Wings of Fire: Possibility

Chapter 10

L O C U S T

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It was dusk when Locust finally woke up. Fern and Emerald were chatting a few feet away from him, very intently. Locust felt sore all throughout his body, especially on his tail and snout. He groggily opened his eyes and shifted in the makeshift nest, and both dragons stopped talking and looked brightly at Locust.

"Loki! How are you feeling?" Fern asked, as he went over to help him up. Locust winced at the sudden movement but he tried not to let it show. "I'm fine," he croaked, his voice strained from screaming so much. He touched his snout gingerly, flinching. That's odd. "Why does my snout hurt so much?" he mumbled.

"The vines wrapped pretty tightly on it," Fern explained, suddenly speaking very quietly. Locust tilted his head for Fern to elaborate. He looked away. "It... might have crooked your snout just a little." he said, and Locust's heart dropped.

He scrambled out of the nest and ran to a nearby puddle. He looked in the reflection, and was at a loss for words. His snout was leaning slightly to the side, and even though it wasn't much, it was still enough to be noticeable. His bottom jaw was slightly crooked as well, giving him a small under bite. One of his front bottom teeth was sticking out. 

He groaned, suddenly very depressed with his injury. "I'm ugly!" he wailed. He crouched down on the ground and covered his face, and began to whimper.

Not only was I forced to come here, but now I'm deformed! Three moons!

Then, he felt a light wing rest on top of him. He looked up and noticed Emerald was looking at him with pity. She shook her head, and spoke something in her foreign language.

"She's right, you don't look ugly, Loki," Fern said, walking up to stand on Locust's other side. "I think it makes you look cooler!"

Locust stubbornly covered his face again so Emerald couldn't see it. She said something to Fern, and he nodded, prodding Locust with his wing tip. "Emerald says that we should head to her village, it's getting dark and this is when the panthers start hunting."

Locust sat up at the mention of panthers, and tried to pull himself together. It's not that noticeable. It looks cool. I'll be a hero. He repeated to himself as they followed Emerald out of the clearing. But he didn't feel reassured. I just want to go home!

They followed Emerald for quite a while until they stopped at a drop off. She turned to them and said something that Locust didn't understand, but Fern seemed to nod and give a thumbs up. She smiled and Locust's heart skipped a beat, then she turned and plunged down the side of the cliff, disappearing into the shadows.

"Where did she go?" Locust asked, slightly panicked. Fern looked at him with puzzlement, but then facepalmed. "I totally forgot you can't understand her!" he exclaimed, shaking his head.

Locust tilted his eyebrows up and Fern explained. "I think you've already noticed, but Emerald speaks an ancient Leafwing language. It's an elective class that I'm taking, so I understand her," he said, scratching the back of his head, embarrassed. "She said she's part of a secret tribe called the Seedwings. They live underground, and all we have to do to follow is jump down to the bottom."

Locust shuddered, not enjoying the idea of falling again. Fern grabbed his talon and held it. "We can go together. There's a net at the bottom that's supposed to catch us." he smiled, his overgrown teeth suddenly made Locust's embarrassing teeth feel more natural. He let out a small smile and nodded back.

Fern beamed, then walked up to the edge. He gripped tighter to Locust's talon. "Ready? Hold on tight!" he leaped from the edge and began to fall, dragging Locust behind him. Locust couldn't help but let out a terrified scream as they plummeted.