Wings of Fire: Possibility

Chapter 16

L O C U S T

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Locust woke up to a heavy object on top of him. He eventually was able to wriggle free, and noticed that it was Fern who rolled over onto him. He huffed with annoyance and stretched, breathing in the morning breeze. The silence outside the tent told him that everyone was still asleep, and even though he wasn't a fan of quiet, for some reason he felt at peace.

He stepped lightly out of the tent, carefully trying to avoid stepping on Fern's wings, and took in his surroundings. He noticed Tetra and Piranha, fast asleep in a tight cuddle. He felt a pang of jealousy, and a sudden feeling of loneliness. Even though Fern was his best friend, he felt like there was something in between them that made it hard to talk to him.

Locust wandered over to the food rations and picked out a large leaf full of strange fruit. He started to eat as he walked over to wake up Tetra.

The Deepwing twitched her ears and opened her eyes as Locust padded up to her. He smiled warmly at him, and carefully separated herself from Piranha, making him groan in his sleep.

"Hey, can I be honest?" Locust asked as he finished off his food. Tetra nodded, raising her eyebrows.

"I don't think this plan is going to work," he continued, shifting his talons awkwardly. "Aren't the Deepwings also looking for me and Fern? And what about Emerald? Her wings are different from a normal leafwing, someone will notice."

Tetra had a thoughtful expression on her face, as she thought hard. After a few moments she took a deep breath. "You bring up some good points, Locust." She said, while grabbing a few pebbles from the ground. "Maybe I could come up with a spell to help hide you."

At this, Fern emerged from the tent and was padding up to Locust. He nodded good morning to both of them. "I heard you're trying to think of a spell. Do you think I could help?"

"Of course! I don't do spells very often." Tetra said, scratching behind her ear, slightly embarrassed.

"We need a spell that will make it so the Deepwings don't notice us when we go into the palace." Locust chimed in, still full of doubt. Even if we do some up with a spell, we're dead meat!

Fern thought for a bit, fidgeting pebbles in his claws, until he gasped and dropped them. "How about this, whoever is holding a pebble will become invisible to Deepwings."

Tetra smiled brightly at the idea. "You guys could be wearing saddlebags with the pebbles in them, you should still become invisible! Let's try it."

She enthusiastically picked up a pebble from the ground and held it tightly in her talons. She breathed in and out, then whispered some words under her breath. After a few more moments she opened her eyes and handed the pebble to Fern.

He took it, and nothing happened. Locust cocked his head in confusion. He glanced at Tetra, who looked excited, and then he kicked himself. I'm not a deepwing, duh!

"It works!" She helped, and Piranha was jolted out of his slumber. She apologetically patted his head as he took in his surroundings. "What happened?" He asked, drowsily.

Fern handed the pebble over to Locust, and when it touched his claws, Tetra practically jumped for joy. I guess it does work. He thought, regaining a little bit of confidence. Maybe this crazy plan will work.

He handed the pebble back to Fern, and glanced behind him to see Commander Orchid walking over to them. She looked at them admiringly. "What's going on?"

Tetra had picked up another pebble from the ground. "Are you ready to make the journey, Commander?" She asked, with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes.