Wings of Fire • Dragon of Warriors [3]

Chapter Twenty-three

They landed less than an hour later. 

     Soft crunches sounded as they touched down in the snow. Tall pines and spruces arched around them, thorns and brambles curling at their talons. Thankfully, the gloved part of his battle talons kept Quickclaws' palms thorn-free. After he settled in, he looked around for the village, unable to find it.

     "Where is it?" Thunderclap asked, looking around. Nothing but trees and shadows surrounded them.

     Quickclaws turned to Brisktail, who was lifting the compass and checking it. After a moment, he answered, pointing twenty points to south: "The Boreal Village is in that direction. We'll reach it eventually." A few seconds later, he hissed under his breath: "Honestly, we don't even need to be here. This whole mess could be solved with a snap of my talons..."

     Something snapped inside of Quickclaws, a feeling like he knew something but couldn't remember it. The sensation was frustrating because he felt the words on the tip of his tongue but couldn't speak it. What Brisktail said struck such a powerful chord within him that he couldn't dislodge the feeling.

     Finally, after what felt like ages, he was able to manage: "No," he stated firmly, "Killing isn't the answer."

     Lightningtail, Thunderclap, and Rainwind stayed quiet. Brisktail looked like he wanted to object; sadly, a by-product of his soul's wearing down. Quickclaws' heart broke to see the unfamiliar expression on his friend's face and he felt terrible for not being able to help him enough.

     After a tense moment of silence, Brisktail was the first to speak up: "What if I make Windwhipper frozen forever, o-or change him into a squirrel instead!"

     Brisktail looked like he was about to do so but Quickclaws raised his talons to stop him. He spoke, and with his last few words, his voice broke and eyes stung: "No! That's not it either! Well... yes, but your soul is at stake. You saw Jellyfish. You don't – I don't want you to end up like that..."

     Brisktail gave him a measured look, like he wanted to protest but knew he couldn't. Newly stubborn, he tried anyway and his wings spread with his emotion. "But it could fix everything!" he argued. "I could... I could make it so that none of this ever happened! Like, go back in time or something and make it so that Windwhipper never started this plan in the first place!" Brisktail's grin grew with realization: "Maybe my soul will be okay then too!"

     Stunned silence followed.

     The trees, which had been waving above, stilled. The wind died and the air turned icy. Time stood. Quickclaws stared at Brisktail. His friend looked like he was teetering on a high ledge about to fall – swaying slightly as if dizzy, pupils expanding and contracting and his mouth twitching to hide a gleeful grin. "I can fix everything," Brisktail whispered again, the smile finally taking hold. It looked unnatural. He didn't look like himself anymore.

     "No."

     Quickclaws turned.

     There stood Rainwind, eyes puffy, red, and leaking. Her voice and body were shaking with ferocity. Lightningtail was trying to place a talon on her shoulder but the younger dragon shook her away.

     "No!" Rainwind repeated with more ferocity, "You won't fix anything!" she shouted at Brisktail, her voice cracking: "You'll just make everything worse! You don't know what will happen! What if we never meet, or what if something worse happens?"

     Brisktail's ears pressed to the sides of his head. Quickclaws sighed with relief. Brisktail was calming down, the grin turning into a cowed look. His wings folded and pressed to his sides. His eyes flickered with a last bit of stubbornness. "Well... well, what about now?" he pressed, "Windwhipper needs to be stopped. I can do that."