Wings of Fire - Talons of Doom

NOTE: WINGS OF FIRE IS NOT OWNED BY ME! IT'S OWNED BY TUI T. SUTHERLAND
ANOTHER NOTE: CECROPIA IS OWNED BY @Cecropia the hybrid !!!
YET ANOTHER NOTE: If u could help me promote this I'll be really thankful. Than u for ur time =3
== The Talons of Doom Prophecy ==
Talons of silver, talons of gold
Might save the world from a future foretold
Silk of fire, mind of the hive
Will either destroy us or keep us alive
The shade of the moon, the soul of the sun
They will work together for good or for worse
The wounds shall spill the blood of the tribes
and all for the talons of doom to arise
== Prologue ==
Quicksand was weaving a scarf. It was a cool autumn night, but the flamesilk threads she was weaving kept her warm. Flamesilk from Cece, Quicksand thought. Her daughter. 
Cecropia had gone to sleep about 3 hours earlier, but Quicksand had a couple of scarves and capes to make, so she had stayed up late.
“Mom, you aren’t coming tonight?” Cece had asked. 
“I have a couple of things to do, sweetheart. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, ok?” Quicksand had answered. But before she could exit the room, Cece called. 
“What do you need, honey?”
“You are going to work by the window, right?”
“That’s about right.”
“Then take this.” Cece extended one of her wrists, and a thread of fire came out. It spiraled as more flamesilk followed, until Quicksand could finally see it was a small blanket. “It’ll keep you warm while you make scarves.”
Quicksand took the blanket from her dragonet’s talons, then gave her a kiss on her forehead, between her antennae. “Now go to sleep, kiddo. It’s getting late.”
Quicksand looked over her shoulder at the blanket that was resting over her wings, and decided she would go check on Cece. Quicksand closed the window, then walked to her dragontet's room. She blew a wisp of flame into a lamp. She looked into the room, then felt her blood freeze in her veins.
Cecropia was missing.
== Chapter 1 ==
Cecropia hurt all over. Maybe it had something to do with how she was sleeping on a stone floor instead of her soft hammock, or that the air didn’t smell of carrot cake and sweet potatoes, or that she felt she had more than a pair of eyes staring at her neck.
Wait, what?
She opened her eyes, and discovered that she was in a stone cave, lying on the floor. Her vision was fuzzy and her eyes stung, as though she had rubbed her face in a volcano. Wait, no. She stung all over. Cecropia lifted herself into a sitting pose, blinking quickly. The cave was a black, square space, with three walls. The other part had bars that had been carved out of the stone. Behind those bars was some kind of hallway, just as black as the cave she was in. 
Prison. She corrected herself. She shivered at the thought. She was in a closed space, out of all places! She tried to distract herself from that thought. She looked around, and saw a black dragon sprawled on the floor. The dragon was just as black as the stone floor, making her almost impossible to spot. Cecropia stepped closer - carefully, she didn’t know who this dragon was. 
Then the dragon groaned. Cecropia stumbled backwards, her antennae fully unfold. She watched as the black dragon lifted to her feet, then spread her wings. Four wings. Cecropia noticed. They were four bat-like wings, black on the outside, but aquamarine and purple on the inside. The dragon opened her eyes, that were sea green. She blinked a couple times, then looked into Cecropia’s eyes. She got a strange feeling that this dragon was looking straight into her soul. 
But that’s not possible. Cecropia reminded herself. Only a Nightwing could do that. And this dragon is certainly not a nightwing. She has four wings, after all. But, then how did we get here? There is no possible way that could have happened. There isn’t a door anywhere. And I don’t sleep-walk anyways. Then how?
“Do you know how we got here?” Cecropia finally asked, forgetting to present herself to the other dragon.
“That is a very good question, Cecropia.” Said a voice outside of the cage.
== Chapter 2 ==
Cecropia whipped her head around to look at the dragon that had startled her. He was dark green, with silver scales splotched around his body. He had leaf-shaped wings. Each wing had silver scales in the underside, and each one seemed to glow in a hypnotic way. He rested his back on the wall, and held a spear in one of his talons. He was pretty relaxed for a guard, Cecropia thought.
"Turns out, your mother isn't the best at safety. Not in buildings anyways. The shop's lock was easy to pick." He said while examining the tip of his spear. Cecropia uncurled her tail, getting ready to stab in case it was necessary. "Why did you kidnap me?" She hissed at the guard. 
"Us." The black dragon corrected softly. Cecropia ignored her, though.
"Well, we already have you, so I might as well tell you why." He set the spear down. "We want to recruit other hybrids. We are a small organization, you see."
"We? Who is 'we'?" Cecropia demanded.
"Ah. That I cannot tell you. Not yet." He answered, clearly interested in the conversation.
"What did you mean by 'recruit'?" The black dragon asked, looking over Cecropia's shoulder. She looked a bit more interested and awestruck than Cecropia was comfortable with.
The guard smiled. "As I said, we aren't a big organization. We hybrids are seeking for others like us, capable of revenge."
"But what if the prisoner refuses to cooperate?" The black dragon insisted.
"Ah, I am sure they won't. The leader is really convincing, you see. She has persuaded many to join our cause."
"And this leader? What is her name?" The black dragon asked, drawing closer to the bars.
"I'm afraid I am not allowed to tell you. But you can have mine." The guard picked up his spear again. "The name's Nightshade."
== Chapter 3 ==
Cecropia opened her mouth to speak, but an incredibly loud noise filled the air. The prisoners closed their eyes shut and put their talons to their ears. The sound - a horn, Cecropia thought - stopped, and she opened her eyes again. She lowered her talons.
"Well, nice to meet you ladies, but it is time for me to leave." Nightshade said. He spread his wings and ran down the hallway.
"Hey! We still have questions! You ants-for-brains!" Yelled the black dragon, grabbing the stone bars keeping her inside. But Nightshade was long gone.
"Teeth of the viper, isn't it cold here!" Cecropia rubbed her wrists, then watched as a tiny string of fire came out of each one. She grabbed one pile of flamesilk and wove it into a scarf in a matter of seconds. "Take this one. If you want." She offered the black dragon.
"Thanks..." The black dragon said while reaching for the scarf. She stared at Cecropia, as though she was waiting for her to say something…
"Oh. Uh, Cecropia. My name's Cecropia." She reached out a talon.
"Nice to meet you, Cecropia. My name is Aurora." The black dragon - Aurora - said, shaking Cecropia's talon.
"Now that we know each other, we should try to figure out why they kidnapped us." Cecropia said. "And while we are at it, we should also try to figure out who "they" is."
"Yeah. Nightshade said that they were an organization, and that they tried to ‘recruit’ Hybrids. He specified about the hybrid part. He also mentioned something about 'revenge'. The question if from who." Aurora said, sitting down in front of Cecropia. "This case is not impossible to crack."
"He also said 'OTHER hybrids'. Does that mean that everyone in this organization is a hybrid?" Cecropia pointed out.
"That would make sense. We are both hybrids, aren't we?" Aurora told her. "So these dragons are only interested in hybrids, potentially because they are hybrids themselves. So, following that train of thought, they would want revenge on something that has affected hybrids as a whole. Hmmm. The most similar thing that I can see is how the LeafWings wanted to kill the HiveWings, who tried to wipe them out in the Tree Wars. So who has wanted to kill out hybrids?"
Cecropia's head shot up, a thought striking her like lightning. "Aurora, this organization is plotting against purebloods."
== Chapter 4 ==
Nightshade walked back up the hallway to Cecropia and Aurora's cage after an hour since he left. "Sorry about that. Meetings can be… unexpected at times." He said. He rested his back on the wall, just like he had done the hour before. "So. Turns out, the leader wants to put your strength to use." He said, a bit too casually.
"We are not joining this sick, twisted movement of yours!" Cecropia exclaimed, flaring her wings.
"You don't have to yet. We just want to see your resistance. Not that you have a choice anyways." He picked up his spear, and two aquamarine dragons walked into view on either side of him. "See you there, I guess." Nightshade said. The dragons hissed, then started walking towards the cage. They cannot get in, Cecropia thought. Unless they can break solid stone. The Seawing hybrids were almost to the bars by then. 
But, before Cecropia could see anything that would happen, a shiver ran down her spine, and everything went black.
.          .          .
Cecropia woke up in a bigger room. This one didn't have bars, but it did have a door, carved from black stone. She looked around, and discovered around 20 other dragons standing around her. She blinked a couple of times, and realized one of them was Aurora. Fragments of questions filled Cecropia's mind, and she was surprised that she could even think. There were other things in the room. There were a couple of chains thrown carelessly on the floor, But 2 pairs of them were tied around the talons of 1 red dragon. He had huge wings, and was breathing smoke like crazy. He also has a muzzle! Cecropia realized.
"Brothers and sisters!" A big dragon exclaimed dramatically. "Today, we will have a really special duel! On this side, we have a fellow hybrid, and not any. She is more dangerous than she seems, armed with flamesilk and a barbed tail! With you, Cecropia of the Hybrids!" There was a huge roar of excitement that crossed the room. "On the other talon, we have a SkyWing traitor! He has killed dragonets with his very claws! Will he be able to spill our hybrid warrior's blood? Or will he fall under the wrath of the hybrids? With you, Denali of the SkyWings!" The huge dragon looked at Cecropia. "However, we must present the rules to our new contestant. They are actually quite simple. Fight until your opponent gives up. If they don't, then… we will have some corpses to get rid of."
Cecropia stared as whispers darted through the room. Aurora gave her a nervous claws-up and prayed just hard enough for SandWing ears to hear. They watched as 2 dragons unchained Denali, who was furiously tugging the chains, trying to free himself.
"Claws out, fire ready, fight!" The big dragon called, and Denali shot a column of flame from his mouth.  Cecropia reacted right on time, rolling out of the way as heat blazed through her scales. She felt the fire stop, then spread her wings and flew behind Denali. He turned around, and Cecropia spun a muzzle of non-burning flamesilk around his snout. The crowd roared in excitement as Denali stood on his hind legs and flared his wings. Cecropia spun around, wrapped her tail around one of Denali's hind legs, and pulled as hard as she could. He fell to the ground, thrashing intensely. Cecropia jumped into his chest, pinned him to the ground, and raised her tail above his chest. 
"Move a scale and your corpse will be eaten by the crows." Cecropia threatened. Denali stayed still as Cecropia ripped off the muzzle she had made. "Forfeit, and we'll both live." She watched for an agonizingly long moment, until Denali opened his mouth. "Alright. You win." 
Cecropia climbed off the SkyWing slowly, keeping her tail ready to attack. "You heard him!" Cecropia roared at the top of her lungs. "He gave up! None of us has to die!"
The crowd disapproved of the fighters, but the big dragon moved into the arena. "Very well. Take this one to his cage. Take the other one… somewhere useful." He looked at a couple of guards and made some signals with his claws, and the two guards nodded. Both of them grabbed Cecropia, forcing her out the door. They walked for a while, then they entered another room.
This one wasn't made of black stone. The floor was covered in sand, and the walls and roof were covered in a light blue, woolly material. Cecropia walked into the room, and watched as a dragon materialized in front of her eyes.
== Chapter 5 ==
Cecropia stumbled backwards, unconsciously uncurling her tail in a way that would leave her stinger ready to stab. She unfurled her antennae.
“Hey, Cecropia. Someone told me that you just won a fight.” The dragon said, now fully visible. Her scales were dark yellow, fading to black on her talons and tail. She mainly looked like a SandWing. Cecropia stumbled backwards, unconsciously preparing her venomous barb to stab. The black ridge on the stranger's back was dotted with silver, like the desert sky on a clear night. She’s a SandWing NightWing hybrid! Cecropia realized. Can she read minds?
“I can.” She answered kindly. “But I’ll stay out of your thoughts if you’d like me to.”
“That would be nice. Thank you.” Cecropia said. I’d give you a headache if you didn’t, though. Her mind added. The other dragon’s expression stayed the same, so Cecropia assumed that she really meant it when she said staying out of her head. “How do you know my name, though? Everyone here seems to know it.”
“Oh. I wondered how long until you asked that. You are quite a bit known in Possibility. No wonder that the Commander sent for you.” 
“The commander? Who is that?” Cecropia blurted out. The stranger frowned, and Cecropia remembered asking for her name. “You can ignore that question if you want to. I mean, you know my name right? So, can you tell me yours? Like, maybe? If you want to?”
The stranger allowed herself a smile “The other tribes call me ‘Brightsun’. But you can call me Sanddeath.” She stretched a talon, and Cecropia shook it. “Now that we know each other, we should get to business.” Sanddeath added, slightly hurried.
“What business?” Cecropia asked, her heart sinking. “I don’t have to fight you, do I?”
“Oh, well, no, but actually yes. Sanddeath said while sitting down. “ So, I’m supposed to train you. You have barely had any training in battle, so that’s why you are here. Don’t worry, I will make it as light as I can.” Sanddeath put a talon out of sight while she said the last line, in a way Cecropia found slightly suspicious. “Shall we get started?”
“I uh-” Cecropia started, but a bang outside the cave saved her from an awkward answer.  She whipped her head around, then scowled at Nightshade’s smug FROG FACE.
“Sorry, Sanddeath, but your time for today is over. Cecropia, time to go to your cave.” Nightshade looked at her in a I-just-saved-you-and-you-know-it way. Cecropia scowled at his face but followed.
“Do that smug face at me again and my tail will rip it right off.” She whispered to him once they were in the hallway. He bumped her lightly on the shoulder, and then found herself SMILING. Cecropia, what in the MOONS is your face doing? Her mind yelled. But Cecropia’s face wouldn't obey. Nightshade allowed himself a small smile before going back to his guard expression. At some point, they took a turn, and into a cave. But this one was an ACTUAL cave. No sculpted bars. No perfect smooth floor. Just a small cave, big enough for a dragonet Cecropia’s size.
“Do you like it?” Nightshade asked. “‘Cause for now, it will be your home."
== Chapter 6 ==
"My what?" Cecropia asked Nightshade, rather worried.”You don’t think I’m going to join this blood-thirsty cause, do you?” She nearly yelled at him. He winced, and she realized that he probably took it personally. She decided to stand her ground. He changed his posture so he was straight and taller than Cecropia. He put on a serious expression.”It’s not like you could wander off anyways. You don’t know the place. I just figured that you would like someplace less… closed up. Sandwings tend to be claustrophobic, I have noticed.” 
“What about Aurora?” Cecropia blurted out before she could stop herself. Nightshade craned his neck, looking at Cecropia. He was terrible at hiding his surprise, Cecropia noticed. "Well, I guess I could arrange you to share a cave. This one won't be big enough, though." Cecropia stared at him. "You realize how much of an idiot you are, don't you, Nightshade of the LeafWings?"  He smiled. "Well, my idiotness is my charm, isn't it?" He made a terrible attempt at a flirty face. “What is WRONG with you?” Cecropia asked, whacking Nightshade’s face with her wing. She laughed, and he did too. “Alright. I’ll go get Aurora.” He said, smiling. “Don’t move from here. I don’t want you to get lost.”
"Aw. You absolutley care." Cecropia said teasingly as she walked into the cave, and curled herself in a comfortable spot. It should be late night by now… She thought. She missed her mom. And the warm cups of hot cocoa in the autumn night. When was the last time I ate? She wondered, as her thoughts trailed off into sleep.
.             .             .
Cecropia opened her eyes sleepily, stretching her wings. “Look who woke up!” A familiar voice said from the other side of the cave. “Aurora!” Cecropia’s face lit up at the sight of the black dragon. “That is me!” Aurora answered, smiling. “But, how…” Cecropia asked, realizing she was in a cave WAY bigger than the one she slept in. There were TORCHES on the roof. They had time for TORCHES. “Two strange dragons brought me here. They answered nothing to my questions. They just dropped me here, and I saw you on the ground sleeping. Oh, they also brought bread. And hot cocoa.” Aurora added, Signaling to three bread buns and two cups on a corner of the room. Cecropia dashed there and took a bite without hesitation.
“Whoa. you truly are hungry.” Aurora said as Cecropia wolfed down a bun. “They are filled in butter!” Cecropia said around bites. She grabbed another bun and split it in half. She gave one of the halves to Aurora. She took it, inspected it for a while, then put it back. She looked at Cecropia. “You eat a lot for your size.” Aurora observed. Cecropia took one of the cups and took a sip. Just like her mother’s.
Suddenly, a clang filled the room, and Cecropia whipped her head, startled. Her mouth was dripping with hot cocoa and butter, making that situation… rather awkward. “Time for your training session, Sandwing. And you too… thing.” A guard said. She looked like some kind of mix between a RainWing and a MudWing.
Aurora opened her mouth, but closed it again, and decided that she would rather glare the guard’s face off. She hit the wall with the spear again, making it clang. “I said training session! Move!”
Cecropia wiped her face with her wing, then followed the guard. Aurora shot her a wish-I-weren’t-here face. They walked into the sand-floored room, and this time, Sanddeath was there. She had a malevolent look on her face. Sanddeath flicked her tail, and a pair of talons pinned Cecropia to the ground.
== Chapter 7 ==
Cecropia struggled to see her captor. She managed to twist her neck to an angle that would let her see over her shoulder. The problem: There was no one pinning her to the floor, but Cecropia was pinned, nonetheless. A RainWing. Her mind recalled the forever-changing scales of the Rainforest dragons in Possibility. “Sanddeath, this is really unnecessary!” Cecropia yelled, doing her best to look dignified. 
Sanddeath frowned.”Alright. You two, off.” She waved a talon dismissively. The RainWing pinning her moved away, releasing Cecropia’s shoulders. She stood up, shaking the sand off her body. The RainWing appeared slowly, shifting to dark purple and light yellow. She looked barely 3 years old.
On the other side, was an IceWing-looking dragon. She was a light orchid color, and was covered in splotches of gold. Kind of like the daylight version of nightshade… Cecropia hated even THINKING of the LeafWing hybrid, and the fact that she couldn’t help it. She swallowed back a sigh, and tried to force her mind into thinking about the new dragons.
“Ugh. Now I have to introduce you to each other. AM-AZ-ING” Sanddeath snorted, rolling her eyes. “Those are Firefly and Alaska. They are Cecropia and Hivemind. Wanna know each other better? Well too bad, go stuff a cactus up your snouts.” Hivemind? Cecropia thought. Aurora flinched at the name, a flash of terror and recognition in her eyes. “What- but that’s not-” Aurora stuttered, giving up in the end. She scrunched up her nose, probably trying not to cry. “My name’s Aurora…” She said in the end, in a voice so low even Cecropia’s sandwing ears could barely hear. Cecropia put a wing over her, bringing her close.
“Ugh. Now all of the sentimental talk about dragon’s nicknames. Yes, blah blah blah, really interesting. Can we get to the fighting now?” Sanddeath said, boredom filling her voice. She moved so that she was standing in front of the four dragons. “First lesson: avoid the attack.” right then, Sanddeath lunged at Aurora, teeth bared. Aurora barely even managed to avoid the attack, and she was left with a cut - not a deep one, Cecropia hoped - in her snout, and it was dripping with blood. 
“That didn’t go as well as I planned.” Sanddeath said. Cecropia wondered if that was because she expected Aurora to dodge the attack better, or if she wanted to wound her worse.
“Ok, let’s see if you learned anything.” Sanddeath said. She lurched at Alaska, her venomous barb gleaming in the tip of her tail. Alaska moved out of the way, hitting Sanddeath in the side. Sanddeath landed on her feet, her tail menacingly over her head. She stabbed her tail at Alaska, but she dodged it right on time. Sanddeath turned, knocking Alaska into the ground. Sanddeath pinned her down, aimed her tail to Alaska’s chest, and bringed it down. Suddenly, a heartbeat from Alaska’s heart, a spear stopped Sanddeath’s tail.
== Chapter 8 ==
“Sanddeath, enough!” Nightshade exclaimed, fury gleaming in his eyes. “Your job is to train the guests, not murder them!” He removed the spear from her tail, and Sanddeath raised it. “The commander will be hearing about this.” Nightshade finished. “C’mon, you four. The commander wants to see you. You three, wait for me here. Cecropia, can we talk?” Nightshade’s eyes looked at her intently. He’s actually asking me, not giving me an order. Why? She wondered, but part of her already knew the answer. “Uh, sure…? Not like I can deny, anyways. ‘Cause you are a soldier.” She walked out of the room, Nightshade’s wing brushing hers.
“Cecropia, I… I’m sorry about all this.” He said, his tail inching towards her. “About all the secrets I have had to keep from you.” he said, his voice gentle as butterflies. “About me, our organization, the future, and the commander. Heck, of this place, too.” He sighed. 
“Nightshade, it’s alright.” Cecropia twined her tail around his, careful of the barb on her tail. “No. I have to explain. I know it’ll get me in trouble, but you need to know. I need you to know.” He looked at the ground, his wings dropping. “This organization. We call ourselves the Talons of Doom. Every single one of us is a hybrid or a mix of more than two tribes. Denali, for one, was one of our prisoners. Our goal was that hybrids dominate the continents and that purebloods are treated the way we were treated. I didn’t choose to come here. I was forced to.”
“By who?” Cecropia asked, concerned. “The commander. She wanted my powers for the good of the Talons of Doom. There was no refusing. Soon, she was convincing dragons from all over the world to join us. And now, standing up to her isn’t an option.” Nightshade replied.
“Your powers?” Cecropia asked. Nightshade looked like he was just stabbed by his mom. Then he flinched AGAIN. “Don’t do that.” He said between his teeth. “Do what?” Cecropia asked. Does that mean- but, it can’t be. “Cecropia, do you know the curse of the moons?” He managed. “N-no…?” Cecropia said, a shiver running down her spine. “Every once in a couple of years,” He explained, “One of the moons turns blood red. When a Nightwing dragonet is born under a blood moon, it gives them… a different version of the Nightwing powers. I’m half Nightwing, so…” I can do this. His voice finished in her mind. “Did you just- I- wha-” Cecropia staggered, stumbling on her own feet. Nightshade put his wings around her, like a curtain of stars. What has he seen in my mind? Can he hear me right now? Cecropia’s mind rushed.
“Cecropia, every single part of you is wonderful. I didn’t even know dragons like you existed, not until you came along. Then every single part of me wanted to be with you. Every scale of my body wants to be with you all of the time. I can’t get you out of my brain, I swear for my hecking life. Cecropia, you are perfect. Never mind all of the stupid dragons that think otherwise.” He took one of her talons, lacing their claws together. “Please don’t leave me.” He finished, his voice almost a whisper. What should I say? Her mind wondered, then she caught herself.
“Don’t say anything. Just be here. With me.” Nightshade answered her thoughts. He drew his wings back, then leaned so close to her she could actually smell him. He smelled of wild berries. He smiled (probably at her thoughts), and looked into her eyes. Their snouts were so close, she thought he would-
“Isn’t it called Stockholm Syndrome? When the captor and victim fall in love?” Aurora’s voice called from beside her. Cecroia’s head flew to her right, at the same time as Nightshade’s did. “Heck,” Nightshade whispered under his breath. “Firefly! Sneaking doesn’t work on mind-reading. Good try though.” He closed his eyes for a second, then looked at Cecropia.
Her mind is all like ‘Cecropia and Nightshade sitting on a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G.’ He said in her mind. They both giggled, and Cecropia fell to the ground laughing. “Great ice spirits. Are all Sandwings that noisy?” Alaska said, appearing behind Aurora and Firefly. Cecropia stopped laughing. “How can you do that? Are you part Rainwing too?” Cecropia asked Alaska. She snorted and looked at Cecropia as though she had just coughed up a frog. “Of course not. Firefly did that for me.” Cecropia looked at the Rainwing hybrid, admired. Cecropia was about to speak, but Nightshade answered her question before she could open her mouth.
“Firefly can’t change the color of her scales. She can create illusions instead.” He answered her thoughts. You SERIOUSLY have to stop answering my thoughts if you want to make a good impression. Cecropia thought at the Leafwing hybrid, whacking his snout with her tail. “Careful with that,” Nightshade said, looking at her tail barb. Firefly shot him a glare, and he flinched.
“So I can be anything I want, even without color-changing scales.” Firefly said, her scales flicking a thousand colors, half of which Cecropia didn’t know existed. “I can also be whoever I want.” Firefly suddenly turned into Sanddeath, and said in her voice: “Oh no, Firefly! Ahh, what am I going to do? The great heir of the Nightwings and Rainwings! Right here! Oh what an honor!” Firefly turned back into herself and fell down in a shower of giggles. Alaska couldn’t help but join in. “Wait. THE Firefly? Like, Queen Glory’s daughter? Should I bow to you?” Cecropia asked in a rush.
“She thinks she should say yes, but she doesn’t really enjoy being bowed to.” Nightshade said, mostly to spite her. Probably. Nightshade flinched again, shooting a wounded look at Firefly. “What can you do?” Cecropia asked Alaska and Aurora. 
“About time for you to ask,” Alaska scoffed, a smile on her face. “I control the weather. Doesn’t work down here, though.” She added, looking at the skepticism on Aurora’s face. Aurora looked at Nightshade, and they both stayed that way for a while. Probably mind-messaging or something like that. Cecropia thought as Aurora looked at her. “I, uh… Alright… But you promise you won’t stop being my friend, OK?” She asked cautiously. 
“Well, it kind of depends. If it includes ripping off someone’s eyes or breaking their bones, probably not. I’m kidding, of course I’ll be your friend.” Cecropia added, looking at the face Aurora was making. She took a deep breath, then looked at Nightshade one more time. He nodded approvingly. “Uh. Right. Um. Anyone have a spoon or anything?” Aurora asked. Nightshade rummaged aroun in his bag for a second, then took something out. A small dagger, once Cecropia took a closer look. Aurora shot a look at nightshade, and he made a face that probably meant he was telling her something. She took a deep breath and… the dagger just…
Floated? Cecropia looked at Nightshade, then at Aurora, then back at Nightshade. Telekinesis, just in case you hadn’t noticed. He said in her brain. She felt an Oooooh cross her mind, then stopped it, just to avoid Nightshade’s stupid smug face. “So. Uh, you can move things around? With your mind?” Cecropia asked awkwardly. Aurora opened her eyes, then let the dagger fall to the ground. “It’s more than that. It’s as if the dagger was part of me… I can close my eyes, and I know that it’s there, and that it will move if I want it to. Kind of like my own limb. But it works with anything, so, as long as it can be moved, it is just… there. In my head. All. The. Time.” She sighed and sat down. “Kind of like your antennae, if you think of it.” Nightshade said, looking at Cecropia. “Like, in the way, you know where everything is. Just saying.” He took a breath. “One last thing. Aurora, you asked me about this when you first arrived. The leader. You asked for her name. Her name is Moonseed… my sister.”
== Chapter 9 ==
“You make me want to hate you, but it’s impossible,” Cecropia said, walking next to Nightshade. He smiled and bumped her shoulder with his elbow affectionately. “I know, I know.” He said, smiling from ear to ear. That smile faded quite quickly. “We are getting close to Moonseed’s cave,” He said, his voice low. “Don’t say anything I haven’t approved of first. You can ask me through your thoughts, we’re safe that way.” They turned in a corner and entered a big, white marble room. The only white room that Cecropia had seen so far. It had a high roof, and one torch in every corner. There were two bookshelves, full of books and scrolls. Then, on a small black throne, was Moonseed herself. She was smaller than Nightshade, but bigger than Firefly. She was dark gray, with red on her wings, head, and on her spine. She had leaf-shaped wings like Nightshade’s, but hers weren’t spotted with silver.
“Oh. You finally arrived. Took your time, didn’t you?” She asked, hopping off her throne. She walked past Nightshade, and right in front of Cecropia. “You are Cecropia, right?” She asked. “Nice to meet you. I see you met Hivemind and Firefly. And Alaska. Quite convenient, actually. So, shall we get to business?” She said, without waiting for Cecropia to answer. Moonseed looked as though a million invisible dragons were whispering in her ears… kind of like Nightshade listening to her thoughts. But she can’t read minds, or else Nightshade wouldn’t have suggested that way of speaking. I know I’m not the smartest, but I’m not stupid. Cecropia thought at Nightshade. “Oh, uh, sure.” She answered Moonseed. Moonseed smiled tensely, and sat down.
“So: you may already know what you are here for. We want you to join our army. We have good food, nice bedrooms, and one of the best security methods. We could use dragons like you. And you could use an organization like us.”  She said, taking out a paper and a quill. “Just sign this, and you will live the life you deserve.” Cecropia looked at the paper. There were four spots where one could sign. One for each of us. She really thinks we’ll join. She didn’t know where that last thought came from. “Any one of you can join. Just sign the paper, and you will be part of something bigger than you ever thought of.” Cecropia took a breath. The option was in her talons. But, why was she doubting now, when she had been so sure she wouldn’t just a second ago? Moonseed shot a glare at Nightshade, and he looked back at her.
But before Cecropia could make any decision, Aurora flinched from her side. Her muscles tensed, rippling under her black scales. She closed her eyes, and put one talon to her forehead. Her face twisted in pain, but just before Cecropia asked her if she was OK, Aurora relaxed. She opened her eyes, but there was something different. They shone a different way - it wasn’t the shy, kind light Cecropia was used to. They were reckless. Something Aurora sure wasn’t. “I’ll do it. Let me sign it.” Aurora said, stepping forward. But Cecropia wouldn’t let that happen. She stopped her with her wing, and Aurora stared at her. “Let. Go.” She said, her voice cold. Cecropia caught movement from the corner of her eye, probably Moonseed turning to Nightshade. “Aurora, what happened to you? You aren’t acting like yourself. You aren’t the kind of dragon that would kill others for vengeance.” Cecropia told her, kind but certain. Aurora growled and stared at her. She closed her eyes. “You leave me no choice.” And almost immediately, Cecropia was lifted off the ground by an invisible force, then thrown to the wall. It kind of felt like a magnet. Aurora opened her eyes, and walked up to Cecropia. “What side are you on? I thought you were with us. I thought you would sign that paper as soon as I would. But apparently, you are with the purebloods. Didn’t they torture you? Didn’t they take away your dad before you even met him? Didn’t they chase you through all the kingdom of sand, taking away your home?” Aurora growled. Cecropia felt the invisible grip tighten, pressing her to the wall.
“Aurora, stop!” Nightshade yelled, earning himself a glare of disapproval from Moonseed. “Hivemind. Have you not had enough death? What do you think about life back in Pantala? Was it very nice? No, it wasn’t. So let Cecropia go, or you’ll be just like them.” Aurora gave a little jump, then looked back at Cecropia. She gasped as though she was seeing it from a whole new way, and her talons flew to her face. Cecropia fell to the ground, with just enough time to land on her feet. Tears formed in Aurora’s eyes. “Did I- Cecropia, I- I didn’t mean to-” she staggered, digging her face further into her talons. 
“We’ll speak with you later, after the… commotion has passed.” Nightshade told Moonseed, wrapping his left wing around Cecropia. “Come on, you three.” He said. Firefly helped shaken Aurora out the doorway, and Alaska rolled her eyes, but it was clear that she also had some emotions. 
They walked out of the room, just far enough to be out of earshot. They sat down under a flamesilk jar, but it had no flamesilk on it. Cecropia filled it with some burning flamesilk, so the glow covered all of them. “Aurora, can we talk now?” Nightshade asked, receiving a nod from Aurora.
“So. What did just happen?” Cecropia asked. “It was… strange. Something came over me. It wasn’t what I wanted to do. Kind of like Queen Wasp’s possession, but this time, it wasn’t my limbs just moving without me asking them to. It was more like, I could actually control all of me. Like, I could make my own choices, and tell my body what it has to do. But there was something else… like, a kind of fog around my brain. It just let me see what it wanted me to see. Kind of like this: ‘Purebloods were the ones that treated you like garbage.’ And not ‘Purebloods were also the ones that let you escape’. So, it was actually mind control, not possession. Whoever -or whatever- made me do that, must be really powerful. An animus dragon, maybe. And I am being myself. No sinister evil spell on me right now. I promise” Aurora added, a lot of nerves and doubt in her voice. This WAS the Aurora that Cecropia knew.
“Um. Maybe I should have said that about Moonseed…” Nightshade said, earning himself a glare from literally every dragon in the conversation. Cecropia didn’t dare imagine what he was getting from Firefly and Alaska’s minds.”So. There’s this animus dragon called Atlantic… he’s a Sea-Ice hybrid, who’s kind of scared of his powers. He’s one of Moonseed’s toys. He enchanted Moonseed to be able to do that, and enchanted both of us to be able to stop it. So I kind of saved you from a second Wasp.” Nightshade added, probably answering Aurora’s thoughts or something like that. “Neither. I was a total idiot.” Nightshade told Aurora, who proceeded to do a face.
“So. We can’t go speak with Moonseed ‘cause she’ll have us zombie-brained into that paper, like Aurora. And the paper is probably cursed or something to keep us forever loyal to her cause. Probably. So. We need to leave. Like, now.” Firefly said, her tail lashing back and forth. She didn’t need color-changing scales to make it clear she was frustrated. But, even Cecropia had to admit, she was right. Everyone turned to Nightshade, who looked as though a walrus magically turned into a SkyWing. Nightshade’s face seemed to smile, without doing so necessarily. Or maybe Firefly was playing games with her eyesight, but she’d have to figure it out later. “Nightshade, have a map of this place?” Alaska asked as Nightshade took out a scroll. The problem with Nightshade is that he forgot to ignore the thoughts of the dragons around him. Apparently, he liked being one step ahead. Aurora looked at the map, Alaska and Firefly on either side of her. “Alright. Here’s how we escape.”
== Chapter 10 ==
“Are you completely sure this will work?” Cecropia asked for the ten thousandth time. “Look,  you know I didn’t come up with this plan. It was Aurora who did that. So don’t ask ME, ask her. But, don’t worry. I mean, if anything goes wrong, Firefly makes you vanish, and voila! Safety guaranteed. That way you can escape this hell.” Nightshade answered. 
Aurora mumbled under her breath, looking incredibly worried. “She’s thinking about the million things that could go wrong and then trying to comfort herself and then thinking she’s stupid to worry so much, all at the same time. Kind of overwhelming, to have that much thinking going on, all at once.” He whispered. 
This HAS to go right. There are things I want to do. I can’t spend the rest of my life trapped between stone walls. There are people that need me. There are people I need to see. My mother… Quicksand. Cecropia thought. She felt sadness stab her in the stomach. “Hey. I’m sure you’ll see her again. This will go right. I promise. You WILL see her again.” He repeated, as though he was trying to convince himself. Cecropia turned away, ignoring him.
Still… There ARE other dragons that need me. Cecropia looked at Nightshade and Aurora. And I can help them, even without my flamesilk. I don’t need to fight and be strong and prove myself like the Talons of Doom want me to. I can bring peace to this world - I just need to make them see. Not for me. For my home.
For my family.
For my friends.
“Alright. This is where we split up.” Aurora said, stopping. “So. Let’s review the plan.” She spread the map on the floor. Firefly, Alaska, Nightshade, and Cecropia gathered around it, making a little circle. “So. Nightshade and Alaska will go to this door up here.” Aurora pointed to a door in one of the highest parts of the fortress. “Firefly, Cecropia, and I will go down here. When we get to the lowest level, we will activate a lever that will let Alaska and Nightshade go through the upper door. OK?” She asked. Everyone nodded. “But, why do we have to split up? Isn’t it easier if we all go to the door on the lowest level?” Alaska asked. “It’s easier to be spotted in a group of five. Nightshade is a guard, so other Talons - I’ll call the Talons of Doom members that - will think that Nightshade is transporting her to other cages or whatever. Firefly can look and sound like anyone, so she can turn into Sanddeath or something.” Aurora said, clearly doubting her plan all over again.
“Hey, we will make it out. This is a great plan, don’t worry so much.” Cecropia told Aurora	. “Can we START yet?” Alaska said, impatient.”It’s been two months since I last saw daylight. So, can we HURRY?” She added, looking at Firefly. “Mom must be worried sick…” Firefly muttered, but not low enough for Cecropia’s SandWing ears not to hear. “Alright… good luck, everyone.” Nightshade said, then walked towards her. “Cecropia… I have a feeling this… just, I wanted to tell you… I love you. Just, in case I don’t see you again.” He said, dead serious.
“Nightshade, don’t say that. I know we will meet again. It will just be a little while. Don’t worry, Nightshade… Don’t worry.” Cecropia whispered into his ear while he hugged her. “Are you OVER yet?” Alaska insisted, gaining an eye roll from Nightshade. “Just… take care. And, don’t you dare forget that lever!” He said, and Cecropia laughed. She was crying now. You big ball of feelings, look what you made me into! She thought with a laugh, and Nightshade smiled. “Alright. Time to get going.”
.          .          .
“Alright, here it is.” Firefly said after an eternity. Well, Cecropia did know it was Firefly, but her eyes told her it was Sanddeath. Good trick, that one. Firefly also SOUNDED like Sanddeath, which did come in handy. Firefly pulled the lever, and almost immediately a couple of mechanisms moved and clicked. “Alright… all that is left is to escape.” Firefly/Sanddeath said. They all turned a corner, and there, before their eyes, was real Sanddeath.
For an agonizing moment, Aurora, Firefly/Sanddeath, Sanddeath, and Cecropia looked at each other in dead silence. Then, after what seemed an eternity, Sanddeath reached for her seashell necklace. And then, before anyone could move a muscle, there were nearly twenty dragons standing behind Sanddeath, all fully armed, ready to strike. “Run.” Firefly said, and both Aurora and Cecropia darted after her as she pumped her legs at full speed. And so they ran, chased by more than a dozen dragons, all the way to the top of the fortress. And then, right when Cecropia thought that’s how far they could get, She tumbled into someone, a flurry of yellow, pink, dark green, and silver scales as they stopped rolling. Nightshade registered everything that had happened in less than a moment, something Cecropia guessed was the up-side of mind-reading.
“Cecropia, what are you doing outside a cage?” He demanded, at the same time as his voice whispered the opposite in her mind: Don’t worry, Cecropia. I will not let you be caught again. Just follow along. “I only asked you to go take a walk, and not even that you can manage? Look at everyone that followed you!” Don’t take it personally: I am only trying to lie out of this mess. Right as Nightshade said that, an awful thought struck Cecropia: Nightshade, Sanddeath’s a MIND-READER! YOU IDIOT! She yelled mentally, panicking at the SandWing hybrid. Sanddeath smiled slowly, in an unsettling way. “RUN!” Cecropia yelled at the top of her lungs, throwing herself out the window, hoping her friends followed. She had nothing to do but hope and fly. Hope her friends would catch up. Hope there weren’t any SkyWing hybrids chasing her tail. Cecropia had no time to look back. Just fly. She told herself, beating her wings as fast as she could. Gray clouds filled the sky, and not-so-distant lightning cracked the silver clouds.
‘I control the weather,’ Alaska had said, back in the now distant stone halls. Cecropia glided closer to the ocean next to which she was flying. Cecropia finally looked back, hoping to see four dragons following her. Four dragons, that is- not guards, not Sanddeath, least of all Moonseed. Just her now-friends; Alaska, Nightshade, Firefly and Aurora. Her hopes weren’t frustrated.
“You didn’t wait for us!” Firefly said, flying next to Cecropia. Rain started to fall, splashing on her snout and wings. “Let’s go hide in that island down there while they look for us.” Cecropia said, angling her wings to land in the island’s cave.
== Chapter 11 ==
Cecropia shook from horns to tail, throwing raindrops everywhere. One by one, everyone landed: Firefly, Alaska, Aurora, and Nightshade. Cecropia threw her wings around him. “That was so stupid!” She yelled, tears forming in her eyes. “I know it was. Just remind me to be a not-so-stupid guy next time, alright?” Nightshade answered. Cecropia nodded, closing her eyes to hold back the tears.
“So. what now? We can’t search for refuge in our kingdoms, the queens probably won’t accept hybrids. And even if they do, they will just kidnap us in our sleep.” Alaska said, thinking out loud.
“We can’t run away from this now.” Cecropia realized, and Nightshade drew his wings back. “The Talons of Doom want to start a war of hybrids against purebloods. This may be our only chance to stop it.” She said, looking at her friends. “That would be MUCH easier to do with some kind of guide or something. I mean- the Dragonets of Destiny had a prophecy, The Jade Winglet had a prophecy, and the Pantala dragons had a book from Clearsight herself, A PROPHECY, and a human that spoke dragon. How are WE supposed to save the world?” Firefly argued, counting on her claws.
“We do,” Nightshade said, “Have a prophecy, I mean.” He looked around the cave, lightning lighting up his face. “What do you mean?” Aurora asked, both curious and serious.
“A prophet gave us a prophecy about a month ago,” Nightshade answered. “Go ahead,” Alaska said, a mask of boredom over her evident curiosity. Nightshade looked at Cecropia, and she nodded. Nightshade stood straighter, then recited:
“Talons of silver, talons of gold
Might save the world from a future foretold
Silk of fire, mind of the hive
Will either destroy us or keep us alive
The shade of the moon, the soul of the sun
They will work together for good or for worse
The wounds shall spill the blood of the tribes
and all for the talons of doom to arise” 
He finished, somewhat confused by the looks of the dragons in the room. “Only mind-reading here, I promise.” He said, looking at Firefly. “So. How are we supposed to stop that from happening?” Aurora asked. “Well… I have a guess.” Nightshade answered, unrolling another map. This one had both Pyrrhia, Pantala, and the islands in between. “There are four bases from the Talons of Doom. We would have to take them all down to stop the talons. They might rebuild, but it’s our best shot.” Nightshade said. He pointed at Pantala’s tail tip. “Here is the first base. Who’s in?”
== Epilouge ==
Glory was exhausted and overwhelmed and tired all over. She didn’t remember when was the last time she slept and dreamt of something other than nightmares. “Did you find anything?” Glory asked as two soldiers (if you could call a dopey RainWing and a poorly trained NightWing that) entered the room. “No luck.” the NightWing - Cutthroat, if Glory remembered correctly - said at the same time as the RainWing said “Nothing yet.” They looked at each other for a moment. Cutthroat’s silver teardrop gleamed in the moonlight. He would be a good spy. Glory thought, wondering if any of the other queens had captured her daughter.  She tried once more to change her scales to a more dignified color, other than pale green, blue and red. Didn’t work.
“Two months. Firefly has been missing for two months.” She said, feeling angry all of a sudden. “Send another search party tomorrow morning. Good night.” Glory added quickly. She had to remember that these dragons were doing their best, even if Glory was stressed, and still no Firefly appeared. The two soldiers flew off, leaving Glory to herself. And another day that Firefly is missing… she thought, before slowly and uneasily, drifting into sleep. 
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Genre (Prophecy)