The pale green dragon slumped to the side, revealing a white-eyed HiveWing. The disembodied laugh of Queen Wasp echoed in Sundew's heart, etching itself into her memories and nightmares forever. Your girlfriend is gone. The most powerful LeafWing and you still couldn't protect the one you loved. What are you going to do about it, Sssundew? Kill this dragon? This HiveWing? One among hundreds. It won't be too long before your entire tribe is dead, and I am the ruler of the continent.
Sundew roared in rage, and vines shot out of the ground, grabbing the HiveWing from all sides and tearing him to pieces, the laughs and screams of Wasp mixing as he was torn apart.
The image seared itself into Sundew's brain, haunting her for years to come, but at that moment she didn't care. She ran to Willow's side and pressed her talons against the wound. "Come on," Sundew whispered. "You can't die. I need you. You make me whole. You're the only reason I keep going through all the hardships I have to endure. For you, Willow."
The LeafWing's breathing was ragged. She turned to Sundew, her eyes glassy, blood slipping from the stab wound, her life draining out of her like water through Sundew's talons. "I love you. I always will, I always have, and that's why you have to let go. Of your anger, and, even though you think you never can, you have to let go of me. Find someone else who makes you happy. Don't mope around your whole life because I died. I'm not the only dragon you could've fallen in love with. I'm just the one you did."
"But I did. I did fall in love with you, and I can't just forget that. I can't move on just like that! I love you, Willow. That will never change." Sundew responded, tears in her eyes.
Willow smiled wistfully. "You will. Because I need you to. My last wish is that we don't both lose our lives because of this. Me, to death, and you, to sadness. Don't cut yourself off. Let yourself be happy. I'm not saying you have to forget about me or have to change. You will be sadder. There will be moments when you feel like curling into a ball and giving up, but you keep going. Please, Sundew." Then, with a final, shuddering breath, the vibrant light in Willow's eyes dimmed and faded.
Sundew roared in anger, and the forest responded, shooting out vines and plants that engulfed HiveWings. But the emotions overwhelmed Sundew, and she collapsed, clutching Willow's body, tears streaming down her face. She tried to access her knot of anger, but the sadness overwhelmed it, blocking her power.
Willow's voice spoke in her head. You are most concentrated at the point where rage and peace are balanced.
Sundew took a deep breath and concentrated. She reached into her mind, pulling memories of her time with Willow at random. Happy, silly, carefree moments, with the lighthearted, funny, kind dragon Sundew had fallen in love with.
Tears streamed down her snout, but a sad smile wavered on Sundew's face. The knot of anger she had been holding for so long dissolved, and she reached out, using her emotions to bend the plants to her will.
In Wasp Hive, a huge tree shot out of the ground and burst through floors, its trunk filling the middle of the mostly empty Hive, growing, faster and faster, until it exploded through the throne room, swallowing Queen Wasp, and her most loyal advisors, whole. Branches exploded out of the top, covering the Hive in a canopy of green.
Sundew opened her eyes and pulled the spear out of Willow's body before she pressed her talons to the earth and the willow tree exploded out of the ground, enclosing Willow in a protective shell of bark. With the last of her Leafspeak, Sundew etched a message into the tree's bark, making sure the tree and other plants would never grow over it. Here lies Willow, the love of my life. Sundew reached up and plucked a small branch, tucking it into one of her pouches.
The HiveWings were looking around confused, released from the mind control. Many HiveWings backed off or flew to their loved ones. Some attacked, and small scuffles broke out, with the LeafWings quickly subduing the loyalist HiveWings.
The battle was over. They'd won. Queen Wasp was dead and the HiveWings had surrendered. At what cost? Sundew thought sadly.
She stared over the battlefield before flying into the jungle, avoiding carnivorous plants and flying to an all-too-familiar pond.
She took one last look at the place where she had met Willow, and then she turned and flew back to her village.
Weeks passed. The HiveWings signed a peace treaty and were in the process of figuring out what they would do next. The LeafWings were making sure that the HiveWings reformed and didn't go back to the same ways they had done things.
The SilkWings had rejoiced when they heard that the queen was dead and the LeafWings had promised them that they would be treated as equals. There were many dissenting voices among the HiveWings, but dragons knew real change would take time. For now, the best the LeafWings could do was make sure the HiveWings finally saw that what they had done was wrong.
Qibli, Tsunami, and Turtle returned to the distant lands, promising to figure out a way to let Pyrrhian and Pantalan dragons visit each other. They also promised to bring seeds from as many kinds of trees as possible, so Sundew could recreate the forests of the old times.
The HiveWings and SilkWings had worked together to tear down the crumbling Wasp Hive, leaving the tree as a peaceful memorial to the terrible rule of Wasp. They were calling it the Tree of Harmony.
The two LeafWing villages were working to merge, clearing a path through the jungle. Mandrake had used his powers to expand a tunnel between the two villages and was working on clearing the Poison Jungle of its dangers.
Since the day of Willow's death, Sundew had retreated to her house and curled up, only moving when her friends brought her food.
They had stopped by many times, pleading with her to come out (Mandrake), yelling at her to stop moping (Nettle), or talking to her through the door (Hazel).
Speaking of which, Sundew heard the sound of talons clicking on wood outside her house. "Come on, Sundew." Mandrake said through the layer of vines. "You can't stay in there forever. That's not what Willow would have wanted and you know it. You can't spend the rest of your life alone."
Sundew didn't respond. Mandrake sighed. "Well, when you're ready to come out, I'll be having fun with Hazel if you want to join us."
Sundew didn't move as she heard Mandrake take off, instead staring at the willow branch she had taken from the tree. Don't cut yourself off. Willow's voice echoed inside her head.
Sundew snorted and tried to ignore the pleading face of the pale green dragon swirling in her head. Don't lose both our lives because of this.
A tear slipped down Sundew's cheek, then she set her jaw and stood up. She gave one last sad smile at the branch, then she stepped outside into the light of a new day.
YOU ARE READING
Poisonous Rage
FanficSundew and Willow are in love. It's a fact they can both agree on. But when Sundew returns to the Poison Jungle having brought war to the LeafWings, and begins to worry Willow has been in another relationship while Sundew was gone, their relationshi...
