Wings of Fire: Nighthawk

Chapter 11: Enlisted

He was settled in, and this time it was a promising start to a happy life. A week had passed and he was adapting to seawing culture and lifestyle. He was very fond of it, and it suited him. Despite not being able to swim as well or breathe underwater, he found he fit in well. Around midday was when they fake with a special note for him. He took it and read it.

'Dear Nighthawk, We request your presence at the reef training camp today by evening. As part of our agreement you would be granted a pardon and a home in exchange for fighting along side us. We shall see you soon. ~ Shark'.

"Well then." Nighthawk said with a small huff. "I must keep my word. Lobster could you take me to the camp?" He asked her as his tail lashed a tiny bit. He wasn't exactly excited for the whole thing but he did agree to it.

"You got it, let's go." Lobster stood up and stretched his wings before heading outside. "It's not that bad, and you'll be a hero. You seem like the type."

"What?" Nighthawk said as he followed, staring down at him with a small grunt. "I am not a hero. I've never done anything to grant such a title."

"You saved me, and you helped us at the battle. I never seen such precision with that thing you had. The..Crossbow was it?"

"Yep, that's it." Nighthawk chuckled  and sat up. "Maybe I can arm the seawings with them.. if I had the right materials and everything.."

"Hey that's not a bad idea! But let's discuss it as we fly." Lobster gently punched his shoulder and lifted into the sky. They flew for about an hour and a half, chatting and planning different things. The island camp was very well hidden under the dense jungle and trees. It was hard to spot lobster pointed it out. The two landed in a clearing and we're greeted by several seawings.

"Lobster." Shark greeted them first. "You're the one I keep hearing about, Nighthawk. Are you a rogue Nightwing or were you banished?"

"Rogue would suit me better. But I'm..not exactly from around here."

"As I heard." Shark rumbled and cleared his throat. "Now, what kind of training do you have, if any?" He asked and crossed his arms while examining him. "That cloak must not do well in fights."

"You'd be surprised. I'm well trained but if you want to see me firsthand.. then I suppose we could spar." Nighthawk suggested with a small grin. "I think you will be quite surprised."

"Hah! Well I suppose I can't turn down an offer like that. Come on, there is a training area." Shark grinned and walked towards a clearing that was set up like a small arena. The middle was all sand, some spots a little redder than others. "Here it is, one of the arenas." He turned to him.

"Brilliant." Nighthawk said as he walked towards a spot on one end of the circle shaped arena. He watched Shark do the same.

"Don't worry, I'll go easy. You wanna take that off? Can't believe you're not overheating in that thing."

"You get used to it." Nighthawk huffed and stamped a talon, getting ready for the duel. "Ready?"

"Absolutely." Shark flared his wings and let out a deep hiss before running at him. He was quite fast and his claw strikes were vicious. He let out a roar.

Nighthawk was able to plan for this, so he moved to the side and elbowed his talon to knock him off track. He then rolled and got out of the way for any follow up attacks. He then pounced at Shark, claws outstretched. He saw him raise armguards to block the claws. It worked and Nighthawk fell onto the sand.

"Hah, nice try!" Shark snorted and lunged at him while he was on his back, but as he did Nighthawk rolled and kicked up against his stomach. It definitely took the wind out of him and he crashed into the sand across the arena. He slowly stood up and growled before running at him, teeth barred and claws ready.

"Don't do that-" Nighthawk went to dodge but he was thwacked in the side of the head by his heavy seawing tail. It knocked him over and he let out a deep, threatening rumble before tossing a little sand up into Shark's eyes. He roared and held his face while the Nightwing seized the opportunity to jump on his back and pin him down. He wrapped a talon around his neck and used his claws on the other to dig into his shoulder to bring him down. One cut off his air and the other weakened his ability to stand.

Swiftly, the seawing collapsed onto the ground and Nighthawk had him pinned to the sand. Several soldiers had gathered around, shocked and appalled. "do you yield?"

"Hah..you mean do I quit?"

"Yes or no?" Nighthawk added more pressure to his shoulder, making the seawing howl.

"Yes- fuck." Shark hissed. "How did you learn that?"

"Healer lessons with Aloe. Pressure points, stuff like that." Nighthawk got off and helped him up. "Almost got me, bloody hell.." he huffed and brushed some sand off.

"I'll say. Wasn't expecting you to kick my ass so good." Shark snorted and looked at him. "Good job. You're in.. going to be strange fighting with a Nightwing. But if you fight like that every battle I won't complain."

"Perfect."

"Would you like to be in Lobster's group then? Heard you two were good friends."

"I'd prefer that, yes. But if you need me elsewhere at times then do as you must." Nighthawk bowed his head. "Otherwise I am ready to defend my new home and it's tribe."

"That's exactly what we need. Very strange, because you aren't in our tribe and yet you wish to help us. Why?"

"Obligation. I want to help them. And I want to help Lobster and his family. They're good to me. I want to be good to them."

"Then welcome aboard. You're officially recruited. I'll finalize everything with the queen tomorrow. Nice work today, keep it up. Pleasure to meet you." Shark said with a small sincere nod before walking off.

Nighthawk sat up. 'That was fast.' he thought. It was evening now, and he looked at lobster. "So, you wanna go get something to drink?"