Glorybringer ... But Different

Chapter 3 ~ Deathbringer ~

He woke, shaking his head in alarm. Deathbringer had had a nightmare. He couldn't quite remember exactly what the nightmare was, but he was pretty sure it involved the mystery dragon he had met the day before or Quickstrike. He was struck by a pang of guilt and regret. Trying to relieve himself from that awful feeling, he got up and stretched, flinching when a freezing-cold chunk of ice brushed his tail. His fire had gone out during the night, which probably explained why he was so cold. 

The Ice Kingdom sucks, Deathbringer thought. I wonder if that cool dragon from yesterday will come and see me. Hopefully she does, I'm so bored. They gave me three months for this mission. If I were really trying, I would have completed it by now. But there's no need to search for the targets, they'll try and come meet Blaze. So I can stay here and wait for them to come. Tsunami and Glory. 

He went outside of the small stony half-cave he had been hiding in. It offered him some protection from the harsh wind and snow and icy sludge. But for a moment Deathbringer forgot about that as he stared at the distant shape approaching him. It was the dragon he had met yesterday. She had come back to see him after all. Deathbringer allowed himself a small, grateful smile. 

"Hello, mystery dragon," he called in a teasing manner as she noticed him and landed, brushing snow off of her back. She wrinkled her snout at him. "Sorry. But I'm afraid I'll have to keep calling you that until you tell me your mysterious secret name."

"I'm ..." she trailed off, looking a though she was startled. "... Lemming. I'm Lemming."

He smirked. That must not be her real name. She wasn't an IceWing, even though she was white and blue-ish. Perhaps a SkyWing painted those colours? Deathbringer wasn't sure what she actually was, but she wasn't an IceWing. But he didn't mind. He liked this dragon. 

"Okay. Hello Lemming," he said with a mysterious smile. The corners of her mouth twitched upwards for a second, and she sat down. "I can't believe you live in a place like this. Bit chilly for my taste." She snorted. 

"Yeah, and I'm sure an ICEWing like me will love melting to death in the desert surrounded by SANDWings," Lemming retorted. "Sounds like a wonderful way to die." Deathbringer chuckled. Even though she was bristly and defensive, he could tell that his natural charm was making her relax slightly.

"Well, I'm just saying that the snow isn't exactly the warmest thing in the world," he replied with a shrug. 

(RANDOM TIME SKIP)

After around an hour, Lemming declared that she had to go.

"See you," she said gingerly, sneaking a glance at him as she turned away and took off. She waved at him briefly before disappearing into the distance, swallowed up by an approaching snowstorm. 

"Bye!" Deathbringer called, before lying down and resting his chin on his talons with a sigh. So boring now that Lemming was gone. The hour-long chat was fun. It was entertaining and satisfying listening to her shoot down his statements as smoothly as talking normally. He loved it. 

And he was beginning to realize that perhaps that was because he had been lonely all these years. After his mother's death, he was completely alone on his missions, and rarely talked with other dragons. 

Deathbringer smiled and snorted with laughter as he thought about the snarky, amused but seemingly annoyed expression on her face as she rolled her eyes at something he said. But he soon just felt bored and uninspired. So, he decided to fly towards the nearby pine forest and see if he could hunt something. He got lucky after a few hours of searching. There was a big herd of caribou and he quickly took down one of them, scaring the rest south, closer to where the little cave was. He wolfed down the caribou, realizing how hungry he was, and spent another hour or two scouting the nearby area for the dragonets of destiny. No luck finding them. Deathbringer flew back to the cave and laid down. It was almost sunset. His body was using up huge amounts of energy just to keep him warm. And he felt sleepy. So he laid down, tried to brush away some snow on the ground, and then fell asleep. 

Four days and two meetings with the not-IceWing later, he was woken by the sound of flapping wings in the distance. At least four sets of them. Not Lemming, then. 

Deathbringer sat up and froze. Oh, no, he thought. I can't hide because the color of the stone and ice won't blend in with my scales. Oh, I hope they don't notice me. 

"What's this cave? It looks suspicious," a voice said. A male one, hostile and cautious. "Like someone could be hiding in there."

"Let's just go to the fortress already," a second voice, female and commanding, disagreed. "There's no point going into that dark hole. Why would someone be hiding in there?" There was a sound of crunching snow. 

"I don't know.  But I'm going in," the first voice said. A chill ran down Deathbringer's spine. I have to go on the offensive! I'll get cornered otherwise. 

He exploded upwards, his claws catching the IceWing in the throat. A moment later the IceWing fell to the ground, dead, blue blood pooling around his neck. 

"NightWing!" A tall, sleek IceWing hissed, lunging at him. Deathbringer twisted gracefully and then she was dead, too. The remaining two IceWings roared and dove at him. That was slightly more than he could handle. One on one he would almost always win against an opponent, but right now Deathbringer was outnumbered. He hissed in pain as an IceWing's sharp, ridged claws tore across his left side, leaving a wide slash. He breathed out a plume of fire that blackened the IceWing's wing. Despite that, the IceWing still turned around and slammed him into the ground. He hit his head on a chunk of ice and the world spun around him. Blood, his own blood, splattered onto his chest and wings, and pain coursed through him. 

Deathbringer forced himself back up, his legs wobbling. Three moons, do I have a concussion? He probably did, because he only managed a weak blow at one IceWing before he fell over. What a stupid concussion. 

"Deathbringer!" A voice yelled in the distance. It sounded like Lemming ... Oh, no! She's only pretending to be an IceWing! She'll get destroyed by these two soldiers! He struggled to stand back up but couldn't. The last thing he could remember was Lemming landing, frantic tears welling up in her defiant eyes, and then everything going black.

(TIME SKIP)

He opened his eyes slowly, weak from blood loss. Where was he? Wasn't he right outside that cave near Blaze's fortress. Deathbringer looked up and glimpsed pine trees weighed down by snow. Was he in the pine forest? Confusion overcame him, but when he tried to move everything hurt. 

"Ow," he murmured, lying back down. Suddenly, he noticed Lemming tentatively putting a wing over him, offering him some meagre warmth. 

"Deathbringer?" She said. "Oh, thank the moons you survived that. You lost so much blood, I was sure you were going to die." Lemming seemed to be trying to hide it, but she seemed deeply concerned. "Are you feeling alright?" 

"Uh, yeah," he muttered. "What happened?"

"I had to kind of drag you here," she explained. "I also tried to cover up the blood trails, and honestly we're pretty well-hidden right now."

He lifted his head a bit to see her face clearly. "Thanks for helping me," Deathbringer said. "And, you don't have to keep hiding it. I know you're not an IceWing." He finished with a weak smirk. 

Lemming stood up, startled. She pawed at the snow doubtfully, like she didn't know how to react. And then, she sighed as though in annoyance before she replied, "Yeah, I'm not. I'm a RainWing, actually." Suddenly, her scales became emerald-green, with some orange and red mixed in. Her eyes remained the same blue, though. "I hate it here."

"And your real name ...?" Deathbringer asked, curious. Something like Dazzling or whatever. 

"My real name is Glory," she answered tentatively. 

He froze again, but she didn't notice. I'm supposed to kill her, Deathbringer realized. Oh, no. How will I have the heart to now? Now that I owe her my life? Oh, no ... 

He took a deep breath. She had to know, right? Or else, when she found out, she wouldn't like him anymore, and he would be so bored and lonely. 

"Glory, I ... I'm an assassin," Deathbringer admitted. "I'm here on a mission."

"Oh. Well, I guess that explains your name. What's your mission?" She asked. 

"My mission ... it's ... my mission is to kill you."