Talons and Tails

A Magical Meeting

Before you start, sorry it took nearly a month to get this done -_-  Also for story purposes let's pretend the Nightwings didn't relocate to the volcano until a few generations after the whole Darkstalker fiasco.

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Many, many years ago...

In all the time she'd worked at the palace, this by far was her worst yet.

Zuri had had to deal with angry dragons nearly every day, including the royal family. Not to mention the headaches brought on by protesters.

She was found and taken to the Nightwing palace when she was only one year old since she'd evidently set her bed on fire to keep warm. Wasn't her fault her parents couldn't keep a steady temperature.

Her mother was the granddaughter of Whiteout, sister to the infamous Darkstalker. Their family was poor and disapproved when she fell in love with a Rainwing.

She inherited both Icewing and Nightwing traits from her mom's side of the family (plus her magic) and gained the scale-changing ability from her dad. She didn't truly belong to any one tribe, but it was simpler to pretend to be a Nightwing. Not what she wanted, but easiest for everyone. With a quick spell and a cloak, most Nightwings never knew she was a hybrid. Most dragons never bothered to learn her name.

She was already 19 and growing tired of all the politics and tiptoeing around the royals like they were fragile ice, then having to bury her pride as they denounced her as an outcast anyway, whining their complaints about their perfect life while their tail grows steadily fatter behind them.

If I had as big a tail as even the littlest royal, she thought, I wouldn't be working here. Plus, it probably wouldn't fit through any of the doors.

But thankfully for the current royal family of the Nightwings, Zuri was more peaceful and level-headed than most of her tribe. A good trait in an animus, after all.

It was late one morning when she'd come to her final straw, so to speak.

"Why can't you go one day without messing things up!" Prince Ola barked crossly, black tail lashing behind him as he glowered menacingly. Though, Zuri didn't feel too frightened by his grace. "You've been no help to me or any of us since you got here. You forgot where you came from, who you are; an utterly idiotic bumbling fool!"

Zuri bit back a retort and bowed her head respectively, as was expected of her. She tried her hardest not to growl as he kept going. She had suffered this kind of humiliation for years, she just had to keep her head down.

"You don't even do much for us anymore, which is hilarious considering what we've given you, and what you were born with. I think you forget who you're working for, it's an honor for you just to breathe the same air as me. If it wasn't for your savage excuse for parents I don't believe-" his comment was abruptly cut off, talons gripping his own throat as air stopped moving through it.

"Stop. Talking." Zuri took three steps towards him, staring him down as she got closer and watching mutely as his eyes widened in fear.

"I'm done with your excessive need to sprout large amounts of crap from that dirty mouth of yours. Don't insult the dead, and don't insult my family. Most of all, you forget who I am. I quit. Here's my resignation."

She landed two punches to his face, which knocked him to the ground.

Pathetic.

As an added measure she spat on his limp form in spite of the consequences and walked away without another glance.