A World Upside Down - WoF Jade Winglet AU

Bonus - Blowing in the Wind

(No, this story is not over, sorry for the confusion 🙃. I just wanted to say thank you in the last chapter :) . That was bad on my part. Now THIS is the last chapter, before uh, more special things.)

(Snow in the middle of April!)

"Stop lying to yourself. You know you love me."

"I come in here to help you, and you belittle me of course."

"You still didn't deny your feelings, though."

Winter huffed then sat next to Qibli. He had to admit, his room in the palace did look nice. In attempts to change the subject, he asked, "When will your wing be okay?"

He didn't want to admit it, but he missed spending friendly time with the SandWing. Their laughs, teasing, and friendship development were extremely valued by Winter, and were things he'd never give up.

Lost in his thoughts, he realized he accidentally laid a claw gently on Qibli's wing. He instinctively went to move it, but Qibli wasn't complaining. Besides, it felt kind of relaxing. Leaving it there, he hoped his friend didn't notice how he tensed suddenly.

"It'll be fine soon," said Qibli. "Luckily it could've been worse, and in a couple of days I should be able to lightly fly."

"You could always just ask Turtle for his healing rock. It would get you fixed up a lot quicker."

That was true, but Turtle was back in the sea with his mother. While it was mostly because she suddenly became concerned for her son - or one of them -, Turtle also mentioned something about family bonding. Qibli figured it was best to leave them be and reconcile. There was no need to spend a day to get there and back anyways. "I don't need to bother him."

The two chatted for a bit more before Moon came in and joined them.

"Oh shoot, I forgot I needed to do something," Winter said quickly, standing up and getting ready to leave.

"Needed to do what?" Qibli asked suspicious.

"Kinkajou asked me to meet her in the library. I don't know why."

He nodded at Moon as he passed by her, then disappeared into the hallway.

"Leave them be," Moon told Qibli as she approached him. "Who knows anymore with those two.

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm alright, I guess," replied Qibli with a slight smile. "Though that's a surprise coming from me."

Moon chuckled then sat next to Qibli like Winter did. "Vesper's funeral was today, wasn't it? I'm...I'm sorry about what happened."

Qibli instantly felt guilt start to weigh on his heart, but tried to push past it. "Thank you, Moon. It's been hard on all of us, it's just -"

"That's not what I meant."

...

"What did you mean, then?"

"I could've done something about it."

"W-what..?"

Confusion. Moon said these with such solemnity that it worried Qibli.

"You know my powers, right...?" Moon whispered.

His heart suddenly thumped against his chest. "You mean...foretelling future events?"

"Yes. I, uh, I knew something bad was going to happen. I didn't know what, though. I kept having visions of those...events, and it just destroyed me.

"I tried warning, but it wouldn't come out of my mouth. I didn't know how to explain it. I didn't know if it was inevitable.

"I could've stopped it, Qibli. I'm so sorry..."

Quietly, he reached over and put a wing around her. "That doesn't make it your fault. You tried, you did the best you could. His death was none of our faults."

She leaned into him. "Thank you."

~ ~

"Why was I called here?"

Winter stared incredulously at this guy. "Because I wanted a tea party. I don't know, maybe ask your deranged Outclaw friend to give more details."

Qibli gave him a sweet smile. "What, are you too afraid to talk to him on your own?"

"N-no! I just think it would be better with you there, that's all. Besides, you really want me talking to the head of your counter-terrorism unit? Exactly."

Totally not to spend more time with anyone specific.

"Fine," Qibli huffed. "But help me walk there."

"Of cou- I mean, I guess."

~ ~

Winter and Qibli hobbled onto an open balcony overlooking the desert to the west. There the only other dragon they saw was Blitz, who had scrolls, charts, and letters around him.

"We've got trouble," he stated to no one in particular, sensing the company arriving.

"What, all our treasure and funding was stolen again?" Qibli said with a smirk. Winter thwacked him with his wing.

"If the shit hits the fan, then it would have the same effect as that," Blitz replied, actually utilizing a serious tone contrary to his usual outgoing self. "I just found this out, so that's why I called you here.

"The Immortals have now launched attacks on multiple settlements across Pyrrhia, as you two know. But their leader is stepping up their campaign and could cause another tribal war."

"Their leader?" Winter asked confused. "I thought we smoked him back in the Night Kingdom."

"That was the father. His son has now inherited reign and is somehow more brutal than before. The terrorist attack in the Scorpion Den already has people wondering whether our authority should be handling it."

All these events happened while he was recovering from their journey, Qibli recalled. The look on Thorn's face as she told him, sitting in his bed holding his wing, was nearly enough to melt his heart and fuel the fire in it.

Qibli could tell Blitz wasn't getting to the point. "What's so special about this? Why is it a concern?"

"The son is now showing interest in the Ice Kingdom." Winter tensed at the mention of this, so Qibli stood next to him with their shoulders brushing for comfort. "And the NightWings are trying to get him back, as he was just a part of their tribe before his father died.

"So, if the attacks continue - "

" - It could cause a war between the IceWings and NightWings," Qibli finished for him. "That's a NightWing asset in anti-IceWing talons, which is a problem."

"Correct," Blitz confirmed. "And we'd be caught in the middle of it all. The two tribes' queens have tried diplomacy, to no avail."

Winter seemed to put the pieces together. "What are the chances of it occurring, though? The IceWings already pulled away from Jade Mountain."

"At this rate, it's nearly inevitable." Blitz then looked up at the two dragons in the room, intertwining his claws.

"So that's why I called you here."