
Seafoam and Sunrise broke the surface and floated in the water, stunned that they’d made it. Weeks of torture…that wouldn’t happen anymore.
Then Sunrise grinned. He reached out to carefully twine his tail with hers. Seafoam felt a spark of bliss.
“WE’RE FREE!” she roared.
“I already liked you,” Sunrise admitted, “and now I have even more reason to, for thinking of that plan.”
“Me too.” Together they flew off. Seafoam didn’t care where they went, as long as it was far away from this place and with Sunrise.
Seafoam landed at Jade Mountain.
“We can start anew here,” she said.
Sunrise nodded in agreement. “I need to check if Agave is here. Knowing Mother, she probably sent her here.”
“Let’s ask Tsunami if we can enroll.”
Life was gonna be great. Sunrise at her side, no Claw, the chance of friends—who would turn away?
== Chapter 8- Powder ==
Powder paced. She was back in her sleeping cave and she had to do the second hardest thing she could imagine.
“Tell me,” Raindrop said. “I have a guess, but…”
“I think I know your guess,” Powder sighed. “I am the dragon who killed her best friend. His name was Terrorclaws. But hear me out before you make a decision.”
Raindrop scooted farther away from Powder, but stayed and listened.
“Imagine a life where your parents die while you’re three,” Powder began. “Then you’re taken in by a loving dragon couple. That was me. My best friend was a NightWing named Terrorclaws. We grew up together, the two little oddballs since IceWings and NightWings are supposed to hate each other. We were close as ever, like twins. Then something happened to him. He went in a vicious battle and returned without his sanity. He killed my adoptive parents and almost killed me. I ran away. I couldn’t bear to kill him. But he knew me too well. Everywhere I went, he followed. He knew exactly which places I thought were good hiding spots. I suppose I didn’t think enough to try guessing where he would be. And so…one night I waited for him. I waited and ambushed him.” Tears began to course down Powder’s face.
“The worst part was that I couldn’t give him the mercy of a quick, painless death. I couldn’t snap his neck because he was thrashing around. I was forced to kill him with my claws and teeth. But my queen saw me. Queen Freeze saw me tear apart Terrorclaws. She knew how much I loved him as a friend. And since I fled the moment Terrorclaws killed my parents, no one knew who killed them. When she saw me, my eyes were glittering with madness. I was angry and guilty at the same time. Queen Freeze froze me and brought in an animus from the SeaWings to make sure I would stay frozen for a thousand years.” Powder was sobbing now. “I just woke up. And for a thousand years I relived every moment of pain, Terrorclaws’ evil and me having to kill him. It was horrible.”
The young RainWing softened and went to Powder’s side. “It’s okay. I—I didn’t know this part. Look, you’re at Jade Mountain now. There’s no Terrorclaws. You can live your life however you need to.”
Powder raised her tear-streaked face. “I’ll t-try.”
“Look, I know you will.” Raindrop gave Powder a warm smile. “We’re friends. Friends believe in friends.”
Powder’s heart warmed.”Thanks.”
Their conversation was interrupted by a piercing scream and the sound of a body thumping to the floor.
Rushing out of their cave, Powder and Raindrop found Agave getting up and hyperventilating. She was facing two dragons: a SeaWing and a SandWing, but her attention was focused on the SandWing. “Sunrise!”
“Agave, it’s okay, I’m back.” Sunrise stretched a claw out to help her. “No need for screaming and fainting.”
“I thought you were DEAD,” Agave said. “Do you expect me to be completely calm when my supposedly dead brother suddenly appears? And how’d you get here? Mother never enrolled you!”
“We escaped and asked Tsunami,” Sunrise said. “She said we could join.”
Her breath still ragged, Agave asked, “Who are you?” She pointed to the SeaWing.
“Her name is Seafoam,” Sunrise answered. “We escaped together.”
“Thanks for helping him,” she said, visibly calming down. “Can—Can I have some time with him? Alone?”
“Of course,” Seafoam said. She unwound her tail from Sunrise’s.
“Come on, I can tour you around,” Powder said to Seafoam. She glanced at Sunrise before they turned their backs away. “And on the way, you can tell me your story.”
“Okay,” Seafoam said, taking a shaky breath as they walked through the caves of Jade Mountain. “This might sound crazy, but there’s this evil dragon hiding out at the bottom of the sea who calls himself the Claw. He’s got a band of evil followers. Apparently there’s some prophecy that says Sunrise and I are supposed to defeat him. I hope not. That seems like a lot of work.” Powder thought she saw Raindrop stiffen.
“I’ve gotta go,” she said, rushing away.
“Wonder what that was all about,” Powder said. Seafoam shrugged.
== Chapter 9- Raindrop ==
Raindrop began connecting the dots. A dragonet in the sands. Seek the sunrise. Well, Sunrise was a SandWing. And his name was Sunrise. A dragonet under the waves. Seek the bubbly, graceful seafoam. Raindrop knew Seafoam was from the underwater SeaWing dwellings. She herself and Powder both fit the other lines of the prophecy. And Seafoam had just revealed her tale of being in the caves underwater with this Claw, who was out for vengeance. Also the fact that she’d mentioned the prophecy.
She needed to go talk to Toucan.
The RainWing was hiding out in the shadows wearing black scales. Raindrop found him when a tiny splash of color revealed his face.
“Toucan, I found the other dragonets.” Raindrop looked at her not-really-friend friend. He looked up sharply. Raindrop knew they probably could be best friends, but the prophecy sat there like a wall between them. “Sunrise, Seafoam, and Powder.”
Toucan started. “Show me to—”
A spasm wracked his body. His gaze clouded and terror rampaged below the glazed eyes.
“Toucan? Toucan!” Raindrop shook his shoulder, trying to rouse him from his experience, but it did nothing.
Suddenly Toucan stopped. His breath was ragged, his eyes wild.
“Get them out of here,” Toucan ordered. “You and those dragonets, get out of here!” He was roaring not out of rage but fear. “You need to go RIGHT NOW!”
Terrified, Raindrop sprinted to her sleeping cave, where Powder was talking to Seafoam. She yanked on their legs.
“Come on, I can’t explain, but we have to leave right now,” she said. Seafoam looked at her like she’d gone insane, but they both followed.
“Where’s Sunrise?” Raindrop asked.
Toucan flapped over. “I’ll find him! New SandWing, right?”
Raindrop nodded.
“Now get your butts out of here or you will die.”
Raindrop motioned for Powder and Seafoam to follow her outside, where it snowflakes gently swirled down in the wind.
== Chapter 10- Toucan ==
Toucan searched madly. It was only mere minutes before the dragons would attack. Then he heard raised voices.
“Sunrise, don’t touch that dragon,” said a female voice.
Toucan flew faster towards the arguing dragons. It sounded like one of them was the dragon he was looking for.
“I like her, Agave.” There was a pause before Sunrise added, “I love her.”
“She’s a SeaWing, you’re a SandWing!”
“Um, sorry to interrupt, but Sunrise, you need to go RIGHT THIS INSTANT or DIE.” Toucan tugged on his wing.
“Why?” he asked.
“Stop questioning,” Toucan hissed. “We only have a few minutes before—”
BOOM! A huge explosion rattled the caves. A wave of heat blew over Toucan’s scales. Fear began to pump through his blood. There was a lot of screaming, but from the lack of agony-filled cries, Toucan guessed no one was badly injured.
“Okay, never mind, not a few minutes, it’s happening right now,” Toucan said. “Look, I’m part NightWing, I’m a prophet, I just saw a future that if I can’t prevent, you will be kidnapped and die within the next fifteen minutes. Want to delay your impending death? Come with me.”
“What about me?” Agave demanded.
“Sorry, I have no idea if you’ll live or die soon,” Toucan admitted. “All I know is that this dragon plays a pivotal role in the fate of Pyrrhia, so can we STOP TALKING and LEAVE?”
Agave backed out of the way. Toucan and Sunrise flew through the tunnels, headed for the exit.
“WHOA!” Sunrise flung himself out of the way of a screeching NightWing dragonet.
“Don’t go in there!” the NightWing cried. Then he leapt out of the way to save his own scales.
A full-armored dragon flew out of the cave and bellowed. Sunrise’s tail flashed out to the chinks in his armor, but it was hard for him to get a good shot. Toucan swept his claws across the dragon’s eyes.
They left the body and flew away. Sounds of battle echoed through Jade Mountain.
“Where are the dragonets?” a voice roared. Toucan noticed that Sunrise’s expression morphed into terror, horror, and fear all in one.
“Okay, RainWing, we definitely have to get away as fast as possible,” Sunrise said. “I know that dragon. Not friendly at all.”
They battled their way through the horde of fighting and fleeing dragons.
“The way out!” Sunrise cried. “No, no, no! It’s—WATCH OUT!”
An odd indigo dragon zoomed by Toucan. He smiled menacingly at Sunrise.
“Come on back, Sunrise,” the dragon said. He had black tabby markings running along his scales and a face ruined by scars. “We’ve missed you.”
“NO!” Sunrise shot out the cave and into the wide open sky. Toucan followed. Up ahead, he saw the shapes of the other prophecy dragonets.
“Seafoam!” Sunrise yelled. The SeaWing turned her head and saw the two dragons trying to catch up with an enraged dragon trailing behind.
They flew faster and faster, as if their lives depended on it. Which they did.
== Chapter 11- Seafoam ==
Seafoam huddled next to Sunrise, shivering. They were in the Claws of the Clouds Mountains. This particular mountain was stuck in a raging blizzard. Sunrise, who usually had nice and toasty scales, offered nothing more than a small warmth, but Seafoam took it.
Their companions were snoring in the cave behind them, but Sunrise wanted to watch the blizzard, so Seafoam followed. After all, she had the first watch, and so she had to watch him to make sure he was safe, right?
Excuses, excuses. Excuses for being in love with a dragon, excuses for wanting to get closer to his heart and always be by his side.
“Go to sleep,” Sunrise said when he saw her yawn. “I can do your watch.”
Seafoam shook her head. “I’ll stay up for my watch, then you do yours. We’ll get more rest that way.”
“More rest if we stay up for both watches?” Sunrise asked. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“I know.”
Seafoam forgot when, but sometime later she fell asleep next to the warmth of Sunrise’s scales.
She awoke to the noise of bustling dragons. They were gathering in a circle around Toucan. She joined in, prodding Sunrise awake.
“As all of you know, we’ve got great news!” Toucan said sarcastically. “An evil nightmare death monster is trying to track us down so we can't stop his evil plots. Hooray! And those two have actually been in the claws of this evil nightmare dragon. Double hooray!”
“And there’s a prophecy,” Raindrop added. Seafoam shared a glance with Sunrise. How did these dragons know about the prophecy the Claw was obsessing over? Raindrop turned to Toucan. “He delivered it. He’s RainWing but also part NightWing.”
Then Toucan spoke in an ominous voice.
“A dragonet in the sands,
Wrenched from paradise, forced into pain-filled lands,
Not black but amber eyes,
Seek the blazing sunrise.
A dragonet curled up in piles of leaves,
Scales damp and barely breathes,
Worthy of a thousand jewels,
Seek the raindrop who will rule.
A dragonet under the waves,
Living in the hidden caves,
Yearns for freedom, wishes to roam,
Seek the bubbly, graceful seafoam.
A dragonet encased in ice,
Committed ancient crimes and paid the price,
Thawing now, cries growing louder,
Seek the swirling, soft white powder.
The dragons are coming to destroy,
The dragons are coming to shatter the joy,
Breaking all known laws,
Pyrrhia, beware the claw.
The four dragonets,
Will meet with those of destinies,
Combine all three prophecies,
The wings of the fated unite…”
Seafoam stared. She was in the prophecy? A thought struck her mind suddenly.
“What ancient crimes did you commit, IceWing?” she hissed.
Powder trembled. “I-I—there’s a backstory to it.”
Raindrop’s eyes blazed with anger. “Powder would never do anything evil. She had a best friend who betrayed her and tried to kill her. She was defending herself, but no one would listen to her side of the story.”
Seafoam kind of shrunk back in guilt. “Sorry, sorry—”
“It’s okay,” Powder said. She shook a little. “I’ve just got to move on.”
“Now we need to plan,” Sunrise said. “If it’s our destiny to defeat the Claw, we have to think of some way to do it.”
“We’re supposed to find ‘those of destinies,’” Powder said. “So why don’t we try finding Moon, Qibli, Winter, Turtle, and Peril?”
“It says we’ll combine all three prophecies. Maybe we should grab the prophecy dragonets who are no longer dragonets?” Toucan looked thoughtful as he said that. “Oh, and just to clarify—I am coming, whether you like it or not.”
“That’s fine with me,” Raindrop said. She was the youngest in the group, and the most spirited. “You gave us the prophecy anyways. We need you to interpret it.”
“The more the merrier,” Seafoam agreed.
“So we have to go back to Jade Mountain and find those dragons,” Sunrise said. “Or maybe we could get help from the queens?”
“I’d vote for Queen Ruby since she’s the closest,” Powder said, scratching her head. “But I don’t think any of us know how to get to the palace. And even if I know my way around the Ice Kingdom, I get the feeling that IceWings haven’t changed in a thousand years. Still rigid and cold as ever.”
“We could get help from Queen Glory,” Toucan suggested. “She’s pretty close, and I know the way to her hut.”
“Her hut?” Seafoam said, puzzled. “Doesn’t she have a palace? Or at least something fancier than a hut?”
“Nope,” Toucan replied. “Her hut is a little bigger, though.”
“Then let’s go there,” Sunrise said. The decision was unanimous.
They made it to the rainforest at dusk. Seafoam’s scales glowed brightly, illuminating their flying space.
“Blergh!” Seafoam cried when she landed on the rainforest floor. It was damp, and so, so, SO hot. The air was humid and sticky, the heat like getting a little too close to the underwater volcanoes. “It’s SO STICKY!”
“I think it feels great,” Raindrop exclaimed. “It’s like a nice, warm blanket on your scales.”
“Ugh!” Powder landed with a squishy noise. “How do you like this? At least in the Ice Kingdom the air is crisp and clear.”
“Ignore it, we have to hurry and get to the queen,” Toucan said. He took off, motioning for them to follow.
“How am I supposed to fly?” Sunrise complained as they dodged wet leaves and tree branches. “The airspace is CLOGGED WITH TREES.”
“It’s a game to fly like this!” Suddenly Raindrop and Toucan camouflaged into the forest. It sounded like Raindrop who was speaking. “The same way this is a game! Try to find us!”
Powder, Sunrise, and Seafoam ignored those orders. Every now and then, Raindrop or Toucan would flash a bright cherry red, then fade back into their surroundings. Seafoam grumbled as her wings kept hitting the branches, showering her with dewdrops.
Eventually they found their way to the RainWing village. Seafoam immediately knew which hut was Glory’s. Its roof was made of the translucent emerald green leaves, and was a bit larger than the rest. A few camouflaged RainWings stood guard. Seafoam only spotted them when they were startled by a bird. She guessed that they were Glory’s personal bodyguards.
“Whooaaaa,” a RainWing said in awe. “Look at those scales! They aren’t RainWings, are they?”
“Nope,” Toucan answered. “They’re an IceWing, a SeaWing, and a SandWing.”
“Rattly tail!” a young RainWing said. She swished around Powder’s tail for the melodic sound somewhat like windchimes. Powder quickly put her tail at a safe distance from the curious dragonet.
“We need to see the queen,” Raindrop said. “Like, right, right now.”
“Oh, okay.” The guards made space so that the dragonets could pass.
Inside, Glory sat on a mat-like chair decorated with colorful feathers. A half-eaten apple lay on the side. She raised her eyes to the visitors and promptly fainted.
== Chapter 12- Sunrise ==
“My queen!” Camouflaged guards suddenly appeared and shook Queen Glory awake. “What’s wrong?”
The queen rubbed her eyes and stared at Raindrop, not bothering to answer their questions. Sunrise watched as Glory blinked a few times.
“I’d like some time with this dragonet alone, please,” Glory said. “I want all bodyguards away. That is a very strict order. If these instructions aren’t followed, I will temporarily banish the offender.”
A bunch of RainWings suddenly shivered into existence and left the hut. Queen Glory motioned for Sunrise, Seafoam, Powder, and Toucan to leave too.
“You can come back soon,” Glory promised. “I just have a few things to tell her.” Her expression signaled that she had a lot more to tell Raindrop than a few things.
“Um, yes, Your Majesty.” Toucan stumbled out the doorway, Sunrise, Seafoam, and Powder following.
“I’m starving,” Sunrise said. “Is there anything to eat in the rainforest?”
“Fruit,” Toucan replied. “Here, you might actually find it tasty.”
Toucan handed them coconuts and jackfruit. He cracked open the coconut tops and showed them how to drink the juice.
“That is really sweet,” Powder commented. “Not as good as a nice fresh salmon, but yummy. Not what I was expecting.”
“I think it’s delicious!” Seafoam exclaimed. Sunrise shared her thoughts—the coconut water brought a crisp sweetness to his tongue. According to Toucan, though, an older coconut’s juice would be dry-tasting and bland.
“Jackfruit’s just as good,” Toucan said, peeling a strip of yellow-orange flesh. “Maybe even better.”
“Uh, it’s really sticky,” Sunrise said.
“The stickier, the sweeter,” Toucan said. “A rule all hungry RainWings know.”
The jackfruit was yummy, but it left his claws smeared with sweet-sticky stuff. Sunrise flew to the pool of water to wash out his claws. So did Powder and Seafoam, but Toucan just licked it all away.
“I’d rather eat some meat,” Powder said. Her gaze focused on a sloth lying lazily on a branch. “Those are so slow, they’d be easy to—”
“No!” Toucan stepped in her way and spread his wings protectively. “Rule one of the rainforest: NO EATING THE SLOTHS. That could be someone’s pet, or future pet. Sloths are off-limits. Eat a fish or something.”
“You’re right, it is someone’s pet,” said a voice from above. Sunrise looked up. A RainWing sat in the tree. Her face looked a little similar to Toucan’s. “Yours.”
“Mom?” Toucan asked. He took a better look at the sloth. “Oh. Um. Sorry, Meringue. Didn’t notice it was you.”
“You need to take better care of Meringue,” Toucan’s mom chided. “She keeps wandering off without you noticing.”
“I was at Jade Mountain!” Toucan argued. “And I told you and Dad, and you said it was fine.”
“We forgot to remind you to bring Meringue,” she replied. “You should have remembered on your own. After all, she chose you.”
Toucan groaned. Sunrise could see that this was a subject he’d argued with her about for a while.
“Well, thank you for bringing Meringue to Toucan’s attention, uh, uh, what’s your name?” Seafoam said, trying to get on Toucan’s mother’s good side. Sunrise felt like wrapping his tail with hers, but it looked like she was busy.
“Papaya, sweetie,” she answered with a smile. “Yes, Toucan is very forgetful about his pet.”
“I don’t like Meringue!” Toucan cried.
“Eventually, you will,” Papaya said. “Everyone loves their sloths. Look at Queen Glory. She used to hate Silver, but now she adores him.”
Toucan didn’t answer. He probably didn’t want more arguments for his mother to counter.
“Now hurry in back to school, Toucan. You and your friends here,” Papaya ordered. “The queen doesn’t like dropouts.”
“We aren’t dropping out,” Toucan insisted. Powder, Sunrise, and Seafoam exchanged a glance of humor at the arguing family. “We have a message for the queen sent straight from, uh, Sunny.”
“Oh, in that case, please, hurry to her,” Papaya said. Then she hugged her son tight. “I’ll see you soon! And I’ll take Meringue back home with me! But only this one time,” she added as she flew away.
“Phew,” Powder said. “Your mom is really something.”
“Trust me,” Toucan grumbled. “That isn’t even the worst of it. I guess her silly RainWing traits overrode the NightWing ones.”
“Oh, she must be the half-NightWing parent,” Sunrise said. “So you got your gift of prophecy from her? Very…surprising.”
“Yeah, well, that’s the way most RainWings are,” Toucan sighed. “Dumb and clueless as ever.”
Seafoam picked up a weird green fruit. She pierced the skin easily, revealing soft white meat. “I heard this is a cherimoya. Anyone want some of it while we wait?”
Sunrise smiled and placed his claw over hers. She nuzzled him gently. "Sure."
== Chapter 13- Raindrop ==
Raindrop sat before the queen. Glory took a deep breath.
“Raindrop, you’re the princess,” Queen Glory said.
WAIT, WHAT?! Raindrop thought. I’m a princess? Of the entire rainforest?
“I know what you’re thinking,” Glory said quickly. “No, I am not your mother. I’m much too young for that. Yet I am family.”
That wasn’t what Raindrop was thinking, but she went along with it.
“You see, the previous queen, Queen Grandeur, had a few lousy heirs,” Queen Glory explained. “Soon we learned that I was a distant relative and she considered me worthy of the throne. However, before her death, she laid one last egg. She gave it to me to take care of. I treated the dragonet like a little sister. That was what she was to me. I never told anyone I was raising a princess. Anyone who saw me with her believed that she was the daughter of some friends who moved and let me take care of her. For almost three years Deathbringer and I watched the sweet little dragonet grow up, with us as her big brother and sister. Then one day she just vanished.”
Raindrop could tell where Glory was going with this conversation.
“I think you’ve guessed it. You were always good at that,” Queen Glory sighed. “Do you remember anything?”
Raindrop shook her head. “Bullfrog says I have amnesia.”
Glory took a necklace off. It was made if carved koa wood in the shape of a RainWing, on a cord of simple rope. She placed it around Raindrop’s neck.
What’s going on? Raindrop thought. Then it all came rushing back. Glory and Deathbringer hugging her good-night, nudging her to go have suntime, sleeping in soft moss, leaves, and grass. Always enough fruit to eat, loving dragons in her life, a small painting she’d made sitting on her wall.
“It’s an animus-touched gift,” the queen explained. “Helps heal amnesia, minor venom injuries by both RainWings and SandWings, and makes fruits taste sweeter when you’re wearing it.”
“Sweeter fruits?” Raindrop gently took the necklace off, handling it as gingerly like a vial of venom. She gave it back to Glory.
“Yeah, I didn’t choose that part,” Glory said, looking slightly embarrassed. “Will you…will you come back to me again?”
Raindrop’s heart cracked. Her time with Glory as a motherly big sister was paradise. Deathbringer was a kind big brother figure too.
“I have something to tell you,” Raindrop said, each word hurting. “There’s a prophecy I’m in. It’s why we came to see you. Jade Mountain was attacked by dragons hunting for my friends and I because we’re the dragonets of the prophecy. We need your help to defeat the leader, who calls himself the Claw.”
“I can protect you.” Glory started and got up. “You’re my little sister. You can’t do such a huge thing. How do you even know it’s real?”
“My friend Toucan delivered it. His mom is half NightWing, so he has the ability to be a prophet,” Raindrop said firmly. “It goes like this–um, can I borrow a piece of paper?”
Glory pulled a page out from her bag and an inkpot. Raindrop dipped her talon in the ink and scrawled out the lines of Toucan’s prophecy.
“Whoa,” Glory breathed. “I–there’s no way to convince you not to go, is there?”
“No,” Raindrop confirmed. “We just need your help.”
Glory sighed and gave up. She hugged Raindrop, tears trickling down her eyes and onto her scales. Raindrop began to cry. She was so scared of their mission. She didn’t know if she could do it. A peaceful life with Glory was the happiest idea she’d ever had.
But considering the circumstances, it was also the most foolish.
“Glory?” Raindrop recognized the voice. Deathbringer. “Raindrop? Is that you?”
Then he saw Glory crying and threw his wings over over the two teary dragons. Glory, her voice hiccuping, explained to Deathbringer what had to happen.
Then two became three.
== Chapter 14- Powder ==
Powder watched as Raindrop returned from Glory’s hut, her eyes bloodshot. She was accompanied by Glory and a NightWing.
“What happened?” Powder rushed forward and wrapped her wings around her friend.
“Just…learned a few things,” Raindrop replied listlessly. “Glory’s sending messengers to alert the other queens about the Claw. What we need to do is make a plan to ambush him. Hopefully, by destroying their leader, we can wipe out the followers.”
“What do we do for now?” Sunrise asked. “The prophecy says we need to fix this. But it seems like the queens are just going to do it for us.”
Seafoam looked at Queen Glory. “I have some information that can help. The Claw has an underwater cave system as his secret hideout. Maybe Queen Coral could find it and launch an attack on the Claw.”
Glory had a thoughtful expression on her face. “Very well. Guava, go take that message to Queen Coral.”
A dragon appeared in the trees. She said, “Yes, Your Highness!” and took off.
“I have an idea,” Toucan said. “It’ll be difficult. We have to get captured by the Claw, then kill him ourselves.”
Sunrise and Seafoam gasped.
“You don’t know what it’s like there,” Seafoam hissed. “Voices in your head, trying to make you go insane. Random lashings. Barely anything to eat. Cold, damp cells and complete loneliness.”
“But from what I gather,” Toucan replied, “the Claw approaches you alone. We can use that opportunity to kill him.”
“That’s the only way it will work,” Powder said. “At least…I think.”
“We have to do it,” Raindrop agreed. “I don’t want to. Three moons, I’m terrified of this. But we can’t lead happy lives we want if the Claw isn’t going to be killed.”
“We can do it for you,” Deathbringer said.
“It’s a prophecy.” Glory looked up at him, tears pricking her eyes. “We can’t fight it. Moon, Winter, Qibli, Turtle, and Kinkajou should be here soon. They can help us figure everything out.”
As if on cue, the dragonets and their legendary faces appeared in the forest. Odd how, at six years old, they would soon no longer be the dragonets of the Jade Mountain prophecy. Well, at least, that was what Fearcrusher said. Powder had no idea. She was hatched about a thousand years ago. There was a lot of catching up she had to do. Raindrop helped a little by filling her in on some of it.
“We got your message, Glory!” Kinkajou said cheerfully. “Whoa, you should’ve seen Jade Mountain. These COMPLETELY FREAKY dragons went ABSOLUTELY INSANE and tried to kill us all! But then these five here,” she said, motioning to Powder and her friends, “escaped and they just LEFT. Like, they didn’t care about us at all.”
“I saw it, Toucan,” Moon said. She was facing the dragonet, who looked surprised that she knew his name. “Your plan will work, but it’ll need our help.”
“How?” Toucan asked curiously. “And how do you see futures so clearly and mind read and I don’t?”
“It has to do with the moons,” Moon explained. “Hatching under one moon means seeing the future or mind reading, two moons both, and three moons strengthens those powers.”
“Oh,” Toucan said disappointedly. “I was hoping I would suddenly hear others’ thoughts.”
“Trust me, it’s better to accept how you hatched,” Moon assured him. “Now here’s the plan…”
Powder listened intently, not noticing the gleaming ice-blue wings zipping towards them.Category:Genre (Prophecy)
Category:Fanfictions