Wings of Fire: Possibility

Chapter 21

P I R A N H A

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First Tetra, now Commander, will this nightmare ever end?

Piranha flew in the back of the crowd, tears streaming down his face as he thought about what had just transpired. Everyone was shocked that the Commander was dead so quickly, and Tetra wasn't there to guide them to the rainforest. For all they knew, she could be dead as well.

The thought wrenched Piranha's heart. I haven't even told her how much I love her. He sniffed and almost fell out of the sky with grief.

Locust led them across vast mountains and forests, until everything started to look greener than usual. Vines and tall trees began to surround the area, and Piranha felt the smallest bit of excitement. The Rainforest Kingdom.

Everyone else noticed it too, and they started to fly faster. They made it.

The tribe stopped as bright, colorful dragons approached them. They tensed, unsure if it was another enemy, but the dragons turned out to be rainwings.

The largest one who was leading the group was a pretty light pink color, and she was scattered with light green scales and spines. She reminded Piranha of Commander Orchid, whose main scale color was pink.

"Greetings, rainwings!" She said in a slightly shrill voice. "I'm Queen Flamingo, and welcome to the rainforest!"

No one said anything, and the warm welcome turned into an awkward meeting. Then Piranha realized. The Commander isn't here to introduce us! He thought with dread and grief. He felt Night poke him in the back behind him. He turned to her and she signaled; "Go talk to her."

Piranha sighed and flew forward, everyone's attention now on him. His talons felt clammy and he knew he was sweating, but he had to say something.

"T-thank you, your majesty," he croaked, and the Queen looked relieved that he actually said something. "At the moment we're... without a Commander."

Queen Flamingo looked confused, but didn't say anything as he continued. "We are very grateful that you've reserved a place for us to stay. Would you please lead us there?" He asked, hoping he didn't sound too pushy. "We're a little frazzled at the moment."

She thought for a moment longer and returned to her humble smile. "Of course! Follow us," she said, and flew towards the forest, and the tribe followed quickly after her.

The sun was down and the sky was dark when the two groups reached a clearing, with temporary tents and huts set up, with a large fireplace in the middle. The clearing was small, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was cozy, and just like the one they had at the jungle. Tetra must have described our home to them. He felt a pang of sorrow. And she's not here for me to thank her.

The rainwings took in their surroundings and slowly made themselves at home, murmuring their thanks and bowing to the Queen as they passed. Locust, Fern, and Emerald were huddled together to the side of the clearing, clearly distressed and confused.

Queen Flamingo approached Piranha, giving him a genuine look of sorrow. "You mentioned that you're without a Commander, but are you sure that it's not you?"

Piranha bowed his head. "Our Commander just died saving us from the Deepwings, we have to vote on a new one." He explained, looking at his talons.

The Queen nodded thoughtfully. "I'm terribly sorry for your loss, we will leave your tribe to grieve in peace." She said, and patted him gently on the shoulder. Then she whistled for her rainwings to follow her, and they left the clearing.

Piranha twitched his ear as Night approached him, and wrapped her wing around his shoulder. "Hey, someone else is here to see you." She said gently, and Piranha almost crumpled under her. Why can't I just be left alone?

But he gathered himself and turned around, and his heart skipped a beat. He thought it was Tetra, but it was actually a different deepwing. She was pink and black, with emerald green eyes, and had a large pouch around her neck. She was looking at Piranha with relief.

"Hey! I'm Cobia," she said quickly. "Tetra's sister."

The three dragonets were sitting alone by the fire. The rest of the tribe was asleep by now, exhausted by the events of that day. Piranha was wide awake though, listening to every word Cobia had to say about Tetra and the prophecy. Piranha was relieved to hear that Tetra was still alive, and that she was communicating with Cobia as they spoke. Night was also intrigued, and offering good suggestions when they ran into a bump in their plan.

"Thanks Cobia, this makes me feel a lot better." Piranha admitted, finally letting his shoulders relax. "But there's one more thing that's bothering us..." he trailed off, moving closer to Night and she wrapped her wing around him again.

Cobia cocked her head to the side. "What is it?" She asked curiously.

Piranha fidgeted for a bit, and glanced around to make sure everyone was asleep before continuing. "It's just that... since we don't have a commander anymore, do you or Tetra have any idea who the next one could be?"

The deepwing furrowed her eyebrows, concentrating. "I don't think Tetra mentioned it actually," she said after a while, sighing with sympathy. "I guess it's up to your tribe to decide."

Piranha furrowed his brows, concentrating and thinking of a few options. He held up his talon as Night opened her mouth to speak. "No." he said sternly. "I can't be the commander, I need to go with Cobia to save Tetra." Night closed her mouth and nodded. "I guess so."

"You don't have to go with me," Cobia said, shaking her head. "It'll be dangerous now that Stomiidae has an army."

"I want to go. I know that forest better than you do." he stared straight into her eyes, making her look away. His scales started to turn red, and Night back up a bit. "He's also in our camp! He took over our home, killed our commander, and you expect me to just sit here while everyone else is saving our tails?" he gritted his teeth. He'd never been this mad before, but it felt good to let it out. "No. I'm going with you whether you like it or not."

Cobia composed herself and looked back at him with the same intensity he gave her. "Very well. You'd better get some sleep then because we're leaving tomorrow." without waiting for a response, she stalked away to go sleep in a vacant tent.

A few moments after she left, Piranha sighed and felt a little guilty. He hadn't meant to accuse her of anything, though he felt Night lean against him, and heard her soft snores in his ear. His scales turned a drowsy blue color as he yawned too, and collapsed under her weight into a deep sleep.

Piranha woke with a start, and glanced at his surroundings. Everyone else was already awake and stretching, as well as eating breakfast. He rubbed his eyes and pushed Night off of him, waking her up as well. At that moment Queen Flamingo flew elegantly into the camp, alone this time, and smiled warmly at Piranha. "Good morning!" he said cheerfully, though Piranha just nodded, not being able to bring himself to smile back at her.

"So you mentioned yesterday that you lost your latest Commander yes?" she continued, though she didn't pause to let Piranha reply. "Well I have an idea that can help you vote for a new one."

Piranha pricked his ears at this. He didn't really appreciate the dismissal of Commander Orchid, but Flamingo couldn't have possibly known how much she meant to the tribe, so he let it slide. "Go ahead."

"Since you don't have any predecessors lined up, I thought that everyone could gather around in a circle, then the rainwings who think they should be the commander should step forward, and the tribe votes between them." Queen Flamingo explained, puffing out her chest in pride, like it was the best idea she'd ever had.

And honestly, Piranha liked that idea. It was short and to the point, which is just what the tribe needed. And he didn't have to volunteer either, which was nice. He nodded. "Good idea, I'll gather everyone around." he glanced at Night who was listening in, and she beamed as well, and flew off to gather rainwings.

I wish we didn't have to do this so soon... but we need to move on. And I need to save Tetra.