Scales to Skin

XVIII

Winter

"Set to fire?" I asked, confused. Bloodstone nodded, opening the door a bit more.

"There is clearly much we need to discuss," Staflight remarked. "May we come in, Lady Bloodstone?"

Bloodstone's sharp features were suddenly pulled back into a scowl as she snapped, "I renounced that title centuries ago."

"Apologies. I didn't read about that in the scrolls. Care to inform us on what happened?" Starflight asked. 

She was silent for a long time before closing the door on us. I just barely heard her whisper the word, "Hide," before she opened the door again, this time wide enough to allow us to file in one by one.

The room was large and spacious, but I noticed a strange assortment of furniture pushed up against one end of the room. They were made out of all kinds of metal, wood, debris, and even coral, and shaped as domes, cylinders, boxes and pyramids. They all had little holes all over them, just like the outside of the house and many of the walls inside. I had to stare at them for a long time before finally realizing what they were for.

The scavengers!

Just as I figured it out, a tiny head showed itself inside the largest enclosure. Its bright green eyes met mind, then darted away. I tried to offer an encouraging smile, but a second later I couldn't see the scavenger anymore. I had just began studying the rest of the buildings when Bloodstone's voice brought me back to reality.

"Where exactly did you come across these scrolls?" She asked.

"They've been in my library ever since we founded the school. Before that? I'm not sure where any of my scrolls came from," Starflight explained.

"Actually, if I may intercede," Fatespeaker spoke up, "I do remember where these ones came from. Webs gave them to you as a gift, remember? He said 'Hopefully you can find more meaning in these than I've ever been able to.'"

"Webs?" Bloodstone asked.

"Male SeaWing. Talons of Peace. Incredibly involved in the Dragonet Prophecy," Starflight offered.

"The Dragonet Prophecy? That was the one that Morrowseer was always going off about, correct?" Bloodstone asked.

"You know Morrowseer?" Starflight gasped. Bloodstone was silent for a long time, staring at a small spot on the wall. Her lips parted slightly, and she nodded. 

"I did. Once upon a time," She slowly looked back over at us. "He was the one who finally convinced Battlewinner to challenge her mother. For all the wrong reasons, of course."

"What good reasons could there possibly be for challenging your own blood to a battle of the death?" Fatespeaker scoffed.

"Releasing a tribe from tyranny," Bloodstone responded without missing a beat.

"I've lived under Battlewinner's rule. I can't imagine her mother being worse than that," Fatespeaker challenged.

Bloodstone was quiet for a long time before finally responding, "You asked me what happened with my journal. Before I tell you, however, I must let you know that this is the most horrendous and best kept secret of our world. Anything I say hear today could and should shred your thinly woven tapestry of our species as a whole."

She waited for us to nod. "After I went to relay my discoveries to the queen, she was angry. She didn't believe I should be viewing them so highly. And maybe I shouldn't have. But I had grown to care for these scavengers as my own children. So she gave me an ultimatum."

I waited for Bloodstone to continue, but she simply closed her eyes and sighed. I was about to ask for more information when she opened her eyes again, this time with an edge of anger in them.