Deathbringer's Acceptance

Chapter 2

Two days passed, and sure enough, Deathbringer hadn't done anything.

Truthfully, he had wanted to get this problem fixed as soon as dragonly possible, but at the end of the day, how do you fix something like this? He knew Glory was right, and he had to confess and admit to what he did, rather than hide and pretend nothing had ever happened, but while Deathbringer was a strong dragon (or at least, according to himself,) he didn't have the strength to do that. And besides, what was admitting to it going to do? By now the Nightwings certainly knew about it, judging by the return of the insults and the threats. Telling them what they already knew was practically just rubbing it in their faces! And the Rainwings...

Those sweet, innocent, carefree dragons... He couldn't just tell them what he did. It would horrify them, they would never trust him again, and he didn't want any of those things... He had grown fond of the small group of colorful acquaintances he had found. He had never had friends before, the very concept of having dragons around him who trusted him felt odd... But it also felt nice. He loved those dragons, he liked having dragons who laughed at his jokes, who wanted to be around him every day, or who shared fruit and secrets with him. So much so that being alone felt wrong to him now.

That's why he kept pushing it off, prolonging the inevitable, pondering any possible other ways he could do this without losing friends or the trust of the tribes he lived among. If only he could see the future, that way he'd be able to know exactly what to say and do to preserve what he had worked so hard for. There had to be a path he could take where everything ended peacefully, right?

No, there wasn't. Deathbringer thought as he flew around Jade Mountain. He didn't know what was worse: The thought that he would lose his friends and the trust of the Rainwings, or the horrible realization that everything he had tried so hard every day since Quickstrike died was coming back to haunt him. There were times when he wondered if something like that would ever happen, but he always shrugged it off. How foolish he was. The weight of his guilt and remorse pulled him down, pounding in his mind like a horrible headache, making him feel sick to his stomach almost constantly. He needed to go somewhere, somewhere away from all of his problems in the rainforest.

That's why he was at Jade Mountain Academy. The founders, the once-legendary Dragonets of Destiny, allowed him to hang around the school whenever he pleased, so long as he didn't disturb any classes. The sun was shining high in the sky, and he knew that this was the time students would be in classes, allowing him to roam the halls. Some much-needed quiet would do him good, he figured. Maybe some peace would help him think of a way out of this mess.

Reaching the front of the school, he noticed the tiny blue shape of a dragon by the entrance of the cavern on the side of the mountain. A Seawing. He realized, stopping to hover, wondering if this was a good idea going here. It can't be Tsunami, she teaches at the school now! It was probably that creaky old dragon, Webs, or something. Shooting towards the ground, feeling the wind on his scales, Deathbringer spread his wings just as he was several feet toward the ground, however as the newcomer approached in front of where the Nightwing was landing, Deathbringer realized too late that he was horribly wrong.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing!?" Tsunami hissed, standing tall so she could look taller.

He knew it was too late to fly away, besides, he didn't want to provoke her. Even though he knew he was walking on eggshells, Deathbringer responded in his usual fashion: "Oh, Tsunami, I'm surprised to see you here. I figured your mother would have gotten a harness made for you by now."

Tsunami grinned, "Deathbringer, three moons, you're missing a few teeth! What on earth happened?" She laughed.

Deathbringer paid no attention to her, just as she had done to him, "As delightful as this is, I must be going. Queen Glory told me she needed some supplies and sent me to retrieve them."