~ Wings of Fire ~ Truth or Dare ~

Chapter 4

This dare was suggested by SkyeAndKenobi

Art by Liighty

"Turtle, truth or dare?" Winter grumbled. 

"M-me?" Turtle stuttered. Wait, why me?

Winter bared his teeth, rolling his eyes. "Yes, you."

Turtle fidgeted nervously, feeling the gaze of all the dragonets on him. Truth, or dare? Winter's question echoed ominously in his head. The name hadn't sounded so bad when Kinkajou dragged him out of the underground cave, but now that it was his turn, Turtle wasn't so sure that he would like this game. He gulped. Should he pick truth? But, what if Winter asked him if he was an Animus? That was ridiculous; how would any dragon know to ask that?

"D-dare," Turtle murmured.

Winter scowled. "I dare you to... eat as many fish as you can."

Turtle's stomach growled. He hadn't eaten since the morning, and it was a little mast noon. He was hungry. This wasn't so bad after all, he assumed.

Qibli grinned. "We'll have to take the game to the Prey Center," he declared. 

Clay smiled. "Webs just took a bunch of the SeaWing students out fishing," he explained. "There should be plenty of fresh fish."

Tsunami chuckled, "Oh, this is going to be interesting..."

Turtle entered the prey cave, smelling fresh fish. His mouth watered. A pile of newly caught fish was lying in the corner, next to a pen of panicking chickens. Clay groaned, "Not the chickens again..."

Winter swept his tail at the fish. "Eat as many as you can," he growled. "That's the dare."

Turtle settled down beside the fish. He picked up one and opened his jaws wide when Winter hissed, "No! Not raw! Charred!"

Turtle set down the fish, his eyes widened in disbelief. Charred? He'd always eaten fish raw; in his opinion, it tasted much better than all blackened and smoky. A SkyWing visitor to the palace once roasted some fish, and Turtle had tried one to quench his curiosity; he'd nearly thrown up on the spot.

Qibli leaned forward and blasted a breath of fire on a few fish. Turtle stared at them. Tsunami rubbed her talons together. "Go ahead," she prompted.

Turtle slowly picked up a blackened fish. It smelled burnt in an unpleasant way, and it made him wrinkle his snout. He threw the whole thing into his mouth before he could stop himself. He nearly gagged, feeling the bitter char of the fish in his jaws.

"How do you like it?" Qibli grinned. "Ew, I can't believe that you were going to eat it raw. I always eat it cooked. Charred is better!"

Tsunami shrugged. "I like both ways."

Winter shuddered. "How can you stand the bitterness? Gross."

Kinkajou curled her bright yellow tail. "I don't eat a lot of meat," she squeaked. "Fruit is better!"

Turtle forced the fish down his throat. "It-it's... okay..." he choked out.

Winter flicked his tail, the icicle-like spikes on the end clattering on the stone. "Go on," he growled, "the dare was to eat as many as you can, not just one."

Turtle gulped as Qibli blasted fire on a few more. The SeaWing slowly devoured as many as he could, with Qibli cooking a few after Turtle devoured the few previously burnt fish. Tsunami was keeping track of how many he'd eaten.

"41... 41... 43..." Tsunami chanted. Turtle was beginning to feel full.

"Come on, you can make it to 50!" Qibli yelped, then charred seven more fish. "That'll break Clay's record of 49!"

Clay grinned. "I'd already eaten a deer before that," he laughed. "I probably would have been able to eat much more if I hadn't eaten that deer."

Turtle groaned as he swallowed the last charred fish. Hey, it wasn't so bad after all, but now he felt extremely full. Clay shook his head. "I'll have to starve myself next time before I try for a new record," he joked. "I've got some competition."

Kinkajou giggled. "How about we head back to the cave to do another dare?"

Who should Turtle dare or ask a question to - Tsunami, Sunny, Clay, Starflight, or Moon?  What should the dare/question be?