Substory; Sparrow's Tragedy

Chapter Two

"Wake up!" Sparrow woke, blinking sleep from her eyes as she looked up blearily. Once the slight tears cleared from her eyes, she realized the wyvern who had woken her was a Mirrorwing. Sparrow nudged Wren lightly, and not long after Wren's eyes shot open. Sparrow snickered before the Mirrorwing sighed, his eyes slit with aggravation.

"Will you two hurry up? I'm supposed to give you a tour." He scowled quietly. Sparrow yawned before stretching and standing. Wren stood after she had and, the two of them looked at the Mirrorwing expectantly.

"I'm Echo, and I'll be showing you two around our cave. Please follow me." He said formally. Sparrow looked at Wren excitedly before the two of them followed.

Sparrow shivered as water droplets from the stalactites fell onto her head, and she let out a small giggle. She continued to follow Echo through a mixture of twists and turns until he stopped. When she looked past him, she could see many Wyverns were feasting on meat. There was a firelight towards the back of the hollow, a small lip above the fire, keeping it in its own little crevice. She then looked around to see neat piles of meat stacked on a large, flat stump in a corner of the hollow.

Sparrow watched curiously as wyverns placed chunks of meat onto stone slabs near the fire. There was a medium sized waterfall that streamed through a crack in the stone, and fell into a dip in the floor, creating a small pool of water that wyverns were drinking from.

"This is our cafeteria. You're welcome to eat here anytime you want as long as you contribute to the food. Every other day we rotate the job of providing food, and the wyverns training, so everyone helps out." Echo informed them.

"Let's go." Echo said curtly, as he turned around and started walking away from the cafeteria. Sparrow and Wren followed obediently, walking with him quietly.

After leading them through another series of tunnels, Echo stopped, pointing ahead with a wing. Ahead of them was a large cavern. Inside the cavern, amidst the hundreds of fireflies, and glowing plants were wyverns. Many Mirrorwings were locked in combat, while others on the sidelines, outside of white marked boxes, cheered.

"Come inside. This is our training hollow" Echo beckoned them inside, and led them to a white square that marked the floor. "Titan has offered to train you two." Echo told them tersely, a glint of bitterness in his eyes as Titan stood there, looking at them kindly from inside the square.

"The rules are simple." Echo began. "The goal of this training is to pin your opponent without getting knocked out of the square. Any questions?" Echo finished, and Sparrow looked at him with slight confusion

"Weren't we supposed to be getting a whole tour?" Sparrow inquired. Before Echo could respond though, Titan spoke. "That can wait! I'd like to see how strong the both of you are compared to me."

Sparrow glanced at Wren, but neither of them said anything as they turned their attention back to Titan. "Now, who would like to go first?" Titan prompted.

Wren stepped up, walking to the white outline before stepping into the square. She looked up at Titan, and the two of them stepped back to the edges of the square.

Before the fight began, Sparrow asked Echo, "Are we allowed to fly while in battle?" Echo nodded. "As long as you're still inside the boundaries of the square, then yes."

A wave of relief washed over Sparrow as she watched Wren and Titan circle each other. On Echo's word, the two of them were allowed to begin fighting.

Sparrow watched as Wren slowly circled the outskirts of the square, cutting the edges as she made her rounds. Suddenly, Wren sprung forward, looking like she was going to try to knock him off his claws with only brute force. To Sparrow's surprise, Wren lifted herself into the air, springing herself from one end of the square to the other. She reached her wings forward, the claws at the tips of her wings outstretched as she pounced onto Titan's back, latching on. Once she landed, she was able to cling to his back. With Titan being almost three times the size of both Sparrow and Wren, Wren was able to easily latch onto his back.