The Animus Murder: Prologue

(Trigger Warnings: Implied Neglect, Trauma, Abuse, mentions of dragonet death)

By TropicalTheRainWingSeaWingHybrid! (Based off of Wings of Fire)

The year was 3,125 AS when everything changed. When she had discovered her powers, even if she didn’t realize it at first.

The day had been unremarkable beforehand. As if nothing special was supposed to happen- as if she wasn’t supposed to have spoken to her. Would things have been different then?

She had spent countless nights wishing she could go back and change what she had done.

First, Lepidopetra went to SilkWing school in the morning, usually keeping her head down. She would ignore her classmates, and her classmates would ignore her. It was nice and simple in that way. She would efficiently get her work done and she wouldn’t have to worry about any gossiping or bullying. That’s what she told herself, anyway.

Then, Lepid immediately would walk to the honey drop store, which was a whole hour away. She would stand behind the counter, waiting for customers who almost never came while trying not to get yelled at by the ill-tempered BeetleWing who ran the shop. When the sun started lowering in the sky and shadows started to form in the streets, she would be excused, paid, and walk towards home (only thirty minutes away this time.)

Usually, Lepid would dutifully complete the homework that she hadn’t already finished in school, find something to eat in the cupboard, and go to bed, tucking herself in. But sometimes…sometimes her mother arrived home early. Lepid would run up to her with open talons and the two would embrace, twining their tails together.

They would sit down, light up the fireplace using a few strands of flamesilk, and read Lepid’s favorite book, **The Magic Hive**, for a few hours. Well, more accurately, her mother would read it out loud to her while Lepid curled under her wings. After a hour or two, her mother would ask her about her life was going, Lepid would respond happily, and the two dragons would intertwine their tails together again before Lepid had to go to sleep. Even though she didn’t get much sleep on those nights, she’d always wake up with a smile on her face.

But this evenings was a rare occurrence. Her mother hadn’t been able to come home early in months. No, more than months.

A year had passed since they had been able to read together. **The Magic Hive** had been lying, unopened, in the closet shelf for months. Even though she had forgotten most of it, she didn’t want to read without her mother being there…it wouldn’t feel right. Every time she was cleaning out the closet and glimpsed the book, her eyes would suddenly grow watery and she would have to close the door right away.

But everything was okay. Everything had been peaceful back then, at the very least. There were no dragons yelling at her, there were no dragons looking at her with unreasonably high expectations, and there were no dragons ordering her to wipe out an entire tribe.

She would miss those days.

Lepid was busy walking through the hive, dragging her tail across the ground and looking down at the floor. She was particularly weary after the long day of school, daydreaming for a moment about lying down on a few webs and bathing in the warm sunlight…

But, as much as she wanted to, she couldn’t right now. She had a honey shop to work at. She took a deep breath and started walking a little faster, frustrated with herself for meandering for so long. *I have to hurry, I can’t be late!* She broke out into a run, flicking her tail as she moved faster and faster, squeezing past a crowd of dragons…

“HEY! WAIT!” Hearing a voice behind her, Lepid immediately stopped in her tracks, her heart racing. Had she bumped into someone?! Had she ran too fast?! Were they mad at her?! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean any trouble…

She reluctantly turned around. The dragon was holding something in her talons-a scroll. A rather familiar-looking scroll. Inscribed on the front, in neat cursive handwriting, were the words: **The role of Kaloula Frogs in the environment.**

Wait…Lepid quickly looked towards her carrying pouch. The clasp on it had broken! Everything in there must have spilled out while she was running…

“Hey, um, sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you,” the dragonet said sheepishly. She was a SilkWing, too-her scales were colored a brilliantl, royal purple, with streaks of gold across her tail and underbelly. Just like Lepid, she hadn’t gone through her Metamorphisis yet.

Lepid was avoiding the dragonet’s gaze, instead choosing to study the scroll. It was Lepid’s, alright…she had spent five hours working on it the night before. She needed it back.

“So, is this yours? I saw it fall out of your pouch when you were running. I’m not interrupting you or anything, am I?”

Lepid quickly shook her head, nervously grabbing the scroll with one of her talons. “T-thank you very much,” she mumbled. “I…I should be going..” She felt unsure on what exactly to say. She didn’t really have experience talking or interacting with any of her talonmates.

Although, the dragonet did have a particularly warm, comforting look on her face. “Hey, I think I know you from somewhere. You’re from the SilkWing Academy, right? I’ve seen you around before…oh! Are you in Monarch’s class? The biology one?”

Lepid nodded her head eagerly. Did she know this dragon? She felt like she would have remembered those distracting, elegant, purple scales…those glittering green eyes…but maybe not. “Y-yes. That’s me.” *The student who never talks to anyone.*

“That’s cool! I don’t think we’ve met before- nice to meet you!” The dragon had an inviting smile on her face, although Lepid felt a little suspicious. *Is she pulling a prank on me? Maybe this is a dare*…she looked around for any giggling dragons, spotting none.

“I’m Cloak!”
*Cloak?* Lepid wrinkled her snout, skeptical. *Maybe this is a joke.*

Cloak seemed to notice the look on her face. “I know, I know it’s a silly name! Everyone says that about me. I’m not named after the garment, I’m named after a butterfly, apparently.”

Lepid let a small smile slip through her face. Cloak seemed nice enough. “Oh..I’m..my name is…Lepidopetra.” She always felt embarrassed sharing her full name, too, but Cloak’s statement made her feel a little less self-conscious.

Lepid fiddled with the scroll in her talons, feeling a little awkward. “You..can call me L-Lepid for short though. I know it’s a mouthful and all…”

“Yeah, that *might* be for the best.” Cloak locked eyes with Lepid, the two staring at each other for a moment. Suddenly, they both started breaking out into nervous laughter.

“I’m-I’m sorry, I just-“ Cloak struggled to catch her breath. “I guess both of our parents weren’t very creative, huh?” She snorted and continued laughing.

The smile immediately faded away from Lepid’s face. She had clearly shrunken back at the mention of “parents.” *I shouldn’t be laughing at Mother’s and Father’s choice…that’s not right! She’s always told me…*

“That’s NOT true!” Lepid was surprised at the amount of anger in her voice. “My mother is perfectly…” she stopped talking, looking up at Cloak.

Cloak had also stopped laughing, staring at Lepid with a perturbed look on her face, almost as if she was thinking *why did I choose to talk with this weirdo again?*

The silence only lasted for a few moments, but it felt endless to Lepid. She could imagine Cloak’s withering, harsh glare…

“I…I have work I need to get to,” Lepid muttered, breaking the awkward silence. “I-I might already be late, I have to go. Sorry.”

“Well, okay…? Sorry for bothering you…I’ll leave you to it, if that’s what you want.” Cloak was still looking at Lepid.

Lepid simply nodded. “Bye…” Lepid started walking away, looking away from Cloak’s eyes. *Please don’t look at me.* After taking a few steps, she turned around. Cloak was walking away, far in the distance already…

Lepid’s wings were drooping. *Not again. Not again. Why do I always mess this up…she’s going to spread rumors everywhere now…*

Her talons clenched, gripping the research scroll tightly. “Scroll, why can’t I just talk with someone properly?” She blinked back a tear, feeling stupid. Why was she even crying? It was just a random dragon. But…

“Scroll…just let Cloak be friends with me. Make me really funny, and witty, and charming to her…” *Let me just make friends with someone!*

As soon as the words slipped from her mouth, Lepid suddenly felt a terrible, cold feeling rise through her scales. Her talons were tingling and felt numb…what was this? She felt dizzy and out of focus…

She stood still for a single moment, her heart beating rapidly. *I…I must be tired. I’ve been standing too long. I need to get to go now, before Juncea threatens to fire me again*. She tried to shrug off the uneasy feeling and continued running down the path.

No one would ever be friends with her. Lepid was convinced with this fact. No amount of wishing would ever change that…

So it was much to her surprise when, during Monarch’s class the next day, Cloak suddenly appeared at her table.

“Hey, Lepid! Lepid-opetra! I remember you.” Cloak leaned in, having a gleaming look in her eyes. Lepid looked back, stunned.

“I was gonna ask yesterday-I might need help with that research scroll myself. I’ve kind of been, um, slacking off…” Cloak blushed with embarrassment.

“W-well, it is due, um, tomorrow…” Lepid looked down at her talons. *She wants to talk with me? I thought…*

"Tomorrow?” Cloak chuckled, acting as if Lepid had said something funny. “Well, whoops.” Maybe you could help me after school? You can come by my place.”

Cloak gave Lepid a hopeful look. “I have this pretty new painting I just got in my room, too!”

Lepid took a breath. She couldn’t really say no to that offer. “Um..s-sure, okay!” Lepid was beaming for the rest of the day. Maybe she had been overreacting earlier…

That had been the start of her very first friendship. The two dragons would get to know each other very well, and Lepid would look back on that ‘unremarkable’ day fondly. She would go to bed smiling and thinking of Cloak…

Before she found out. Before the rumors started. Before everyone talked in hushed whispers around her. Before the day with Mother.

***“I can’t believe what you’ve done to me.”***

***“You utter monster! Get away from me!”***

***“Please d-don’t hurt me! I’m sorry!”***

***“I don’t care where you go-you know what, you can go to the Distant Kingdoms for all I care! Just leave us alone!”***

The voices were getting louder in Lepid’s head. They were drowning her…she couldn’t breathe.

***"Your Father would still be alive if it wasn’t for you, you know.”***

***"If you had magic the whole time, why didn’t you save him? Why didn’t you make our lives better?”***

***"I spent so much time staying up reading that stupid magic book of yours and this is how you treat me? Are you serious?”***

***“Everyone would be so much happier without you and your powers.”***

She woke up in a sweat, breathing heavily. C*alm down. Calm down, Lepid. You’re not in Pantala anymore. Everything’s okay. Everything’s okay*. The sun was beginning to rise. A new day. The year was 3,138 AS, or thirteen years since meeting Cloak.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly walked over to her closet, pulling out a box full of jewelry. Reaching into it, she grabbed a random ring, not really caring what it was. She just needed to put it on as soon as possible. *As soon as possible.*

“Ring, I enchant you to make me feel constantly happy when I put it on. No more nightmares.” Her talons shaking, she slipped the ring on, closing her eyes.

The ring was…dazzling, now she properly looked at it! It was an emerald green ring that sparkled beautifully in the light, embedded with a small, contrasting red ruby in the middle. Where had she even gotten this ring? Well, it was absolutely beautiful.

She skipped all the way down the stairs of the mansion, admiring the view outside for a moment. The waves were rolling, the flowers were blooming, and the unbreakable windows were glistening under the sunlight. The birds were chirping-well, she had enchanted them to do that, but still!

*How could anyone not be happy, living like this? It’s so amazing!*

Slowly, still distracted by the view, Lepid walked over to the desk and grabbed a few letters from the drawer, grabbing a pen and starting to write.

*I’ll start with the NightWings first.* She was giddy with excitement, drumming her talons happily against the extravagant bronze desk.

**Dear Queen \_\_\_\_\_\_ of the \_\_\_\_Wing Kingdom:**

**Hello! I hope everything is going well in your respective kingdom. Who am I, you may ask?**

**You may know me as the Great Lepidopetra. Or perhaps the “Last Animus.” I’d be surprised if you haven’t heard of my great reputation- as a philanthropist, as an artist, as the national hero of Pyrrhia. Of course, I know I am still not as important as you, Queen \_\_\_\_.**

**But anyway, I know you have a busy schedule and must be looking at this letter quizzically right now, so I’ll get straight to the point:**

**I know that ever since the rise of ‘The Darkstalker,’ Pyrrhia as a whole has been reluctant about the use of animus magic.**

**I’ve heard rumors that the tribes are taking drastic actions against them- the SkyWings, in particular, have been killing young dragonets. The NightWings are in hiding. The SeaWings are just starting to recover from the Royal Massacre.**

**I’ll put it bluntly: I know about the assassins that you’ve sent- don’t worry about them. I hold no grudge against you for that, as I understand your worries about animus dragons. The assassins themselves- they’re in a better place now.**

**But, I am perfectly open to helping you, \_\_\_\_.**

**Know that with the current Rainforest War and the IceWing-SkyWing dispute, Pyrrhia’s political situation is…complicated. I understand that you may be running out of troops and may be looking for military assistance.**

**That’s where I come in. In exactly one week from the moment you get this letter, you can send your best ambassador to my private island, by the coast- you already know the location.**

**If you send one, they will meet with six different dragons, each one of the different, corresponding tribes. I don’t care if they are at war with each other- I will warn you: If I hear about any conflicts involving your ambassador on this island, I will refuse to assist your tribe in any way. But, if everyone cooperates…**

**I may be willing to make some kind of arrangement about my animus powers. An ‘alliance’, if you will. But I will only give this opportunity to one tribe. Your ambassadors should have masterful rhetoric abilities and be prepared for certain…’tests’ to prove your tribe’s superiority to me.**

**Good luck.**

**-Lepidopetra of the Animi**

*In about two weeks, I should be sitting on a royal throne. In about a year, or maybe even less, I will be ruler of all of Pyrrhia.*