Rain and Night - A Glorybringer Story

Chapter 39

Liana, Coconut, Rasberry, Pineapple, Jambu ... Glory counted and took note of the RainWings she saw. Hopefully no one was missing, or was killed by the NightWings. Deathbringer put a wing around her as he stared at the rainforest as though a NightWing might pop out at any moment. 

"Lavender? Has anybody seen Lavender?" An orange RainWing called, frantically searching for this Lavender dragon. "Lavender? Where are you?"

Another couple of RainWings burst out of the rainforest, looking stricken and horrified. 

"They got Python!" One of them cried out. A few RainWings wailed in grief. 

But Glory had other problems to deal with. First of all, Starchaser and Granduer, were both nowhere to be seen. And second of all, her dragonets were utterly devastated by having to leave the rainforest. 

"Mommy, Mommy!" Fern squeaked. "Can we go back now? Are the bad dragons gone?"

"Not yet, Fern," Glory answered, peering down at the dragonet. 

"Awwww," Firefly complained, plonking herself down. "I'm tired. Why aren't there any trees here?" She stood up and wandered around a bit. Firefly had never been outside of the rainforest before. 

"I'm hungry!" Amber added, flicking her orange tail from side to side. She was blue and orange — which meant that she probably was sad and frustrated. RainWing dragonets had trouble controlling their scales. 

"We'll get you food in the morning," she answered quickly, thinking. 

Where is Starchaser and Granduer?! If they're both dead, well, that's going to be very unpleasant for me, Glory thought worriedly, sneaking glances at the trees. 

Just then, Jambu walked over with a yawn, eager to help.

"I'll take care of the dragonets," Glory's brother offered happily. He looked down at them and said cheerfully. "Wanna play a game?"

"YES!" They agreed. 

"Come on, then. I'll teach you how to play," Jambu said, leading them to the edge of the crowd. Glory nodded at him in gratitude. Now she could focus on the rest of the tribe. Glory hopped onto a large boulder and waited until everyone was quiet, staring up at her. 

"Everyone," she said in a calm, commanding voice. "We have to make sure that we know who is missing and who is here. If you think that your friend or family member or someone you know is not here, come and I'll note it down. I'll choose someone to keep watch in case of another attack. If you have any questions come to me. Now, settle down and go to sleep. We'll figure out what to do tomorrow."

The RainWings sleepily murmured their agreement and then went to sleep, after Glory chose Rasberry and Dewdrop to stand guard. It was then that Starchaser and Midnight, as well as Secretkeeper, burst out of the trees. All of them were sweaty and exhausted. 

"Your Majesty," Starchaser said urgently, walking towards Glory, who had stepped off of the boulder. Not many RainWings were listening, since most were trying to sleep. "I'm sorry we took so long. We had to hide because they were searching through the village and we were behind the others. But Granduer ..."

"She tried to defend herself against the NightWings," Midnight explained. "I was caught by them when I was with her, trying to escape, but the NightWings went easy on me since I was a NightWing, too. But they ... they killed Granduer."

Glory's blood turned to ice. Granduer was dead. The old, wise, grumpy RainWing queen. She was saddened and shocked, but she refused to let it show. 

"I'll tell the tribe in the morning," Glory said with a sigh. Deathbringer twined his tail around hers, trying to comfort her, and it almost worked. "Go to sleep."

Then, she walked over to Jambu, who was playing with Firefly, Amber and Fern, and they were talking about camouflage games or whatever.

"Alright, it's time to go to bed," Deathbringer announced. The dragonets looked disappointed.

"Awww," Amber said unhappily. "Fine."

"Bye, Uncle Jambu!" Fern called as Deathbringer led him away. Jambu smiled and waved. 

"Bye bye!" Firefly yelled. They stumbled through the crowd of  RainWings until they reached a spot right under the big boulder. 

It was cold out here, with no trees to block the chilly breeze, so the tiny dragonets were already starting to shiver. Glory lay down, and then Amber, Firefly and Fern snuggled up with her. She chuckled and wrapped her wings around them, giving them some warmth. Deathbringer covered her with his wing. Glory sighed and then closed her eyes, slipping into sleep.