Sticks and Stones

Sticks and Stones is a fanfiction made by Summerleaf. It is part of the Zero Hour book collection, and is book three of arc one. Enjoy! :3
==Notes==
Did you catch my LOTR reference? :3 If not, here's a hint; Sea Salt & Co.
==Chapter 1 - Spire/Flickergem==
Spire opened an eye slowly as he heard the sound of wingbeats. Through the harsh glare of the moving sun, he spotted Hummingbird lifting into the sky. I wonder if I should tell the others... he thought groggily. No, I wouldn't want to wake them.
He closed his eyes again to sleep, only to be interrupted by dark dreams. He couldn't shake the feeling something terrible was going to happen; and soon.
Spire just laid there, gazing up at the clear blue sky. Though it was morning, it was dreadfully hot and the air buzzed with annoying insects. He tried his hardest to swat them away, but gave up after a few failed attempts.
Flickergem stirred beside him and opened her bleary eyes. When she saw that Spire was awake, she attempted to make him sleep more. "C'mon, you must be exhausted!"
Spire shook his head sadly. "I am. But now nightmares poison my mind whenever I close my eyes. I am aware Torch told you of my condition, and it is getting worse."
Flickergem frowned, her emerald green eyes sparkling with worry. "But you must at least try! Please. For me."
"You don't know me very well, do you?" Spire arched a brow.
"Well, we did just meet a few days ago," Flickergem retorted.
Spire grunted. "Fair enough. But I can't sleep. Not now. I don't want to be haunted by those nightmares..."
Flickergem's frown deepened. "But you can't be frightened of sleep! You need it!"
"Don't worry. I can go far more than a day without sleep. We are dragons after all!"
"But... Please, just try again. Here, I'll just put these extra leaves here, aaaaand... There!" Flickergem had scraped a together a bunch of soft leaves and made them into a nest.
Spire sighed and curled up on the nest. He closed his eyes and pretended to sleep, hoping he could trick Flickergem.
Well that was a failed attempt.
Flickergem waited by him for a few minutes and scowled when she realized he was faking it. "Spire, I know you're awake! You aren't breathing deeply enough!"
"Flicker..." Flickergem stopped fussing as soon as she saw the expression on Spire's face. "Please, don't. I won't be able to."
Flickergem hissed in annoyance. Not with Spire, but with his animus powers. I wish his stupid powers would just go away! She blinked, noticing Spire looked a bit alarmed. "All right, Spire. It's fine. Hopefully you'll be able to soon..."
Then Flickergem's head snapped up as she heard the faint rustling noise of wings flapping some distance away. "There's Hummingbird," she remarked flatly. The lithe dragonet was flapping her wings vigorously, trying to get to them as fast as possible.
"What's going on?" Spire asked anxiously, seeing the look of distress in her large, black eyes.
"I found something!" she gasped, heaving in deep breaths in between. "It's not good."
Ultraviolet and Torch woke, surprised by the sudden ruckus. "What happened?" Torch demanded, gazing at Hummingbird.
"Come! I need to show you!" Still panting, Hummingbird lifted into the sky again.
They all got up and prepared for the fly, except for Torch who was shaking his head below. "Go on, I'll follow you."
Flickergem dipped her head and soared away with the others, surprised at the speed Torch was traveling at.
As soon as they landed, the strong, metallic scent of blood filled her lungs. Flickergem wrinkled her nose disdainfully.
"See?" Hummingbird exclaimed, her whole body shaking with exertion. "There are all these markings, and no bodies, bones, or signs of a fight! So some dragon must've come here and made this on purpose."
Torch emerged from a nearby bush, shaking his body so all the twigs and leaves were free from in between his scales. "I agree," he remarked. "This defiantly was not an accident."
"But who did it?" murmured Ultraviolet, who had been quiet all day.
Spire frowned. "Look at that... Ruby spirals..."
Torch froze, horror filling his gaze.
Flickergem flicked her tail worriedly. "What's wrong, Torch?"
"I received a warning many years ago... Deep in the woods." He took a shaky breath before continuing. "There was a dragon who told me that when the ruby spirals fall onto the rocks, death will follow soon behind."
"Well, that seems like quite a coincidence, doesn't it?" Ultraviolet looked thoughtful. She turned to Hummingbird slowly. "You were the one who found this. What do you think it means?"
Flickergem snorted, clearly crossed that her best friend was asking a dragonet they just met for advice. "What if she was the one who did it? Hummingbird was the only one who found this." She glared at Hummingbird, her eyes alive with flames. I am not going to let her steal my show again!
==Chapter 2 - All==
How dare she accuse me of doing this! Hummingbird narrowed her eyes to slits. "I did not, and you know it."
Flickergem bared her teeth, a growl forming deep in her throat. "How do we know for sure?"
Ultraviolet gaped at Flickergem, shocked that she would accuse Hummingbird of something as frightening as this. "Flickergem, it wasn't her!"
"Like I said before, how do we know for sure?" There was a challenging glint to Flickergem's eyes, as if inviting some dragon to defeat her statement.
Hummingbird began to growl as well, and she met Flickergem's gaze evenly. "You have no reason to trust me, but that does not mean I should be fully thrust aside. I am now a member of this team!"
Torch cleared his throat nervously. "Umm, I hate to interrupt, but we have bigger problems to worry about than who did it."
"Like what?" Flickergem challenged with a scoff.
"Like that," Torch remarked pointedly, nodding at the middle where the ruby spirals were. "We still need to know why it's here and when the horrible thing is gonna happen; if it even will."
Ultraviolet nodded in agreement, looking relived to have something else to talk about. "Torch is right, guys. It doesn't matter who did it at this point."
Flickergem snorted again and kept her hostile gaze, but gave a flick of her tail to show she was in submission.
Hummingbird averted her gaze from anyone else's and frowned. "I guess," she mumbled.
Spire, in all seriousness, said, "You are all missing one very important sign."
Torch looked at Spire expectantly. "What?"
He marched over to the center and pointed at the bottom. There was a tiny print that was barely readable, and even then they all had to squint to read it.
Spire began to read out loud. "Consult Sea Salt & Co."
Flickergem wrinkled her snout. "What in three moons is that supposed to mean?!"
"Isn't it obvious? Sea Salt must be the name of the dragon who did this, as well as his or her company. So she or he is saying to talk to her," Hummingbird stated matter-of-factually. It suddenly occurred to her that Flickergem wasn't nearly as smart as herself.
"I knew that, featherbrain!" Flickergem snapped back. "But where are we supposed to find them?"
"I'm not finished!" hissed Spire irritably.
Flickergem immediately quieted down, but Hummingbird snorted. "All right, grumpy."
Ignoring Hummingbird's last comment, Spire continued reading. "You will know where to find us. Please leave a note on my front door and welcome yourselves in. I know how tired you will be after traveling to my home."
Torch and Ultraviolet were looking thoughtful again, but it was UV who spoke up first. "Sea Salt... That sounds like a SeaWing name."
Torch nodded. "So, I guess we're heading to the SeaWing kingdom next." He stood, signifying that they were to leave.
Confusion clouded Hummingbird's mind like a dark cloud. "How can we leave now without have eaten?"
Torch laughed heartily. "We always travel on empty stomachs."
"Makes it easier to fly, too," remarked Spire, his voice thick with sarcasm.
"But, food gives you strength! Without it, we won't even make it to the MudWing marshes! Don't you know how far the SeaWing kingdom is?"
"Actually, we've never been to the SeaWing kingdom!" exclaimed Torch.
"Neither have I, but I've seen enough maps to know where it is from here. We're near the SandWing desert, right?"
Torch nodded.
"Then it'll take about three days time to get to the Diamond Spray Delta. Then another flying across the sea to get into SeaWing territory," Hummingbird calculated.
Ultraviolet looked dismayed. She wasn't the most fond of being active. "Hopefully we won't have to go all the way to the SeaWing kingdom. Perhaps Sea Salt will be at the Diamond Spray Delta!"
"Yeah, no." Hummingbird announced firmly. "I'm 99.999% sure she'll be actually in SeaWing territory."
Looking slightly dejected, Ultraviolet nodded.
"Sorry UV," Torch said with his characteristic goofy smile. "I'll keep you company!"
"Umm... Won't you be on the ground?" Ultraviolet pointed out.
"Yeah... But maybe you could fly lower to the ground?"
Ultraviolet shook her head. "No, the air is less supportive the lower I go. And there are rocks and trees I'd have to avoid."
Torch grunted. "Well you don't have to get all up in my face about it." Realizing how harsh he sounded, he quickly tried to reverse the effect with another light laugh.
Ultraviolet smiled. "Don't worry, I know you didn't mean harm."
Torch coughed and shook his head, as if physically trying to clear his mind. "Okay, Hummingbird, we'll spend some time hunting, but make haste! We have a long journey ahead of us."
==Chapter 3 - All==
The five of them had not been traveling long ; roughly 5 hours, when Hummingbird began to tire. She still had not recovered completly from her imprisonment, and her tail was still raw.
The other four kept asking her if she wanted to rest, but she denied their help every time.
"I'm telling you, I'm fine!" she exclaimed exasperatedly. She tried her hardest to keep her expression neutral, but it was very clear that she was tired based on her drooping tail. She didn't even have enough energy to enjoy the landscape, which now featured soaring mountains and lush patches of green. It was about mid-day, and the sun made everything shine brighter and seem more vibrant. Hummingbird's feathers were glimmering, and it almost hurt to look directly at her.
"Hummer, c'mon! Let one of us carry you! You're small enough to not be a burden," Ultraviolet began.
Hummingbird looked up sharply. "I am not small," she hissed. "And as I've told you for the hundredth time, I'm fine!"
Ultraviolet knew very well she was not fine, so she pressed on. "And as I've told you for the hundredth time, you need help!"
"I don't!"
"Yes you do!"
"No!"
"Yeah!"
"I'm fine!"
"You are not fine."
"I'm fine!"
"You. Are. Not. Fine!"
"You're so stubborn!"
"Well so are you!"
"GUYS!" Flickergem roared. "Just, stop, okay? You're driving me crazy!"
"I second that," grumbled Spire, who had tried to fly as far away as possible without loosing sight of them.
"I can hear you from here!" exclaimed Torch from below. "What in the three moons are you arguing about?"
"Hummingbird needs rest!" Ultraviolet yelled, looking uncharacteristically upset.
"I do not!"
"Do too!"
Spire held his head and groaned.
"SHUT UP!!" Flickergem snapped.
Ultraviolet snapped her jaws shut at the sound of Flickergem's voice. She was using her "be quiet now or I'll claw you" voice. That always meant she was not feeling well at all. And Ultraviolet hated to make her friends feel uncomfortable. "Sorry, Flicker."
Flickergem sighed. "It's fine. Just... shut up. Seriously."
"And what about me?" pouted Spire. "I deserve an apology too!"
"All right, sorry! Geez..." Ultraviolet rolled her eyes.
Spire fell silent. That was not like him. Worried, Flickergem carefully analyzed him. Her eyes grew wide when she saw that he was about to have another fit. His eyes glazed over, giving him the look that he was not even alive. Soon, ragged breaths could be heard from him, and he looked like he was trying his hardest to stay aloft.
"Torch!" Flickergem cried. "He's having another fit!"
Torch looked up, his voice dead serious. "Get all of them down! Now!"
Flickergem tried her best to keep her voice even as to not scare Ultraviolet and Hummingbird. "Guys, stop flying. This is extremely important, and I want both of you to fly down to where Torch is."
Ultraviolet sensed something was going on, so she gave a brief nod and glided slowly down to where Torch was. Hummingbird's landing, however, was not nearly as graceful as Ultraviolet's was. She half fell, half glided down, almost crashing into a nearby boulder.
Ultraviolet craned her neck so that she could nudge Hummingbird upright. The small dragonet hissed and flinched away. Ultraviolet watched with wide, dismayed eyes. "Please just let me help!"
Hummingbird's eyes glittered with hostility and she curled up, exausted. "I don't need help. Now leave me to sleep."
"Hummer..." Ultraviolet murmured.
Hummingbird gave little to no response at the new nickname just given to her. "Go away."
"All right Hummer. All right. But please promise me you'll take care of yourself. Not just today," Ultraviolet whispered, laying down so that her scales were almost touching Hummingbird's feathers.
Hummingbird gave no response, and to Ultraviolet's surprise, she was fast asleep. Her shock was soon replaced with a smile and she laid her head on top of her talons. She might as well sleep now, even if Flickergem and Torch were doing something important... And with that she let herself slip into the warm, comforting darkness of rest.
Finished! Whew, that was tiring. Now onto the next one! This is turning out better than I expected! Here's the next book: Joy of Understanding.
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Fanon)
Category:Fanfictions (Completed)
Category:Content (Summerleaf)