Drama (a Qinter fanfiction)

Taking Action

Winter PoV:

Winter opened his eyes, looking around as his mind woke up. Sometime over the night Qibli had nestled himself under Winter's wing, and the SandWing was pressed against him, still sound asleep with peaceful smile on his face. Then Winter realized that there was something on his back, so he carefully turned so he didn't wake Qibli and saw that Flame, who was also sleeping a few steps away, had flopped his large wing over Winter's back. It reminded him of Hailstorm from before his older brother had been captured, the only dragon in the kingdom who would hug him. Suddenly Winter heard talonsteps in the hall and paused outside their cave. He didn't feel like talking to anyone yet, so he closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.

"OOoO-" someone squealed before they were cut off. Kinkajou. Winter thought.

"You're going to wake them up!" another voice - Turtle - murmured.

"Sorry," Kinkajou whispered. "But seriously, how can you not be interested when Flame is over here - "

"I think you're waking him up," Turtle said, sounding nervous as Winter felt Flame slip his wing off Winter's back. "Come on, Kinkajou, let's go."

"Just wait until I tell them!" Kinkajou squealed as they walked away. Well, I bet we'll never be able to outlive that tale. Winter thought, feeling something between annoyed and amused. He opened his eyes again and started to stand up, but Qibli grabbed his arm and snuggled into Winter's chest.

"uhnuuu don' wannu dagoooooh," Qibli mumbled, still mostly asleep, as he pinned Winter down. He smiled at the SandWing and nudged him with his snout to wake him up. Once Qibli finally woke up he slipped back to allow Winter to sit up, rubbing his eyes and sitting up as well.

"Good morning to you as well," Winter teased, a smile creeping onto his face.

"What do you mean?" Qibli yawned. "I haven't said anything all morning."

"If that's what you want to call it," Flame interjected with a snort of amusement. "That's not what I heard though."

"Do I even want to know what he's talking about?" Qibli asked, looking at Winter. Winter shrugged, still grinning.

"Moving on," Flame said. "So you two are going to the Scorpion Den today, right?"

"After school, yeah," Winter said, standing up and stretching. A moment later he realized that Flame was smirking at him, amused. What did I do? Winter wondered, confused and slightly embarrassed. "What?"

"We don't have school today," Flame explained. "Remember, it's the weekend."

"Oh, right," Winter said, embarrassed that he forgot but relieved that it wasn't something else.

"Would you mind telling Sunny where we are if she asks?" Qibli asked Flame. "That way we can leave before a lot of dragons wake up." Flame nodded, a guarded expression on his face.

"If we leave soon we can get there by dusk," Winter said, remembering when he had first gone to the Scorpion Den to save Ostrich.

"Right," Qibli agreed. "So we'd better leave soon."

"Wait!" Flame said suddenly. "When are you going to be back?" Qibli looked thoughtful, tilting his head and staring at a stalactite near the back of the cave while he tapped his claws subconsciously on the floor.

"Tomorrow," he replied a moment later. Flame nodded, seeming satisfied with this answer. Well, he doesn't have any other friends. A voice at the back of Winter's mind piped up. You finally got him to be your friend and now you're leaving him behind the next day - not that he'd survive if he came with us. 

"Come on, Winter," Qibli called from the entrance of the cave, snapping Winter out of his thoughts. Jumping to his talons, Winter followed Qibli out to the entrance cave with Flame following behind him. When they reached the cave, no one else was there.

(Switch to Flame's PoV)

There was an awkward beat as they all stood in the abandoned cave wondering what they should do, before Flame was grabbed by a random impulse and pulled Winter and Qibli into a hug. He wasn't entirely sure why he was hugging them, it just felt like the right thing to do here.

"See you tomorrow," Flame said, letting them go.

"See you then," Qibli agreed, smiling. Winter nodded, then a moment later the two were both flying away toward the desert. Flame watched them fly away with a pang of loneliness. They'll be back tomorrow, he reminded himself sharply. You don't need to get all mopey. Just go find something to do.

(Switch back to Winter's PoV) ~timeskip brought to you by Midnight the NightWing~

The sun was just beginning to set when they arrived at the Scorpion Den. Winter followed Qibli's lead as he walked purposefully through the streets toward Vulture's compound. Walking beside the SandWing through the bustling streets, Winter couldn't help but remember when they came to rescue Ostrich again. It was rather weird to recall, frankly. Winter distinctly remembered walking through these same streets and thinking, Darkstalker could help this place so much. but then at the same time it felt less like a thought and more like someone telling him something. Memories from the whole period of time after the huge NightWing burst out of the side of the mountain was plagued with random thoughts of Darkstalker and how the ancient dragon could help the world. Until the part where Qibli released him from the NightWing's spell. Winter gave an involuntary shudder at the thought of the dark dragon, and in response Qibli brushed Winter's wing with his as if to say 'I know what you're dealing with and I'm here for you'. The SandWing didn't say anything, nor did he prompt Winter to speak, just providing silent support as they neared Vulture's compound. Winter glanced gratefully over at Qibli, who smiled reassuringly in return.

A few more minutes later and Winter found himself outside Vulture's compound, and he remembered what Qibli had said last time, "let me do all the talking," so he kept his mouth shut. Without a word, Qibli crept along until they reached the pavilion where they'd met Vulture last time. Unlike last time, Vulture wasn't there, so after a moment's hesitation Qibli walked decidedly away and to the garden where they had questioned Bog, where they found Vulture lounging with Qibli's mother, sister, and brother - Cobra, Rattlesnake, and Sirocco.

"Qibli," Vulture said welcomingly, the warmth in his voice not reaching his eyes. "I see you brought your friend again. Hello, Ex-Prince Winter, good to see you again." Winter dipped his head diplomatically but said nothing. 

"Sssson," Cobra hissed, her gaze calculating. "Welcome back."

"Uhm," Qibli stammered. "Thank you for, uh, inviting me." That's odd, Winter thought, giving Qibli a sideways glance. Usually he doesn't sound this... awkward. Is he just tired, or is it his family? Suddenly a new thought struck him, causing Winter to shiver despite the desert heat. Or is it something else... something... magical?

Hey y'all, sorry for the less descriptive chapter today. I hope tomorrow's will be a bit more exciting now, since all the travel and introduction is over. Things are getting ready to ramp up a bit, if all goes according to plan, so bear with me. Also, thank you for reading, it means a lot to me to know that my writing is worth it to someone. If you find any grammar/spelling/other errors, let me know (I haven't really been double-checking my work before I post it so then I don't change the actual story, so there might be some things that I messed up). Thanks to all of you who have commented in the past, I really like(ed) being able to chat with you! :) Well, I think that's all for this time. Thanks again for reading and commenting! Bye for now!

- Star