Poisonous Rage

Chapter Three

Willow came up beside Sundew. "I can finally show you the village! And our visitors!"

Sundew considered her options. On the one talon, she thought her whole life that whoever led the SapWings must be a dragon she would hate who would only talk of peace and sing songs, and she would never respect a dragon like that.

On the other talon, Queen Sequoia had been Sundew's hero her whole life - the LeafWing queen was supposed to be a fantastic strategist and a fierce fighter. On the third talon, Sundew didn't take orders from anyone. But on the fourth talon, having some quality time with Willow did sound pretty good, and Sundew would be lying if she said she wasn't curious about the SapWing village.

Sundew sighed. "Alright, lead the way."

Willow smiled. "By the way, you two make a very cute couple," Sequoia called behind her as she entered the jungle.

Sundew and Willow followed, Sundew sending her focus ahead so that dragontraps, sandbox trees, and her namesake, sundews, curled out of their way.

Sequoia glanced behind her as she noticed the dangerous plants shifting out of their path. "I'd heard the PoisonWings had a powerful Leafspeaker. Were you the one who finished the dome over your village?"

"It's Sundew's crowning achievement," Willow answered.

"You know, with you on our side, we might stand a chance." Sequoia mused.

Sundew was so concentrated on the dangerous plants that she noticed the diminishing number of them before she noticed the huts in the trees.

There were only a few at first, but soon there was a hut on every large branch. LeafWings began to gather around them in the trees above, trying to be discreet but failing.

Sundew looked down, and then when she knew they were all staring at her, she whipped around and glared at them.

In her village, dragons sometimes said Sundew had two powers; her Leafspeak and her angry stare.

All of the LeafWings jumped, and one or two fell off the trees they were perched on.

Sequoia sighed. "Please don't terrify my subjects."

Sundew grinned. "But that was so fun!"

The queen leaped into the air, and Sundew followed. Just then, she noticed the huge tree in front of her.

The tree must have been ancient because it was so thick and tall that Sundew couldn't think of another tree to even compare it to. When she listened to it, the tree spoke in a whispery voice that was slow as sap. Hello, the tree said, It has been a long time since I had a dragon to speak to. Your Leafspeak is strong, little one.

By the time the tree had finished, Sequoia and the others had flown up to the huge complex of huts built on the tree, landed, and Sequoia sat down on a throne of smooth wood.

In the corner of the room was a dragonet scribbling on a piece of paper. "Hazel, what have I told you?" the queen rumbled.

"No reading or writing in the dark, little sapling, you'll ruin your eyes," Hazel responded in a hilariously accurate imitation of Sequoia.

"Mmm. And then what will we do? We can't very well have a blind queen," Sequoia responded.

"We could steal glasses from the HiveWings," Hazel offered.

"I'm sorry. This is my stubborn great-granddaughter, Hazel. She has an... unhealthy obsession with books," Sequoia explained.

"Isn't this a war council?" Sundew asked.

"Well, it should be, but it's late. The rest of my council is sleeping and Belladonna doesn't know that you're gone yet, so she's not here and I'd rather not do a war council twice. Go on, do what you'd like. Hazel will fetch you in the morning."

"Thank you, Queen Sequoia," Willow bowed. Sundew reluctantly did the same.

"Yes, yes. Go on, now. I need my rest."

Willow turned and walked out of the throne room and along a wooden platform. It led along the different sections of the palace, and Willow turned into one of them, grinning. "This is about to blow your mind."

They entered a room where three bored-looking guards sat around a table, playing a card game. They glanced at Willow, raised an eyebrow when they saw Sundew, and then returned to their card game.

"They must not have an important job." Sundew deadpanned.

"They're guarding our guests because while everyone thinks they have good intentions, we aren't comfortable letting them wander around. But they seem to understand they don't have our trust yet, so they're okay with being... watched." Willow explained.

Sundew glanced through the bars of the prison to see a cell, hastily made nicer with blankets and a table for the three dragons currently curled up on the floor.

Sundew gasped. In the cell were three dragons, unlike anything she'd seen before.

One was a pale, sandy yellow, with a segmented tail and barb on the end. A scar ran down his snout, and an earring hung from one of his ears. He was reading a book by torchlight. At first, Sundew thought he could be a HiveWing-SilkWing hybrid, but the two other dragons made her reconsider.

One was small and sea green. The other one was a deep blue, with a powerful build. Their talons were webbed like an otter, and strange scales ran along their sides. They were sleeping next to each other, which could mean they were related or mates.

"I found those two swimming in the Snarling River and Qibli floating on a small raft. They were about to be eaten by a python but I saved them," Willow said proudly.

The sandy one poked his head up. "Hello, Willow. When I heard discussion of heroic python rescues, I knew you must have been here. Who's this?"

He nudged his two companions, who woke up slowly. "He swallowed a bit too much of the Snarling River," Willow nodded at the small green dragon. "He's been trying to rest off the sickness. I've been trying to find out how to make him feel better. Sundew, this is Qibli, Tsunami, and Turtle. They're from the distant lands!"