Wind and Flames: Talons United

Chapter 10

As she crept nervously through the halls, Nevara was finally able to find the chambers where Vitreus was being kept.

They were dark, damp, and smelled of dust and mildew. Nevara wondered if Colubra was telling the truth in that she hadn't locked Vitreus up - but part of her knew that even though proud at times, the Queen of the Violet Nest still seemed like a trustworthy dragon.

Even if she's wrong about things, she isn't lying. She still believes wholeheartedly that they're true. 

Nevara's talons thunked loudly against hard, cold stone. She wrinkled her nose as the mildew smell grew stronger, along with something else that smelled of rotting flesh.

Was someone eating something down here recently? And then...forgot about it?

I don't even want to consider the possibility of a dead body.

Oh, but Nevara considered it. She had to force herself to peer into each cell before she finally found Vitreus crouched low in the last one of the row, hunched over something.

"Vitreus?" She asked, making the crystal dragon jump up. 

"N-Nevara," he said, scuffing his talons over what he'd just been crouching over. Nevara tilted her head slightly, really focusing on it, and found that he'd been drawing something.

"What brings you here?"

"Come on, I'm busting you outta here."

Vitreus frowned slightly. "Sorry, Nevara. You'll need a key for that." Nevara smirked, then turned to peer at the lock.

"That's just the thing," she said, summoning her inner cold. "When you have amazing frost breath..."

She exhaled her ice breath on the key, then used her talons to smash it and open the cage door. 

"You can do some pretty cool stuff."

Vitreus smiled at her. "I knew making friends with you would be helpful," he said, and Nevara considered his words.

Does he...is he using me? Like Queen Colubra suggested?  Maybe she was right...

She shook her head. No. I refuse to give her power over me. She isn't MY queen.

She fought through her doubts and smiled back at Vitreus. "Come on- let's get outta here. I'm dying to leave this boring place, aren't you?"

Vitreus gave her a worried look. "Wait...Nevara, where's Deep and Tala?"

Nevara winced, and Vitreus noticed. He twined his tail with hers and asked her what happened. 

"They, well," Nevara started, climbing up the stairs. "They didn't believe me when I told them what you said. Neither did Queen Colubra."

Vitreus glared. "Colubra was listening to you? You know she has a grudge against me, don't you? Her word could be biased and untruthful."

Nevara avoided his stare. "I know, I know. But...at least tell me this, Vitreus. Did your tribe refuse to live in the nests, as she told us?"

Vitreus stared at the ground, his frown fixed on the stone below them. "It's, well, it's complicated." he finally said, turning his stare to Nevara. 

"Initially, yes. We did refuse. Life in the nests, you're missing out on so much life, so much potential. We didn't want to abandon nature once it was almost destroyed. But now, I'm the only one of us left."

Nevara continued walking until they were out of the Violet Nest and back into the open air. "What do you mean, 'nature once it was almost destroyed'? What happened?"

Vitreus sighed. "It's a long story. I'm not sure you'd be completely willing to hear it." 

"Are you kidding? Of course; if it means answers to your strangely cryptic statement."

Vitreus spread his wings and Nevara did the same until they were soaring high into the chilly wind currents. 

"Alright," he said, his talons twitching nervously. 

"Here goes. Keep in mind, I've only been told this once, so I might be a little rusty in some parts, but this is pretty much what happened..."