Wings of Power: The Rising Tribe [SERIES CLOSED]

Chapter 23

Slug yelped with pain and staggered back. He wasn't bleeding, as far as Vein could see. Vein stepped forward and caught a glimpse of Slug's surprised face. Vein went up to the trench on the ground. It suddenly blasted up, and Vein had to jerk back to avoid getting walloped by TimeWing legs. Marble exploded out, spraying dust everywhere. Strangely, none of the dust got stuck on Marble's fur. 

Not strange, Vein thought. Magic. 

Marble crashed down in front of Vein, and she lashed out wildly with her tail. Vein had to duck to prevent from becoming an impaled dragon. Even though TimeWings had one spike, a direct hit to the head or heart could kill you immediately. BloodWings had multiple spikes, but a direct hit to the head was not fatal. And to add to that, TimeWing spikes are about twice as long as a BloodWing spike, and much sharper.

Vein didn't have much time to dwell on that, though. He shot a burst of flame, and Vein backed up, ready for the explosion. But too Vein's surprise and dismay, the fire bounced off harmlessly on her fur and shot towards Cactus. Vein yelled a warning and then dived towards Cactus, putting himself in danger of Marble's spike. Just to make sure she didn't stab downward, Vein slammed his back legs into her stump, knowing she'd feel the most pain there. Back at camp, you would learn to use a wound to your advantage. Marble cried out, but she didn't give up that easily. He crashed into Cactus, and the flame flew just in between her horns. Before she could react, Vein jumped off of her and went back to Marble.

Vein flapped his huge wings to generate enough air to shove her away. Vein jumped up and swung his tail at her, aiming for the head. But she suddenly grabbed his tail, holding on to the blunt sides. She, with a strength Vein could not imagine, flung him towards the ocean. Vein stretched his wings higher to prevent falling into the water. But his wings didn't seem to function, and Vein suddenly realized he was doomed. He looked up while falling and saw Marble on top.

All this because of a name joke, Vein thought bitterly. Then suddenly he lurched upward and started flying. What the---

He started soaring down towards Blizzard and noticed he was intercepting the magic Marble had cast. But he wasn't smiling. He had a concentration face that Vein only now realized was his magic face. Vein suddenly could feel his wings again. He landed towards Blizzard, panting. Marble had come down, all her anger and fury pointed at Vein. Andesite crept up slowly towards Marble, giving Vein a face that clearly said shut up so that I can launch a surprise attack!

Blizzard must have gotten the message too, because he started talking. 

"Hey," He started, and Vein could hear the panic in his voice. BloodWings were specially trained in---okay, maybe I should stop boasting about our tribe. Others are pretty great too, right?

Marble snarled at Blizzard. "Traitor. You could have helped me. Instead, you betrayed me."

"WHAT?" Blizzard lashed out. "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO BETRAYED US FIRST!"

The colour of Marble's face drained. Marble fixated her snout into a sneer. "You're not supposed to know that!" 

"But I do," Blizzard spat. "And making a 'rising tribe' is even worse than a betrayal to the tribe. You're gonna basically tear apart Grinnen!"

"So?" Marble scoffed. "What's your point?"

"His point," Slug said, suddenly stepping in. "Is that you don't deserve to live."