A World Upside Down - WoF Jade Winglet AU

Dragonbane - Moon

"The Queen!"

"Outclaws, hit the D.E.C.K.! I'm fine, run a defensive shield strat!"

"We're outnumbered!"

"Someone get Qibli, his associates, and the Queen out of here! We'll cover your retreat!"

The callouts of the skirmish reverberated through Moon's head, never breaking their iteration. It was all she could process as they retreated back to the palace with less than half of their personnel.

The actual danger to her wasn't what perturbed her. It was that Winter had chased Cirrus before the events.

Anything could've gone wrong. They could've gotten lost, Cirrus might've taken them down, Winter might've been intercepted by the reinforcements, he'd come back just to be attacked again...

When the day before progressed into night, Moon had difficulty sleeping. She felt warm and safe, especially with Kinkajou and Qibli next to her, but she had no idea of Winter's status.

He's strong. He's a fighter. He'll come back to us...

Sometime...

Her thoughts and adrenaline were what allowed her to help Kinkajou carry Qibli for as long as they needed to. The drive to get Qibli to safety, her concern for Winter, the sensation of constant dread; everything was running through her body at the moment.

As they neared the palace, Moon's thoughts switched to the nearby injured SandWing.

Qibli's healing, right? I wonder when he'll wake up. Maybe I should take off his Skyfire to know what he's thinking about...I'll do it at the palace, if I remember to.

Surely Qibli's a prince at this point, Moon thought and chuckled to herself. He certainly deserves a lot more than it, too.

He deserves someone better than me...someone like Winter.

Moon saw the way her two friends looked at each other. How Qibli always remarked some joke towards Winter, and how he'd play off his laughing with a cough. How Winter was too embarrassed to admit how great Qibli was. How Qibli was ambitious to get to the good side of Winter.

But...she also noticed how the two boys looked at her, not just each other. She returned their feelings to both of them, obviously. But how did they feel about it?

That has gotten her confused and uncertain of her feelings.

All I know is that whatever happens, it isn't going to be simple and straightforward.

Winter might be too afraid to break out of his shell and admit his feelings. Qibli sees himself more as a commodity to others than a real partner.

And Moon? She'd rather disappear and let the problem resolve itself between the remaining two than to confront it.

I wonder if the the others have the same thoughts.

Alright, whatever. We're here anyways. We'll work out it later.

A call sounded through the air as they approached the palace. The fleet of dragons swooped down into the main courtyard. A handful of medics arrived to take Qibli from Moon and Kinkajou, who both solemnly watched the handsome SandWing be taken away for care.

The two duos involving Moon, Kinkajou, Thorn, and Six-Claws were the first to enter the palace. The dragonets supported each other, and all four walked side by side.

Six-Claws was conducting a roll call for those present as they made their way inside the grand entrance. So many of other dragons' thoughts were rushing through her mind.