How to Find Your Fire

(WoF) Chapter 27: The Stranger

By ThatAnnoyingDog

Otter was absolutely ashamed of herself. Looking at the rainforest in front of her, this new feeling of freedom should have filled her up with delight, but instead, it had just filled her with a strong sense of guilt. How could I have followed these strangers out of the palace? I knew that the Queen wouldn't have killed me, although I can't say the same for the others; she would've killed Oyster just to torture me, and now she will, and I am too much of a coward to even watch it. Furious with herself, she took out her anger on the nearest tree, raking her talons across its bark. The other dragons were too astonished by what had just happened with Tidalclaws to notice. I suppose I should get that Tidalclaws to open his magical portal thing and let me back into the palace.

"Yeah, I am an animus and a mind reader," Tidalclaws said nervously, breaking the silence. He stepped away from the others staring at him.

That made Otter angrier than she already was. Ok, wow. Guess who you put your trust in Otter, the next Darkstalker. He's just missing the visions of the future, oh wait, he might have those too and just have decided not to share. Hurt seemed to flash in Tidalclaws's eyes for a quick moment. Wait, has he been reading my mind this whole time? Is he reading my mind right now?

"So, you have known what we have been thinking about this whole time?" She had meant to ask that as an annoyed question, but with everything happening, she couldn't keep herself from yelling.

Starscale leaped up to his defense, "We should give him the benefit of the doubt, after all, if he is so powerful and wanted to hurt us, wouldn't he have tried to hurt us already?"

"What if this is just part of a bigger motive, and you are helping him?" Otter snapped back and then paused to look at her, "Wait, you're not a mind reader too, are you?"

Diamond interjected, "Of course she is not! She's a Skywing!"

Three moons, this dragon must have gotten seriously messed up somewhere. "She is definitely not a Skywing!" she paused and added after remembering Starscale's abnormal sized wings, "Well, maybe just a little bit."

The crazed hybrid growled, "Wait, you are that pesky Nightwing from the arena! I can't believe I have been deceived by someone, so...deceiving."

Now the four-part hybrid looked angry, and ready to attack Starscale. Starscale, however, backed away and tried to calm Diamond down. Suddenly remembering that she needed to tell Tidalclaws to let her go back to the palace, she opened her mouth to speak but her words were drowned out by the roar of a dragon.

They spent a couple of seconds contemplating what to do. When another roar sounded, Starscale noticed something coming towards them in the sky. A huge dragon appeared, bigger than any dragon in Pyrrhia.

"What is that?", Otter whispered.

Everyone in the group started to freak out, except for Otter, who stood there bewildered. Ok, I need to get out of here now. She nudged Tidalclaws, and when he didn't respond, she hit him hard.

"Oww! What was that for? Aren't we a bit busy dealing with a telepathic dragon who seems to want to take over Pyrrhia for you to be taking your anger out on me?"

"I need to go back and try to save my brother, but I suppose you already knew that because you..wait..how do you know that this dragon wants to take over..."

"Wait. You can't hear it?"

"Hear what? Uggh, I don't have time to deal with this. Just open the portal already!" What's the use? He is probably dead already, and I left him for a group of insane dragons who hear voices and can't even tell the difference between a Nightwing and a Skywing.

Suddenly, the other dragons in their little group stopped panicking and turned to face Tidalclaws and Otter. They looked like they were about to attack.

Tidalclaws looked horrified, but he managed to stammer:

"S..she..at least I think it is a she..just commanded us to kill you."

"Wait, what? Why? Ae you going to try and kill me too?" Otter prepared herself to flee.

"Of course not! You may be unfriendly, but I definitely wouldn't kill you. As for the others, I don't know why they are doing this. I d..don't know..I think she knows you are immune to her..whatever she is doing..."

"Well, if you aren't going to kill me, open the portal already!"

Frantically, Tidalclaws started to open the portal, mumbling the long spell at the same time that he was trying to solve the complicated puzzle. Otter groaned. This is why certain dragons should be animuses, and others should not. He had just barely managed to open it when the others abruptly stopped coming after them.

"Wait, what are you guys doing?" Starscale called out.

Tidalclaws opened his mouth to respond to her when Otter shoved him into the portal, and it quickly closed behind them.

They shot out of the portal and onto the floor of the Skywing palace, where the queen was inspecting the mess that they had previously left.

"Tsk..tsk..Hello there, you two," the queen paused while the two guards next to her put chains on Otter and Tidalclaws. She flicked her talon softly against Otter's face and sighed, "You know, of all of my prisoners, I thought that you would at least remain obedient, but maybe you care less for family than I thought you did." She turned and looked at Tidalclaws, "and don't try any of your magic spells, animus, those new and shiny chains prevent any spell from being cast by the wearer. You aren't the only animus in Pyrrhia." She finished with a smirk and ordered for Tidalclaws to be brought to the dungeon and for Otter to be left with her.

"Wait, actually, there is no reason the animus can't join me and Otter. This will be quite fun for all of us. Well, maybe just fun for me, but no matter!"

Tidalclaws glared at Otter. Well, she thought fiercely, hoping he was reading her mind, it's not like you had a better idea to get us out of there. You would've just stood there as your "friends" attacked you. Otter then shook her head to clear her mind and stared at the ground as she walked through the hallways, and began to prepare herself, as she had done before all of her previous arena battles. She tried to not care about Oyster, but it proved much more difficult to rid herself of all feeling for someone she was close to, rather than a random stranger.

"Well..we are here! Oh, cheer up, Otter! You are going to love this," the queen said, smirking.