Chapter 3
A week later, the sib's first battle.
"Watch out!" Amber called out, and Chestnut slashed at the SkyWing who had been trying to get between the sibs.
They'd be surrounded, but we wouldn't be watching for attacks from inside the group, Chestnut thought as he watched the SkyWing circling around them. Not a bad strategy as long as they don't get stuck.
Morass, who was right next to the SkyWing, went for a round of fire. The SkyWing had scorch marks all over him, so Morass had likely done this a couple of times.
Another turn and another slash, a swoop, a breath of fire. Turn, slash, protect the sibs. The dance of blood and death, the dance that battle was.
Chestnut had trained for this, but still... An actual battle was so different, he reflected. There was blood, and dragons falling out of the sky, and the now-familiar terror he could see on many faces.
As he was distracted, another SkyWing swooped out of the sky, talons outstretched and mouth opened, preparing to breathe fire. Chestnut's eyes widened as he tried to launch himself out of the way. His tail got scorched, however, and he hissed in pain. Another thing in battles is the feeling of pain, he thought. Doesn't really happen in training. It's not like we're trying to kill one another then.
He glanced around the battlefield before bringing his attention back to the SkyWing. Or anybody else.
Alligator, noticing the bombardment of fire Chestnut was having to put up with, rose up from his lower position, ready to help. He scowled at the female SkyWing, talons at the ready.
But then a SandWing joined the opposing SkyWing, making it two against two. This is our first battle. We're outmatched. They fly with the confidence and eyes of seasoned fighters.
The SkyWing examined them for a moment, then laughed at them. "You think you two, who have never seen a battle before, can defeat two experienced warriors?"
"And why do you think this is our first battle?" Chestnut asked, trying to distract the SkyWing so they could have help from their sibs.
The SandWing snorted. "It's obvious." He inhaled, clearly about to breathe fire at them.
Chestnut looked around in alarm, but saw no one. He threw himself at the SandWing, talons slashing at the dragon's snout, determined the other dragon would not harm his sib.
Luckily, Amber suddenly appeared out of the sea of dragons who were fighting to help them, Fawn and Morass with her.
The SandWing, realizing he was outnumbered, looked around and backed up, seeming like he didn't really want to fight so many dragons.
"Traitor!" the SkyWing uttered, but still lunged towards Amber, undaunted.
Fawn caught the female SkyWing's foot as she passed, throwing her off balance. Amber slashed straight through the SkyWing's wing in a mad desperation to protect her sibs.
The SkyWing fell. She tried to flap her wings, but they were ripped though. She kept falling.
Down.
Down.
Down.
Her last words were, "You failed us!" with a pointed glare at the SandWing who had abandoned her.
A faint splat came from below as the dragon came into contact with the ground, bones breaking. The sibs wouldn't have heard it if they hadn't been listening for it.
Amber looked down at her claws, at the blood that dripped down from them. "I... I just killed a dragon. A live being. Someone with a family, and a life. Another dragon likely forced into this stupid war."
Fawn glanced up, forcing her eyes from the dragons on the ground. "Don't suffer in guilt. She seemed very willing to kill us. Dragons shouldn't be that willing to kill."
She had been trying to be comforting, but all of them, including herself, could easily see it was just an act. She was as sick to her stomach as the rest of them.
"Besides, it was either kill or be killed," Morass pointed out. "Would you rather be alive or dead? I know what I'd say. We wouldn't survive without our BigWings."
Either way, it's never a good idea to get distracted in battle. Chestnut had learned that earlier.
"Watch out!" He dived towards Amber, talons outstretched in a frantic attempt to get there before she could get hurt.
Amber turned and hissed. Her sudden movement made it so the other dragon's claws strayed from their target, Amber's neck, and instead scraped Amber's leg.
The sibs ganged up on that SandWing, who soon learned how protective MudWing sibs could be.
And the battle continued to play out, each bloody slash of talons, each scream of pain, each dragon that fell from the sky, their eyes unseeing.
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Escape: A Wings of Fire Fanfic - Editing
FanfictionChestnut was just a simple soldier in the SandWing war of succession, trying to keep his sibs safe. A loyal and successful soldier. That all changed when the letter arrived. The letter that told him and his sib group to go to a meeting. It was supp...
