Jade Mountain's Next Generation

Chapter 4 - Everyone has a story to tell...

"Wow! Everyone has so much in common yet everyone is so different! How about everyone tells one interesting thing about themselves?" Sunny asked.

"Indigo, do you want to go first?" Everyone turned to her, but she just said "No, I have something AMAZING and the saying is 'Save the best for last.'" She said. "Shine, you got anything?"

Oh, sure. Pick the friend with more RainWing gossip to share. "Well, I'm going to have a new sister or brother soon, she hatches in two months." I tried. Sunny and Indigo said "Aww!" and Rose looked at me with jealousy and sadness. 

"Sorry, Rose, I know you're an only child. And if you don't want to tell what happened, it's ok." I apologized.

"No, I'll tell." Everyone looked at her. "When I was four, my brother Drip's egg hatched. He fell out. And my parents loved him." She paused. "This is the story of a long chain of suicides. Is it okay if I tell it?" She asked Sunny. "Go on." She said quietly.

"Every weekend, my parents sent Drip and I to our uncle Passionfruit and our aunt Orange's hut in the village, and Passionfruit would hit us. Yell at us. Hurt us. He cut of Drip's wing." Tears slid down her face now. "He hated me. When he found out that there was another dragonet, it got worse. He would physically hurt us more, sometimes with sharp objects instead of tails and wings. My parents didn't know. Neither did Orange. One day, we said we'd tell our aunt, and he got angry. So angry that he started attacking us with a steak knife." Her voice was pained now. "He caught Drip. And told me that if I told Orange, he would kill my brother. He locked Drip in a room. I hadn't heard him. Orange was in for her daily audience with Queen Glory. As she exited, I told her everything. We went to save Drip." And now Rosebud could barely talk. "Orange talked to Passionfruit. And he knew I told her, and, living up to his promise, he killed Drip. When my mother and father found out, they jumped off a cliff with their wings bound. Orange and my other aunt, who hadn't married, were devastated. They were my father's sisters, and loved him. And Orange didn't want to live with a murderer. They flew together into the volcano of the NightWing Island. I hid for weeks alone, and then went to Queen Glory." She collapsed, sobbing. Poor Rose. I thought. I never knew the whole story. 

Everybody was silent. Even Indigo looked lost for words. "I'll be fine." Rose managed through her tears. "I just want some time to calm down."

So we continued. Copper had saved 73 lives, Alligator had fought 16 battles, and Sahara had helped kill Queen Wasp. They all had such dark stories.

And on Indigo's turn, Sunny asked "What is the amazing interesting thing?" And Indigo replied

"I'm an animus."

I turned to her, along with everyone else, even Rose. Igloo looked envious. I wish I had animus magic. I imagined that. What would I do with magic? Help Rose, help anyone who needed help. But Copper was looking at Indigo as though she was the most revolting thing he had ever seen. And so was Alligator.

"MAYBE if you guys are KIND and RESPECTFUL to Jade Mountain and the rest of your winglet, I'll give you some." She stared pointedly at Igloo. "Not that I'm talking about anyone in particular, of course."