Into The Wild ~ Book 2 ~ Wings of Fire Fanfiction

Chapter 5 - Wanted

A/N

Hello again. This chapter was...interesting to write, but it turned out okay. I'm honestly more invested in the Flare side of the story right now (no offense to those who prefer the villains! The Shades are awesome too, they just don't have as much plot at the moment!). Also, can anyone spot the main series quote I pulled?

On another note, who else is super excited for the release of the Wings of Fire TV show on Netflix? Because I sure am!

~~~Shadowhunter~~~

King Chameleon was a groveling fool. That was the first thing Shadowhunter realized about him. She almost pitied the RainWings, being represented by a ruler that was almost exactly what the old stereotypes had claimed their tribe was like, with an added love of treasure that was practically obsessive.

His tree house, the grandest of all the others by far (although Shadowhunter thought they were all horrible anyways), was sparsely decorated with nothing more than a few rumpled flowers and several large wooden chests that contained his hoard of shiny baubles. It was pathetic, and ridiculous.

Two guards were in the room with them, one in blindingly bright colors that ignored them fully, while the other was half camouflaged and watched them with a wary and surprisingly attentive expression. Shadowhunter found herself eyeing it in the same way. She knew full well how deadly a RainWing could be, and with the whispers of rebellion that were being passed around....

"We believe several fugitives are seeking refuge in your forest," she snapped, not bothering with being polite. King Chameleon was so ridiculous he barely seemed like royalty, and besides, her father was the greatest king in Panzia. "We're here to ask for your...help...in finding them."

"Oh dear, do I have to do something?" he asked with a plaintive expression. "I have soldiers, if that's what you're after."

At that moment, Shadowhunter was beyond grateful they didn't need anything specifically of the RainWing "king". She had a nasty suspicion making him do anything would require a large amount of persuasion, possibly with actions instead of words. And her appetite for that kind of thing had been quite used up after Pantalus's and Peregrine's betrayals.

"Soldiers will work just fine. I also want you to make sure that every RainWing in this forest knows that anyone found harboring the fugitives we're looking for will be dealt with swiftly and painfully, without exception. With luck, those Flares will have nowhere to go and will be easy prey." She leveled a glare in Chameleon's direction, daring him to disagree.

"Of course...um, Tangerine, can you go do that?" The overly bright guard raised their head with a surprised expression, then bobbed a quick bow and took off into the foliage. Shadowhunter hoped they wouldn't get distracted by a brightly colored bird, or something else equally vapid.

"So where will we be staying, exactly?" Of course it was Tigershark who asked that. Shadowhunter rolled her eyes, scuffing her claws against the wooden floorboards. If he whined any more about needing special treatment, she was going to give him something to complain about.

"You're staying?" Chameleon made an overly surprised face, like it was the strangest news in the world. But he recovered quickly, perhaps seeing Shadowhunter's exasperated expression. "I mean, of course you're staying. I can have some private tree houses commissioned, if that's what you'd like?"

"That will work," she interrupted before Tigershark could say anything else. If it were up to him, she was pretty sure they'd all end up spending their time in a pond somewhere. Not happening. "Now we'll simply take command of your soldiers and be out of your way. You can go back to counting your baubles, or whatever you spend your time doing."

The RainWing king opened his mouth as if he were about to make an outraged retort, but Shadowhunter spun quickly and marched out of the tree house, leaving nothing but quivering vines in her wake. The other Shades soon followed.

Judging from Panther's thoughts, Shadowhunter was sure she was quite happy to not have had any chance to talk to her father. The NightWing briefly wondered what had caused the rift between the two of them, but ended up writing it off as a personality conflict. How could anyone get along with that vapid treasure-hoarder?

Shaking off the tendrils of pity that were weaving themselves into her mind, Shadowhunter turned to assess her team. "We have a while before dark, so I want everyone split into teams. Each team takes a different area of the village, and checks for any sign of revolt. I don't trust Chameleon or his soldiers farther than I can throw them."

Automatically, she glanced over her shoulder, opening her mouth before remembering that Peregrine wasn't there. She was so used to having the SkyWing princess there, acting as her second-in-command. Instead Shadowhunter looked over at Scorch. "You decide the teams. I have to go check on something first."

Black scales flashed, standing out in stark contrast to the otherwise vibrant colors of the rainforest, and the NightWing took off into the treetops.