Sakura Tree

~CHAPTER FIVE~

Yes, that was correct. Well, partly. Depends on how somedragon would interpret it. Chinch looked like anydragon would with their eyes closed, but unlike most dragons, he had no line that signified separate eyelids.

"Rainbow, come," Chicnh's voice was smooth and convincing, but sounded sly and conniving unlike Rainbow's. Rainbow glared with her eyes partly slitted at Chinch's open wings.

"You threatened me when you could have just escaped this entire time," Rainbow trembled and seemed as if in her own mind, absorbed into her own world by betrayal.

"Well, yes, but I had to test your loyalty after the whole situation... How many years ago? I'm practically convinced Manchineel is the only one that keeps track of the time, and who knows why," Chicng inspected his talon, or, it seemed like he was. Chicnh stared expectantly at Rainbow. Seemingly straight into her eyes. Grasshopper shivered.

"It's been seven years since your metamorphosis, Chinch," Rainbow snarled through clenched teeth. Chinch grabbed Rainbow's talons in his, with so much passion and true love that Grasshopper felt as if his heart shattered into a million pieces. If only Sakura could hold his talons like that, even just once. But that was impossible. Grasshopper wanted to flinch away, anything.

He didn't have to. Rainbow snatched her talons away from Chinch's and scrambled as close to the edge of the ledge as possible. "Rainbow, don't be hasty, we can-" Rainow snarled and cut Chinch off.

"Chinch, it was never my loyalty that needed to be tested. It was your friendship. Now I know why Wisteria 'betrayed you'. Because it was your sick plan that got you here, not the Forestwing's interpretation," Rainbow's voice cracked. Chinch flinched away from her.

"Rainbow-"

Rainbow shook her head. "I can't believe you and I ever thought we could rule. I'm even more disappointed in myself than you. I fell for your lies," Rainbow shook her head right before snapping her head up and leaping at Chinch.

Chinch yelped and struggled under Rainbow's talons. It was clear she was a formidable fighter, maybe even better than Sakura. Chinch, however, was much bigger than Rainbow, and even if not right next to her, bigger than Sakura. Chinch tossed Rainbow to the side and pounced on top of her, clawing at her stomach.

Wingbeats filled the air. A dragon was approaching! Joshua sprung elegantly into the air, wings spread in a majestic pose. Grasshopper stared at him for the second he was in the air before shooting at Chinch and tackling him off of Rainbow.

Grasshopper mentally slapped himself and unfroze. He leaped at Chinch also. Before he could get any serious damage, Rainbow had gotten back on her feet and shoved Grasshopper to the side. She knocked Joshua off of Chinch, too, and leaped onto him herself.

Rainbow gripped both of Chinch's horns and thrust them back. Not only did Chinch throw his head back onto the floor on instinct, but Rainbow shoved his horns back further than his head and neck could go along with, which resulted in them both snapping off. Chinch shrieked and thwacked Rainbow off of him with his tail. Rainbow slammed into the wall of the cell that the two were fighting in.

Before Rainbow had any time to recover, Chinch dragged her from beside the wall closer to him and dug his claws into her throat. After a moment of Rainbow screaming, Chinch froze and his harsh expression now looked more like he had just realized something. He let go of Rainbow's throat and watched her go limp, chest heaving. Grasshopper stared at her in horror. How could any dragon ever do something so horrible? He was so glad he wasn't a Poisonwing.

Chinch kicked Rainbow towards the ledge and Grasshopper and Joshua jumped back out of the way. Rainbow made no reaction. Chinch loomed over Rainbow for another moment, right before tossing her off the ledge.

Why don't these things have barriers! Grasshopper yelped in his mind. He leaped off the edge and grabbed Rainbow, curling around both of them with his wings and bracing himself for the impact of the floor. He knew he couldn't lift Rainbow into the air; she was older and bigger than him.

He felt his side slam into the floor, and a jolt of pain shot through his body. He unfurled his wings and stood up, dizzy and shaken from the impact. His legs trembled as he shakily stood up. Joshua had already gotten onto the floor and rushed towards Grasshopper and Rainbow. Chinch was gliding slowly and calming down.

"No matter how alive she is now, she won't last long. So don't even bother trying to run away or save her. She would be dead already, if the Leafwing hadn't protected her. You could've made this a lot easier for me," Chinch frowned and glared straight at Grasshopper. The way that the Silkwing's 'gaze' felt like he had eyes made Grasshopper shiver.

"How so?" Joshua faced Chinch and stiffened with some unreadable emotion. Joshua stared Chinch straight where his eyes would be.

"Well, if you know literally anything, you'll know that Rainbow was the dragon closest to me. Her betrayal was shocking, unlike Wisteria's," Chinch mused. Joshua froze.

"Who's Wisteria?" Grasshopper butted in. Joshua looked down.

"I never knew her; she died before I hatched. But she was my sister, and meant to be queen. When Chinch killed her-" Chinch wrapped his long, lithe tail around Joshua's snout.

"Now, you see, you can never get the true story from only one point of view, the way everybody saw you without information," Chinch smiled and slammed his talon onto Grasshoppers. Grasshopper flinched at the crackle of pain.

"Come with me, Grasshopper. I would like to show you something," Chinch smiled evilly and lay his wing over Grasshopper's back. Chinch's wing lightly grazing against Grasshopper's scales that slammed into the ground sent little uncomfortable spikes of pain across Grasshopper's scales.

Chinch flew up back to the top level. Grasshopper was forced to follow him. Chinch landed gracefully despite the fact that he was covered in gouges and blood. The dragon had just lost both his horns, for Clearsight's sake!

Chinch walked over to a single cell on the top floor. Grasshopper recognized this ell as the one with the dragon silhouette. "Manchineel," Chinch snapped. "Show yourself for heaven's sake.

"You finally lettin us all out?" The dragon, now apparent as a female, had a sort of crackly and wet voice.

"You know I can't do that yet. But come here, show yourself for the first time in forever."

"It's only been four months since I realized that I didn't want to be as known and avoided as you, Chinch," The dragon stepped forward and Grasshopper gasped. She was a yellowy-green brown with a bright green mane and a swollen stomach, as if she had eaten something she was allergic to.

"Now that I've finished that, how would you like to hear a story?"

A/N

hmm I wonder who's actually checking for updates on this book every day and finding them

hMmMmM