Fly High

This is a story work in progress.
Here are the rules:
* you can add a new chapter (this is similar to a call and response)
* do NOT edit a paragraph someone has made unless there was an error
* be creative!
* most importantly, have fun!
== Summary ==
A quest for freedom, Skydive an adventurous and rebellious young male SkyWing, must find a way to escape Queen Scarlet's Arena. With the help of another captive, Lotus, a female SandWing, they escape. But when they escape, they must beware of Scarlet, who would hunt them down to their last breath.
Will the two be able to escape to freedom, or will Scarlet tear it from their grasp?
== Prologue ==
The rain battered against a maroon-colored SkyWing, clutching a bright red egg to her chest. Current panted fitfully, as she forced her body forward. She felt a tear run down her face, sprinkling on her precious egg. Why, oh why, did she ever do something like that? Current looked behind her, and saw a bulky, orange colored shape loom close behind her. 
The events of the past flooded her mind. Current was once a top general for Queen Scarlet. It was only when she spared a SeaWing family did Scarlet demoted her, not before painfully snapping several bones as punishment for sparing the enemy. She then bared an egg, and heard rumors that Scarlet was going to kill her and her egg unless she promised to kill without mercy. Obviously, Current was no murderer, so she fled. 
Current shrieked as talons pinned her down, roughly yanking on her broken wings. She was pinned, and her egg slipped out, like a precious ruby out of a robber's grasp. She was forced up, staring into Scarlet's mocking look. With her, was Burn. Burn grabbed the egg, looking at Scarlet. 
"Is this it?" she hissed. Scarlet grinned, showing large, white teeth. "Well, duh! Of course it's her! And we got your stupid rotten egg." Current bared her teeth and lashed her tail. "It's not a rotten egg, Scarlet, it's my child! Put it down!" she growled at Burn. Scarlet fluttered her eyes, and Burn snorted. "My, my, Current, such language!" Burn yanked the maroon SkyWing in close.
"Yeah, and guess what? It's either you die, or your stupid egg dies," Burn said threateningly. Current stared her coolly in the eye, her voice cold. "Obviously, I die. If my child has a single scratch on its shell, I'll take you with me!" she spat. Burn winked at Scarlet, before digging her black claws in Current's throat. She lashed her tail at Current's stomach, prodding it with the poisoned tip. "Alright, SkyWing. You die," she said, stabbing the tail through her stomach. Current coughed out some blood, smirking at her. "Fine, then. My child will be sent far away from this place. It's my wish for the child to be in the orphanage," she choked. 
Scarlet held the egg. She brought her face close to the dying mother, smiling cruelly. "Oh, did I forget to mention?" she cooed. Scarlet brought her face to Current's ear. "It'd be a shame for a little dragonet to be without its mommy, so, I'll kill it so it can join you in death!" Current's eyes widened, tears brimming from her green eyes. "No! No! NO! NO!" she cried. She launched herself at Burn, clawing at her face. Burn shoved the dying dragon away from her, knocking her down, almost of the cliff edge. Current's eyes clouded over, and smiled despite her tears. 
"Alright then. See you...in another...life, my little...one...Goodbye..." Burn shoved her off the edge, watching her drop like a droplet of blood before disappearing onto the dark, rainy ground. Scarlet toyed with the egg, poking it so it looked as if it might crack. Burn continued looking as the ground, and wiped a tear from her, knowing that this sight would torture her throughout her life. "Alright, hand me the egg." Scarlet laughed, and Burn turned towards her. Scarlet's face was terrifying in the night, with the thunder crackling and the lightning illuminating her face. She tossed the egg from talon to talon, reminding Burn about the SkyWing egg from a few moons ago.
"I think we should let him live. It'd be a shame to let such a poor innocent youth to die. But, he will be marked for life," she cooed, stabbing the egg shell with a claw, watching a bit of the eggy liquid slowly drip from the egg. "as to mark him for life as a little whelp, with a monster for a mother." Burn watched the bit of egg pour slowly, before covering the hole with her shaking talon. "What do you mean?" Scarlet snickered. "Oh, we cover the truth, like we did with Peril. We'll feed him lies, but he's too special for any other prison. The little brat can stay in the Arena, where he'll die at the talons of my little Champion, and then while he dies, we tell him the truth, like her," she said, looking in the direction of where Current died.
Burn sighed, ripping off one of her scales and covering the hole with it. "Alright, but it will need a name." Scarlet turned toward her. "Getting clingy already? Well, you killed the mother, so you should have the option to name the brat," she said. Burn let a tear drip from her eye, knowing that the rain would cover it. "Skydive. What will the crack in the egg do to him?" Scarlet eyed the pale gold scale, but left it. "Oh, it will probably make him lame or something. You know, a twisted leg or something like that. Let's deliver him to the Arena." She flapped in the rain, heading toward the palace. Burn turned around, looking down at the place where Current fell.
"Don't worry. I'll do everything in my power to make things right. Well, I'll try, at least. But I will succeed. I promise."
With that, she followed Scarlet, soaring in the rainy sky, where dawn was about to break.
== Chapter One ==
Come on, traitor! A RainWing can hit harder than you!" Scarlet's mocking shriek rang across the arena, despite the cheering of the spectators. Skydive, a young SkyWing about the age of 6, stood watching his opponent, a dark grey-blue SeaWing panting, eyeing her disdainfully. The SeaWing feinted, then rushed him, smashing her claws across his snout. Skydive fell heavily to the ground, his right talon throbbing painfully as it took the blow that was intended for his face. He lay still, the sand grains hitting his scales, mixing with his blood. The SeaWing breathed gratefully. She turned. Skydive was on her.
He latched onto her back, wrapping his talons around her throat. She wheezed and tried to buck him off, but she fell to the ground writhing in pain as Skydive dug his claws into her throat. She went limp. Sky knew that she wasn't dead, but hoped dearly that they wouldn't notice. The guards, including Scarlet's own son, Prince Vermilion, flew down, going to pick up and dispose of the supposed dead body. Vermilion looked up gingerly at his mother.
"Uh, Your Majesty, Thresher, she, uh, isn't dead," he called meekly. 
"WHAT?!" Scarlet shrieked. Shoving the arena announcer away, she grabbed Skydive by his throat, pulling him close to her face. "You little traitor," she hissed. Throwing him down to Thresher's body, she glared down at them. "When I say finish the job, you finish the job!" She lashed her tail at Thresher, who bowed in her presence. "Kill her, and do it good." 
Skydive spat at her, narrowly missing Scarlet's talons. "No. I keep telling you this, Your Highness, but I won't kill a dragon who's bound against their will! This has to be a fair battle!" he said. Scarlet narrowed her eyes, then smiled grimly. 
"Alright, but guards," she added, "lock him up on his pillar, with no food for five days, as punishment for refusing to fight like a coward. That counts for Thresher, too." Grabbing him roughly, they flew him to his pillar. He struggled, but after being beaten across his head a few times, stopped. They then grabbed Thresher, who glared at him. Skydive watched her glare until she was taken to her pillar. There was another battle going on, between a random IceWing and Peril, Scarlet's Champion. He snorted.
"Sup, wires. Long time no see," he muttered at the wires around his talons. They bent slightly. Skydive slumped on the pillar, watching his splayed talon spasm. Skydive was a bright red dragon, with his blood making him even brighter. With black claws and spiked ridges, he was very handsome. He opened his wings to their full extent as the wires gave him, revealing a gold membrane. He lay on the ground, watching fluffy clouds etching the horizon. Skydive noted the screams of the IceWing on the ground, but tried to deafen the screams by placing them in the back of his mind. Eventually, the screams stopped.
Skydive yawned, and watched the guards give the rest of the prisoners their food. He bit on the wires out of habit, and watched the sky turn from a light afternoon blue to a gorgeous sunset orange. "Welp, back to a 'no food' sentence," he yawned. He continued chewing on the wires, and watched the sunset peacefully. After a while, he was asleep.
"Catch her!"
"Stupid sand-snorter!"
Skydive awoke at like 3 in the morning to find several SkyWings trying to restrain a SandWing. She struggled, and clawed at them, even scratching them with her tail. One of the guards grabbed her tail, and restrained it. One of them hit her on the head, knocking her out cold. He watched them take her to a pillar, the one that used to house the IceWing that was to his left. They plopped her on it, putting the wing clips on and wires around her talons. Even though she just came here, Skydive knew that she would be important somehow.
== Chapter 2 ==
Skydive watched her until noon, where he watched someone splash water on her. She coughed and sputtered, glaring at the grinning SkyWing guard. Skydive watched her. She was very beautiful, with pale gold scales and dark amber over=scales. She looked over to him, gazing at him with hot pink eyes. Very unusual, he thought. She looked at him for a few minutes, before asking him in a strained voice.
"Are you going to throw water at me too, airhead?" she snarled. Skydive smirked at her. "Psh, no. I don't think I'm able to anyway, since I'm in the same boat as you," he said, raising his talons to show the wires around them. The SandWing stared at him, then stretched her wings. "Jerk dragons, chaining a member of their own tribe." Skydive watched fluffy clouds lace the horizon. "They have the right," he sighed sadly. The pretty SandWing tilted her head, pity etched in her face. "Why? You didn't do anything wrong, I suppose?"
"No. My mother, Current, attempted to steal from Scarlet's treasure room, and I was helping her. I don't remember doing it though. I just remember waking up on this, with no one around me except for Queen Scarlet, who told me, and said this was my punishment for helping my mother, who didn't even try to save me but was caught. I still hate Scarlet though. She keeps me trapped here, and I have to watch her send someone to face Peril." He looked at the bewildered SandWing, smiling. "But anyway, name's Skydive. What's your's?" The SandWing edged close to him.
"My name's Lotus. I don't remember my parents, but I was in Blaze's army because she drafted me in," Lotus said, looking at him with her curious eyes. He noticed her tail barb, which looked more lethal than the others he'd seen. It had dried blood caked at its tip. She raised it as far as the restrains would let her. "Oh, yeah, my tail barb. It kinda melt tissue, I know, it's strange," Lotus sighed. 
"What do we have to do?"
"Oh, we just wait for a battle to be announced, eat something, get picked out to do battles, eat, sleep. Very boring, very deadly," he said, grinning ruefully. Lotus watched grimly at the roasted remains of the previous dragon. "I've read about his place. I have to get out, no, we all have to get out," she whispered to him. Skydive felt himself shivering inside, and leaned closer to Lotus. "How? There's the slight possible chance to escape, and a higher chance of getting caught. But, I'm game," he whispered back. Lotus smiled, showing milky-white teeth. "Patience."
"Where's your food?" the SandWing asked, clawing at a somewhat dead pig. Skydive's stomach growled. "I'm on a no-food sentence for sparing my last opponent." He felt something whack his left wing, and saw sightless piggy eyes stare at him. Lotus was tearing off one of the pig's legs, before aiming it and throwing it. "Eat it, Skydive. The head has the brains, and the brains carry protein and nutrients. The leg also has minerals and vitamins. I read about it in a dietary scroll of Dragon Needs For The Body. It's very interesting," she said, tearing into the pig's underbelly. Skydive wolfed the meat, feeling the chunks drop down his throat. The SkyWing blew a burst of fire at the head, making sure it was charred before eating it. He lapped up the traces of blood and bones, throwing them off the edge. He picked his teeth out with broken wires that he'd chewed. He saw a guard fly towards them. He looked at Lotus. 
"Alright, SandWing, after you finished, you're up," he said, eyeing Lotus scornfully. She returned the look. "Yeah? Who am I fighting against?" The guard laughed. "Hah, I ain't tellin' you, sandsnorter!" He left, cackling nastily. Skydive watched her horrified expression, looking at the arena's sands being swept up by the winds, before speaking in a strained voice. 
"In this place, it's kill or be killed."
== Chapter 3 ==
Lotus finished her pig slowly. She needed to think of a way to survive. The guard returned a few minutes later, with 3 other guards and a key. They held her down while the first guard unlocked her wires. The way that they did it in perfect harmony, without having to say a word made Lotus think that they had done this many times before. They left her wing bindings on however, and carried her down to the arena. 
Lotus winced as the guards dropped her onto the arena sands, spraying sand in her eyes. One of the younger females gave her an almost pitying glance, before returning to her usual stone faced expression. 
"Hey!" She shouted after them, "at least tell me who I'm fighting!" 
"Ha! You'll find out soon enough desert slug!" One shouted back, earning a nasty look from the SandWings in the crowd. 
Lotus had mixed emotions about this situation, she was confident in her fighting skills, but HATED crowds. She wished that they would get on with it already, and stop altogether. Suddenly, she heard a SkyWing yell over the crowd, "Welcome dragons! To today's arena fight!"
Lotus thought his name was Vermillion, but was interrupted by his annoying chatter.
"Today's battle is Lotus of the SandWings against Polar of the IceWings!" 
The crowd roared, and Lotus was proud to be called of the SandWings. It made her feel important to her tribe. Then there was a slam, and a gate opened in the side of the arena wall, revealing a large male IceWing, presumably Polar. He was massive, with oddly deep blue spikes, and beautiful shining green eyes. His body was blinding pale blue, and were his wings.......silver? Stop swooning over the enemy! She chided herself. Focus! 
The voice of Vermillion broke her out of her stupor "3.....2.....1..... Claws up, Teeth ready, FIGHT!!!"
Polar lunged for her, and Lotus slipped under his massive forelegs, raking her claws along his underbelly. He howled with pain, and whacked her side with his tail while she was darting away, leaving bloody puncture wounds. Lotus roared and tried to stab him with he barb, but missed. 
He spun around to face her and swiped at her flank, aiming for her wounds, she leaped over his arm and landed right behind him, where she dug her talons into his sensitive tail spot. He howled again, and raked his back talons along her neck, not doing much, but causing her to groan with pain. Polar paused, unsure and Lotus sprung herself at him, landing on his back and stabbing him with her barb. 
His flesh started steaming and melting away. The spectators gasped with horror and disbelief as even the IceWings spines started to melt away. By now, he was dead, lying in a bloody heap on the sand, his back still steaming. It grew silent. 
"Well..." Vermillion said tentatively, "I guess Lotus wins." 
A few half-hearted cheers echoed throughout, but most were horrified, and some were leaving! 
A regal voice broke the eerie horror, "Lotus, " Queen Scarlet said smoothly "Your barb is not normal, that we can all see. Care to explain?" 
It was in fact an order, not a choice. 
"Well, um.. Your Majesty, I don't know why mine is different or what it is, but it's always been like that, ever since I was a dragonet." Lotus replied shakily.
She didn't mind being snarky to the guards and other SkyWings, but this was the dragon who controlled her life now, so she had to act calm. As if Scarlet could sense her annoyance, she smirked at Lotus.
"Mhmm" She said, "and I assume that I should believe you?"
"Yes, Your Majesty" Lotus replied, trying to put as much sincerity as possible into her voice. 
"Alright. Guards!" Scarlet shouted. 
The same 4 guards that had brought her down, then grabbed ahold of her and carried her back up to her pillar. They attached her to her wiry prison, dropped a duck on her head, and left, cackling. 
"Wow." Skydive breathed beside her. 
"What?" Lotus asked. She was genuinely confused.
"Scarlet TALKED to you!" He said.
"Um... dragons talk Skydive, have you realized that yet?"
"No!" He chuckled. "Scarlet hasn't talked to a prisoner for the last 3 years, but I guess she wanted to talk to you. You are pretty cool with your barb and all." He smiled.
"Oh!" Lotus was shocked. Three years!?! She thought. And why start with me? She tore one of the ducks wings off and tossed it to Skydive, who caught it and wolfed it down. As she swallowed her remaining duck, her neck stung and she winced. Skydive was alarmed. 
"Are you alright!?!" He asked worriedly.
"Yes I'm fine.. I think." If it rains it'll get better faster" She replied.
By now the sun was starting to set, dying their pillars a dark red-pink, like blood. Lotus's wire glinted n the dying light, looking menacing. 
"I'm going to sleep." Skydive announced. 
He tucked his head under his wing and dozed. Lotus did the same. Her last waking thought was Will I ever escape this prison? And then she fell asleep.Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Fanfictions (Fanon)
Category:Genre (Adventure)