Wings of Fire: Melting Ice #2

Chapter 10

"I'll make sure to tell her when she comes back," Aurora sighed. "Well, why don't you ask Snowcatcher what he saw?" I still don't trust him.

"Hm, when she comes back?" Hyacinth asked. "What does that mean?"

"She's off in the Night Kingdom fighting with SkyWings, and maybe even HiveWings," Aurora answered, her gaze dropping.

"Us RainWings don't really get involved in war. There was one time when the MudWings wanted our territory, though. That killed my mother and father," Hyacinth sighed. "I just... despise the MudWings for that. Oh, I'm going on a tangent, sorry. Uh, how is Plum?"

"Well, she's doing fine, but I must say, she's a pain in the tail for me. She hates me, I know," Aurora sighed. "And Gellis, I don't trust him, he creeps me out. I sure hope Snowball is doing fine..." she trailed off.

"Where did those wounds even come from?" Hyacinth asked.

"How did you even find me, huh?" Aurora questioned, narrowing her eyes. 

"Well, long ago Snowcatcher had enchanted a ring that protects me from the ice so I wouldn't freeze to death," Hyacinth explained. "He wanted me to meet his family, but while there I met Iceberg. She wasn't queen yet at that time, but Fissure had just become queen," he said. "I... heard fighting and although I knew it was dangerous to go, I had too. I found three HiveWings with their wings frozen, but one of them actually broken the ice."

"Those were the ones that attacked me," Aurora breathed.

"They didn't attack me, so I got past them. I followed a trail of IceWing blood, and that lead me to you. You were dying. If I didn't find you, you would've bled out. Nobody would've found your body, as it would've been buried in the snow," Hyacinth said, his eyes dark.

"Well... you patched me up, so am I good to go now?" Aurora asked, flicking her tail.

"You must rest, still. I shall admit that I am concerned about your arm. It has a deep hole in it, and it looked infected. There was a thin layer of ice covering it. Does the queen not know that you're injured?" Hyacinth questioned.

"Gellis is supposed to treat wounds. But he just told me that the sheet of ice would protect it. I guess that was wrong," Aurora grumbled.

"Gellis, huh? I've never trusted him. He doesn't like the other tribes, and certainly doesn't like hybrids," Hyacinth growled. He lashed his tail. 

"Well, uh, anyways, why don't you ask Snowcatcher what he saw?" Aurora asked.

"I never questioned him. I was... stupid. But three years ago, he was crushed by one of the trees in our kingdom. His... body is still pinned under that tree, you can see the bones of his arm sticking out," Hyacinth explained, shivering. "Nobody wanted to move the heavy tree. The RainWings didn't like Snowcatcher, since they thought he was working with Deadlyteeth. I feel like they pushed the tree on him on purpose, to get rid of him."

"Why would they think he was working with Deadlyteeth? He was a hybrid," Aurora pointed out.

"That's what I thought. But maybe since he was an animus and had strong foresight, they didn't trust him," Hyacinth sighed. "I wish I knew what he saw though. It still gnaws at me."

Apple suddenly burst through the door, his red scales slicked wet with rain. I didn't even realize he'd left. "Hyacinth, the queen needs you," he panted.

"Hm, what for?" Hyacinth questioned. He stood up, his talons scraping the wooden floor. "Hey, Aurora, do you want to come with me? You haven't meet Queen Lapis yet, I'm sure you'll like her."

"Uh, shouldn't I be resting?" Aurora asked, but she found herself rising, her talons tapping on the floor.

"As long as you be careful, your wounds won't rip open," Hyacinth informed. "Apple, stay here and organize the fruit I collected this morning."

"You got it!" Apple squeaked, rushing off to a large leaf-weaved basket that had a rainbow of fruits in it.

Hyacinth slid out the door, his wings opening. He leaped up, his wings gracefully beating the air as he flew.

Aurora winced at the rain as it pattered on her scales. I'm half RainWing, yet I've never been to the RainForest Kingdom in my entire life. And here I am, with my father, about to meet the queen.

There were tall, large trees, whose canopies connected. In some on the crooks of the trunks, there were large leafy huts, as well as vine-like bridges connecting to some of the trunks. Aurora spotted RainWings walking along the bridges, and some laying on the trunks. Some poked their heads out of their huts, and some flew past Aurora and Hyacinth.

A small emerald green RainWing flew past, his eyes narrowed as he spotted Aurora. An elderly grape-colored RainWing with black scales scattered on her tail flew past, her red eyes giving Aurora a suspicious glare.

"Ignore their eyes. They just haven't seen you before," Hyacinth said, his head turning to glance quickly at his daughter.

"Huh, didn't you say most of the RainWings dislike hybrids?" Aurora questioned.

"If they aren't half RainWing, then yes," Hyacinth responded. "But if a RainWing MudWing hybrid existed, they probably wouldn't like that," he chuckled.

"I guess I understand. Not very trustworthy, eh?" Aurora prompted.

Hyacinth shook his head. 

Soon, the rain thinned out and sunlight shimmered down through the leaves. The sun felt good on Aurora's scales, and she closed her eyes for a moment. In the Ice Kingdom, it was so freezing cold that she hardly felt the sun's rays. She wished she could lay sprawled out on her back on the large trunks, basking in the sun. It felt like color was being sucked into her scales.

After a while of flying through the cozy sunlight, a large treehouse came into view. 

"That's where Queen Lapis is," Hyacinth informed.