Wings Of Fire | WinterWatcher | Fanfiction | Book 1

Chapter 2

Winter leaped to his feet and whirled into an attack mode. Snowfall lashed her tail, barring her teeth, looking around the room. She hissed as her gaze landed on the HiveWing. Winter snapped his head around, as the dragon opened it's mouth, and let out another scream. Glory looked ready to pounce, and Deathbringer was right at her side.

The HiveWing started to beat it's head against the wall. It shook it's body violently trying to get loose and lashed it's tail, but it's venom stinger had been trapped. Then, it went completely still. It turned it's head slowly to look at Winter. But when it did, there was something terrifyingly wrong with it's eyes. They were completely white. And then it screamed. It threw it's tail against the wall, and the cage around it's stinger smashed to pieces. It lurched it's body forward, and the chains and clasps on it's wings and ankles snapped.

Winter lowered his body to the ground to get in battle position, lashing his tail. Snowfall raised her head and snarled. Glory flexed her claws, and bared her fangs. The HiveWing shook it's body again and flared it's wings, raising it's deadly stinger over it's head like a SandWing. It's four wings made it look twice as big, and twice as dangerous.

Kinkajou replicated Glory's motions and showed her fangs threateningly. RainWings could shoot a deadly venom from their fangs, that could melt a dragon's scales. The HiveWing hissed at Winter and raised it's head. It's eyes locked on Moon.

And suddenly Winter felt the frostbreath creeping up his throat. Winter growled fiercely, warning the other dragon to stand down. The HiveWing lunged. Then Winter did. Their bodies slammed into each other. Winter dragged his serrated claws down the dragon's side wing. It shrieked, and threw Winter off.

Winter got right back up and attacked the HiveWing. The HiveWing clamped it's mouth around Winter's snout. Winter thrashed and clawed at the dragon's underbelly. He lashed his tail into the dragon. The dragon yelped and released it's steely jaw grip on Winter's snout. Winter pulled back and opened his mouth. The HiveWing dodged the frostbreath just in time. Then it whipped back around and raised it's tail, about to release the boiling acid from it's stinger.

Deathbringer jumped to Winter's aid, and knocked into the dragon, so the acid missed Winter entirely. Deathbringer and the HiveWing thrashed, clawing at each other. The HiveWing clawed at Deathbringer's wing. Deathbringer yelped with pain and Glory lunged at the dragon and tackled him away, but the HiveWing threw Glory off it's back easily.

Snowfall hissed loudly. The two dragons started circling each other. Winter recognized what she was doing. She was doing an IceWing fight-to-the-death challenge for the throne. They lunged at each other. Snowfall spit frostbreath at the dragon's ear, and it shrieked with pain, releasing the acid from its tail, but Snowfall was too quick. She easily, pinned it's tail down now, while the HiveWing clawed at it's ear, still shrieking.

Snowfall opened her mouth to release another jet of frostbreath, aimed straight at the HiveWing's face, but it shielded itself with it's wings, howling with pain as the frostbreath hit them. The HiveWing's talons raked Snowfall's underbelly and used it's back legs to throw her off.

Suddenly Glory materialized out of nowhere. She pinned the HiveWing down again, opened her mouth and shot the venom from her fangs directly at the HiveWing's face. Within a matter of seconds, the HiveWing was dead.

No one dared to speak for a moment. Glory tried to regain control of her scales, turning back to a royal blue with swirls of moody violet, but despite her efforts, Winter could see small bits of green creeping across her scales. If Winter remembered right, green was the color of fear for a RainWing. Kinkajou was flashing through so many different colors at once, that Winter had to shield his eyes for a moment.

"What was that" Deathbringer asked, finally breaking the agonizing tension of the silence. "A HiveWing". Moon. Winter turned around. Her dark green eyes looked into his. She leaped off the ice bed and walked over to them. Their wings brushed for a moment, but she didn't flinch at the cold. "Moon". Kinkajou came over and twinned her tail with Moon's."Their bringing an army" Moon whispered quietly. Snowfall looked up sharply. "An army". Moon nodded silently.

Glory hissed at the HiveWing's distorted face. She touched her fangs with her tongue."We'll head to the glacier borders and take the fight to them" Snowfall said. "It took all four of us, just to take down one" Deathbringer jumped in. "You really think your dragons will stand a chance?". Snowfall hesitated. Deathbringer wasn't wrong. It'll be a slaughter. The IceWing army would maybe take down half of the HiveWing army, if they were lucky. And the whole tribe is still recovering from Darkstalkers plague. Winter could see the confliction in Snowfall's eyes. Either fight the HiveWing's and protect Phyrria, and have thousands of IceWing's killed, or let the HiveWing's come, and have thousands of IceWing's killed anyways. Neither sounded like great options.

Suddenly a glazed look came over Moon's eyes. Moon collapsed and folded her wings around herself, clutching her head. Kinkajou caught her, as Moon winced with pain. "What's wrong" Glory asked with concern. "My visions". Glory and Snowfall exchanged glances, then Glory turned back to Moon. "Of what" Glory pressed gently.

Kinkajou shifted under Moon's weight. Moon wasn't a big dragon, but she was bigger than Kinkajou. Glory stepped forward to hold up Moon, but Winter beat her to it. He extended his wing, taking the weight off the little RainWing.

His heart beat fast in his chest, being this close to Moon again. He shifted himself to hold her up better, curving his body around her's. Winter had to keep reminding himself to breathe. After a couple minutes, Moon unfolded her wings. "What did you see" Snowfall asked immediately. "I'm not really sure, it was all...confusing". Moon looked at Winter. The look told him that she knew more. Moon knew exactly what her visions meant.

Moon wouldn't look Glory, Snowfall, or Deathbringer in the eyes. Then Winter realized, their wings were still touching. He found himself staying as still as he could so they would stay that way.

Snowfall addressed Hailstorm. "Tell Queen Thorn and Queen Ruby to meet at Sanctuary, at Sunrise. Tell them to send for Queen Moorhen and Queen Coral, and relay the same message". Hailstorm bowed, and lunged into the air. She flicked her tail to another guard that Winter didn't know. "Prepare the IceWing's for battle, and I want a group of our dragons searching the glaciers and ice and water for Lynx; and any RainWings, SeaWings, SkyWings, MudWings, or SandWings. I want a guard of lookouts at the glacier borders. Once the HiveWing army is spotted, they report straight back to me". The dragon bowed and dove off the ice cliff and into the air.

Glory flicked her wings, and suddenly, at least 10 RainWings appeared out of the air. "Get back to the Rainforest as quickly as you can and tell Jambu to bring himself and our best fighters to Sanctuary. We'll need as many blow darts and weapons as they can carry". The RainWings bowed and leaped into the sky, changing back to camouflage, and vanishing into the air again.

"If a war is what the HiveWing's want" Snowfall said. "Then a war...is what they'll get".