Wings of Fire: The Rainforest Monster | ✔️

~ The Rainforest Monster: Chapter 6 ~

Sloth lunged forward and barreled into Glory. She wrapped her daughter in a tight hug and squealed in delight.

"My baby!" she cried. "You're home, you're home!"

Glory laughed and burrowed closer into her mother. Hare smiled. She remembered when she'd met her mother and felt a stab of grief. It was quickly replaced with jealousy when Glory's father joined the hug. For one of the first times, she wished she'd gotten to have a moment like this with her own father.

But he died before she ever got the chance to.

And she'd been cheering for his death.

Queen Magnificent sighed. "Well, that's one problem crossed off my list." She looked at the dragonets and Kestrel. "Now who are the rest of you?"

Hare stepped forward. "I'm Hare," she said. "This is Clay, Sunny, Starflight, Tsunami, and that dragon is our guardian, Kestrel."

"Hare." Magnificent tilted her head. "You're quite funny-looking, aren't you?"

"She's the daughter of Burn," Tsunami hissed. "Show her a little respect."

Queen Magnificent nodded. "Right, of course. My apologies dear." She rubbed her snout and yawned. "Why are you in my rainforest?"

"We're looking for shelter," Starflight explained. "This is the only place where we are truly safe right now. We believe it's best if we stay here, under your protection."

"We'll only stay with your permission," Kestrel said. "However, we're hoping you'll say yes. You are the only tribe who doesn't want our heads on sticks."

"How do we know your presence won't bring danger to us?" the queen demanded.

"We have a good defense system," Mangrove pointed out. "There's no way anybody would guess they're here, too. Why would they run off to the rainforest?"

"Right, of course." Queen Magnificent sighed again. "Alright, they may stay. They will stay in the center of the village, in the visitors hut."

"Will we have to stay there all day?" Sunny asked nervously.

"Of course not," Queen Magnificent replied. "You will be allowed to leave when you please. But my dragons will be watching you closely. We will treat you as guests, but you do not have our trust."

"You don't trust the dragons who just brought back one of your missing dragons," Tsunami snarled.

Hare stomped on her talon and hoped Magnificent didn't find the comment too offensive. "We understand that," she said. "Thank you, Your Majesty. Your kindness will not be forgotten."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Liana asked, glaring at the visitors. "Unknown dragons in our home surely can't end well."

"Do you doubt my decisions?" the queen challenged.

Liana eyed her with narrowed eyes, but she just sighed. "No, of course not."

"Good," Magnificent hissed.

"Now that we've got this handled, can we address the main issue?" Mangrove said. "We need to find the other twelve missing dragons!"

"We're doing the best we can," Magnificent argued. "What else do you want us to do?"

"Look harder!" Mangrove shot back.

"I want my life back," Bromeliad said. "I'm a mentor, not a searcher! It's not my fault Kinkajou went missing."

"Maybe not, but she's your apprentice," Queen Magnificent snapped. "Meaning you should care and help look."

"You can't force me to care," Bromeliad snarled. "Because if we're being completely honest, I don't. I don't care at all. So why keep sending me out?"

Queen Magnificent bristled. "You're going to search for your apprentice and that's final," she spat. "If you come to me about this again, there will be consequences."

"Pathetic!" Bromeliad growled, stomping out of the treehouse.

Once Bromeliad was gone, Hare turned to the queen. "Uh, I know you don't entirely trust us," she began, "but maybe we could help."

Clay blinked. "How could we help?"

"We can join search parties," Hare offered.

"That could work," Magnificent said slowly. "Though why does it matter to you?"

"We just want to help," Hare said.

Queen Magnificent hesitated, then nodded. "Alright, very well. But don't think my dragons won't be with you."

Hare nodded. "Of course."

Queen Magnificent got off her hammock and walked out of the treehouse. The group followed, including Glory and her parents.

"Just wait until Jambu finds out you're his sister," Sloth said excitedly. "I can't believe I finally have both of my babies."

Queen Magnificent stood just outside the treehouse. The group gathered around on either side of her. She let out an odd high-pitched roar, one that Hare had never heard come from Glory.

As dragons began to gather, Hare assumed it must be a roar to gather the tribe for a meeting.

"Dragons of the rainforest!" Queen Magnificent bellowed. "As you may know, an unusual group of dragons has come into our rainforest. Now I'm sure you all know about the missing RainWings. These dragons have offered to help, so I'm assigning five of you to a group with them. Remember to treat them as guests, not prisoners. These dragons have come to us in search of safety, and they may be risking themselves to help us. Treat them the way you would treat any other RainWing."

Queen Magnificent cleared her throat, then continued. "The first dragon I've chosen is Mangrove." Hare suddenly held her breath. Please don't choose Bromeliad.

"The second is Ringtail. Third is Nightingale. Fourth is Vanilla."

As their names were called, the dragons stepped forward. Ringtail was light red and blue. Nightingale was a blue so dark it was almost black with small hints of purple. Vanilla was a light cream color and wore a vest with fluffy edges.

"Finally, I chose Dainty."

Hare let out a breath of relief, but when she saw the elegant pink dragon bound forward, she began to wish Bromeliad had been chosen instead.

She was very pretty with a piercing blue gaze, but her steps were clumsy and she flashed them the dumbest smile Hare had ever seen.

"Liana, I'd also like you to help out where you can," the queen said, turning to the blue dragon.

Liana flared her ruff. "What about Kookaburra?"

"Kookaburra can go with you. The skills you use and develop on this task may help him become a better dragon."

The small dragonet raced away from the RainWings and straight into Vanilla's outstretched arms.

"You hear that, mama?" he chirped. "I'm going to help you!"

"Yes, I heard," Vanilla said happily. "I know you'll do wonderful."

Out of the corner of her eye, Hare could see Blueberry lightly pat Glory's head.

They must be happy to be a family now.

"You may all return to your usual duties," Queen Magnificent said, turning back to the treehouse and returning inside. As the group began to break up, Liana called out to two dragons. "Nectar! Bright! You two are in charge of guarding the queen until further notice. Stay posted outside the treehouse, and remember, stay alert."

A yellow dragon with orange speckles and a white dragon swooped away and landed outside the treehouse.

Glory turned to Mangrove. "Alright, let's start with you."

Mangrove blinked. "Start with me?"

"Yes," Glory said. "Take us to the spot where you last saw Orchid."