The Prince of Night and Rain

Chapter 7

Nightshade, no, she isn't a hybrid, she just prefers dark scales...

"No, absolutely not!" Queen Glory shouted.

It was the next day and Shadowscale, Peregrine, and Firefly where playing outside. Deathbringer pulled her aside, knowing that when she begins her day he won't get a chance till the next day to tell her.

"But... Glory, he came to me! He asked me!" Deathbringer begged.

"Bringer, we talked about this. You promised NOT to teach our dragonets how to murder others-"

"-against their will. You never said anything about if they wanted to learn, normal dragons learn to defend themselves-"

"-because they where born into a bloody war!"

"No, because it is important to know how to." Deathbringer countered. "What if they leave? Go somewhere else? Not every dragon is as peaceful as those in the Rainforest. There will be many who would want our dragonets dead. Some, just because they are royal, others because their hybrids. I will not teach her, however, he can protect her. Glory, please."

The Queen of the RainWings and NightWings paused, gaping at her bodyguard and mate as she did so. He showed full seriousness, something rare for the usually cocky, sarcastic ex-assassin.

"But..." She was grasping for straws now. "You already have a student, don't you? The RainWing orphan? Nightshade was her name?"

"Yes, but I can always have room for my son. You didn't see the look on his face like I did. He was practically pleading." He said. The Queen's face softened as she peaked outside. Shadowscale seemed out of it, but Peregrine and Firefly didn't seem to notice, but she new her son. After all he was a lot like herself, when something was on his mind, he'd play half heartedly. He glanced in her direction and she immediately turned away and looked at Deathbringer.

"Are you sure this is the right thing to do?" She asked.

"Truth be told, I don't know." He replied, he grabbed her talons and turned her face towards him with his tail. "But I know it's what he wants."

She tore her eyes away and glanced down at the ground. "I promise to go easy on him-"

"No." She replied, turning back to him. "Push him. If he's going to protect Firefly one day, I want him to be even better than you. Not only for her, but himself."

Deathbringer smiled brightly. "Well, sorry my queen but none are better than me."

Glory rolled her eyes. "Aaaaaaaaaand Intensity gone."

Her scales turned a bright pink as she nuzzled Deathbringer's snout with her's. "Please, make sure he's safe."

"I will, he's my son too you know."

Glory pulled away and gave him a look of mock surprise. "Oh really!?"

"I know, hard to believe." He sassed back.

~☆~

"Did you ask her?" Shadowscales asked as Deathbringer walked out of the tree house and towards the playing dragonets.

"Yes." He replied, his face blank. Oh, he's totally going to think that she said no.

"And?" Shadowscale asked, already knowing the answer, but pretending that he doesn't.

"She said no." 

"Dad, come on, I know you are trying to pull  fast one." Shadowscale replied with a deadpan expression.

"What!? Me? Pulling a fast one!?" Deathbringer said. How did he know? Was it my charming smirk? Was it showing? Curse my charming smirk! No, actually don't, it's one of my best features.

"... Alright, yeah, she said yes." He relented. Shadowscale grinned and hugged his father. 

"Thanks dad, you have no idea how important this is for me." And for the rest of Pyrrhia...

"Don't thank me, thank your mother. You begin tomorrow at the crack of dawn. We will meet by the animus gateways in the forest."

~☆~

Shadowscale spent the rest of that day playing with his friends, then woke early the next morning and waited patiently in the spot his father had mentioned. He felt the presence of another, but couldn't hear anything. Not a rustle, not a mind, only the dead, eerie silence that surrounded him.

"Early, good. Passed the first test, my son." Deathbringer said as he emerged from the shadows. "Earliness shows diligence and determination, lateness shows laziness and negligence. If you showed the latter, I would have sent you back home."

He stopped before Shadowscale, sitting down and staring down at him. "I shall teach you like my mother had taught me. Whenever I teach, we are no longer father and son, we are teacher and student. Before and after... THEN we are father and son again. I will not show mercy, nor favoritism."

"Favoritism? Aren't I the only student though?" Shadowscale asked. Deathbringer smirked at his son.

"Oh? You thought you where the only one?"

As if on cue, the air behind Deathbringer began to shimmer until it was no longer just air, but a RainWing. Despite being black and grey, she was strikingly beautiful. Her body was lean yet muscular, with a long, graceful neck and dark violet eyes that reminded Shadowscale of the nightshade flower.

"May I introduce you to Nightshade, my pupil."

"Hi. I'm Shadowscale, but you can call me shadow." Shadowscale said politely as the RainWing made her way to Deathbringer's side. She was around Shadowscale's size, obviously around his age. She nodded in acknowledgement and sat down beside his father, her back straight as she obediently waited for his orders.

"Well." Deathbringer started. "Shall we begin?"

Short, I know, the next chapter will skip ahead 5 years.