Wings of Fire: Nighthawk

Chapter 42: Morrowseer

Several hours had passed and the sun was beginning to set. Nighthawk sat by himself on a platform while the rest of the village began to quiet down. It was calm, peaceful and beautiful. Despite how wonderful this was, it wasn't his home. Plum had promised to take him to the sea the next day, which was good. All he had to do was convince them to let him and Lobster take Mojave out of the healers. Soon everyone was quiet and asleep, so he decided to go for a little nighttime walk. He brought his crossbow for safety.

Everything was much different at night. Calmer, colder, and incredibly dark. He could hardly see even with his night vision. "Hm." The Nightwing mumbled to himself as he explored the rainforest. It was hard to make out the finer details of all the flora and fauna around him. His mind never felt clearer than it did right now, only focusing on the sounds of the rainforest. The occasional water droplets falling, insects chirping and leaves rustling. Despite how calm and quiet it was, he couldn't shake the odd feeling that he was being watched.

Suddenly there was a loud thud behind him, and as he turned he saw a large talon swing towards him. He hissed and rolled out of the way before aiming his crossbow. It was hard to fully see his target, but it was huge. He fired it once, which was followed by a deep, pained roar. He redrew the weapon and fired again, making the large creature hiss as it hit again.

"Hah, nice try ya bastard!" Nighthawk growled. The creature then began to run towards him while hissing. He knew that sound, which meant this was a dragon and it was about to shoot him with its fire. A blaze of heat and fire erupted from the dragon's mouth as it exhaled its firey destruction towards him. He rolled behind a large fallen tree to avoid getting incinerated. After the fire dissipated he glanced over, seeing several small plants and leaves had been set ablaze.

He turned and saw the dragon's face. It was a Nightwing, enormous. Not as big as Tempest but certainly larger than normal. This dragon looked old and cranky. "Nighthawk!" He boomed "You're not leaving here alive!"

Nighthawk paused a bit, catching his breath before turning and looking up at this enormous dragon. He took slow deep breaths as he stared up at this giant Nightwing, still hidden. The fires raged between them, lighting up the area. He had no clue who this was, but it was most likely the dragon who sent Deathbringer and that other Assasin.

"You're not a true Nightwing.." The dragon rumbled and stomped around, trying to find him. He could hear branches getting crushed under the massive talons. "You killed one of us, you meddle with our plans. And now you just die." The dragon hissed.

That was certainly not an option. He peeked under the fallen log, seeing the claws of the giant dragon. Seconds after the tree he was hiding behind was ripped off the ground and thrown aside. Nighthawk jumped to his feet and bolted into the darkness of the forest. He could hear the Nightwing chuckle before chasing after him. Loud stumps and thuds followed as he ran as quickly as he could to avoid him. Then he got an idea.

"You won't escape me! You may have deceived Deathbringer, but you won't fool me!" He roared. Nighthawk dove into some of the denser trees, where this behemoth couldn't follow. He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself.

"Holy hell.." He grumbled quietly to himself. He couldn't let this dragon find him, as it would surely mean death. The stomping ceased outside, followed by a snarl. Several droplets of water fell down onto his head. He looked up, realizing it was starting to rain. This was good for he would have some cover.

"We knew you were here the second you stepped foot in the rainforest. I didn't think you'd be stupid enough to wander off on your own, but here we are!" The dragon yelled. Nighthawk could hear him sniffing the air, which meant he was tracking his scent. He quickly lathered himself in mud to mask his smell, a trick he knew worked after the experience with Burn. Unfortunately he wasn't sure whether this dragon was going to leave or not as it was clear he wanted him dead.

All that was needed was a solid escape plan. As his aggressor tore apart the rainforest in search for him, he pondered. Something that always worked was a simple distraction. He dug around in the mud until he found a small stone. Light but if thrown hard enough would make a decent noise. He aimed it towards a fallen branch before hucking it as hard as he could. Once the rock impacted with a clunk, the large Nightwing lifted his head up and stomped towards the noise. Nighthawk used this opportunity to escape and sneak off in the other direction, back towards the village.

Minutes of silent and swift crawling had passed, but by the time the giant Nightwing realized his target was Nighthawk was gone. The light rain had turned into a downpour and it was getting harder to see. He panted as he ran, trying to get away from his attacker. Just ahead was the large opening that revealed the rainwing village. He was safe again.

Up on the pavilion he could see Lobster's glowing scales. "Lobster!" He yelled, needing to get his attention. The seawing turned and flew down to where he called.

"Nighthawk! Where did you go!?"

"I went for a walk- a big Nightwing tried to kill me-" He huffed and panted, trying to catch his breath. "We- we need to get out of here tomorrow..fuck.." He slumped over and groaned. His friend helped him up and they began to walk towards the pathway that led up to their temporary hut.

"Woah- woah, alright. We'll leave tomorrow then. You need to rest, lie down for a second." Lobster said as he pat his shoulder. "Come on, let's get to our hut." The nightwing nodded as the two went up the foot bridge. Once they arrived Lobster helped him into the spherical hut where he led down against the wall. "I'll keep guard for now."

"Thank you.. I'm gonna sleep.." Nighthawk grumbled. He rubbed his eyes and led his head down. And moments later he was sound asleep.