"Night and Ice Do Not Mix" *Winterwatcher*

Moondestroyer? Mooneater? Mooncrusher?"

Winter pinned her down with his cold gaze. Never seen one look like that before. Didn't know they had silver scales anywhere except under their wings. Those ones beside her eyes are remarkable... And she looks like she's... Listening to something. He thought curiously. Winter thoughts were abruptly buried in a landslide of anger and self-loathing. What am I thinking? NightWings killed him, and I hate them all, all of them.

The NightWing tore her eyes off him.

"Five seconds." Winter snarled.
"No." The NightWing said.
"That is my scavenger." Winter hissed. "My idiot clawmate let it out, but it is mine and I did not bring it all the way here to see it eaten by a lying, smoke-breathing NightWing."  Winter took a step closer. "I could freeze you one part at a time — first your horns, then snap then off. Then your tail— freeze it and snap it off. Then your claws, and your wings... Should I go on?" He asked in a cold voice.

The NightWing closed her talons around Bandit and brought her wings forward to wrap around it too. Winter was thinking of Hailstorm before and after he was captured in between his threats.

"Hey, calm down, all right?" Qibli shoved his way through the crowd and stopped in between the two. "No one is getting sliced up or frozen and snapped apart." He told Winter. "What is wrong with you? Did you even try just asking nicely?" Qilbi turned to the NightWing. "Hey. I'm the idiot clawmate, although most dragons call me Qibli. My intimidating acquaintance here is Winter. What's your name?"

"Moon," she answered in a whisper.

"Moon what?" Winter snapped.
"Moon what?" He nearly shouted. "Come on NightWing. We know your names are all lies. So what's yours? Moondestroyer? Mooneater? Mooncrusher?"

"Winter, you need to seriously cool down!" Qibli yelled. He grinned at the NightWing. "Get it? Because he's an IceWing? I know, I'm hilarious."

"It's Moonwatcher." Said a RainWing.

"Moonwatcher." Winter muttered, deflating a little.

"Listen," Qibli interrupted the silence. "This is my fault. I wanted a closer look, so I opened the cage, and that thing was halfway down the tunnel before we could even sneeze. But I promise you the scavenger does belong to Winter, so we're asking you nicely: Please don't eat it."

"Get your teeth anywhere near Bandit and you will lose them," Winter snarled and Moon.

"You are not at all clear on the concept of 'asking nicely,' are you?" Qibli asked Winter.

"Bandit?" Moon echoed.

Please don't eat him! Just don't! Winter just stared Moon.

"Indeed," Qibli answered. "The scavenger with the silly name is Winter's pet. Nobody told me we could bring pets here, but I guess the nephew of the IceWing queen gets some special privileges. And if you didn't know he was Queen Glacier's nephew, don't worry, he'd have told you sometime in the next five minutes."

"I only mentioned it," Winter told Qibli, " because it seems entirely obvious to me that the niece and nephew of the IceWing queen should each be given a private cave, so I wanted you to know we wouldn't have to be clawmate for vary long, as there has clearly been some kind of mistake."

"Here's hoping," Qibli said. "So? Moon! Can we catch you a sheep or something instead?"

"I wasn't going to eat him," Moon said. "I didn't want anyone to eat him. Nobody can eat him, not ever."

Wait, so she saved Bandit? Winter tilted his head curiously at Moon and relaxed a little.  "That's exactly how I feel about it."

"Great," Qibli said. "Weird, but great. We're all on the same scroll, then."

I will dismember anyone who will try to eat Bandit!

Moon slowly lifted Bandit into Winter's talons. But as she did, her claws brushed against his. Why am I feeling like this! What am I feeling anyway? Do I — like her?! Winter, you are a disgrace to the IceWings!

"Ew," Winter protested, observing Bandit. "You got him all sticky."

"Sorry," Moon apologized softly. "I just..."
"She was just saving him," The RainWing who's name was supposedly Kinkajou pointed out. "You should say thank you."
"Hmmm," was all Winter said.

Winter took his pet over to the river and dunked him in, making several shocked squeaking sounds to come out of Bandit. What does she know about scavengers? I wonder if she can figure out what's wrong with Bandit. Not that I would ever ask a NightWing for anything.

"He's hungry," Moon suddenly said.

Winter glared at her. "No, he isn't. I offered him a desert rat this morning on the way here, and a bit of walrus the day before that, but he didn't eat either of them." Winter lifted up the now wet Bandit, and inspected him. Bandit fell over and curled into a little ball, shivering. "In fact, ha hasn't eaten since Queen Glacier caught him and gave him to me four days ago. I gather that scavengers eat fairly infrequently."

"Or maybe it hates you and is trying to starve itself to death," Qibli offered unhelpfully.

Winter frowned. "Scavengers don't do that." Do they? "He drinks water when I give it to him.

"Have you — um —" Moon faltered as Winter scowled her.
"Have I what?" he snapped.

"Hello!" Sunny said brightly. She was a small dragon, smaller than Winter and Qibli, and not much bigger than Moon and Kinkajou. "What's all the excitement? Fatespeaker told me you brought a pet," Sunny said turning to Winter.
Is that it? Aw, I met a couple just about that size once."

Winter arched his neck and looked down at Sunny. "Queen Glacier said I could have him if I agreed to come here. If you say I can't keep him, I'm going home."

"But you definitely can't have it there," Sunny pointed out. "A scavenger couldn't possibly survive the cold in Glacier's palace."

"Well —" Winter hesitated, he was taken back by Sunny's logic. "I don't care.  I'll figure out a way. I'm keeping him, that's my point."

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Yes! Two updates on a school day!!! Thx for reading!!
1012 words!