Wings of Fire • Dragon of Warriors [3]

Chapter Eighteen

"Okay, wait, wait, wait," Stormscale said, "Back up a minute, I thought I was going to see him about my patrol schedules?"

     "Well," Quickclaws said, "Technically you're going on a 'patrol' back home. So... we're still talking about your patrol schedule?"

     Stormscale sat down heavily, grumbling to himself. Darkwing seemed confused too, but Morningcloud was pacing around the clearing with a thoughtful look.

     "I think I know why he picked you," Morningcloud said as she was pacing, "He was asking me about dragons in my squadron who've been working the hardest. I mentioned how you two offered to help before and after the evacuation. He was looking for trustworthy dragons to go back home all along."

     "But then where is he? Why would he call us here and not show up?" Darkwing rebutted.

     Quickclaws looked up. Against the gray clouds, Rapidwings would be hard to see due to his colouring. The movement would stick out, though, so Quickclaws was hoping for that as a sign.

     "Maybe he's busy," Speedscar tried.

     Crunching sounded in the snow beside Quickclaws. He took a break from watching to find that Brisktail had sat beside him. His friend was putting the satchel around his neck, adjusting the strap so it could fit around his other one.

     "What do you think we'll find back home?" Quickclaws asked, hoping to strike up some kind of conversation.

     "Blackcloud, hopefully," Brisktail said, "And Windwhipper too. When you guys found me in his cave his spies were actually headed back to him. They might have regrouped and gone back to the bay. From there, I don't know."

     Looking up in thought, Quickclaws remembered their encounter with Eagletalon. "We also have to tell Rapidwings about Blackcloud," he said.

     Brisktail nodded. "Oh, yeah, that too."

     From the corner of his eye, Quickclaws caught Morningcloud standing up onto her hind legs. "I think I see him!" she exclaimed. Quickclaws turned and looked up at the mountain. Sure enough, a tiny, ant-sized dot was making its way down. It appeared to be darker than usual, and eventually, he could make out what it was when Rapidwings was close to landing. He was carrying an ibex, probably from the prey store.

     Once the King landed, all six of them stood rigidly and saluted. Rapidwings nodded and they released their postures. Quickclaws could see Stormscale's gaze settle hungrily on the ibex. Morningcloud whacked his snout with her tail.

     "I'm sure you've all figured out why you're here," Rapidwings started with, sitting down and folding his wings. Quickclaws nodded, as did the others, and Brisktail was silent as usual, staring off into the clouds. "I'm sorry I was late to arrive, I meant to be here before you all came but I ran into a small commotion and I had to sort it out.

     "Anyways, the mission is clear to you all, right? Return home and find out any information you can: whether the SkyWings are occupying it, any info on Windwhipper's whereabouts and what the state of our home is. Try to gather any supplies you can find from the infirmary and barracks too."

     Speedscar nodded. "Am I the one in charge of this mission?"

     "Yes," Rapidwings confirmed. "When you arrive at the bay, trust your judgement: approach carefully and try to not give away the direction you're travelling in. One of the satchels has a compass: you may use it to help you track your course through the clouds if you so wish. Any questions?"

     "Yes," Darkwing said, raising his tail slightly, "What do we do if we find Windwhipper himself? Should we try to arrest him?"

     Rapidwings looked down at the ground. Slowly, he began nodding, the faint bobs turning into stronger, more confident ones. "Yes. He is a bigger threat to us than the SkyWings: after all, he was the start of this whole mess. Bring him back and then we'll figure out what to do from there."