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Chapter Text

Winter PoV

The mountainside was covered in dragons, just like it had been on the first time Winter had come. Back then he had been accompanied by his sister, Icicle, as they came from their old home in the Ice Kingdom. Then he had been so annoyed that Queen Glacier would send him here, tearing him away from his only way to attempt to climb up the rankings.

But then he met them. The other dragons in the Jade Winglet, Turtle, Umber, Kinkajou, Moon, and Qibli. Carnelian, the SkyWing of the group, had died before Winter had spent much time with her, but now Peril had taken her place. Umber was no longer at the school either, because he fled with Sora shortly before Winter had left to save his brother, Hailstorm. However, Kinkajou, Moon, Turtle, and Qibli were still at school and were Winter's closest friends. That's right, Winter told himself firmly. We're just friends. But he couldn't keep his heart from bouncing joyfully. Just in there! So close! his heart chirped. Sighing, Winter walked briskly into the entrance cave.

"Welcome back, Winter!" Fatespeaker, who been assigned to the post of welcoming students once again, chirped cheerfully. "This time I know for SURE that you're going to like your clawmates!" she winked at him before adding in a dramatic voice, "I saw it... in a VISION." Winter snorted. He wondered who his clawmates were, but then he realized who he must have been put with. Holding back his excitement, he entered his cave to find that he was right. Qibli looked up from the scroll he had been reading and smiled at Winter. His heart jumped happily, and he quickly tried to tamp down on his emotions, hoping his face hadn't let something through. Or maybe it would be easier if something did slip through. a voice said suddenly in Winter's head.

"I knew you'd come," Qibli said, grinning. Lost as for something he could retort with, Winter changed the subject.

"Are we in the Jade Winglet again?" he asked.

"Nope, this time we're in the Silver Winglet." Qibli replied. "An IceWing named Snowfox is in the Jade Winglet. I guess Tsunami decided it would be a good idea to split us up into different Winglets so we'd be less likely to cause trouble. Moon, Kinkajou, Turtle, and Peril are in the Jade Winglet together, which leads me to believe that the founders think we're the main ones getting into trouble."

"I can't blame them for thinking that, knowing you," Winter replied. Qibli barked a laugh.

"I guess this time I can lead new innocent dragonets into danger," Qibli joked. Winter couldn't restrain the laughter bubbling up inside of him. "Ha ha! I knew I could get you to laugh eventually!" Winter swatted at the SandWing with one of his wings, but Qibli dodged aside, also laughing.

"Who else is in the Silver Winglet?" Winter asked once he was able to contain his laughter.

Before Qibli could answer, Winter heard talonsteps behind him and turned around as an especially annoyed-looking SkyWing stormed in. He had a long scar across his face and deep red scales. Without so much as looking at the other dragonets, the SkyWing stormed over to the stone shelf closest to the entrance.

"Um," Qibli said awkwardly, breaking the spell of silence. "Hi? Er, I'm Qibli and this is -"

"I don't care who you're boyfriend is, just be quiet." the red dragonet snapped. Winter felt his face grow hot, but something jumped happily in his chest again. What is wrong with you? Winter asked himself with a mental growl. Qibli shifted uncomfortably. Winter stood up and took a scroll over to the stone ledge across from the fuming SkyWing. He wasn't really reading it, just staring at it to keep the act as the tried to untangle his emotions.

"Psst," Qibli hissed. Winter looked up from his scroll and over at the SandWing, who pulled out two small slates and two little charcoal sticks, passing one of each to him.

"What -" Winter started, but was cut off by a growl from the SkyWing, and Qibli urgently gestured for him to be quiet, glancing at the red dragon. Winter watched as Qibli shifted his wing to hide the slate in his talons and scribbled something on it. To Winter's surprise, words began forming on his slate as Qibli wrote.

I guess that's Flame, the SkyWing. the note said. Winter looked up at Qibli, shocked and confused, and the SandWing nodded his head at Winter's slate.

Yeah. Winter wrote, shifting his wing like Qibli had done. What the moons is this?

It's copies of the messaging slate Turtle made. Qibli wrote back. He changed the spell so we can both write and read on the same slate. Then he used his bowl to duplicate it so we each had one, so now if we need to communicate over long distances, we can.

Wait. Winter wrote frantically. Does that mean that what we're writing right now is also appearing on Moon, Turtle, and Kinkajou's slates?

It is. someone else wrote. This handwriting was much loopier than Qibli's. Winter exchanged a glance with the SandWing before looking back down at the slate. He couldn't help feeling disappointed that everyone else could read their conversation. It's better off this way, Winter told himself, shoving away the ache in his chest.

Hi Turtle. Qibli wrote.

Hi Qibli, hi Winter. Turtle wrote. Moon and Kinkajou are asleep; we share a cave by the way. I just saw this before going to sleep myself, actually. Winter looked out into the hallway, surprised to see that it was growing dark.

You don't have to stay up if you don't want to. Winter told him. He wasn't quite sure why, but he sort of hoped that Turtle would choose to go to sleep.

Yeah, true. Turtle wrote. After all, we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow. There was a pause, then Turtle added, You should go to sleep to. Winter sighed.

Yeah, okay. Qibli wrote. Night Turtle.

Night. Turtle replied.

Goodnight Winter. Qibli wrote.

Goodnight Qibli. Winter wrote, carefully making sure he didn't say too much. He looked up and met the SandWing's gaze before, smiling, they both curled up and went to sleep.

Chapter Text

Qibli PoV

Qibli stretched, spreading his wings until they brushed the stone ceiling. He looked around, figuring out where his clawmates were in their day. The scarred SkyWing was still hunched on his stone ledge, snoring quietly. Winter, however, was wide awake and sitting up on his ledge, watching Qibli. When Qibli looked over, the IceWing blushed and dropped his gaze. Qibli stood up and walked the few steps between their ledges, stopping beside Winter.

"Hey," he whispered trying to not awaken the rude SkyWing, brushing Winter's wing with his own. 

"Good morning," Winter replied, not meeting his gaze, still blushing. Ooh, this is getting interesting already. The question is, is that an embarrassed blush or a crushing blush? Then he reasoned that Winter was still pressing his wing against Qibli's, and guessed the latter. Does that mean...

"C'mon," Qibli whispered, cutting off his own thoughts before he got too distracted. "We're going to meet the rest of our Winglet today. Maybe we can get there before Flame." Winter glanced at the snoring SkyWing, then nodded, finally meeting Qibli's gaze. Before Qibli could read his expression, Winter nodded toward the door.

"You lead," the IceWing murmured. "I don't know where we're supposed to be going."

"We're assigned with Sunny this time," Qibli told him as they walked though the busying hallways.

"Where are we going?" Winter asked, glancing around the hallway. 

"We have a bit before we have to be at class, so I figured we could go flying." Qibli told him.

"Why?" Winter asked. There was something in his tone, but Qibli couldn't quite figure out what it was. Tiredness? Suspicion?

"Just because," Qibli replied. "It's kind of nice to just have a fly right early in the morning." He continued down the hallway and into the entrance cave. The sun was just poking up from behind the horizon, painting the sky with a warm orange with streaks of pink. They both paused in the entrance, taking in the sight. Suddenly three gongs echoed down the halls. Beside Qibli, Winter jumped. Qibli looked up at his frightened expression, and Winter lowered his gaze, clearly embarrassed. Before Qibli could ask him, students began bustling through the hallways to their first class. Mentally making a note to ask Winter about his strange behavior later, Qibli led the way to the cave where Sunny would be waiting. He hurried along the twisting hallways. Which cave was Sunny going to teach in? Qibli wondered, trying to remember what his schedule had said.

"Oh camel farts," Qibli breathed, skidding to a halt. Winter tripped over Qibli's tail and fell on top of Qibli.

"Oof," Winter gasped. Looking awkward and about a million other things, Winter stood up.

"The class' cave is on the side of the school by the music cave," Qibli told him, jumping to his feet. Twisting to run in the opposite direction, the second warning gong rolled through the hall.

Qibli burst into the cave just as the last warning gong faded, Winter on his heels.

"Hello," Sunny said. "You're late. What kept you?" she wasn't accusing them, instead she sounded sincerely interested.

"Sorry," Qibli panted. "Got lost."

"Hmm," Sunny said, not rudely. "Alright, but try not to do it again. You're lucky you've got me this time instead of Tsunami, otherwise you might've had a detention on your first day."

"We weren't that late," Winter protested.

"Anyway," Sunny said, turning to the other dragonets, who were already sitting in a circle around the little SandWing. On her left sat a green SeaWing, who looked similar to Turtle - attitude and all - and on his left sat a quiet MudWing. On her other side sat Flame; the SkyWing who shared Winter and Qibli's cave, beside him a slow RainWing sat facing Sunny with a faintly interested expression. Beside RainWing was a NightWing who seemed to be bursting with energy. Qibli quickly scurried into the cave and sat down beside the NightWing, Winter between him and Sunny.

"This session is when we all get to know each other." Sunny told them. "Let's start with introductions; I'll go first. As you may know, I'm Sunny. I'm Queen Thorn's daughter, and my friends and I founded this school. I like spending time with my friends."

"Weird to hear someone say that they're related to royalty without a haughty tone," Qibli joked, nudging Winter. Sunny shot him a look before she turned expectantly to the SeaWing, prompting him to introduce himself.

"I'm Fin," the green dragon said. "I'm one of Turtle and Tsunami's brothers; one of Queen Coral's sons. I like competitions, like races, especially with my brothers."

"I'm Pheasant," the MudWing said placidly. "One of Clay's sisters. I didn't learn much, but I like reading what little bit I can."

"I'm Flame," the scarred dragon growled, ducking his head. "I was one of the dragonets of the prophecy about a year ago. That's why Morrowseer drug us to that stupid island and Viper ruined my face."

"Do you have any hobbies?" Sunny asked gently. Flame glared up at her but didn't say anything. Then he shifted his gaze toward Qibli, hatred filling his eyes. What did I do? Qibli thought, jerking his head back. I'm a SandWing - he must hate all of us, except Sunny, just for having our tail barbs.

"I'm Coconut," the RainWing said sedately. "I'm from the rain forest and I like sleeping." Qibli snorted. Sunny shot him a disapproving look before the NightWing beside him began.

"I'm Deathflight!" the NightWing exclaimed. "My mother trained be to be an assassin before the war ended, but the war ended before I became one. I really like practicing my defense moves - without hurting anyone though! I don't want to kill anyone."

"I'm Qibli," he told them breezily. "I'm one of Queen Thorn's Outclaws, and once I'm done with school I'm going to go back and help her put the stronghold back together after that sandstorm a few months ago." My sandstorm, Qibli thought guiltily. He pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind and turned to Winter, who was staring fixedly at the floor in the center of the circle.

"Winter," Sunny said softly, touching his shoulder with her wing. The IceWing jumped at her sudden contact. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," he said a little too quickly. "Um, I'm Winter and I like scavengers." Sunny exchanged a glance with Qibli, concern etched all across her face.

"Alright, well you'd better be off." Sunny said after a moment of analyzing Winter. "You don't have anything else until this afternoon. Go ahead and explore a bit. Winter - wait." Winter sat back down and waited as the rest of the dragonets filed out of the cave, Fin and Pheasant heading out together with Deathflight, Flame and Coconut each heading out alone.

"See you at the library," Qibli said to Winter before stepping out into the hallway.

"Has everything been okay?" Qibli heard Sunny ask as he headed down the hallway, and he hesitated. Part of him said to wait and listen to what Winter would say, but the other part said to ask him about it in the library. He had just decided to stay when he heard Winter's reply.

"Yeah," Winter sighed. "I'm fine, honest."

"If you're sure," Sunny said, still sounding concerned but willing to let it go. "Just remember that if you ever need to talk to someone, you can come to me, okay?" There was a pause, in which Qibli assumed Winter nodded, then he heard talonsteps and quickly hurried down the hallway, hoping he didn't look guilty.

"Oh, hey," Qibli said casually once Winter caught up. "I was thinking, maybe we could stop by the prey center first. Then we could grab a bite to eat and maybe get a chance to chat with Moon and Kinkajou and Turtle before our next class."

"I'm not hungry," Winter said blandly. Qibli raised an eyebrow at him suspiciously.

"Really." Qibli said dubiously. This just keeps getting weirder and weirder. Qibli thought.

"I'll come with you, I just won't be eating." Winter said before Qibli could explore the mental paths exploding in his mind.

"...alright," Qibli conceded, turning toward the prey center. Just like the last time, the cave was very loud with the kerfuffle of dragons chasing after chickens, goats, ducks, and other prey, as well as the conversations being held over their meals. Off to the far side of the cave sat a large pile of fruits from the rain forest, and gathered around it were the RainWings. Coconut sat alone and contemplated a red-and-green fruit as he ate a banana, and a little further away sat Kinkajou, talking animatedly with Turtle, Moon, and Peril. Suddenly a squirrel dashed out in front of Qibli, and he instinctively caught it and dispatched it cleanly. Turning back to face Winter, Qibli sat down beside his friend, analyzing him out of the corner of his eye.

"HI!" A loud voice yelled in Qibli's ear. Beside him, Winter jumped up, hissing, before he realized that it was Kinkajou and sat back down.

"Talons and tails, you're loud," Qibli said, rubbing his ear.

"Sorry," Kinkajou chirped. "But you should sit with us! I haven't seen you in forever!"

"Alright," Qibli agreed, chuckling. They followed Kinkajou across the cave to where Moon, Turtle, and Peril were waiting. They chatted cheerfully as they ate, however Qibli noted that Winter didn't say much of anything, and when he did he sounded spastic and confused. Okay, something is going on with him, and I intend to find out what. 

Chapter Text

Winter PoV:

(Sorry y'all, I ran out of things to write so I'm doing a time skip)

~one week later~

The sun had long since set, but there was still one dragon who wasn't asleep. Winter was lying awake on his ledge, pouring over his homework in the fading torchlight, trying to scrape something together that made sense. Tiredness tugged Winter's mind, but he refused to give in. I can't sleep. Winter thought. I have to finish my homework anyway. He blamed it on his homework, but that wasn't the real reason he wouldn't let himself sleep. He knew that if he went to sleep, the nightmares would come back.

On his second night back, he'd started having nightmares. Well, not nightmares, plural, but the same nightmare over and over again. One of Darkstalker rising out of the mountain, smashing his huge talons on Moon and Qibli and throwing them off the mountain to their deaths. Then Tundra, Narwhal, Icicle, Hailstorm, Lynx, Snowfall, and Queen Glacier all surrounding Winter, deadpanning that he was an awful, useless waste of space and that they were disgraced to have him as a family member. Then Turtle, Moon, Kinkajou, and worst of all, Qibli, joined them, glaring down at him and chanting about how useless he was and that he was a horrible friend and that they hated him.

But going without sleep was affecting how he acted in and after class. He kept finding it even harder to pay attention to Webs's droning on about history or Clay's rambling about dragon anatomy. He was even losing focus in Tsunami's self-defense class, a class that he used to be able to pay attention in and had been very good at. Now he kept tripping over his own claws and bumping into other dragons as he tried to perform the move which Tsunami had demonstrated to him three times. For the past three days he kept getting lectured or yelled at by the teachers, and though he tried not to show it, it was really wearing on him.

 His mind wandered to earlier that day, when he had tripped on Coconut's tail during Tsunami's defense class and fell on top of Deathflight, messing up the move he had been practicing for the fourth time that day.

"Winter," Tsunami snapped, flicking him with her tail. "Focus. You can't fight properly if your head is taking a trip to the moons." Winter bowed his head, shame washing over him. She sounded uncomfortably similar to Winter's parents, pointing out and mocking how weak he was. He felt Tsunami's gaze burning on his scales, but he didn't look up. He didn't want to show everyone how much this hurt.

"I know I'm about to sound like Sunny, but are you alright?" the SeaWing had asked him. "You used to be one of my best students, and now you're acting like a sca- er - chicken with its head bitten off."

"I'm fine," Winter had mumbled, his wings drooping in shame.

Winter shook himself, recalling his conversation with Tsunami wouldn't help him write his history essay. He turned back to his scroll, trying to scrounge up another sentence. Oh, what's the point? Winter sighed. He rolled up his paper and quietly set it on the scroll rack by the entrance. As he turned around to head back to his ledge, his tail accidentally ran into the scroll rack, knocking it to the ground with a loud clatter. Oh no - Winter thought. Qibli jerked up, blinking awake.

"What are you doing awake?" Qibli asked, slipping up in front of him.

"I was writing my essay," Winter whispered back.

"Why weren't you sleeping?" Qibli asked softly.

"I can't sleep," Winter hissed, talking more to himself than anyone else. Qibli looked at him for a long moment, then glanced at the sleeping form of Flame.

"Come with me," the SandWing murmured, stepping out into the hallway. He led Winter all the way to the entrance cave and out into the moonlight, sitting down on a moss-covered rock off to one side.

"What's going on?" Qibli asked gently, sounding genuinely concerned.

"Nothing, I'm fine," Winter answered, not meeting his gaze.

"No, you're not," Qibli insisted, reaching out a talon and setting it gently on top of Winter's. "You've been acting spacey for the past three days, not to mention jumpy for about a week. You keep failing your tests and not paying attention in class, and Tsunami's yelled at you for it at least twice.  What's wrong?" Winter closed his eyes over the emotions threatening to overwhelm him.

"It's okay," Qibli breathed. "You can tell me." Suddenly Winter couldn't hold back the tears any longer. He sniffed, and he felt Qibli wrap a warm wing around him gently. Winter leaned into the embrace, wrapping his arms around Qibli and resting his head on the SandWing's shoulder.

"On our s-second n-night back," Winter sobbed, not even trying to stop the tears from running down his face. "I h-had a n-nightmare when D-Darkstalker came back and k-killed you and M-Moon, then m-my family and L-Lynx and G-Glacier all s-started telling me h-how useless I am and s-said that they w-were ashamed to c-call me family. T-then y-you c-came back and s-said that I w-was a t-terrible f-friend and t-that you h-hated me. I k-kept h-having it over and o-over again, s-so I s-stopped s-sleeping so I w-wouldn't h-have it a-again."

"Shh," Qibli soothed, stroking Winter's head comfortingly.

"And t-then when I'm not s-scared or sad, I'm c-confused," Winter went on. He paused, not sure how to go on.

"Confused about what?" Qibli prompted gently.

"How I s-should act on m-my f-feelings for y-you, i-if I s-should act on t-them at a-all." Winter admitted, pulling back and finally meeting his friend's tired and concerned gaze.

"Me?" Qibli asked. Winter was too exhausted to read all the emotions in the word and on his face.

"Y-yes. I r-really like you," Winter told him.

"I love you too," Qibli said, resting his chin comfortingly on top of Winter's head. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." Well, I guess that's one thing dealt with. Winter thought. Taking a ragged breath, he settled himself comfortably beside Qibli, tears drying on his snout. They sat there for a few long and peaceful moments before Qibli broke the silence.

"I've been kind of nervous about Darkstalker too." Qibli told Winter softly, pulling back and looking into his eyes. "It almost makes me wonder if the founders split us up so then it wouldn't be exactly the same as last time, so then maybe it would be easier to handle and live past." Winter nodded, then yawned. Qibli smiled tiredly at him.

"We should probably go to bed," he said. Winter felt a twist of sadness about leaving; he had to admit, he liked sitting here under the stars with Qibli.

"Maybe we could stay here?" Winter suggested. "I mean, it's kind of nice out here, and we're not in the way."

"Works for me," Qibli murmured, lying down beside Winter. A sudden breeze hit them, and Winter noticed Qibli shiver slightly, so lay down beside the SandWing, covering him with one wing to shelter him from the wind. Qibli sighed and leaned against Winter, gazing at the stars. Not a moment later, Winter found his eyelids begin to droop, and this time he allowed sleep to take hold of him. He drowsily lowered his head, nuzzling his snout underneath Qibli's and closing his eyes. This is what I've been missing for my whole life, Winter thought before he fell asleep, feeling safer and happier than he'd been his whole time back at Jade Mountain.

Chapter Text

Late prologue, Qibli PoV:

~Three months after the Darkness of Dragons alt. ending above.~

Qibli entered the observatory, nervous about what Moon might say this time. Ever since he first met her, he'd had a crush on her, but now he wasn't sure. He would think about her shimmering silver scales that sparkled like stars, but then he would think of Winter and his sparkling snow-white and pale blue scales. He would brush one wing against Moon's cool wing, but then he would expect Winter's cold touch. 

"Qibli," Moon said warmly.

"H-hi," Qibli stammered.

"I've been thinking," Moon began. "I've been trying to come up with a way to say this without hurting anyone, and I think I've finally found the best way to say it." she took a deep breath.

"We're friends," Moon said flatly, but not unkindly. Qibli tipped his head at her, confused.

"Yeah..." Qibli said.

"I mean, we're just friends." Moon explained patiently. "I'm sorry, but I don't care about you or Winter that way." Qibli expected a shattering disappointment like he had felt when his mother sold him, but instead he almost felt... relieved.

"I'm dating someone else," Moon continued.

"Who?" Qibli asked curiously.

"Ostrich," Moon said fondly.

"Wait - what?" Qibli exclaimed. "Since when?"

"Well, it all started a few days after I came to ask you to come back to school," Moon began. She went on to tell him all about how she had been feeling lonely since Turtle and Kinkajou were spending more time together instead of with Moon, when Ostrich came up to her and introduced herself. As they continued to spend time together, they realized how much they liked each other and how well they clicked together.

"We started officially dating a few weeks ago," Moon finished.

"That's great, Moon!" Qibli said enthusiastically.

"Would you mind telling Winter?" Moon asked.

"Not at all," Qibli replied.

"Thanks," Moon said gratefully, a playful grin forming and a mischievous glint in her eye. "That gives you a chance to explore other things, too."

"What?" Qibli yelped, his face growing hot.

"Come on," Moon teased. "I've seen the way you act around Winter."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Qibli lied quickly. Moon laughed.

"Just go talk to him!" she encouraged, shoving his shoulder.

"You can't spend all of your time rebuilding walls, you know," a new voice cut in. Qibli whipped around to see Queen Thorn standing in the doorway.

"How long have you been here?" Qibli mumbled, lowering his head and blushing even more.

"Long enough," Thorn replied, sounding amused. "Seriously, though, go talk to him. Go back to Jade Mountain. There will still be plenty of walls to fix once you get back." Winter would probably go back if we asked him to. Qibli thought.

"...I'll send him a letter." he agreed finally, cutting off the thoughts rushing through his head.

"Yes!" Moon cheered. "See you at school!"

Chapter Text

Qibli PoV:

Qibli opened his eyes. The sun was just rising over the top of the distant mountains, and there was a crisp coolness in the air that reminded Qibli of the deserted area between the Ice Kingdom and the desert. Winter, who was still lying beside him with one wing resting gently on Qibli's back, was already awake and watching the sunrise with a peaceful expression. He still had deep shadows under his tired eyes, but he looked better, mentally, and more awake than he had in days.

"Good morning," Winter murmured, turning to meet Qibli's gaze as he lifted his head.

"Morning. How long have you been awake?" Qibli asked.

"About an hour," Winter replied.

"You've just been sitting there for an hour?" Qibli asked, scanning his friend's face carefully.

"Well... um, ...yes," Winter said, blue blush starting to spread across his face.

"So you're not going to tell me why?" Qibli said playfully after a moment.

"I didn't want to leave you," Winter admitted.

"Why not?" Qibli asked, curious and slightly concerned.

"I had the dream again," Winter explained. "It was easier to shake it off when you were there because you reminded me that it wasn't real."

"True," Qibli joked. "If I really didn't like you I wouldn't be sleeping under your wing." To his surprise, Winter laughed.

"Well, we should probably get up; everyone else will be here soon." Winter said a few moments later. "Plus we'd never hear the end of it if Kinkajou saw us like this."

"Ha ha, true," Qibli laughed, standing up and stretching, then shivered.

"Chilly?" Winter asked, arching his back and stretching his wings above his head.

"A little," Qibli admitted. Winter stepped forward and wrapped his wing, which was still warm, around Qibli.

"Than-" Qibli started, smiling, but was suddenly cut off by a loud screech from inside the caves.

"EEEEEEEEE MOON LOOKLOOKLOOK!" Kinkajou squealed, pulling the NightWing over to where Winter and Qibli were standing.

"There you are," Moon said, smirking up at them. "We were looking for you."

"We just - uh - came out to look at the sunrise." Qibli lied, exchanging a glance with Winter, who still had his wing wrapped around Qibli. He knew that Winter wouldn't let Qibli help him anymore if he told everyone the IceWing's fears, and there was something about the nighttime interaction in general that seemed like it should be kept secret.

"The sunrise?" Moon asked skeptically, a knowing look in her eye. She didn't press the matter, though, instead changing the subject to their history essays as they headed to the prey center.

"Ugh," Kinkajou groaned, her ruff turning a sad gray-blue color. "Don't remind me."

"But you finished it, right?" Moon prompted.

"Um," Kinkajou shifted uncomfortably. "Yes...?"

"Kinkajou!" Moon exclaimed. "That paper is due today!" Beside Qibli, Winter shifted guiltily.

"You too?" Qibli whispered. Winter nodded almost imperceptibly. "Don't worry about it. It's only been a week, Tsunami will understand that you're going through stuff."

"But I don't want to tell her," Winter breathed.

"Then I'll make up something," Qibli replied under his breath.

"What are you two whispering about?" Kinkajou asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," they said in unison. Kinkajou smirked slightly at them before turning back to Moon. They met Turtle, Fin, and Deathflight in the prey center, and they all sat together, chatting over their food. For the past few days they had formed an inter-Winglet friend group at mealtimes.

Three days prior Qibli and Winter were heading to the prey center with Deathflight, when Kinkajou called Winter and Qibli to sit with her, Moon, Turtle, and Peril. Deathflight asked if she could come as well, and Kinkajou accepted. A little later on, Turtle saw his brother, Fin, and invited him to sit with the group as well. Sometimes they also sat with Pheasant or Coconut, and because of Fin, Qibli, and Winter the Jade and Silver Winglets in general became close friends - except Flame, who still didn't like anyone in his own Winglet.

"What are you going to tell Webs?" Moon asked Kinkajou as they headed to History with the rest of the lunch group.

"I don't know," Kinkajou moaned, her ruff a panicked lime-green.

"Why didn't you finish it?" Moon asked.

"I was... spending time with Turtle." Kinkajou replied, her wings turning pink.

"Well, it's your first miss, so I doubt Webs will be too hard on you," Moon said. "Maybe he'll let you have an extra day to finish it."

"Wait, how has Kinkajou not missed any papers until today?" Qibli asked. Kinkajou stuck her tongue out at him.

"Turtle keeps reminding me and keeping me focused and helping me write and spell things," Kinkajou told him.

"And there are too many 'and's in that sentence," Turtle said. It wasn't until Qibli looked at him that he realized Turtle was joking.

"I guess you'll have to rephrase it then!" Kinkajou said, bumping his hip with hers, and Turtle blushed.

"Uh, how about 'Turtle keeps reminding me, keeps me focused, and helps me write and spell things properly'?" Turtle suggested, looking up at the ceiling.

"I was just messing with you, you goof!" Kinkajou laughed, pressing affectionately against Turtle's side. On the way to their classroom, they swing by Winter and Qibli's cave to pick up their history scrolls and 'deskwork'. As Winter picked up his scroll, he sighed.

"How much did you finish anyway?" Qibli whispered.

"About three rolls," Winter replied softly.

"You're not too behind," Qibli murmured. "He asked for five. Like I said, I'll make something up if it comes to that."

"Come on, you two," Turtle clipped. "We're going to be late." Quickly they scurried out and followed the other dragonets, falling to the back of the crowd.

"Hey, you might not be alone this time," Qibli pointed out softly. "Depending on how behind Kinkajou is Webs'll lecture her as well."

"You know, you two have been acting very weird today," Kinkajou said in a stage whisper.

"Oh, look, we're here," Winter said quickly, hurrying past the others into the cave. Kinkajou narrowed her eyes but followed Winter into the history cave anyway. I'll have to be a bit more secretive when I comfort Winter. Qibli thought as he entered the cave and sat down beside his IceWing friend. Or else he won't want me to help him at all.

"Good morning," Webs said once the last dragonet entered the classroom and sat down. "First, I'll need everyone's reports on the period after Darkstalker's first defeat. Coconut, would you collect them and bring them to me?" Qibli noticed that when Webs said 'Darkstalker', he wasn't the only one who winced; Winter, Turtle, Kinkajou, Moon, and Peril all flinched as well. When Coconut came to their desk, Qibli handed the RainWing his and Winter's reports, and the pale green dragonet slowly continued along the desks until he reached Webs, to whom he handed the scrolls.

"Thank you, Coconut." Webs said imperiously. "Now then, next you will read the next portion of your scrolls while I look over your papers."

Along with the rest of the class, Qibli unrolled his scroll and began reading the next selected paragraphs. As he read, Qibli found it harder and harder to keep the information in his head, instead he kept thinking about Winter, as well as what could be in store for his friend.

"All right," Webs called after he finished his lecture following their reading. "Don't forget those reports, which I expect to be turned in in three days. Winter - one moment." Qibli exchanged a glance with Winter, but had no choice but to leave the classroom and head to his next class. As he passed his IceWing friend, he brushed his wing against his back comfortingly.

Chapter Text

Winter PoV:

Winter waited uncomfortably as the Jade Winglet and the rest of the Silver Winglet left the classroom.

"Now," Webs said once the last student had left. "About your deskwork. I -"

"I'm sorry," Winter blurted. "I just-"

"Wait," Webs interrupted. "Tsunami is going to be joining us shortly; I'm not the only one who's had concerns with your work." Right on cue, the blue SeaWing hurried into the classroom.

"Sorry I'm late," she said, panting slightly. "Had to break up an argument in the halls. Also I met Sunny on the way, so she came too." Tsunami flicked her tail at the entrance as the little golden SandWing stepped calmly into the classroom as well.

"So what's going on again?" Sunny asked, sounding serious.

"We're having a little chat with Winter here about his classes," Webs replied ominously, waving a talon at Winter.

"You say 'chat' as if you're planning on doing something to him," Sunny said sharply, looking sternly up at the older dragon.

"Maybe we can resolve disagreements about students' punishments after we figure out what in the three moons is going on?" Tsunami interjected before Webs could say anything.

"Yes, right," Sunny said, turning to Winter and arranging her face to look calm yet stern. Tsunami stepped in front of his desk with authority.

"Why do you keep failing your tests and turning in half-written reports?" Tsunami asked in her no-nonsense voice, getting straight to the point. "I thought you were usually better than this." Behind her, Sunny flinched at her wording, but kept quiet.

"I keep getting distracted," Winter replied, dropping his gaze to his talons. "And I keep getting sidetracked and forgetting to write the reports." It wasn't quite true, but it was the best he could come up with.

"Distracted and sidetracked by what?" Tsunami snapped. Winter didn't respond, and she continued. "You didn't have problems with your work last time."

"Perhaps a bit of punishment will help it to stick in your mind better," Webs suggested. "Maybe a night of detention will help you focus."

"I think it would be more effective to first figure out what the problem is," Sunny interjected.

"It would be," Tsunami agreed. "If he would tell us what the problem is."

"You know you can tell us, right?" Sunny said softly, stepping up to stand beside Tsunami. "Now, what's going on?"

"I just got sidetracked when I went hunting," Winter lied, still not meeting their gaze. Tsunami let out a small hiss of frustration.

"You know, I'm starting to understand what your parents meant when they said you were a disappointment." Webs growled. Winter flinched and was shocked into looking up at him.

"Webs!" Sunny exclaimed.

"What?" Webs asked harshly, looking down at the little SandWing. "He's been failing every single assignment ever since he came back to school!" Winter lowered his head and closed his eyes, his wings drooping with shame. 

"But that doesn't mean you have to be mean," Sunny retorted.

"I'm not being mean," Webs said waspishly. "I'm stating facts."

"Can't you see it's bothering him?" Sunny snapped. Any other time Winter would have protested that he wouldn't be affected by anything Webs said, but he was still tired - despite sleeping well the previous night - and overwhelmed, so was just grateful that he at least had one dragon who would side with him here.

"I can imagine how you feel," Sunny said gently, brushing his wing with hers. Winter shied away but didn't look up. "What with losing your father and your home, I can understand feeling distracted. You're not the only one who's not back up to usual standard; Ermine, Mindreader, and Qibli's papers have been more disjointed than usual,  just to name a few. But just try to pay attention and give it your best effort, okay?" Winter lifted his head slightly and nodded, still too overwhelmed to trust himself to speak.

"We'll let it slide for now, but if you keep it up then we might have to take Webs's suggestion and start giving you detention." Tsunami said. Winter nodded again.

"Well, go on," Sunny said. "You'd better get to your next class." With that, Winter gathered up his scrolls and hurried out into the hallway. He trailed through the halls to the classroom, keeping his head down and avoided meeting anyone's gaze. A few moments later he reached his class, Herbs and Healing with the Quartz Winglet. Qibli, Deathflight, and Fin were already there, as well as the SandWing, RainWing, SkyWing, and MudWing from the Quartz Winglet, who were sitting each in pairs at two desks. Fin and Deathflight were sitting at a desk together, turned around to face Qibli, who was sitting behind them.

"Winter!" Deathflight called excitedly. "Over here!"

"Hey," Qibli said as Winter sat down beside him, curling his tail close to his talons. The SandWing looked like he had a million questions on his mind, but instead of asking he draped his tail over Winter's reassuringly. In response, Winter curled his tail around Qibli's, carefully avoiding his tail barb.

"Hey, I heard Webs was giving you a hard time. Well, okay, I guess he just wanted you to hold back, but I can't imagine he had anything good to say." Deathflight rambled. "Anyway, I just wanted to say, don't listen to him. He's called me back a couple times, too. He's just being a rotting tooth for no reason."

"What's he called you back for?" Fin asked Deathflight curiously.

"Not studying hard enough," Deathflight said, waving of her talon as though it wasn't a big deal.

"You... did try to improve, didn't you?" Fin asked, sounding surprised.

"Oh sure," Deathflight replied with a careless shrug, which did not seem to suit Fin, but before the SeaWing could press the matter, Clay limped in.

"All right," the MudWing said enthusiastically. "Everyone here?" He proceeded to grab a parchment and called names. Once each student had been accounted for, Clay turned to a large diagram hung on the wall and began teaching about bones and what each one was called. Winter tried to pay attention, occasionally jotting down the name of a bone, but he quickly found his eyelids drooping and shook himself. He sat up straighter, hoping to keep himself from drifting off.

Suddenly something sharp jabbed his neck, and Winter jerked his head up off his desk. He turned to see Qibli staring intently at him.

"Ow," Winter hissed.

"Sorry," Qibli breathed. "You were asleep." This doesn't bode well for the rest of my day. Winter thought, sighing. To try and keep from falling asleep again, Winter mentally recited some of the Diamond Trial sagas that Tundra had made him memorize. 

Halfway through the second saga, Clay called the end of the lesson and they headed into the hallway to go to their next class.

Winter was surprised when his mind caught up to the fact that they were headed to lunch already. He wasn't sure if he had collected enough notes for the tests and reports they had been assigned, but it was too late to do anything about it now. Even though he wasn't particularly hungry, Winter followed Qibli to the prey center and flopped down beside him, resting his head on his talons.

"You okay?" Qibli asked casually from above him.

"Yeah," Winter replied, letting out a long sigh through his nose. "Just tired."

"Sheep?" Qibli asked, nudging his catch toward Winter.

"Mmf," Winter sighed. "Not hungry, thanks."

"You know, you might be tired in part because you don't eat." Qibli pointed out, slicing off a portion. He paused, then added, "when did you last eat?"

"I have no idea," Winter replied after a moment of thought.

"Eat," Qibli insisted, shoving one part over to Winter. Obligingly, he took a bite, and then felt some energy seep into his bones. Once he had finished his share of the sheep, he felt more physically awake and ready for the day's classes. 

Chapter Text

Qibli PoV:

Qibli was in the library at one of the large tables, his deskwork assignment rolled out in front of him. Also sitting at the table was Winter, Deathflight, Fin, Pheasant, Moon, Kinkajou, and Turtle, with Peril sitting nearby on a fireproof rock ledge, dictating her report to Turtle, who was writing it down for her. Qibli wanted to finish as much of his report as possible, but he knew as long as he finished one third of it tonight he'd be on schedule. Apart from the scratching of writing and Peril and Turtle's quiet conversation, it was quiet and rather peaceful. Qibli took a moment to analyze his fellow students, having lost possible phrases for his report. On his left, Deathflight was hunched over her scroll, writing quickly, her tail tapping quietly behind her. On her other side, Pheasant rested her head on one of her talons, clearly thinking, and Fin was on her left writing as well. Beside his brother, Turtle sat in front of the stone ledge Peril sat on, writing her report and prompting her as she thought. Beside Turtle, Kinkajou sat, her scales a light lavender - though she looked more orchid or pink in the flickering torchlight - and a look of deep concentration on her face as she wrote carefully. On Kinkajou's other side was Moon, who was writing calmly and continuously. Between Moon and Qibli sat Winter, who would write a sentence or two, then tap his claws on the table thoughtfully until he thought of something else to write. (lmxo this is me rn.)

"Okay, I think that's enough for one night," Turtle said about ten minutes later, writing down Peril's last sentence and rolling up her scroll.

"Yay! Free!" Deathflight cheered, jumping up and rolling up her half-finished report before dashing out into the halls. Qibli and Turtle exchanged an amused glance.

"I've just got a few more lines and I'm done," Moon interjected. "You go ahead."

"Okay," Kinkajou agreed, her scales shifting back to their usual happy yellow color. "See you later then." She stood up and stretched, then stepped up to walk beside Turtle, Peril following a safe distance behind. Fin and Pheasant rolled up their scrolls before heading out into the hallways.

"How much have you gotten done so far?" Qibli asked Winter, who was still writing.

"I'm about halfway done," Winter sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"What did Webs want?" Moon asked suddenly, rolling up her finished paper and tucking it in her bag.

"I forgot to finish my last essay," Winter told her simply.

"But Kinkajou missed her essay and didn't get called back," Moon pointed out. "If it were just about an essay then he should've called Kinkajou in, too. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad he didn't, but it's just not fair for you."

"How many did she miss?" Winter asked bitterly, looking away from Moon. Qibli laid his tail over Winter's comfortingly. 

"Oh," Moon said, realization dawning on her face. She stood there awkwardly for a moment, then hurried off into the halls after her Winglet.  

"Don't worry about it," Qibli said after she left. "You're on track to keep on schedule this time, that's all that matters."

"Just try and do an hour or two every day and you should keep up," Starflight suggested from the front desk. Qibli jumped, forgetting that the blind librarian was there.

"Okay, I'll try it," Winter responded.

"Tomorrow," Starflight told him. "If I'm right, it's almost time for you to go to sleep."

"Yeah," Qibli replied, glancing at the dark leaf-covered windows and gathering up his stuff. "We'd better be off then. Bye Starflight."

"Bye," Winter added, collecting his own stuff.

"Good night," Starflight said as they passed the front desk. They walked down the almost-deserted hallways to their room, where Flame was perched on his ledge, reading in the torchlight. After putting away their scrolls and ink, Qibli and Winter stood awkwardly for a moment, not quite sure what they wanted to do next.

"Uh," Qibli said a few minutes later, trying to break the tension. "...How was your day, Flame?" Flame grunted and didn't look up. Well, I guess that ends that conversation. Qibli thought.

"I suppose that means 'not great'?" Winter guessed.

"It means 'I'm reading and don't want to be bothered'" Flame retorted.

"You know, it's easier to deal with the whole 'Winglet' thing if you're willing to talk to them every now and then," Qibli commented. "And I know someone who can confirm it." he added, giving Winter a mischievous glance. Winter gave him a playful glare in return before he responded.

"Yeah, trust me," the IceWing agreed.

"I don't need friends," Flame scoffed, giving the stalactites beside him a sideways glare.

"Winter thought that, too," Qibli commented. "But now look at him." Winter coughed uncomfortably.

"What, you mean he wasn't hatched that color?" Flame asked sarcastically. "Or was he a SkyWing?"

"Well, I don't know if he was a SkyWing or if all IceWings are as grumpy as he was," Qibli replied, ignoring Flame's sarcasm.

"He is not a SkyWing," Flame retorted, turning back to his scroll.

"Yeah, but - "Qibli started.

"I don't want to talk anymore," Flame said flatly. Well, I guess it could have gone worse. Qibli thought, shrugging at Winter. Suddenly the IceWing stood up and walked to the cave opening, then turned to look at Qibli and flicked his tail to ask him to follow. Qibli nodded and stood up, following Winter through the dark hallways as the IceWing headed out to the entrance cave.

"I think we're growing on him," Qibli said quietly as to not wake anyone up.

"Maybe," Winter murmured, glancing into one of the caves as they passed. "I think it's going to take a while before we see any change in him though." A couple minutes later they reached the entrance cave.

"Do you have anything in particular you want to do?" Qibli asked.

"Not really, I guess," Winter replied, shrugging. "I was thinking maybe for now we could just sit outside, look at the stars, maybe talk about stuff..." He trailed off, and even in the faint moonlight Qibli could tell Winter was blushing.

"Works for me," Qibli murmured. He followed Winter out to the mossy rock they had sat on the previous night, letting Winter climb up first. Once he had sat down, Qibli climbed up beside him and slipped under his wing, pressing against Winter's side. The IceWing then tucked his snout under Qibli's chin and sighed deeply.

"Something wrong?" Qibli asked.

"Webs was getting to me," Winter replied. "He said that he understood what my parents said I was a disappointment."

"Ouch," Qibli said sympathetically, twining his tail carefully around Winter's.

"I'm okay now," Winter murmured. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Qibli breathed. They sat there for a few eternities, enjoying each other's presence, before Qibli got an idea.

"Hey, how tired are you?" Qibli asked, lifting his head off of Winter's. The IceWing hesitated for a moment, thinking.

"I have no idea," Winter admitted. "Not very, I guess."

"Race ya!" Qibli said, slipping out from under Winter's wing and running toward the music cave. Behind him he heard Winter following close. Thanks to his head start, Qibli kept a few steps ahead of Winter even as they grew near to the music cave. Suddenly, as he turned to get around the corner, Qibli slipped and slammed into the wall. His wing was smashed closed, and a sharp bolt of pain zipped along his wing. Half a second later, Winter crashed into him and Qibli felt another jagged wave of pain from his stinging wing, before they fell back onto the floor. Winter gasped as Qibli landed on top of him, his head on the IceWing's chest, and Qibli closed his eyes in pain. 

"Oh my moons, are you okay?"

Chapter Text

Winter PoV:

"Oh my moons, are you okay?" a little voice squeaked. Winter turned to see Princess Anemone standing at the other corner, looking at them with an expression of concern on her face. He was lying on his back on the floor with Qibli lying tensely on top of him - not exactly how he wanted to face other dragons, but right now he was more concerned than anything else.

"Uh," Winter said, looking down at Qibli, who was still lying motionless on his chest. "I think I'm okay..." he trailed off, hoping Qibli would finish.

"Qibli? What about you?" Anemone asked, walking up to stand over them. Winter noticed as they waited for the SandWing to say something that Anemone's wings were dripping slightly. That must be why the floor was wet; because Anemone is wet.

"Did you go swimming or something?" Winter asked the little SeaWing.

"Huh? Oh - yeah." Anemone said, shaking off her wings. "Sorry, I didn't realize anyone else was awake; I didn't think it would be a problem to be leaving wet footprints everywhere because no one would pass before morning, and by then it would be dry."

"Why don't you go ahead and go to sleep?" Winter suggested after another moment of waiting. "We'll be fine." Anemone yawned.

"Are you sure?" the SeaWing asked.

"Well, there's not much you can do to help anyway," Winter pointed out.

"I could get Clay," Anemone offered.

"No, thank you," Winter said, trying not to sound annoyed. "We can get him if we need him."

"All right," Anemone agreed with a shrug, taking a step back. "Good night then."

"Good night," Winter said, turning back to Qibli as the SeaWing princess walked away. He waited until her footsteps faded before he analyzed his friend. Qibli's eyes were closed and there was a bruise forming above his left eye, but something else wasn't right and Winter just couldn't put his talon on it.

"Qibli? What's wrong?" he asked. Finally Qibli opened his eyes, and Winter noticed that there were tears forming in the corners of them.

"Ow," Qibli said in a wavering voice. "My wing."

"What happened?" Winter asked, quickly scanning Qibli's wing before looking back into his eyes.

"I don't know, exactly," he croaked. "I banged my wing into the wall, I guess. My wing was tucked in and then I landed on it and it really hurt." The SandWing started to stretch his left wing, but stopped abruptly with a gasp of pain.

"How did that happen anyway?" Qibli asked.

"Anemone went swimming and dripped water everywhere," Winter told him slowly. "Didn't you hear that whole conversation?"

"I thought I heard someone come up," Qibli said vaguely, trying unsuccessfully to blink away tears. Winter tried to pull out one wing to wrap around Qibli, but he couldn't get it in the right position, so instead he just wrapped his arms around the SandWing. Qibli's breathing quickened, but he relaxed and snuggled closer.

"We should probably go to bed," Winter said.

"Yeah," Qibli said, sliding off of Winter. Winter stood up, resettling his wings, and stood there waiting as Qibli stood up, then staggered into Winter's left side. He leaned against Qibli, tenting one wing over his back and trying to help him stand up.

"Sorry," Qibli said, rubbing his forehead. "I just got dizzy for some reason."

"Probably from when you hit your head on the wall," Winter replied.

"I didn't know I hit my head," Qibli mumbled. Winter looked at him, confused and concerned. Did he really hit his head that hard?  He worried.

"What?" Qibli asked, and Winter realized that he was still watching him and quickly looked away, starting down the hall back toward their cave.

"I'm just worried," Winter admitted.

"About what?" Qibli asked, making Winter look back at him in concern.

"You of course," Winter answered. "When do you not notice things?"

"I was distracted," Qibli protested.

"Yes, and that's my point. You're not usually so distracted that you miss things like someone having a conversation over your head." Winter said. Qibli dropped his gaze to his talons. They walked in silence the rest of the way back to their cave. When they arrived, Flame was already asleep but the torch was still burning brightly. Qibli slipped past Winter and curled up on his ledge, his head tucked under his hurt wing. Winter watched him for a moment as a mental war raged in his mind. Shaking away the argument in his head, Winter walked up and curled around Qibli.

"You know I wasn't calling you out, right?" Winter murmured. Beside him, Qibli shifted, still not facing him.

"I know," came the muffled reply a moment later.

"I just want to make sure you're okay," he breathed, wrapping one wing around Qibli, being careful to avoid the warm dragon's injured wing. Qibli sighed and pulled his head out from under his wing and turned to rest his head on Winter's arm.

"I'm okay," the SandWing murmured, closing his eyes, and a moment later he was asleep. Winter let out a yawn and lowered his head beside Qibli's.

~timeskip brought to you by Cactus the SandWing (one of my OCs)~

Winter wasn't sure what woke him after what felt like a few minutes of dreamless sleep. He opened his eyes and saw that it was still dark; the torch had burned out, but there was still a smell of smoke in the air as though it hadn't gone out long ago. He lifted his head and realized that, tucked under his wing, Qibli was trembling. His expression was one of pure terror and he had nestled even closer to Winter at some point, with his head on top of both Winter's arms now. Qibli's scales felt cool - for a SandWing - and clammy, and his breathing was rapid and shallow.

"Qibli?" Winter murmured, nudging the side of Qibli's neck with the tip of his snout. The SandWing let out a whimper and twitched back about an inch, still trembling violently. Winter tried again, a bit rougher this time, and once again Qibli let out a whine and jerked back an inch. Rrrg, nothing is working! Winter thought. He needs to get out of this nightmare, but there's no way to wake him up.

Yes there is. A voice echoed in his mind. Jab his wing, that'll wake him up.

But that would hurt him so much, the other half of his brain protested.

Would it really be much worse than what he's dealing with in his head? the first half of his brain pointed out. After a few minutes of hesitation, Winter finally decided on carefully flicking Qibli's injured wing with his tail. Suddenly Qibli's head shot up and he let out a cry of pain and fear.

"Shut up," Flame growled, still half-asleep.

"Sorry," Winter murmured, pressing against Qibli's side comfortingly. "I couldn't get you to wake up. What was going on?" Qibli shuddered and curled even tighter under Winter's wing.

"My grandfather found a dreamvisitor," Qibli rasped, fear sparking in his eyes. Winter knew how much Vulture terrified his grandson, even after Qibli escaped his grandfather's compound when rescuing Ostrich. Vulture in Qibli's dreams would be similar to Darkstalker in Winter's dreams.

"Did he want something or was he just there to torment you?" Winter asked quietly.

"He said that I would be interested in coming to his compound day after tomorrow, and that he'd expect to see me there. Then we were in a little cave," Qibli shivered, "and the walls were closing in and he was just watching and throwing snakes at me. Somehow he got my family there to start jabbing at me too, and Queen Thorn got captured by him and I couldn't tell what he was doing to her..." he trailed off, closing his eyes and bowing his head.

"Queen Thorn is fine," Winter told him softly. "There's a whole palace full of soldiers and guards protecting her. There's no way Vulture could have gotten her. Now, you need to sleep; we can figure out what Vulture's planning in the morning." Qibli looked up at Winter with tear-filled eyes, but smiled warmly at him. Qibli tucked his snout under Winter's chin for a moment before he laid down, and Winter rested his head beside Qibli's before falling into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter Text

Qibli PoV:

Crash!

Qibli jerked his head up, blinking his eyes open, just in time to see a dark red tail vanish from the doorway. Apparently Flame had decided to wake them up by knocking over the scroll rack by the door. Winter either didn't hear the crash or fell back asleep, because the IceWing was stretched out with an arm draped gently over Qibli's shoulders, one of his wings still covering Qibli. As cute as Winter was while he was sleeping, Qibli knew that he needed to wake the IceWing up since classes would be starting soon.

"Winter..." Qibli said, nudging the IceWing's shoulder. He almost immediately woke up, yawning and stretching his wings as he stood up.

"What was that loud noise?" Winter mumbled, rubbing the top of his snout blearily.

"Flame," Qibli replied. "Apparently he decided that he'd wake us up by knocking the scroll rack over." Which is odd for him, normally he'd just let us be late for class. Maybe we are growing on him.

"Well, I guess that means we'd better get to class," Winter said, stepping off the ledge and shaking himself from horns to tail. Qibli stood up and stretched before following Winter into the halls and to their first class.

~timeskip brought to you by Aqua the SeaWing~

After their classes were finished, the Jade and Silver Winglets headed to have dinner after finishing their deskwork. Other than Flame, who wasn't friends with anyone - yet - Fin and Turtle, who were closer since they were brothers, and Coconut, who everyone kind of avoided because the RainWing didn't want to do much of anything, everyone was friends with everyone; they generally all hung out together. However, if the whole group wasn't together, then there were also groups that the dragons usually spent their classes with; Pheasant, Fin, and Deathflight often hung out together. Sometimes Qibli and Winter would join them but most times they just stuck with each other. Moon, Turtle, Kinkajou, and Peril were usually together, sometimes accompanied by Snowfox, Ostrich, or Bulrush the MudWing.

A few minutes later they reached the prey center, where the rest of the school was also eating. They split up to gather food for themselves before regrouping to one side of the cave. Not ten minutes later everyone had food. Everyone, except for Qibli. He hoped that no one would notice and start trying to convince him to eat something, so instead he started up a conversation. Everyone chatted happily, laughing about Deathflight, Kinkajou, and Qibli's merchant joke reenactment when Winter brushed Qibli's wing. Qibli turned to face him, everyone else still laughing and listening to Kinkajou and Deathflight's comedic arguing.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" Winter asked quietly compared to the din of conversation around them.

"What do you mean?" Qibli asked distractedly.

"You haven't eaten all day," Winter pointed out.

"SandWings are naturally light eaters," Qibli deflected with a shrug.

"But you usually at least eat something every day," Winter said, pinning Qibli down with his gaze before he could turn back to the rest of the group. Qibli shifted uncomfortably under the IceWing's piercing gaze and tapped his claws nervously on the floor.

"Psst," Kinkajou stage-whispered suddenly, "Qibli. Your line." Qibli sighed, grateful for an excuse to get out of the conversation and turned to the group to continue the act. Winter didn't bring it up again, but Qibli noticed the IceWing keeping a close eye on him, and he had a feeling they'd be talking about it later. Finally, as the sun began to set and Ostrich, Kinkajou, and Deathflight started getting drowsy, the group split up and headed to their sleeping caves. When Winter and Qibli reached their cave, Flame was spread out on his ledge, writing.  

"Now will you tell me?" Winter asked Qibli, arching a brow at him and sitting down neatly in the center of the cave with his tail curled around his talons. Flame looked over at them with a faintly interested expression. Qibli let out a resigned sigh, sitting down across from Winter.

"I wasn't hungry," Qibli said, not telling the whole truth. Winter simply looked at him, a 'get on with it' expression on his face.

"And...?" Flame prompted when Qibli didn't continue, stepping down onto the rug and sitting down so they were now in a triangular formation. "Come on, I barely know you and even I know there's more to it than that."

"I'm just nervous," Qibli admitted.

"About what?" Winter prompted. 

"My grandfather," Qibli said. "I don't know if I should take him up on his offer or if I should stay here."

"What?" Flame asked, turning to Winter. The IceWing was about to explain when Qibli cut him off.

"Why do you want to know?" Qibli asked. "I mean, well, it's just... I thought you didn't like us." Flame scowled at him.

"I don't. But my mother told me to make some friends," Flame grunted. "I figured I'd try to get along with you two to see if that would make you more bearable. Besides, it's not like I have anything else better to do." he added, a bit quieter than before.

"He's going to hear our whole conversation anyway, so it might as well make sense," Winter pointed out.

"Fine. Last night my grandfather dreamvisited me and asked me to visit, saying I'd be interested in coming." Qibli told the SkyWing, glossing over the second part and turning to include Winter again. "But I don't know what he means by saying that I'd be interested. Does that mean that he's captured someone? Or does he mean that he's got some interesting event planned?"

"Well, who could he have captured?" Winter asked strategically. "Who does Vulture know would get you to come to him?"

"Thorn, Ostrich, Sunny, Moon, Kinkajou, Turtle, you," Qibli listed, counting them off on his claws and not meeting Flame's gaze as he added Winter.

"Well, except for Thorn, they're all here at school," Flame pointed out. "And Queen Thorn is presumably at the SandWing palace, right?"

"Right," Qibli agreed, glad to be doing something about his worries. Suddenly he was struck with an idea like lightning as he remembered something. "Wait..." Queen Thorn said before I left that she'd be putting Cobra on trial soon. Cobra must have been tried by now, what if she was proven innocent? Qibli thought, his brain immediately jumping on this theory and tracking it. Thorn would have had her escorted to the Scorpion Den - would she do it too? She might, because she might want to see what the city has become since she left. What if Vulture captured her before she could leave?

"What is it?" Winter and Flame asked at the same time, then glanced at each other awkwardly.

"Before I left, Queen Thorn said that she'd be putting Cobra on trial." Qibli explained worriedly. "What if she was proven innocent, and that's what this whole thing is about? What if Thorn escorted her to the Scorpion Den, and Vulture caught her?"

"Why would Thorn escort your mother herself?" Winter asked.

"Wait, Cobra is his mother?" Flame asked Winter, pointing at Qibli, who nodded. "Aren't you Queen Thorn's friend? How did your mother end up in jail at that point?"

"Erm," Qibli said awkwardly. "Yes. She ended up in jail because I kind of put her in jail." He briefly went over his dragonethood.

"Hmm," Flame said. "I suppose I can relate; my mother sent me away with the NightWings."

"Winter's parents were worse," Qibli told the SkyWing, briefly distracted from Vulture.

"What did they do?" Flame asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"They tried to kill him just for his older brother's rank to be saved," Qibli explained.

"That didn't make any sense," Flame said bluntly. "Moving on, if you were the one who put Cobra in jail, then why would Vulture invite you?"

"Phrasing it like that, it sounds like he's just trying to trick you into falling into his trap." Winter pointed out, nodding at Flame. About five different emotions flashed through Flame's eyes, as if he wasn't sure how to react.

"I don't know," Qibli said, rubbing his temples. "It just seems too likely that Grandfather's captured Thorn." Out of the corner of his eye, Qibli saw Winter and Flame exchange a glance.

"I'm not even going to pretend to know what's going through your head and giving you that impression," Winter said.

 "Don't explain," Flame interjected as Qibli opened his mouth to speak. "I'm too tired to understand right now."

"We should all get some sleep," Winter agreed.

"Thanks for talking with us," Qibli said to Flame. The SkyWing shifted uncomfortably.

"I guess I just figured that out of all the dragons at this school to become friends with, you two would understand me best." Flame admitted. "Especially after you told me about your family, Qibli. The only dragon on the continent who cares about me is my mother, and I don't even know how much she cares about me anymore..." the SkyWing bowed his head, and Qibli exchanged a surprised glance with Winter. Flame had never been this open before.

"Yeah, I get what you mean," Winter agreed. "My parents have never liked me; all I've ever known is them telling me how useless I am and how much of a disappointment I am -" he broke off, covering his face with his wing.

"I think we can all relate to each other's pasts," Qibli said, breaking the silence. "So that also means that we can help each other, too." Winter lowered his wing, Flame lifted his head, and they both looked at Qibli, matching expressions of pain on their faces and in their eyes. After a moment they both turned and looked at each other, both looking equally surprised at the other's restrained tears.

"Yeah..." Winter said, wiping at his eyes.

"Worth a try," Flame agreed, giving himself a shake. Smiling, Qibli stood up and stepped over to Winter's side, pressing against him and resting his head on the IceWing's shoulder. Not a moment later he felt a cool wing wrap around him. Suddenly he felt a prickle run through his scales as though he were being watched, and Qibli opened his eyes to see Flame gazing wistfully at them, but the SkyWing quickly dropped his gaze once he realized he had been caught staring. Well obviously, Qibli thought. I bet that just like Winter, Flame's never gotten a hug in his life. He looks like he could use a hug. Qibli exchanged a glance with Winter, then stood up and walked over to Flame, Winter not a moment behind him. Qibli carefully laid one wing across the older dragon's back, and Winter rested his on top of Qibli's. Flame looked up at each of them, surprised, and then he smiled.

"Thanks," Flame croaked, his voice full of emotion. "I... I've never had any friends before. Never had anyone I could turn to. Thank you." He unfolded his large wings and rested one on each of their backs.

"You're welcome," Qibli replied, then glanced over at Winter. The IceWing's eyes were half-closed and his head was nodding with drowsiness. Qibli quickly stood up and jumped over to Winter's side and wrapped his wing around the IceWing. Winter jerked upright, then noticed Qibli and relaxed, and not a moment later he was already starting to drift off again, leaning heavily on Qibli's shoulder. Suddenly a wave of exhaustion washed over him and he laid down, unable to move to his ledge because of Winter being mostly asleep already. Instead of going back up onto his ledge, Flame settled down a few steps away from them. I've barely interacted with him, yet he already feels like an older brother - except one who cares. Qibli thought, lowering his head to rest on Winter's talons.  

Chapter Text

Winter PoV:

Winter opened his eyes, looking around as his mind woke up. Sometime over the night Qibli had nestled himself under Winter's wing, and the SandWing was pressed against him, still sound asleep with peaceful smile on his face. Then Winter realized that there was something on his back, so he carefully turned so he didn't wake Qibli and saw that Flame, who was also sleeping a few steps away, had flopped his large wing over Winter's back. It reminded him of Hailstorm from before his older brother had been captured, the only dragon in the kingdom who would hug him. Suddenly Winter heard talonsteps in the hall and paused outside their cave. He didn't feel like talking to anyone yet, so he closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.

"OOoO-" someone squealed before they were cut off. Kinkajou. Winter thought.

"You're going to wake them up!" another voice - Turtle - murmured.

"Sorry," Kinkajou whispered. "But seriously, how can you not be interested when Flame is over here - "

"I think you're waking him up," Turtle said, sounding nervous as Winter felt Flame slip his wing off Winter's back. "Come on, Kinkajou, let's go."

"Just wait until I tell them!" Kinkajou squealed as they walked away. Well, I bet we'll never be able to outlive that tale. Winter thought, feeling something between annoyed and amused. He opened his eyes again and started to stand up, but Qibli grabbed his arm and snuggled into Winter's chest.

"uhnuuu don' wannu dagoooooh," Qibli mumbled, still mostly asleep, as he pinned Winter down. He smiled at the SandWing and nudged him with his snout to wake him up. Once Qibli finally woke up he slipped back to allow Winter to sit up, rubbing his eyes and sitting up as well.

"Good morning to you as well," Winter teased, a smile creeping onto his face.

"What do you mean?" Qibli yawned. "I haven't said anything all morning."

"If that's what you want to call it," Flame interjected with a snort of amusement. "That's not what I heard though."

"Do I even want to know what he's talking about?" Qibli asked, looking at Winter. Winter shrugged, still grinning.

"Moving on," Flame said. "So you two are going to the Scorpion Den today, right?"

"After school, yeah," Winter said, standing up and stretching. A moment later he realized that Flame was smirking at him, amused. What did I do? Winter wondered, confused and slightly embarrassed. "What?"

"We don't have school today," Flame explained. "Remember, it's the weekend."

"Oh, right," Winter said, embarrassed that he forgot but relieved that it wasn't something else.

"Would you mind telling Sunny where we are if she asks?" Qibli asked Flame. "That way we can leave before a lot of dragons wake up." Flame nodded, a guarded expression on his face.

"If we leave soon we can get there by dusk," Winter said, remembering when he had first gone to the Scorpion Den to save Ostrich.

"Right," Qibli agreed. "So we'd better leave soon."

"Wait!" Flame said suddenly. "When are you going to be back?" Qibli looked thoughtful, tilting his head and staring at a stalactite near the back of the cave while he tapped his claws subconsciously on the floor.

"Tomorrow," he replied a moment later. Flame nodded, seeming satisfied with this answer. Well, he doesn't have any other friends. A voice at the back of Winter's mind piped up. You finally got him to be your friend and now you're leaving him behind the next day - not that he'd survive if he came with us. 

"Come on, Winter," Flame called from the entrance of the cave, snapping Winter out of his thoughts. Jumping to his talons, Winter followed Qibli out to the entrance cave with Flame following behind him. When they reached the cave, no one else was there.

(Switch to Flame's PoV)

There was an awkward beat as they all stood in the abandoned cave wondering what they should do, before Flame was grabbed by a random impulse and pulled Winter and Qibli into a hug. He wasn't entirely sure why he was hugging them, it just felt like the right thing to do here.

"See you tomorrow," Flame said, letting them go.

"See you then," Qibli agreed, smiling. Winter nodded, then a moment later the two were both flying away toward the desert. Flame watched them fly away with a pang of loneliness. They'll be back tomorrow, he reminded himself sharply. You don't need to get all mopey. Just go find something to do.

(Switch back to Winter's PoV) ~timeskip brought to you by Midnight the NightWing~

The sun was just beginning to set when they arrived at the Scorpion Den. Winter followed as Qibli's lead as he walked purposefully through the streets toward Vulture's compound. Walking beside the SandWing through the bustling streets, Winter couldn't help but remember when they came to rescue Ostrich again. It was rather weird to recall, frankly. Winter distinctly remembered walking through these same streets and thinking, Darkstalker could help this place so much. but then at the same time it felt less like a thought and more like someone telling him something. Memories from the whole period of time after the huge NightWing burst out of the side of the mountain was plagued with random thoughts of Darkstalker and how the ancient dragon could help the world. Until the part where Qibli released him from the NightWing's spell. Winter gave an involuntary shudder at the thought of the dark dragon, and in response Qibli brushed Winter's wing with his as if to say 'I know what you're dealing with and I'm here for you'. The SandWing didn't say anything, nor did he prompt Winter to speak, just providing silent support as they neared Vulture's compound. Winter glanced gratefully over at Qibli, who smiled reassuringly in return.

A few more minutes later and Winter found himself outside Vulture's compound, and he remembered what Qibli had said last time, "let me do all the talking," so he kept his mouth shut. Without a word, Qibli crept along until they reached the pavilion where they'd met Vulture last time. Unlike last time, Vulture wasn't there, so after a moment's hesitation Qibli walked decidedly away and to the garden where they had questioned Bog, where they found Vulture lounging with Qibli's mother, sister, and brother - Cobra, Rattlesnake, and Sirocco.

"Qibli," Vulture said welcomingly, the warmth in his voice not reaching his eyes. "I see you brought your friend again. Hello, Ex-Prince Winter, good to see you again." Winter dipped his head diplomatically but said nothing. 

"Sssson," Cobra hissed, her gaze calculating. "Welcome back."

"Uhm," Qibli stammered. "Thank you for, uh, inviting me." That's odd, Winter thought, giving Qibli a sideways glance. Usually he doesn't sound this... awkward. Is he just tired, or is it his family? Suddenly a new thought struck him, causing Winter to shiver despite the desert heat. Or is it something else... something... magical?

Chapter Text

Qibli PoV:

"You arrived just in time, we were right about to eat." Vulture said smoothly. "Now you two can join us." He flicked one wing to a table behind him, which Qibli noticed had several dishes of food on it. At first glance he could identify bread, roasted scorpions, dates, cheese, and there was some other kinds of meat.

"Great," Qibli said, hoping he sounded more enthusiastic than he felt. Vulture grabbed a talonful of dates and started eating them, signaling for everyone else to begin eating as well. Sirocco immediately jumped up and grabbed three of the unidentifiable meat, which turned out to be chickens, and scarfed them down messily. Meanwhile Rattlesnake hissed at the mess he was making and selected some chicken for herself, and Cobra, who was a step behind her daughter, chose some dates. Qibli slipped over to the table and grabbed a couple scorpions while Winter, who was following him, grabbed some bread and sat down with his tail curled neatly around his talons.

"So, grandson, what have you been up to lately?" Vulture asked lightly. Qibli couldn't tell what all was behind the question, so he answered with caution.

"Mostly school," he said evasively.

"What about you, Winter?" Vulture asked, skipping quickly over Qibli's uninformative answer.

"About the same," the IceWing replied coolly, looking rather uninterested. "Schoolwork, reading, spending time with clawmates, the usual."

"Not interested in scavengers anymore?" Vulture asked.

"There's no way to have one at Jade Mountain, so it doesn't really matter," Winter hedged.

"You could still get one," Vulture said. "Surely you could still pay for it's needs." Winter tipped his head at the tattooed SandWing.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "Paying for things was never the problem."

"Right," Vulture said, pretending to remember something. "You must still have some sort of connection with the IceWings."

"That's not what I meant," Winter retorted. "I meant that it doesn't cost anything to take care of a scavenger."

"Oh, of course." Vulture deflected, but he seemed satisfied. So was that about scavengers? Or... He wouldn't... Qibli thought, hoping he wasn't right. Don't jump to conclusions. Thorn's voice echoed in his mind. Keep an eye on him, figure out what else he could have planned.   

They chatted conversationally for a long time, and by now the sun had already set and one of the moons was already almost to its peak. At the moment Winter was going on about the land just south of the Great Ice Cliff.

"How is that positioned?" Vulture interrupted. "I've heard of the Great Ice Cliff, but I've never seen it myself. Too cold and no point. Does it go all the way around the Ice Kingdom?"

"Well, no," Winter admitted. "It's only on the southern border, but usually the cold is barrier enough for enemy tribes."

 "I see," Vulture said. "Not many other tribes would be able to handle that kind of cold." 

"I'm not sure any other tribe could handle it!" Qibli said, unable to squash a yawn.

"Hm, understandable. You two should probably get some sleep now." Cobra said brusquely. 

"Oh, yes," Vulture agreed, snapping out of his reverie. "Sirocco, Rattlesnake, take them to your room." Rattlesnake growled and Sirocco nodded.

"'kay, c'mon li'l dragons," Sirocco said in a superior tone of voice. Qibli snorted. I don't think two years makes us that much younger than you. Qibli thought grumpily, but he kept the thoughts to himself. Winter also looked ruffled as they followed Qibli's older brother, Rattlesnake grumbling and following behind Winter. They followed Sirocco until they reached a room; on one side there were neatly folded blankets and a clean desk with a scroll rack beside it, and on the other side there were blankets and pillows strewn everywhere and the desk was covered in unrolled scrolls stacked on top of each other. It was fairly obvious who had claimed which side. Rattlesnake shoved past Qibli and grabbed one of the blankets, still muttering, then flung it into the center of the room.

"You sleep there." Rattlesnake snapped. "Don't touch anything."

"Then how'd you expect us to get in there?" Qibli asked. Rattlesnake growled at him and he stared back at her with an innocent expression.

"Just go to sleep," she snarled before sweeping past him and back out toward the garden.

"Rattlesnaaaaaaaaaaake!" Sirocco called. "Can I go to sleep toooooooo?"

"Yes, fine!" Rattlesnake shouted back. Sirocco ducked back into his room and swaggered over to his blankets and cushions, flopping unceremoniously onto them. Qibli followed him into the room and headed to the blanket that Rattlesnake had indicated, curling up on top of it. Half a moment later Winter curled up beside him, blocking his view of Sirocco, who was now snoring.

"Hey, how's your wing?" Winter asked curiously. Qibli had almost forgotten that he'd hurt it at all, despite that it was still sore especially after flying all day.

"Oh, it's fine," Qibli replied. "A little sore but... it's fine."

"Are you sure?" Winter asked, starting to sound concerned. Qibli blinked at him. "I don't know, it just sounded like you were bothered." Winter mumbled, closing his eyes. Should I tell him? Qibli wondered. I mean, he certainly would be interested if my theory is right - that Vulture is planning on doing something to the IceWings. But what if he decides to do something before Vulture does and gets himself hurt or in trouble?  Qibli sighed and Winter opened his eyes to peer at him. It would be better if I didn't say anything. 

"It's nothing," Qibli said, not meeting Winter's gaze.

"It doesn't seem like 'nothing' to you," Winter pointed out.

"I..." Qibli trailed off, unsure which way to take the conversation. "I guess I'm just tired."

"Alright," Winter said, "just remember that you can talk to me about it." Oh, I could talk to you about it, but what I'm really nervous about is whether I should tell you. Qibli thought, closing his eyes. What would you do if you knew that the IceWings might be in danger at this minute?

Chapter Text

Winter PoV:

"WILL YOU STOP YOUR SNORING OR SO HELP ME I WILL RIP YOUR NOSE OFF!" Rattlesnake bellowed at Sirocco, waking Winter up for the third time that night. By now two of the moons were in the sky and the third was starting to rise. Winter grunted and covered his face with one of his talons, trying to get back to sleep.

"Rattlesnake, we're trying to sleep," Qibli mumbled.

"We would all be asleep if SIROCCO WOULD STOP SNORING!" Rattlesnake yelled. Winter flinched at her loud voice and curled up tighter, hoping to drown out the loud SandWings so he could get some sleep.

"Your yelling is louder than his snoring," Qibli snapped. "You're the one keeping everyone awake."

"I wouldn't be yelling if Sirocco wasn't snoring," Rattlesnake retorted. Winter sighed and stood up, resettling his spikes as he walked to the doorway.

"And where do you think you're going?" Rattlesnake asked suspiciously.

"Out." Winter replied, not looking back at her. He walked along the path Sirocco had led them along earlier that night, trying to keep as quiet as possible so he didn't wake anyone else. He didn't know where exactly he'd wanted to go, but his talons led him outside to the garden. Winter sat down and looked up at the stars, which were somewhat diminished by the moons. At first he was immediately reminded of the Ice Kingdom, all the times Winter had stayed up late into the night training or studying to try and crawl up in the rankings. But then he remembered sitting under the stars with Qibli a few nights ago, talking about his nightmares of Darkstalker. Since then, Winter hadn't had any dreams whatsoever, however he suspected that it was because he was sleeping too deeply for dreams. Letting out a yawn, Winter moved over to one corner of the hedge-framed garden and curled up tightly, then watched the moons creep across the sky.

Suddenly Winter felt warm claws shaking his shoulder. Blearily he opened one eye to see Qibli's mother, Cobra, standing over him in the bright and warm sunlight. Surprised, Winter jumped to his feet, causing her to quickly take a step back.

"What are you doing out here?" Cobra asked, her voice level and calm.

"Um, sleeping?" Winter said. "Obviously?"

"Yes but, ah, wouldn't you be more comfortable in your room?" Cobra said, her expression blank and expressionless. Winter snorted.

"No," he said. "Not with Rattlesnake's yelling." Suddenly Winter heard talonsteps from inside.

"Oh, there you are!" Qibli called, coming quickly out of the hallway leading to the room they'd been assigned and rushing over to him. The SandWing froze when he saw his mother standing there analyzing them. "What are you doing here?"

"Finding out why there was an IceWing sleeping in the garden." Cobra replied flatly, nodding at Winter. "Anyway, your grandfather wants you two to come have breakfast." She abruptly turned around and walked away, setting a brisk pace. Heaving a sigh, Winter trailed after her, Qibli at his side. A few moments later they reached Vulture's pavilion, where the large SandWing was lounging on his throne-like seat, Sirocco and Rattlesnake standing on opposite sides of the room. It seemed like Vulture's idea of 'breakfast' was the previous night's leftovers, because there were many of the same dishes; roasted scorpions, fried chicken, and bread sat on a low table not too far away. However this morning there was some sort of white liquid in a jar.

"Good morning," Vulture greeted in a deceptively warm voice.

"...Good morning," Qibli repeated slowly, eyeing Vulture suspiciously.

"Awwww, is widdle Qibli still sweepy?" Rattlesnake sneered.

"No," Qibli snapped, glaring at her. "Not that you made it very easy to sleep."

"I wasn't the one who was snoring like a herd of water buffalo," Rattlesnake retorted.

"But you were the one - "Qibli started, but was jut off.

"Okay you two," Cobra sighed. "You can stop snarling at each other now."

"Hmpf," Qibli and Rattlesnake said indignantly, each glaring in opposite directions.

"So, I had a question about what you were saying last night," Vulture said to Winter, grabbing some of the dates he kept on a sidetable. "I heard that IceWings -"

"Why are you so interested in the IceWings?" Winter interrupted suspiciously.

"Oh I've always been interested in how all other tribes are run." Vulture said breezily, waving his free talon at this. "I heard that the IceWings were dealing with a change in the design of the palace."

"Really?" Winter said skeptically. "Why would they? How many times do you hear of a kingdom redesigning the palace? When was the last time the SandWing palace was changed? On peaceful terms, of course."

"Well, maybe the SandWing palace has been perfected and the IceWings are just catching up." Vulture suggested. "How different would you say the palaces are now?"

"Um, considering that one is in the arctic and one is in the desert, I think it's safe to say that they're exact opposites," Winter said.

"Polar opposites, even," Qibli joked, nudging Winter's shoulder. Winter scowled, hoping to cover up the amused smile that wanted to escape. 

"Yes, but I meant layout," Vulture said pointedly. Careful not to give away any secrets, Winter vaguely described the layout of the IceWing palace. Beside him, Qibli kept shifting, flicking his tail and tapping his claws.

"Well, I have a brief meeting to attend," Vulture said a few minutes later when Winter had finished describing the palace and was giving Qibli a confused and suspicious look.

"And I have work to do as well," Cobra interjected.

"What about me?" Rattlesnake asked alertly. "What am I going to do?"

"You get to spend time with these three," Cobra said, grinning at her and waving one wing to indicate Winter, Qibli, and Sirocco. Rattlesnake growled, but Cobra and Vulture left the room before she could protest.

They went to the garden, where Qibli and Rattlesnake argued and jabbed at each other off and on, Sirocco fell asleep in one of the entrances, and Winter laid in the shade of the hedges. Sometimes Winter would join in the fighting, but he didn't really feel it. He was just tired, which was not helped by the unrelenting heat making him drowsier.

~timeskip brought to you by Frost the IceWing~

As the sun was starting to set, Vulture came to ask Winter a few questions about the IceWings, so as briefly as he could Winter answered. Once Vulture had left, Winter noticed that Qibli was giving him a cold look.

"Why are you always so quick to answer his questions?" Qibli asked, sounding annoyed.

"Frankly, so then he'll leave me alone," Winter replied, resting his head on his talons.

"But why would you give him information?" Qibli sounded even more exasperated.

"It's not like he can use it," Winter said, shrugging.

"You underestimate my grandfather," Qibli said darkly. "He can find a way to use just about anything. And you're just giving him weapons!"

"Weapons?!" Winter asked, jerking his head up. "What do you mean?"

"I mean he's planning on doing something to the IceWings," Qibli hissed, "and you're helping him."

"I'm not helping him!" Winter protested. "I haven't told him anything that could help him!"

"I already told you, Grandfather can use anything to get his way!" Qibli snapped.

"He couldn't find a way to use this though," Winter retorted. "He can't even get into the Ice Kingdom!" Qibli snorted.

"Except you told him how he can get into the Ice Kingdom!" Qibli growled. "Oh, what's the point? You're obviously not going to listen." Before Winter could get another word in, Qibli whipped around and stormed out of the garden, stepping on Sirocco's tail as he passed. Winter growled and lowered his head, turning to face the hedges and closing his eyes. I'm not helping Vulture... Am I? He can't get into the Ice Kingdom anyway. Wait. Winter thought, a jolt of panic running through him and he opened his eyes. The ocean pass. Oh no, I did mention that it only barricades to the shore, didn't I? Rrrrrrrgh. He covered his face with his talons and closed his eyes again. Now Vulture is going to get the IceWings... and it's all my fault.

Chapter Text

Qibli PoV:

He was sprawled on the cool floor in Sirocco and Rattlesnake's room, thinking hard. Why can't Winter see the logic? Qibli grumbled in his head. Maybe if I can figure out what Vulture's going to do to the IceWings then I'll be able to convince Winter of his plot. Okay, what would his motive be? Power, treasure, or revenge are the most common reasons anyone does their evil. Well, he could claim that he's avenging the SandWings that died at IceWing claws, but that would be kind of random, especially since he didn't know anyone, specifically, who died. He could try and wipe out the IceWings to claim their territory, but what would he do with it? It's too cold for SandWings, although if he was able to get in there to wipe out the IceWings then I guess he probably will have found a way to survive the cold. But wipe out an entire tribe with bare claws? That would be almost impossible, and it would take forever. No, Grandfather would want a quicker win. He could try to wipe out the queen and her heirs, then take control of the IceWings, but what IceWing would bow to a SandWing? So, presumably he wants treasure? Well, it would make sense; Grandfather had always been proud of his riches, and after paying Bog to spread that MudWing lie he might be feeling a little short on jewels.

"Qibli." He jumped to his feet, startled at the sudden voice. He twisted around and saw Cobra standing in the doorway.  "Dinnertime. My father's meeting is going to run longer than he assumed, and he's sent for me to join him, so you dragonets are on your own. You're eating in the garden again." She turned around, flicking her tail to indicate that Qibli should follow. Great, just what I wanted. Qibli grumbled, trailing after his mother. Dinner with my siblings. At least I've got a chance to figure out what Vulture's planning without being interrogated by him. Instead I get to be assaulted with questions from Rattlesnake, Sirocco, and Winter. As soon as they arrived at the garden, Cobra immediately turned around and left for Vulture's meeting. The four of them gathered around the table and began eating without a word. Once Winter looked up, about ready to say something to Qibli, but he pointedly turned away from the IceWing, flicking his ear irritably, making his earring sway. I do not feel like discussing anything you right now. Out of the corner of his eye, Qibli saw Winter lower his gaze in defeat and start picking at his chicken.

~timeskip brought to you by Crescent the IceWing/NightWing hybrid by Citroèn (Wattpadian)~

You're going to have to talk to him eventually. a voice from one side of Qibli's brain chastised. He was curled up, his back to Winter, watching as the moons sank lower and lower in the ever-brightening sky and worrying about Vulture's plan. Qibli was pretty sure he knew his grandfather's plot, but he didn't know what to do about it. He'd spent all night thinking of wild fantasy ideas to stop Vulture, but Qibli knew none of these ideas would work in the real world. Winter might be able to help. the voice pointed out again. But what if he doesn't believe me again? the other half retorted. You'll never know if you don't try. the first half replied. Qibli grunted and flopped his talon on top of his snout. He was physically exhausted, but his mind racing had made it impossible to fall asleep. Sighing, Qibli stood up, careful to not wake anyone, and left the room to head for the garden. As he gazed up at the stars, Qibli was caught with a feeling of relief yet hopelessness. Suddenly he felt a cool wing brush against his, and turned to see Winter standing there, watching him. Qibli instinctively leaned into Winter's cool touch, but then he remembered their argument and snapped his wing away.

"I'm sorry," Winter murmured, taking a respectful step back.

"Sorry for what?" Qibli snapped. As he said it, he knew he was overreacting, but he couldn't hold back his annoyance anymore. Winter sat down slowly and lowered his gaze.

"For not listening to you," he replied.

"So you finally realized that you're practically giving Vulture a map of the Ice Palace?" Qibli asked angrily. Winter took a deep breath before he spoke.

"I didn't want to think that I was helping your grandfather that much," Winter said calmly. "I didn't think telling him what I told him would affect anything."

"But it does!" Qibli said loudly. "Why can't you see that?"

"I do see it, now," Winter said, his voice calm, however his claws dug tensely into the sand.

"Then why didn't you listen to me?" Qibli asked, flinging his talons exasperatedly in the air.

"I said I see it now," Winter snapped, then took another deep breath before continuing more calmly. "I didn't want to believe it then."

"So if you don't believe it it's not true?" Qibli asked coldly. Winter flinched.

"I didn't want to betray them," Winter said in a small voice.

"But you did!" Qibli said loudly. "Vulture has enough information that he'll probably be sending a raiding patrol soon!"

"I just..." Winter trailed off, his now dropped to his talons.

"It's no wonder you got banished." Qibli snarled (somewhat randomly), then snapped his mouth shut, shocked at himself. He knew that would hurt Winter worse than anything, and he knew he was angrier than usual because he was worried and tired, but he'd said it anyway. You idiot! he yelled at himself, regret already crashing down on him. First you escalate a rational discussion to an argument, now this? And this time you might not even be able to help him. Just as he'd expected, Winter sunk down onto the sand with his talons on his face and his wings over his head. For a moment he just watched as Winter lie trembling on the ground before Qibli stumbled over to him, spreading one wing over the IceWing.

"I'm so sorry," Qibli whispered, guilt washing over him. "I don't know why I said that; I didn't mean it. I was really stressed, but instead of watching myself I just started yelling at you. I'm really sorry." Winter lowered his wings, and in response Qibli shifted the wing he had draped over the IceWing so then no one would see if they came out.

"It's just... that's what you said in my nightmare," Winter choked out. Suddenly Qibli heard claws scrape on stone, and he whipped around toward the noise. Winter, however, curled up into a ball as if to avoid being seen. Through the early dawn light Qibli saw a dragon a bit bigger than he was but his wings were much bigger, proportionately, than they should be. Then he noticed the deep red scales and the scar across his face.

"Flame?"

Chapter Text

Flame PoV:

*note that this chapter begins the morning before the previous chapter*

Flame fluffed his wings excitedly, heading along the halls to the prey center. Today Qibli and Winter should be back! Flame thought. He hadn't told Sunny yet - he wasn't sure how or when, and... technically she hadn't asked...

"Flame!" a small NightWing, one of the ones he had seen Winter and Qibli hanging out with, jumped out in front of him. Just behind her were two green SeaWings, a RainWing who was gray-blue instead of her usual vibrant colors, the firescales SkyWing - sitting carefully a step away - and the bouncy NightWing from Flame's own winglet was sitting calmly, more still than Flame had ever seen her.

"What?" he snapped, glaring down at the NightWing, who was looking desperately up at him. He always got the impression that she could see straight through his grumpy exterior, but then he remembered what the 'real' Dragonets of Destiny had said. The NightWings don't have their powers anymore.

"W-where - have you seen - I-I mean -" she stammered, interrupting Flame's train of thought.

"Have you seen Qibli or Winter?" the little RainWing asked desperately. Little clouds of jade green clouded on the edges of her wings.

"Why would you ask me?" Flame asked suspiciously, hoping he sounded offended.

"Because you share a cave with them," she pointed out.

"No, I haven't seen them," Flame admitted. He noticed that the little NightWing was staring intently at him, and he arched an eyebrow at her. "But it's not the first time they've left the cave before morning."

"Yeah, but we already checked outside," the NightWing told him. "We were hoping you might, um, know something." She gave him a quick glance, a deeper meaning underlying her words.

"I'll keep an eye out for them," Flame said, "and I recommend that you do as well, if you want to find them."

~timeskip brought to you by Azure the SandWing/NightWing hybrid by Citroèn (Wattpadian)~

That evening when Flame walked back into the prey center, he saw the little RainWing, who was back to her usual eyeball-scorching colors, beckoning vigorously at him from the other side of the cave. Rolling his eyes, Flame walked over to her and her friends.

"Have you seen them?" She asked, sounding more bubbly than that morning.

"No, have you?" Flame replied. They all shook their heads. He said they'd be back yesterday. Flame thought, confused and concerned. Why aren't they back already?

"Back from - I mean, um, back when Darkstalker was still around they left the school together to get Ostrich, I'm sure they'll be fine..." the little NightWing said, her voice getting quieter and quieter as if she wanted to just disappear. Odd. Flame thought, but he moved on quickly. Maybe I should go after them. Qibli did say that if they weren't back when he said they'd be back to expect that something had happened.

"I've got to go," Flame said briskly, turning around and heading to the entrance cave. Halfway there he heard talonsteps behind him, and he turned around to see the SeaWing from the Jade Winglet running after him.

"Flame, wait!" he called.

"What do you want, SeaWing?" Flame snapped, trying to cover his worry with anger.

"Turtle," the green dragon panted. "I'm Turtle. And I have something that you might need if you're going to find Qibli and Winter. C'mon, it's in my cave." Turtle turned into one of the halls leading deeper into the mountain, and continued along the winding hallways. After what felt like a few days of winding along the halls, Turtle abruptly turned into a cave. Flame followed him in and watched as Turtle reached under his sleeping mat and pulled out a small slate.

"These are messaging slates," Turtle explained. "I gave one to each of my friends so we could talk together even from different caves, especially since Winter and Qibli are in a different Winglet this time. You write a message on your slate and it appears on all the other slates. Then I can write back to you, and the same thing will happen. Uhm, hang on, let me find the one for you." He turned away from Flame, rummaging around with his tail flicking uncharacteristically. Flame almost thought he heard Turtle say something, but before he could ask the SeaWing dropped his slate with a loud clatter.

"Oops," Turtle said. "Oh well, it's fine. And, hey, I found yours." He held up an identical slate and passed it to Flame, who tucked it in the pouch around his neck.

"You seem like a dragon who knows how to keep his mouth shut," Flame observed. "Don't tell anyone, but Winter and Qibli went to the Scorpion Den to visit Qibli's grandfather. That's where I'm going. Well, okay, you can tell Sunny if she asks, and your NightWing friend if she asks, but tell her not to tell either."

"You mean Moon?" Turtle asked. "Okay. I won't say a thing. Well, about where you're going, anyway. I'm going to talk still, just to be clear." Flame rolled his eyes.

"Well, I have to go," Flame said, backing toward the cave entrance. "Remember, don't tell anyone if you don't have to. I only told you so that if we need help you'll know where to go."

"Or send someone else," Turtle hedged, shifting his weight nervously.

"Yes, whatever," Flame agreed impatiently. "Um, bye." He turned brusquely and headed to where he thought the entrance hall was, but ended up right back at Turtle's cave.

"This way," Turtle said, smiling understandingly. A few minutes later they were at the entrance cave. Flame hesitated before he took off, feeling like there was something he should say before he left.

"Let me know when you find them," Turtle requested.

"I will," Flame agreed, nodding confidently. Then he turned and launched himself into the sky, flying in the same direction he'd seen his friends go a couple days before.

And for a strange reason he had a feeling that he wouldn't be coming back for a while.

Chapter Text

Winter PoV:

"Flame?" Qibli sounded surprised. Winter waited, curled tightly under Qibli's wing, for the dragon's response.

"Yes," the SkyWing replied. Winter heard more talonsteps as Flame stepped out into the garden.

"How did you find us?" Qibli asked as Winter quickly tried to brush away tears. Flame shuffled his talons.

"Um, I kind of heard... raised voices," Flame said awkwardly. "I recognized your voice and followed where it was coming from."

"What are you doing here?" Qibli asked as Winter sat up.

"You said you'd be back a couple days ago," Flame said. "So I came after you. Oh, that reminds me; I've got to write to Turtle. He sent me with one of those slates and asked me to tell him when I found you two." The SkyWing reached into the pouch around his neck and pulled out a slate exactly like Winter's. There was a pause where Flame wrote on his slate, and even though it was upside-down, Winter saw that it read found Qibli and Winter.

"Uh, so," Flame said once he'd finished writing. "...what in the name of Pyrrhia is going on?" At first Qibli turned to Winter, but he shook his head and closed his eyes, not trusting himself to speak. As Qibli explained the previous few days' events to Flame, Winter turned his attention to inside his head. He is your friend. Winter thought, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. (does anyone else do that randomly just because it's relaxing?) He still cares.

"Winter?" Qibli asked once he'd finished filling Flame in on what had happened. "You okay?" Winter opened his eyes and looked into Qibli's warm black ones, feeling himself fall into his gaze. After a long moment, Winter blinked and tore his gaze away.

"I'm fine," he murmured. Taking a couple steps closer, Flame brushed Winter's wing with his own.

"It's okay if you're not," Flame said quietly.

"OOoooOOOooo, what's THIS?" a new voice crooned. All too late, Qibli and Flame snapped their wings close to their sides and Winter jerked his head up, surprised. Rattlesnake was coming out of the hallway and into the garden to analyze the scene, Sirocco following her and rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"What do you mean?" Qibli asked. "I'm talking with my friends."

"FRIENDS," Rattlesnake repeated, smirking. "RIGHT. I saw you, don't act all innocent."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Qibli said a little too quickly.

"Mmm-hMMM," Rattlesnake hummed, looking satisfied with herself.

"You didn't come out here just to torment us, did you?" Qibli asked, clearly trying to steer the conversation a different direction.

"Well, until Vulture gives me commands anyway," Rattlesnake said. "How long have you three known each other? I must say I'm surprised; a SandWing, IceWing, and  SkyWing aren't usually -"

"Isn't Grandfather awake?" Qibli blurted, efficiently interrupting his sister. Rattlesnake looked like she'd very much like to thump her little brother by now, but catching Winter's glare she held back. Judging based on the way she'd glanced at Flame, Winter guessed that he was glaring at the SandWing as well.

"He's awake, but he's busy dealing with more important matters," Rattlesnake said smoothly. Qibli glanced at Winter, and he saw that the SandWing had more he wanted to say but couldn't.

"You sure we can't go eat instead?" Sirocco asked Rattlesnake. She twisted around to glare at him, and he looked back with a vacant expression.

"Rrrrg, fine," Rattlesnake growled finally. "Let's go then."

"We have to go to the palace," Qibli breathed as soon as his siblings left. "We won't be able to find out anything else sitting around here."

"I wouldn't want to overstay our welcome, either," Winter agreed, matching Qibli's soft tone.

"I'm coming with you," Flame declared quietly. Qibli nodded and looked up at the brightening sky.

"Should we tell your family that we're leaving?" Winter whispered.

"Yes. I'll do it." Qibli decided a moment later. "Otherwise they might try to come after us. But I'll tell them that we're going back to Jade Mountain instead." Winter nodded and sat back down, curling his tail over his talons to signal that he'd wait. Qibli slid into the hallway and headed the same direction that Sirocco and Rattlesnake had disappeared.

~timeskip brought to you by Particle the SandWing/IceWing hybrid by Citroèn (Wattpadian)~

Winter wiped some of the sweat off his face, trying not to pant. It was too hot to be flying; his scales felt all sticky and as though they were melting, but Winter wasn't about to give in. He tried not to show how much the heat was bothering him, but Winter couldn't quite keep up with Qibli and Flame. Of course, being a SkyWing, Flame had no problems keeping Qibli's pace; in fact he matched the SandWing quite lazily. Luckily for Winter they were nearing the SandWing palace, where it would be a bit cooler than out under the sun beating down on him. The heat and exhaustion drove out other thought, so he was just focused on catching up to Flame and Qibli.

"Winter?" Qibli asked,  suddenly beside him. Winter's wings faltered for a second, and he snapped his gaze up to look at the SandWing. "Are you okay?" Winter nodded.

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked, hoping his voice sounded stronger than he felt.

"You're kind of drooping like a dried fern," Qibli pointed out, brushing Winter's wing. Winter lifted his head and gave the SandWing a look of mock offense.

"I am not drooping like a dried fern," Winter said haughtily. Qibli barked a laugh.

"Sure," he teased warmly, giving Winter an amused smile. "Whatever you say, igloo-face." Winter glared at the SandWing, but didn't bother putting too much effort into it, because he knew Qibli would just ignore it anyway. Flame let out an amused snort and angled his wings to circle around Winter and Qibli, diving under them and twisting midair to swoop over their heads.

By the time the sun was sinking, they had finally landed outside the SandWing palace. Winter was rather tired from flying in the heat all day, but he refused to show it. He followed Qibli until they reached a tent, the same tent that the SandWing queen had been holding a meeting in last time, but this time there was no laughter or pleasant chatter. The murmuring within seemed secretive and serious.

"Your Majesty?" Qibli called hesitantly. The murmuring broke off instantly, and not a moment later Queen Thorn emerged from inside the tent.

"Qibli?" the queen asked. "Why are you back from school again? And who is that?" she pointed at Flame, who was standing beside Winter.

"This is Flame, our new clawmate," Qibli told her, waving a wing to the SkyWing, who dipped his head.

"Ah, hello then." Thorn said briskly. "Well, Qibli, we're discussing something serious right now -"

"What is it?" Qibli asked. Winter flinched, thinking of how severely an IceWing would be for interrupting their queen. Queen Thorn, however, hardly looked annoyed at all; instead she eyed Flame and Winter hesitantly.

"You can't tell anyone," Thorn warned. "I don't want to start a panic among my subjects." She then beckoned them into the tent, where there were four other SandWings. There was Smolder, Six-Claws, a two SandWings Winter didn't know.

"Qibli, this is Capybara and Drought," the SandWing queen explained as Winter and Flame sat down near the wall of the tent, while Qibli sat closer to the other SandWings. "Drought was just attending a meeting with an IceWing committee." Winter jerked his head up, wondering why his tribe was getting involved.

"They're accusing us of stealing from the royal IceWing treasury," Drought explained. Winter stiffened and Qibli gasped.

"But why would we - and how -" Qibli broke off and Winter saw him tense, although the bigger dragons seemed to involved in solving what to do next to notice.

"Hm, thank you for informing me Capybara, Drought, I'll figure out what to do from here. However if I need a message passed to the IceWings then I'll come to you first." Queen Thorn said. The two SandWings bowed, then exited the tent promptly.

"Qibli," Thorn said severely, and Winter saw him flinch at her tone. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

"What are you talking about?" Qibli asked, sounding hurt. "Why would I know what's going on?"

"I don't know," the queen said in a level voice. "But I just find it odd that we get accused for stealing IceWing treasure and not a day later you're here again when you're supposed to be at school." Thorn and Qibli looked at each other for a long moment. "I have to figure out what my next move will be. Why don't you go ahead and get some rest; I take it that you've had a long flight." She turned away from Qibli, facing Smolder and Six-Claws.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Qibli said, ducking his head and turning to walk out of the tent, his tail dragging through the sand. Winter shifted his wings, not sure whether to announce his departure or simply follow his friend, but was spared from making a choice by Queen Thorn flicking her tail at the entrance. He obediently stood up, Flame following in suit, and followed Qibli, who wasn't far from the tent. Night had fallen while they were inside, but the SandWing's scales glowed slightly in the moonlight. Winter followed him, maintaining a respectful distance, as Qibli headed to his room. When they arrived, Qibli had left the door open, and he was sitting in the center of the room, his head bowed and his wings spread carelessly on either side of him with his back to them.

"Qibli?" Winter said softly.

"What?" Qibli growled, turning slightly to look at Winter out of the corner of his eye. Winter paused, biting back a sharp reply. It won't help anything if you turn this into an argument like you did about - like you've done before.

"What's going on?" he asked instead. Qibli went quiet, no one speaking for several minutes.

"I don't even know anymore!" he burst out finally, sinking to the floor burying his head in his arms. "The IceWings are probably angry, Thorn, Six-Claws, and Smolder are annoyed, and I don't think Capybara and Drought are very happy either. I thought coming here would help me make a plan to stop my grandfather, but instead Thorn doesn't trust me anymore and I'm more confused than ever!" Winter walked over to his side and pressed one wing against Qibli's.

"And Vulture is only just getting started! What else is he going to do?" he fretted. "Who knows what he could decide to do? Maybe he'll try and get to Thorn - maybe he'll attack Jade Mountain - maybe he'll do both! What if he decides to go after the IceWing royals? What if it works and Vulture gets control of the IceWings? Ugh, I feel sick." Qibli covered his eyes with his talons, and Winter exchanged a confused glance with Flame before gently wrapping one wing around Qibli and pulling the SandWing close with his tail wrapped around the shivering dragon protectively. He leaned against Winter, his talons still pressed over his eyes and his breathing still panicked.

"This is all my fault; I knew I shouldn't have come," Qibli said miserably, putting his talons back on the ground and gazing desolately at the corner of the room with watering eyes. "I only make things worse."

"No," Winter murmured, but Qibli didn't seem to hear him.

"If I could think of a solution!" he continued, his voice wavering. "Oh what's the point. It's hopeless; I'm useless."

"No you're not," Winter said firmly yet softly. He wouldn't let Qibli think that way. He couldn't.

"I can't even think of a way to fix this," Qibli protested, looking up at Winter, and he met the SandWing's tired, tear-filled eyes.

"You're tired," Winter told him. "Thorn was having trouble, too, and I don't think she spent the previous two nights lying awake trying to force herself to find a way to solve this."

"But -" Qibli started, but Winter interrupted him.

"You're exhausted," he said, gently brushing away Qibli's tears. "You need to sleep. We can worry about all this tomorrow." Winter ushered Qibli onto a cushion, and once he laid down the SandWing nuzzled Winter's arm, and took that as a request for him to stay. He curled around Qibli, sliding his wing gently over the warm dragon.

Chapter Text

Qibli PoV:

Qibli blinked open his eyes blearily and looked around. Winter was curled around him with one wing laid on top of him. Flame had shifted in his sleep so now his neck was flopped over Winter and had his head resting on Qibli's shoulder. He knew he couldn't move without waking Winter and Flame, so instead Qibli just laid there and let his eyes wander.

A few minutes later, Winter shifted and lifted his head, and Qibli turned to meet his sleepy gaze.

"Morning," Winter yawned.

"Good morning," Qibli said quietly. "And, thanks."

"...you know I don't like seeing you break down like that." Winter mumbled, lowering his gaze.

"Isn't it a little early to be getting all flustered?" Flame asked sleepily, lifting his head and looking at Winter. The IceWing shook his horns, and the spikes around his neck clattered together as they settled.

"Come on, we have things to do today," Winter said, fully awake now, and stood up. Qibli stretched and stood up as well, folding in his wings close to his sides, and Flame followed not a moment later.

"Should we go see Queen Thorn?" Flame asked. Qibli flinched slightly but tried not to let anyone notice. However, Winter noticed and his expression softened, sympathy sparking in his eyes.

"Yes, we should," Qibli said, and immediately his brain leapt in to question his words. But does she really want to see me? Last night she wasn't very happy with me, and it didn't seem like I could be much help. I mean, what could I help with at this point? She knows more than I do, and she doesn't seem to want to tell me anything.

But that was just one night, one visit, one conversation. Maybe she'll let me help today. I was able to help when Typhoon came to her about the sick IceWings in Possibility, so why not now? And this time there aren't lives at stake.

Yet. If things get any worse and fighting breaks out then there will be lives at stake.

But things won't get worse; Thorn will fix it before then.

Unless you interfere, mess something up, and provoke the IceWings into attacking us. Queen Snowfall can be touchy, and while she doesn't want to send IceWings into war, she won't hesitate to defend her tribe. Maybe you shouldn't get involved, it's too likely that you'd mess it up and start a war. You'd probably -

Suddenly Qibli felt a sharp tail jab in his side, and he looked up from his talons to meet Winter's gaze.

"You're doing it again," Winter said, and Qibli looked blankly back at him, a million things still on his mind. "You know what I mean. You're giving up. Belittling yourself. Blaming yourself. Stop it." Qibli shifted at the accuracy of Winter's words. It gave him an odd feeling; the fierce caring beneath the IceWing's blunt tone. What does that say about me - that my friends have to save me from my own mind? Qibli thought wryly. Probably that I'm not in the best mental condition.

"Right," Qibli said aloud, trying to clear his head. "Okay. So. What?" he added as Winter gave him a faintly concerned expression, while Flame just looked confused.

"We're going to see the queen," Winter said slowly. "Remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Qibli said quickly, trying to act like he hadn't gotten distracted by his thoughts. "Let's go." He stood up and led the way to Thorn's throne room, where he assumed the queen must be. He was kind of nervous, wondering what Thorn would say. He had been afraid the previous night that Thorn would abandon him just like Cobra had. No matter how many times he told himself that Thorn was not anything like Cobra, and that the SandWing queen wouldn't stay angry at him forever, he couldn't hold back the fear that he'd loose his new 'mother' as well.

"Qibli," a warm voice called, and he looked up to meet the kind eyes of Queen Thorn. He let out a small sigh of relief; he'd expected that she'd still be annoyed at him. See? Thorn's different. the positive side of his brain gloated.

"Hello, Your Majesty," Qibli said, dipping his head in a bow. He heard Thorn let out a small sigh like she always did when her friends called her 'Your Majesty'.

"Well, I'm assuming that you didn't come here just to say good morning," Thorn prompted as Qibli stood upright.

"Er, no," Qibli replied, shifting his wings. "I wanted to know what was happening about the IceWings. I'd like to help sort this out."

"Alright. I sent Smolder to discuss their claims and try and explain that we didn't steal anything." Thorn explained briskly, but then her voice softened and she added, "do you have anything that you'd like to tell me?" Qibli hesitated for a moment.

"Yes," he admitted. "I think Vulture was the one who stole from the IceWing royal treasury."

"Hmm," Thorn said, tapping one claw on her chin. "That does help, but how did he get up there in the first place?" There was a tense pause, and beside Qibli, Winter shifted and lowered his gaze.

"Um," Qibli said awkwardly. "We might have accidentally told him about the path over the ocean beside the Great Ice Cliff."

"Qibli," she said, sounding exasperated. Winter winced slightly, as though the queen were calling him out. Although I guess he knows that it was him, Qibli thought, so, it's about the same. As Qibli was realizing this, Thorn had noticed and transferred her exasperated gaze to the IceWing.

"Sorry," Qibli murmured, then it dawned on him that he wasn't sure who he was apologizing to; Thorn – for letting Vulture find out about the ocean pass – or Winter – for putting him on the spot.

"Well, it doesn't matter; what's done is done. We just have to find a way to clear this up without aggravating the IceWings." Thorn said, shifting her gaze from Winter back to Qibli. "Do you have any proof that it was Vulture? And more importantly; do you know where the IceWing's stolen treasure is? Queen Snowfall won't accept any proof – and even if she does, Vulture is still a SandWing, and there's no way to prove that I didn't send him to steal from them – that her treasure wasn't stolen until she has it back."

"Okay, what's her argument?" Qibli asked, his brain whirring.

"Well,Capybara and Drought didn't explain exactly..." Thorn trailed off. "Maybe... it would be best if you came and heard for yourself?" By now she had lost her queenly demeanor, and was acting just like she did when she ran the Scorpion Den. 

Chapter Text

Winter PoV:

More flying. And worse, more heat. This time not only was Winter flying with Qibli and Flame, but also Queen Thorn, Smolder, Six-Claws, and Capybara, who had returned back from Possibility to guide them - not that they needed it. Winter knew where the city was, and so did almost everyone else here, in fact, Flame might be the only exception. Not that it really mattered, because he would be traveling with him and Qibli anyway. Of course, traveling just the three of them isn't an option when attending a meeting of the queens and their advisors.

~timeskip brought to you by Beige the MudWing by Amphibiaperson (Wattpadian)~

It was a few hours before sunset when they finally arrived at the meeting place. They had chosen a place as far north as possible without leaving the warmth of the desert. The area was mostly flat, but there was one dune facing east with a few cacti seeking refuge below. Queen Snowfall was already waiting there with her advisors.

"Queen Thorn," Snowfall said regally, inclining her head slightly.

"Queen Snowfall," the SandWing said, returning the gesture. "Let's make sense of this problem."

"One moment," the young IceWing interjected. "Winter? What are you doing here? And with the SandWings?" Winter wasn't exactly sure how to answer. She seemed more interested in finding an answer than in him following the usual IceWing greeting procedure, but then, it was mostly based on rank, and he didn't have one.

"You're helping them!" Snowfall accused in a not-so-hushed whisper. "That's how they got to the palace!"

"I'm not helping them," Winter protested. Well, not exactly. I told Vulture how they could get past the Cliff.

"Then why are you with the SandWings?" Snowfall asked in a voice that sounded scarily like her mother's. Winter tried to find an excuse, but he was left thinking, Because Qibli is a SandWing.

"You are working for them," Snowfall snarled dangerously before Winter could find a reason he could actually tell her.

"I'm not working for them!" Winter said hotly. Remember that Snowfall is the queen now. a little voice chimed in his head as the IceWing queen straightened herself and glared down at him.

"Then why are you here?" Snowfall challenged, anger freezing her voice. Winter hesitated.

"I came with them," he replied carefully, flicking his tail to Flame and Qibli, who were listening intently to Thorn.

"A SandWing." Snowfall hissed. "You still haven't proven that you're not working for them." I've tried, but you just traced it back to them. Why won't you just leave me alone? Winter wanted to say, but he bit back the retort.

"I can assure you, I'm not working for them." he said instead. Snowfall analyzed him for a long moment.

"I have no proof of that," she said coldly. "Go, you've got nothing to do here."

Winter turned and stalked away, his tail lashing. He didn't exactly have an end destination in mind, but he quickly decided to just head over to one of the dunes nearby where the meeting was taking place.

"Shall we figure out what's going on now?" Queen Thorn asked, a hint of impatience in her voice. Qibli, who had been starting to head over to where Winter was, sat back down again at Thorn's words and flashed Winter an apologetic glance. He rolled his eyes and glared at the horizon.

"Our treasury was raided and two of our guards stopped a SandWing wrapped in light blue blankets before they ran away," Snowfall explained flatly. "Our guards were able to catch a couple of them before they made it past the Great Ice Cliff."

"Were you able to get any information from them?" Thorn asked.

"They only said that they had been told to wrap up in blankets to keep warm and then gave the directions they were given." the young IceWing queen answered.

"No reference as to whom gave the order." Thorn said, although it almost sounded like it could be a question as well.

"If they did, I would have mentioned it," Snowfall said. "Do you have any answers for me?"

"I'm afraid not," the SandWing queen replied. "I have no information on those two SandWings, nor any of the others. They're still alive, aren't they?"

"Yes," said Snowfall. "We built them an igloo south of the palace and stationed three guards to watch them." At this, Qibli shot Winter a 'and what were you saying?' smile, and Winter rolled his eyes.

"Did they have any jewelry?" Qibli asked, dipping his head to the IceWing queen.

"No, although one had a tattoo," Snowfall replied. "A skull tattoo beneath their right ear." Despite the distance, Winter noticed the tension in Qibli's posture as the SandWing exchanged a glance with Queen Thorn.

"I think we may have just found out who organized this raid," Thorn said. "And I'll see that he returns your stolen treasure as soon as possible."

"Tomorrow night, Thorn," Snowfall corrected. "I expect our treasure back tomorrow night, or we will attack. I will leave guards posted just south of the Great Ice Cliff who can bring it back to the palace."

"Three night from now," Thorn tried.

"Two," Snowfall said, "that's the most I'll do."

"...Alright," Thorn said tightly. "Two nights after tonight." The IceWing queen nodded, then turned and took off north to the Ice Kingdom.

"Come on, we have work to do," Thorn said briskly once the other IceWings left, leaping into the air. She went slowly at first, until everyone had joined her in the air and she was able to set a quick pace. "Qibli, how easily do you think Vulture is going to be convinced?"

"Not very, if he's anything like usual," Qibli replied. "And if I'm the one bartering with him, then it might take longer."

"I never said you had to be the one talking with him," Thorn said. "It would make more sense for me to go." None of the other SandWings liked this idea, as they all protested the idea at the same time. Thorn raised her talons submissively. "Alright, calm down. I could also send one of you two," she flicked her tail at Smolder and Six-Claws.

"It might still be dangerous," Qibli pressed. "Vulture has traps set to kill trespassers in the most painful way possible.

"Then you can both go," Queen Thorn decided. "Qibli, Six-Claws, both of you can go together. Oh, Flame and Winter, I presume you'll be going as well?" Flame, who had been silent the whole trip, exchanged a glance with Winter before nodding to the SandWing queen.

"Alright," Thorn said in a decided tone-of-voice. "Then once we reach the stronghold you'll rest for a bit and head to the Scorpion Den, okay?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Six-Claws said, making Thorn squirm.

Chapter Text

Qibli PoV:

It was nearing dawn when they finally were nearing the Scorpion Den. Again. Qibli guessed that Winter was glad to be traveling while the desert was cooler, considering he was flying much stronger this time. Flame, with his wide wingspan, easily kept up with Six-Claws, who was much bigger than any of them, leaving Qibli and Winter a little further back.

How am I going to convince grandfather to give back the treasure? Qibli wondered. Well, Six-Claws isn't just showing us the way to the Scorpion Den. He's going to help too, and he'll be better at getting Vulture to cooperate. And if it starts taking too long, she'll send someone else - or come down herself - to intimidate him more. Thorn will fix it.

Then why does it feel like there's something coming? Qibli let out an unintentional shiver.

"You're uncharacteristically quiet," Winter murmured. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Qibli said quickly. "...it's just - do you get the feeling that... this isn't over?" he turned his head so he could meet Winter's gaze. Winter held his gaze for a long moment before turning back to the approaching Scorpion Den.

"I know what you mean," Winter said quietly. "It's too easy."

"And it feels like something worse is coming," Qibli said, matching his tone.

"If it's any consolation, Snowfall isn't very likely to start fighting; she'd rather keep her tribe safe in the Ice Kingdom," Winter told him. "After the SandWing war and the war with the NightWings, I don't think she'll be starting any fights." But what if she does? He couldn't stop his brain from wondering. You could kind of say she already did, with what she said to Thorn. We have two nights to bring back her treasure or she'll attack us.

"What if Vulture won't be convinced?" Qibli worried out loud, but only loud enough for Winter to hear.

"We'll worry about it when it comes," said Winter. Qibli sighed, giving in.

"I guess we won't know how to respond until it's clear what we're responding to anyway," he agreed.

"Exactly," the IceWing said. "So stop trying to find solutions to problems that don't exist." There was an almost imperceptible warmth to his voice as he said it – so hidden that Qibli wouldn't have noticed if he didn't know Winter this well - and he had a look in his eyes hinting that there was more implied going into his sentence. Qibli flashed him a knowing smile, understanding what the IceWing was saying. Stop worrying so much. But he knew that no matter how much he understood, he would still be nervous.

"Easier said than done," Qibli said quietly to Winter's confused expression. The pale IceWing simply rolled his eyes in mock disappointment.

~timeskip brought to you by Brilliance the LightWing by neon_aster~

Qibli led the way to Vulture's pavilion, since he was still the only one who knew his way around Vulture's compound. It was only a few moments before he was back before his grandfather for what felt like the tenth time in the past few days.

"Oh, hello again Qibli," Vulture said smugly. "And who have you brought with you this time?"

"I am one of Queen Thorn's advisors," Six-Claws said. "And the queen would like to know why you sent your minions to the Ice Palace two nights ago."

"Minions?" Vulture said, sounding hurt – however Qibli knew it was all just an act. "These are my friends." He waved one talon at the two cloaked dragons by the opposite entryway.

"That as they may be, they still raided the IceWing treasury and framed the queen," Six-Claws replied promptly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Vulture said smoothly, turning to the guards. "Did you raid any IceWing treasuries?" when both guards shook their heads, he turned back to Six-Claws with a wide-eyed 'what-did-I-tell-you' stare.

"Queen Thorn also orders that you take the treasure to the palace tonight," Six-Claws informed him.

"You know," Vulture said slowly, pretending to be deep in thought and ignoring Six-Claws's last remark. "Perhaps it's simply proof that, since our queen can't keep her thieving claws out of the IceWing's treasure, maybe she shouldn't be in such a powerful position."

"How dare you," Six-Claws growled. "Queen Thorn would never steal from the IceWings. And we know it was you – the dragons Queen Snowfall captured had your little gang medallions."

"Thorn recruited some of my Talons when that sandstorm hit the palace," Vulture pointed out, and Qibli flinched slightly, guiltily, thinking of the damage the sandstorm had caused.

"It wasn't the queen," Six-Claws said in a dangerous voice. "If you refuse to admit it to me, fine, but you are to return the treasure to Queen Thorn's palace by tomorrow morning."

"It's hard to return things that you don't have," Vulture said simply. "However, you may still stay here for the night." It was only then that Qibli realized how tired he was, mentally and physically. Beside him, even though he held his head high, Winter's wings were drooping and exhaustion was clouding in his eyes. Six-Claws scanned the three dragonets for a moment, then sighed in defeat.

"Thank you for allowing us to stay," he said grudgingly. "We'll be sure to leave by morning." As should something else, Six-Claws's tone said. Vulture flicked his tail to one of the cloaked guards, and they turned and headed into the hallway. Vulture jerked his head after the guard, as if to tell them to follow, and Six-Claws fell in behind the other SandWing, Winter, Flame, and Qibli filing behind him. So. That went well, Qibli thought. Eventually the guard led them to Rattlesnake and Sirocco's room, which was mercifully abandoned. I guess they're out, Qibli thought unconcernedly. As soon as the guard left, which was quite promptly, Six-Claws turned to the three dragonets.

"Go ahead and get some sleep, I'll wake you when it's time for you to get up," he told them, heading to Sirocco's messy desk. Qibli didn't wait to be told twice, he followed Winter to a blanket flopped out at the end of Rattlesnake's bed and curled up right beside the IceWing. For once, Winter didn't protest, instead he wrapped one wing around Qibli. He smiled and nestled himself closer to Winter, letting out a content sigh.

Chapter Text

(just in case, someone gets mildly hurt in this chapter)

Winter PoV:

With Qibli curled up, pressed against his side, under his wing, Winter felt quite content just lying there. He wasn't tired, but he couldn't bring himself to open his eyes. After a few minutes Qibli shifted and yawned.

"Winter?" the SandWing asked.

"Hmm?" Winter asked, opening one eye to look at him.

"I just - you were smiling and I couldn't tell if you were awake or not," Qibli stammered.

"Why would I just be lying there, doing nothing?" Winter asked, lifting his head, although he realized that the question would be more directed at himself than anyone else. Qibli flashed him a look - one that Winter couldn't interpret - before lifting his head glancing around the room.

"Six-Claws?" called Qibli. "He said he'd wake us..." The SandWing stood up and slipped out from under Winter's wing, and he stood up as well, heading over to the messy desk Six-Claws had been sitting at the previous night. When he reached the desk, Winter immediately noticed a small piece of parchment with writing on it - specifically, Qibli's name, which stuck out to him.

"Qibli..." Winter said. "I think I found something." the SandWing was at his side a moment later, reading the note over his shoulder.

Qibli, I went ahead and flew back to the palace as soon as you were asleep. Stay there until I – or someone else – comes back there. Don't go trying any heroics; you don't need to hurt yourself. To be frank, you're much more helpful when you're not lying in a doctor's tent.

- Six-Claws

"What?" Qibli asked in a wounded tone-of-voice. "That's it? Just 'hey, I'm off to the palace, see ya!'?"

"That's all he wrote," Winter said, brushing his wing against Qibli's.

"But, why?" the SandWing asked. "It's so... short and scattered - it almost feels like it wasn't Six-Claws."

"Are you sure it is, and it's not just your grandfather trying to trick you into thinking Six-Claws left?" Winter asked.

"No, it's his writing," Qibli said, then let out a sigh. "But I wouldn't expect such an uninformative note from Six-Claws."

"Maybe he didn't want to give anything away in case Vulture or any of the others saw it," Winter suggested, trying to raise the warm dragon's spirits.

"Maybe..." Qibli said unenthusiastically. (unscientifically??? srsly??) He turned away, dropping his gaze to his talons, and Winter gave him a sympathetic glance. He looks so... helpless. Winter thought, shifting his wing so it was draped over Qibli's back. The SandWing subconsciously leaned into Winter's side, but he didn't lift his gaze from the ground. He looked like he was deep in thought. 

"Come on," Winter said, nudging Qibli. "We have things to do."

"Not really," Qibli pointed out, letting out a long sigh. They both looked back to Flame, who was still asleep and lying right beside where Winter had been curled around Qibli not long before. The pale yellow dragon slipped out from under Winter's wing to nudge the SkyWing awake.

"Time to get up," Qibli said flatly. Flame lifted his head and yawned, then spotted the look on Qibli's face and eyed him with a confused look.

"Where's the other SandWing?" the maroon dragon asked.

"Six-Claws left," said Qibli, still sounding annoyed. He turned away and headed for the door, but was apparently so preoccupied with his thoughts that he walked straight into the doorframe. The SandWing let out a hiss of pain and embarrassment, and stalked into the hallway with his tail lashing.

"What in the name of fireballs was that all about?" Flame whispered, suddenly at Winter's side. At first, Winter blinked at him, confused, but then he caught on.

"He's annoyed at Six-Claws for leaving such an uninformative note," Winter explained, but he knew that there were more layers to it. Layers of feeling overlooked. Layers of being trapped. Layers of being unable to help.

Layers of being abandoned.

Winter suddenly realized that Flame was staring intently at him, so he arched an eyebrow in a 'yes?' gesture. The SkyWing cleared his throat and looked away in an amusingly embarrassed way.

"C'mon, probably should follow him," Flame said, not meeting his gaze. Winter nodded and slipped past him into the hallway. He turned right – the direction he'd seen Qibli turn – and headed along the hall. His first thought was the garden, but then he reasoned that the SandWing would probably go to his grandfather. Winter led the way to where he thought was Vulture's pavilion, but apparently was the garden. Not that it mattered, because there was Qibli, talking with his mother.

"...you're better off," Cobra was saying. Her eyes shifted to Winter and Flame. "But it looks like not all your friends have left you. Your precious IceWing is still here." Winter expected some sort of response from Qibli, but the SandWing didn't say anything.

"I'm not going to be staying for long," Winter said haughtily to her. Cobra said something quiet enough that he couldn't hear, but it caused Qibli to halfway look up to glare up at her.

"I'm still here, too," Flame interjected, completely missing the exchange between Qibli and his mother.

"Again, I wouldn't be so sure," Cobra said smoothly. 

"...what do you mean by that?" Flame asked suspiciously.

"I mean I think you'll be changing your mind soon," Cobra said simply, but with an ominous note that sent a cold talon of fear down Winter's spine. 

"Why would we change our mind?" Winter demanded, however he was aware of Six-Claws's note poking at the edge of his mind. Qibli stood up and came over to him, and he noticed a small bruise already forming under the SandWing's left eye.

"We don't really have much choice," the yellow dragon muttered to Winter, Qibli's snout closer to his than he would have liked.

"You'll see," Cobra replied, giving them an amused look.

Chapter Text

Qibli PoV:

What does that mean, what will we see? Qibli wondered.

"In fact," his mother drawled. "After my father is done attending to business, we can show you."

~timeskip (bc I'm lazy) brought to you by Leaflight the LeafWing/NightWing hybrid by WolfQueen (Wattpadian)~

It was past midday when Qibli looked up from his scroll at the sound of wingbeats overhead. Winter, who had been sitting beside him, slipped to one side so that there were a couple steps between them.

"Thorn?" Qibli asked, surprised, as he stood up. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Qibli," Thorn said. "Are you alright?"

"What?" asked Qibli, then he remembered the bruise Winter had mentioned and his talon drifted to his face. "Oh, this-?"

"I know you were with him..." the SandWing queen said, completely missing Qibli's question.

"W-what?" Qibli asked again, fear seeping into him. "Six-Claws? What happened?"

"He-" Thorn started, but then stopped, her voice breaking.

"A messenger came into the throne room earlier today, carrying Six-Claws's pouch." one of the SandWings accompanying Thorn explained somberly. "They said that Six-Claws had been killed by a dragonbite viper on his way to the palace. Other than that, they don't know much about his death."

"I left Smolder in charge," Thorn said desolately. "And I asked Capybara to keep an eye on Ostrich and Kindle."

"But -" Qibli stammered, his brain racing to find some way to explain Six-Claws being still alive, but came up empty. It can't be true it can't be true it can't be true- he panicked, his thoughts whirling. A cold tail draped gently over Qibli's, but he hardly noticed.

"I wasn't with him," he said shakily. "I was here – I found a note-"

"He left a note?" Thorn asked hoarsely, cutting him off. Winter reached into the wolfskin pouch tied around his ankle and pulled out the note. The queen read and reread it carefully, a look of rage covering her face with each word.

"This isn't Six-Claws's handwriting," she spat. "This is a fake written to stir up trouble."

"Or perhaps it's a trap to capture or kill you, Your Majesty," the other SandWing guard said.

"We should get you back to the palace, Your Highness," the first guard suggested.

"I'll tell Kindle it's not real," Thorn said. "And I'll gather a patrol to search for Six-Claws, then I'll be back." Qibli was too shocked and confused to respond as the queen and her guards lifted off, winging back to the palace.

"...Qibli?" Winter asked a few moments later, wrapping a cool wing around him. He turned to the IceWing, who had apparently settled at his side while he was distracted. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know," Qibli sighed, leaning on Winter. The pale dragon shifted slightly to wrap his tail protectively around Qibli.

"What's wrong?" Winter murmured. He hesitated for a long moment, then looked up to meet the IceWing's gaze.

"Was it real?" Qibli asked quietly.

"It was real," the cold dragon answered softly. "Thorn came to tell you that Six-Claws was dead, then we showed her his note, and she said that it wasn't written by Six-Claws, then left." Qibli lowered his gaze, nestling into Winter's side once again.

"It just feels so... random," he admitted. "And something about it seems off. Like, it seems kind of... I don't know - forced?"

"I know what you mean," Winter agreed. "It almost feels like it was a daydream, but then..." he trailed off, and they both let the silence hang in the air for a long few minutes.

"I wonder where Six-Claws is," Qibli thought aloud. 

"Well, unless he avoided everyone, he's not at the palace, and he left here-" Winter started, but Qibli cut him off, his brain racing ahead of his words.

"He might not have left," he countered, pieces falling together like a puzzle in his head. "Maybe he was captured." Winter made a small noise, as if everything was coming together for him, too.

"But where would he keep Six-Claws captured?" the IceWing asked.

"Here, somewhere," Qibli replied. "Want to go exploring?"

"How would your grandfather respond if he found us nosing into his stuff?" Winter asked, still holding Qibli close with his wing. 

"Probably not very kindly, that's for sure," he said. "But we have to find Six-Claws."

"Do you have an idea where he might be?" Winter asked, looking uncertain.

"I have a few ideas," Qibli told him. "But I'm not sure how likely any of them are."

"Well, I suppose it's worth a try," Winter agreed, standing up and pulling his wing back. Qibli stood up as well, tapping the tip of his snout against Winter's. 

Qibli slipped into the hall, leading the way through Vulture's compound and hoping he remembered the layout correctly. He hadn't visited his grandfather very often, and when he did it was usually short visits where he was mostly confined to a few places. He was only able to tell that Winter was following by the chill from the IceWing's scales. He sneaked through the hall, heading right for where Vulture had kept Cobra captive.

Chapter Text

Winter PoV:

Winter crept along behind Qibli, stepping quietly. He was a little clumsier because of the heat, but he hoped that it didn't matter. Qibli wound through the halls confidently, as though he knew exactly where  he was going, which made Winter feel a bit better about the whole thing. After a few minutes they reached a pit, empty except for a few sets of eyes glaring back up at him.

"He's not here?" Qibli murmured. "But this is where Mother-" the SandWing stopped abruptly. Winter tipped his head at the pale yellow dragon.

"What?" he prompted.

"Mother wasn't one of Vulture's actual prisoners," Qibli explained. "So he wouldn't put her in his actual prisons if he could help it." Winter nodded.

"Then where would his real prison be?" he asked. Qibli glanced around, a pensive look in his eyes. Winter glanced around as well, hoping to spot something useful.

"Where's Flame?" they both said at the same time, each whipping around to look at the other.

"When did you see him last?" Qibli asked. Winter hesitated, trying to remember the last time he'd seen the SkyWing. (when was Flame last mentioned? I can't remember! Probs something a writer shouldn't do lol!)

"I.. I can't remember," he admitted. "I think it was before Queen Thorn stopped by."

"Okay... let's check my siblings' room, maybe he's there," Qibli said, but he sounded uncertain. Regardless, they both headed to Rattlesnake and Sirocco's room. Winter kept glancing around as he walked beside Qibli as they walked through the halls. When they arrived he hadn't spotted anything that might be a sign of Flame's whereabouts. Between the two of them the searched the whole room with no sign of their SkyWing friend.

~Timeskip [i can't find anything else to do with this part ;-;] brought to you by Nightflight the SkyWing/NightWing hybrid by Citroèn (Wattpadian)~

The two of them were sitting wing-to-wing in the dark garden as the first stars were glimmering brightly in the darkening sky after a day of searching, planning, and respectfully joining Cobra, Rattlesnake, and Sirocco for dinner - to which Vulture was suspiciously absent."First Six-Claws, now Flame..." Qibli said desolately, "what's going on?" he looked sadly up at Winter. Winter glanced up at the stars glittering obliviously above them.

"It's too much of a coincidence," he murmured. "What would cause both of them to disappear, especially in such quick succession?"

"Do you think they both get captured?" Qibli asked quietly. "Or that Flame just flew back to Jade Mountain?"

"There's one way to find out if he's there," Winter pointed out. "We could ask Turtle." Qibli reached into his pouch and pulled out his messaging slate. Winter watched as Qibli began writing.

Hey Turtle, I know it's late, but can I ask you a question? Qibli wrote. A few moments later the reply came.

You just did, it read in Turtle's loopy writing. But you can ask another. Winter snorted, but couldn't help being amused.

Is Flame there? Qibli asked.

No... I thought he was with you two? Turtle wrote back. Winter exchanged a glance with Qibli.

He was... Qibli wrote, but then stopped, leaving the message unfinished.

I'll keep an eye out for him; he could be between you and me - traveling. Turtle responded.

Okay, thanks Turtle. Qibli wrote with a small sigh.

Sorry, Turtle replied. Good night.

Night.

"That didn't work," Qibli sighed. Winter shook his head in agreement, looking back up at the stars. Why do dragons keep going missing like this? he wondered. Qibli slipped under Winter's wing, leaning his head just below Winter's, looking up at the stars as well.

"Do you have any idea where Six-Claws is captured?" Winter murmured about ten minutes later.

"I have a few, ideas, but I don't know how likely any of them are," Qibli replied. "Other than rescuing Ostrich, I haven't been here for two or three years. I don't really know much of this place."

"You know, no one else is awake right now," Winter pointed out.

"Except Vulture's night guards," Qibli added.

"Right," Winter amended, then turned to look directly at the SandWing and grinned. "Want to go exploring?" Qibli grinned back at him.

"Sure, that sounds fun," the SandWing agreed. "And what better way to save Flame and Six-Claws?"

"Exactly," Winter said. Qibli led the way into the hall, where by now was so dark that they could barely see anything. Qibli's pale form was barely visible through the dark, but at least he could see well enough to stick with the SandWing.

~unpredicted timeskip bc I'm behind brought to you by Kellos the IceWing/LeafWing hybrid by Dogfiend (Wattpadian)~

They wandered around a while with no luck, until they found Vulture's sleeping quarters. Qibli let out a startled gasp and hurried away as soon as he spotted his grandfather, and almost spotted by a couple patrolling guards. Qibli yanked Winter under a table just inside a dark hallway as the guards, one of whom had a lit torch, passed, and they seemed to be deep in conversation.

"Why do we have to keep feeding the prisoners so frequently?" the first one demanded. Pressed between Qibli and the wall, Winter felt the SandWing tense beside him and draw in a sharp breath. 

"Vulture doesn't want 'em starving to death," the second one grunted.

"Then why not just let 'em go?" the first one asked agitatedly. "Then they can feed themselves!"

"He needs 'em here, snails-for-brains!" the second one snapped. "He needs to keep the other two here so that he..." as they continued down the hall, their voices faded away. Qibli twitched as though he wanted to follow them.

"Let's wait a minute," Qibli breathed. Winter nodded. He couldn't hear anything except their own breathing in the hall as they waited.

Chapter Text

Qibli PoV:

He could feel Winter's breathing with his wing pressed against the IceWing's side. After a moment, once Qibli was sure that the guards weren't coming back, he slipped out into the dark hallway. He let out a small snort of flames to orient himself. Apparently Winter had thought that he'd kept moving, because suddenly the IceWing stepped on his tail with frigid talons. 

"Ow," Qibli hissed.

"...sorry," Winter breathed, apparently deciding to end the debate instead of argue his side like normal.

"It's okay," Qibli murmured. "Let's go." He snuck down the hallway back toward, presumably, Vulture's prison. What if those guards weren't returning from feeding Six-Claws and Flame and they were just complaining about it? Qibli worried as he continued silently along. But most likely they'd have either already fed them or are on their way to feed them.

Wouldn't we have smelled food on them as they passed though?

Not unless they were picking up the food along the way.

Suddenly Qibli rammed into a wall. Again? he thought wryly, his snout aching from the force. Not a moment later Winter tripped over Qibli's tail, landing with a thump beside him.

"Oof," the IceWing grunted as he hit the floor. "What?"

"I found a wall," Qibli said softly, rubbing his snout. "We'll have to split up."

"We do?" Winter whispered as he stood up, slight uncertainty and worry still managing to creep its way into his words.

"Yeah, otherwise we might not find it tonight," Qibli replied quietly. "Meet me back here just before sunrise."

"Alright," Winter murmured, brushing one of Qibli's wings with his own. "See you soon." Qibli took the left side, letting his wing just barely brush the wall, while Winter went right. He hoped that Winter would be alright, without fire or anything to light his way.

After a while he reached what seemed like the hundredth fork the hallway, with no luck. He was pretty sure he remembered the way he'd come. I should probably go back - check the other paths. Qibli thought blearily. It must have been at least an hour that he'd been wandering through Vulture's maze of hallways, he wasn't sure. Suddenly he was bathed in moonlight. Qibli looked around and realized that he was surprisingly outside again. Then he looked at the nearest building. Vulture's treasury.

[Ooh, that's a good spot for a cliffhanger ending >:) ]

Qibli's mind suddenly jumped into panicked action. That maze could've been a way to help keep thieves away. And if this is one of his treasury traps then they're often deadly if you get it wrong! He realized with a jolt of fresh fear. I've got to get back to the meeting place, the prison wouldn't be this close to grandfather's treasure - it'd be too easy for escapees to steal it. Mind whirling, he whipped around and raced back down the hall.

~Timeskip brought to you by Dust the SandWing/SeaWing hybrid by Ace (Wattpadian)~

By now, Qibli was barely paying attention to where he was going; although he knew he still hadn't found Vulture's prisons. In fact, he was so lost in thought that it took him several moments to finally realize that it was growing light out. It's getting close to dawn! his mind yelped. I've got to get back to the meeting place!

But... which way is it? (AARG, why do I keep running into all these great cliffhanger endings IN THE MIDDLE OF A CHAPTER)

Okay, think. What do you know about the layout? I know that behind me is grandfather's treasury. Oh- and if I turn left at the entrance of Vulture's treasury then I'll get to the garden. Maybe that'd be better, then I wouldn't risk getting lost on the way. Qibli spun on his toes and ran back the way he'd come. I just hope this is the way back to the treasury.

After a few minutes Qibli returned to the treasury, then abruptly turned left and hurried to the garden. Am I going to get there before the sun rises? he worried as he ran.

If you don't hurry, you won't!  a voice that sounded scarily like his mother's snapped in his mind. Focusing on his route instead of his worries, Qibli pushed on harder.

About five minutes later he reached the garden, panting. He was already recalling the route he'd taken with Winter to get to the hall where they were supposed to meet up at dawn, which was growing closer by the minute. Qibli allowed himself a moment to catch his breath before heading off again toward Vulture's room. He was careful to stay quiet so he didn't accidentally wake anyone up. The closer to Vulture he got, the quieter he was, until he was scarcely breathing until he'd passed.

Winter should be here, Qibli thought, gasping and glancing around in the growing light. I should probably go after him - if he's on his way here then I'll find him on his way. Yeah, nothing else to do, and that's better than sitting here waiting for someone to find me. Giving himself a quick shake, resettling his scales, he headed off down the hall Winter had taken a few hours before - although this time he decided that he should walk for two main reasons. One was that it'd be easier to actually find any clues as to where his friend was - or Winter himself, frankly - if he weren't racing around.

And two, if Qibli were found by one of Vulture's guards, or even Vulture himself, then his - however true - excuse of Winter having gone missing and searching for him would be more believable.

It was officially dawn now, and still there was no sign of Winter. Qibli wasn't about to risk calling to the IceWing, but he'd reached a fork now. Should I keep going? he wondered. But what if I choose the wrong way and then he finds that I'm not there either and comes looking for me and gets lost and-

Stop. Qibli ordered himself, taking a deep breath to clear his mind. This isn't productive. By now if Winter were going to head to the meeting place he already would have. I've just got to go look for him now. He randomly chose to take the left path, and walked briskly along the hall. (fyi time feels like it's moving faster for Qibli rn so one minute is, like, five minutes actually) A minute later he reached another fork, and once again took the left path. He continued along the left-side paths until he found a discarded prey skewer on the right path. Does that mean - that those guards were feeding Six-Claws and Flame?

Aaarg! Qibli yelled in his mind. (me like 80 times a day lol) What do I do? Free Flame and Six-Claws or find Winter? He drummed his claws uncertainly on the floor.

Well, you do actually have a LEAD on where Flame and Six-Claws are, unlike Winter... part of his mind whispered.

But... Winter... Oh fine I should go save Flame and Six-Claws first. Qibli sighed, turning to take the path on the right. Why am I arguing with myself this seriously anyway?

Chapter Text

Winter PoV:

Heat.

Intense heat.

The bright, glaring sunlight blazing in his face wouldn't be a problem, if it didn't have all the heat to go with it. Winter had no idea where he was, all he knew was heat, sand, and the thin but sturdy chains binding him down, one around each of his wrists, one around one of his ankles. He didn't even know how he'd gotten captured there, and what he did know about it was fading like an old dream. What was worse, he had absolutely nothing to do. At all. Unless he was going to count the grains of sand underneath him, which his vision was blurring in the heat, so he couldn't really even do that. Nothing. Winter thought. Like me. He closed his eyes, blue light stinging his eyes.

~Timeskip brought to you by Blossom the RainWing by WolfQueen (Wattpadian)~

Winter opened his eyes, glancing blankly around him. Then he realized that there was Qibli, standing across the room, just smiling at him. Winter felt his spirits rise as he saw the freckled SandWing's face, and smiled back. He was about to say something to his friend when he suddenly saw Darkstalker slip into the room with them. Turning back to Qibli, Winter noticed that the SandWing's gaze, which was still rested on him, had hardened.

Darkstalker walked over to Qibli and raked his claws down the yellow dragon's wing, leaving deep gashes in the membrane. (right? membrane? the kinda "skin" part?) Winter flinched as if he'd been clawed as well, and jabbed himself with one of his claws. Ow. he thought as pain flared from his arm. So I'm not dreaming - this is real. He stood up and tried to reach Qibli's side, but the chains tugged against him, forcing him to simply watch helplessly as Darkstalker repeatedly clawed Qibli. Suddenly Flame jumped out of the other entrance and launched himself at Darkstalker, growling, only to end up dead at the large NightWing's claws. No! Winter thought. The black dragon then continued to claw at Qibli, who by now was screaming in pain. Winter tried calling up the cold within him, but he was overwhelmingly hot and fear was threatening to take control of him. Suddenly a sick feeling came over him as Winter saw what Darkstalker's next move was about to be as the NightWing lifting his talon over the trembling form of Qibli.

Crack!

Tears sprang into Winter's eyes, but before he could react further, Darkstalker turned and stalked toward him with an evil grin. Winter shrank back, hunching his wings and arching his back, sitting back on his haunches. Unfortunately Darkstalker was still able to reach him, and he clawed the young IceWing's chest.

"Ow!" he yelped, flinching back as Darkstalker continuously slashed at him in various places.

What felt like a few years later Winter was covered in scratches and being pinned to the floor by the big black dragon. (...me and my dirty mind- imma shut up now)

"Lemme up!" Winter moaned. Darkstalker cackled and didn't move. He writhed around, trying to position himself so he could fight back, but with his claws bound to the ground and Darkstalker's talon on his back, he was immobilized. Over the sounds of his scales rubbing against the frying sand, Winter heard quiet talonsteps, then froze.

"Winter?" a voice called from one of the halls. Winter looked up to see Qibli standing there, perfectly unharmed, staring at him with an extremely confused expression. Winter glanced at the limp form of Qibli across the room, then back at the unharmed Qibli in the entrance. Then he blinked and Darkstalker, Flame, and the dead Qibli all vanished, leaving only the Qibli standing in the entrance - the real one. Winter jumped up and tried to leap at him, but the chains around his wrists and ankle tugged back and he couldn't go further. (ngl, I was thinking of Elsa XD)

"Winter, what's going on?" Qibli asked, hurrying over to Winter and analyzing the IceWing's tear-streaked face. Suddenly Winter kissed Qibli, closing his eyes. At first the SandWing instinctively flinched back a fraction of an inch, before leaning into the kiss. Winter's tension vanished and he let his wings drop to the ground. He wanted to pull Qibli in closer, but his bound talons held him back - literally. A few moments later they pulled back, and Winter opened his eyes to meet Qibli's warm gaze. He felt like Qibli was able to read his thoughts as his expression was soon not only filled with love, but sympathy and a quiet protectiveness. The SandWing hugged Winter, wrapping his warm wings around the IceWing. Winter was comforted by his touch, and - unable to do anything else - rested his head on Qibli's shoulder. He couldn't hold back a sniffle, which prompted Qibli to stroke the spikes on his head. Instinctively he tried to pull his left arm up onto Qibli's other shoulder, but he just ended up leaning heavily on the SandWing. Qibli nudged him back until he could sit properly and could move his front talons.

"Are you okay?" Qibli murmured, still holding Winter close.

"Yes... no," Winter replied truthfully, lifting his head to look the SandWing in the eye.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Winter!" Qibli burst out unexpectedly, hugging him tighter.

"Why? What for? You didn't do anything wrong, you-" Winter started.

"I didn't come looking for you!" Qibli said. "And it was clearly bothering you! Why else-" he broke off, breaking the hug and meeting Winter's eyes again. His black eyes were glittering with pain and there were tears forming in the edges. "Why else would you kiss me?" Winter blinked at him in surprise, then grasped Qibli's talons - since he couldn't hug him.

"Because I love you, you sand snorter," Winter murmured, not unkindly, his snout almost touching Qibli's. "Don't tell me you forgot."

"No!" Qibli breathed, blushing slightly. "I just thought - you were hallucinating -"

"Qibli," Winter interrupted him softly. "Kissing you was the only thing I did that I actually intended to do." The SandWing smiled and tucked his head underneath Winter's.

"Oh, I found Flame and Six-Claws," Qibli said quietly, but didn't move. "Flame is waiting in my siblings' room, and Six-Claws is on his way back to the palace to tell Queen Thorn about where the stolen treasure is."

"That's good," Winter murmured in response, not really wanting to move. "I guess we should go, too, shouldn't we?"

"Probably," Qibli agreed. Warm claws gently grabbed his wrist, then there was a little click and the chain around his right arm fell away. Then the SandWing did the same for his left arm and his ankle before.

Chapter Text

Qibli PoV:

Qibli led the way back through the halls back to his sibling's room, keeping half an eye on Winter. The IceWing was trailing after him, his wings drooping and tail dragging. His steps were sort of staggered and uneven, like he was physically unstable. He wasn't exactly sure how long the IceWing had been in that hallway, all Qibli knew was that he'd been there long enough for it to mess with his head. He only hoped that Winter wasn't about to pass out from heat exhaustion. Maybe I should get him some water, Qibli thought.

Once they reached Rattlesnake's room - he called it hers since she was the one who claimed it, mostly - Flame perked up.

"Hey, can - um, Winter, are you okay?" asked Flame, changing what he was saying mid-sentence.

"I'm alive," the IceWing replied flatly. He walked over to near the middle of the room and sat down, his wings flopped untidily at his sides.

"That's not very reassuring," Flame pointed out, eyeing Winter with concern.

"Maybe this will help - I'll be right back," said Qibli, turning and retreating out of the room again. He heard Flame start to call his name, but he didn't turn back. Where would Vulture keep the water? Qibli wondered. Kitchens, probably. Or that food cellar that we freed the scavengers from. He wasn't exactly sure where they were, but he had a general idea where they'd be, so he twisted around and hurried to where Vulture kept his food stash. Qibli was lost in thought, remembering when he'd come here before Thorn had saved him, and then again with Winter. He was so distracted that he didn't even notice the unfamiliar SkyWing until he crashed into him, sending them both toppling to the ground.

"Oof," the SkyWing gasped as he hit the ground.

"Ack- sorry!" Qibli yelped, scrambling to his feet.

"Oh, it's fine..." the SkyWing said. "You seem in a hurry."

"Yeah, kind of," replied Qibli. "I'm just trying to find some water."

"Well, I'm Hurricane, its nice to meet you just trying to find some water," the orange dragon said with a straight face.

"What?" Qibli asked, confused. Then realization of what the other dragon had said sank in. "Oh."

"Haha, you should see your face!" Hurricane laughed. "Sorry, it was too funny to miss. What's your real name?"

"Oh, I'm Qibli," he told Hurricane.

"Hi Qibli," the SkyWing replied. "Need any help with that water?"

"Mmm, sure," Qibli agreed. If anything then I can find out why there's a random SkyWing in Vulture's compound. he thought. He started off toward the cellar again, although this time he decided to walk.

"You from around here?" Hurricane asked conversationally.

"Um, no," he replied, quickly assessing how much he should tell this dragon. "I'm from Jade Mountain Academy."

"Oh! That's why you seem familiar!" Hurricane exclaimed. "I'm from Jade Mountain too!"

"Huh, really? I haven't seen you around..." Qibli said in slight surprise.

"I'm new, I just got there about a week ago," the SkyWing explained. Had we left by then? Qibli wondered. (Another good question, Qibs. lmxo) "I met some dragons called Moonwatcher, Kinkajou, and Turtle - have you met them?" Qibli let out a snort.

"Yeah, I know them," he said. "They're my best friends."

"OH, you're THAT Qibli!" Hurricane said. "The one with Winter the IceWing, right?"

"Um - define 'with'," Qibli asked, blushing slightly. Hurricane started laughing.

"Well, I meant 'traveling with', but when you put it that way..." he replied, chuckling.

"W-what do you mean by that?" Qibli half-demanded.

"I think your face is saying more than I am," Hurricane pointed out, amused. Qibli groaned, ducking his head so Hurricane couldn't see him blushing. Thankfully the SkyWing then dropped the subject, leaving them to walk in silence.

~timeskip brought to you by Thisle the SandWing by WolfQueen (Wattpadian)~

Qibli led Hurricane back to Rattlesnake's room, each carrying pouches of water. (don't ask how it's staying in it-)

"Who's that?" Flame asked as they walked into the room, nodding to Hurricane. The scarred SkyWing was sitting near the center of the room with Winter tucked under his wing, leaning on his side.

"This is Hurricane," Qibli said, flicking one wing toward the orange dragon. "Hurricane, this is Flame," he pointed to the other SkyWing, "and Winter," he then indicated the drowsy-looking IceWing.

"Ah yes, you two," Hurricane said, a smile tugging at his mouth.

"Why do I not like the sound of that?" Flame asked.

"Hmm, let's just say... I've been talking with Kinkajou," the other SkyWing said playfully.

"Mmrf," Winter grunted, lying down and burying his snout under his arms. Qibli shifted the pouch around his neck, then remembered why he'd brought it and headed over to the limp IceWing.

"Are you alright?" Flame asked, looking into his eyes. "You look exhausted." Qibli passed him the water, then as the SkyWing offered it to Winter he took a deep breath and mentally checked himself over. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally.

"When was the last time any of you ate?" Hurricane asked, his playfulness gone.

"I ate yesterday," Flame replied promptly. "But I don't know about these two." he turned to Qibli expectantly.

"I can't remember," he sighed. "Three- four days ago?" 

"I'll go find something," Hurricane said, ducking back out of the room again.

"You should probably sleep, too, after you eat." Flame told Qibli.

"But I can't," he said. "We've got to get to Thorn's palace and help her recover the treasure - the IceWings have probably attacked her by now- we have to get it back from Vulture-"

"Qibli," Flame said firmly, cutting him off before he got too much more riled up. "You're not going to be any help if you try and go back like this. You'll collapse halfway there, and you're tribe is built for desert travel - Winter won't make it a quarter of the way there." the IceWing snorted disbelievingly, but Qibli knew that Flame was right.

"But..." he protested, still not ready to give in, even though he was too tired to find an argument.

"Even if it's only for a few hours, you. need. rest." Flame repeated.

"Oh, alright," Qibli sighed again. He slipped under Winter's already outstretched wing, curling up and tucking his snout under Winter's shoulder. Qibli almost instantly relaxed, letting out a content sigh before sliding into sleep.

Chapter Text

Winter PoV:

He was lying on the cool floor of Rattlesnake and Sirocco's room with Qibli curled up, asleep, under his right wing and Flame sitting on his left. Flame was filling Hurricane in on everything that had happened with the IceWing queen's treasure. Winter was still awake, but he wasn't interested in joining their conversation. His head hurt and he was still dizzy and disoriented, even after drinking some of the water Flame had offered him.

"...and so then I came out to find them in the garden-" Flame continued.

"You mean after Thorn stopped by with-" Hurricane asked, cutting himself off.

"Wait - what?" Flame demanded.

"Um, I mean, what happened next?" Hurricane asked instead of replying. Flame hesitated, then continued his recap. Winter stopped paying attention again, his head throbbing slightly. I hope I don't end up slowing them down. he thought, covering his eyes with his talon.

~timeskip brought to you by Butterfly the SilkWing by WolfQueen (Wattpadian)~ 

"Qibli, it's been a few hours, time to get up." Flame called gently. The SandWing, who was still curled up under Winter's wing, stirred slowly.

"...mmkay," Qibli mumbled, lifting his head. Winter sat up and opened his eyes, the light burning his eyes. He glanced over at Qibli as the SandWing sat up as well. Winter noticed that he still had deep shadows under his eyes, which looked dull and glazed with tiredness, but he seemed to be more relaxed now. Qibli gave himself a small shake before standing up and following the SkyWings. Winter stood up and followed Qibli, ignoring the dizziness pressing against the back of his eyes.

Flame led them through Vulture's compound and out to the garden. As soon as they were all gathered in the garden, they took off. Winter wasn't able to pay as much attention as usual, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Hurricane jump almost ten feet into the air with one flap of his wings.

"Woah!" Flame yelled. "How did you do that?!"

"Maybe once we get back to Jade Mountain I can show you," Hurricane offered.

"You could explain now," Flame pointed out. "We've got a long flight ahead of us."

"It's not too long," Qibli countered.

"That's the point," Flame responded. "It's not a long distance, but with you little dragons it's going to be slow."

"We're not that much smaller than you are!" Qibli retorted, more embarrassed than annoyed.

"Mmm-hmm," Flame said noncommittally.

Winter kept quiet during their conversation, focusing more on flying in a straight line.

As they flew, it was hard to tell how it went from Hurricane's flying to families and siblings, but the dizziness behind his eyes had gotten worse, as had his headache. I can't keep going. Winter thought, closing his eyes. I have to rest. He opened his eyes and scanned the ground below him for a place to land. He spotted a dune that looked fairly sturdy, and quickly dropped onto it. As soon as he landed, Winter sat down, flopping his wings on either side of him. Why can't I get this headache to go away? he wondered, aggravated. He looked up at the sky, the bright light stinging his eyes, and saw the small shapes of Flame, Qibli, and Hurricane still flying on. Will they even notice I'm gone? Winter thought sadly. Although, I'll know where I have to go. The general direction, at least. He let out a long sigh.

Winter didn't know how long it had been, when he heard wingbeats – growing louder. He opened his eyes and looked up at the sky – which was still too bright and felt like it was burning his eyes – and saw the small forms of three dragons flying back toward him. Who – Qibli? Flame? Would they come back to find me? He couldn't stop from asking himself.

"There you are!" Qibli called, and even from this far down Winter could see his face light up. The SandWing twisted around midair and swooped down to land beside him, then looked Winter in the eye. "I was worried about you."

"Sorry," he mumbled, ducking his head guiltily. Flame and Hurricane had both landed now, too, and were standing nearby, talking together about something - Winter couldn't hear them.

"Are you okay?" the SandWing asked, his voice still lowered slightly.

"I'm...no." Winter admitted. "For some reason I keep feeling dizzy and my head hurts." For once, Qibli seemed lost for words, so instead the SandWing nuzzled his neck.

"I'm sorry," Qibli murmured.

"For what?" Winter asked quietly. "You didn't do anything."

"Exactly," he replied sadly. "I didn't come looking for you when I should have. This is my fault."

"No, it's not. You're not the idiot who walked into a trap," Winter replied firmly.

"I know, but I still should have come looking..." Qibli murmured.

"You did, that's why I'm here and not back at Vulture's compound." he told him.

"Hate to brake up the touching lovers quarrel you two are having over there, but we've gotta get moving," Hurricane cut in. Winter felt his face heat up and he quickly turned away.

"Y-yeah, right, let's go," Qibli replied. So, together, they all leaped into the sky, with Hurricane once again jumping far over their heads. At first they flew in near silence, but it wasn't long before the orange SkyWing broke the silence.

"Soo, Flame, have you talked to these two yet?" he asked the other SkyWing.

"Um, asked them what?" Flame asked, confusion all over his face.

"You KNOW, about how you feel about them and how you-" Hurricane explained, but was then cut off by Flame.

"NOPE. NO idea what you're talking about!" he interrupted, although Winter could see a blush forming on his snout.

"Yeah, 'NO idea'," Hurricane smirked. "Let's just see what they think when I tell them that you want to be-"

"NO!" Flame yelled, blushing profusely.

"Oh, and I'm glad you two finally got your act together," Hurricane added, turning to Winter and Qibli. "It took you long enough."

"W-what do you mean by that?" Qibli asked, blushing faintly as well.

"Your kiss, obviously," he said, rolling his eyes teasingly.

"Wait, what?!!" Winter cried, looking sharply at the orange dragon. He turned to Qibli. "You told him?!"

"No - I thought you did!" he protested.

"I've hardly talked to him!" Winter pointed out. (maybe in THIS fanfic, Winter..)

"Oh, I thought you were talking with him while I was sleeping." Qibli replied.

"No, he was mostly lying there like a melting ice cube," Hurricane said with a straight face.

"Hey! Was not!" Winter protested.

"Oh, look! We're almost there!" Qibli called and pointed, clearly trying to change the subject.

"Oh, I suppose we are," Hurricane commented, giving him a look that seemed to say we'll be talking about this later.

Chapter Text

Qibli PoV:

He had to admit - if only to himself - that they weren't exactly "close". They were closer than before, naturally, but they still had a while yet to go. The sooner we get there the better. he thought, glancing at Winter. The IceWing was flying just as well as anyone else, but Qibli could see that he was still pained in his expression and the way he held himself.  He soared over to Winter's side so he could brush the IceWing's wing with his own.

"Let me know if you need to rest," Qibli murmured, quiet enough that Flame and Hurricane couldn't hear him over their debate about diving techniques.

"'m alright," Winter mumbled. "Almost there anyway."

"If you're sure," Qibli said softly, shrugging.

"I was just resting," Winter pointed out quietly.

"Qibli, what do you think - is closing your wings completely a good way to dive? Could you "dive" at all?" Flame asked suddenly.

"I never said close them completely!" Hurricane interjected. Qibli sighed.

"I already gave you my input," he told them, although they just talked right over him.

"That's what it sounded like you said!"

"Whatever..." Qibli sighed resignedly. They flew in silence - well, Winter and Qibli flew in silence; Flame and Hurricane continued debating diving - all the way to the stronghold.

"OH LOOK - here we are," Qibli commented, yelling over Flame and Hurricane.

"Oh, that was fast," Hurricane said, although Qibli wasn't sure yet if he was being sarcastic or not. Qibli led the way to the courtyard, where they landed with four soft thumps.

"I think we should speak with Queen Thorn first," Qibli remarked. "Then she knows that we're here and that we can help her."

"Alright," Flame agreed.

"Lead the way," Winter mumbled. Qibli turned and headed toward the throne room, his first idea of where he would find Queen Thorn. As soon as the cool shade hit his scales, he glanced back at Winter. I bet this is more comfortable for him - and more helpful for his headache. The IceWing almost imperceptibly relaxed, and Qibli heard him let out a sigh. Right - to Thorn. He turned and headed into the hall. He was glad he knew these halls so well - he didn't want to get lost here, too. Oh, maybe he didn't relax... Qibli realized. Winter was keeping close, his cold scales casting a chill over his tail. Qibli was worried about what kind of stress the IceWing might be dealing with.

"Okay, what's going on?" Hurricane asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Qibli asked, turning to look back at the bright red SkyWing. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know, I just feel like there's some sort of tension," he replied.

"...I guess so," Qibli admitted after a pause.

"It's kind of a long story," Winter added awkwardly.

"I think we've got time for a long story," Hurricane commented.

"Um, no, because we're almost there," Qibli said. The truth was, he wasn't sure he was ready to tell just yet. And judging based on the way that Winter was trying to deflect the attention somewhere else, he guessed that the IceWing wasn't ready either.

"Okay, but once we're done talking with Thorn, you'll have to tell us." Hurricane said.

"Yeah," Flame agreed.

"Oh, fine, we'll see," Qibli obliged. He hoped that by that time, they would forget all about this conversation.

~smol timeskip brought to you by Rocket the RainWing by Dogfiend (Wattpadian)~

"Yes, come in," Thorn called.

"Hello, Your Majesty," Qibli said, dipping his head in a bow as he entered.

"Hey Qibli," Thorn said as he entered, wriggling her wings like she always did when her friends called her 'Your Majesty'. "You know you can forget that 'Your Majesty' business."

"Of course, Your Majesty,"  he replied, grinning playfully.

"Okay, I'm sure you had more reasoning to come here than merely to torment me," the queen said.

"Oh, yes," Qibli answered. "I was going to let you know that we've returned and that we're able to help with the stolen IceWing treasure."

"Oh, have you returned? Are you sure?" a new voice asked sarcastically, but not unkindly. Smolder entered the room, scanning over the dragonets quickly before stepping over to Thorn's side.

"Fairly certain that yes, we have," Winter replied dryly.

"Hmm, I don't believe you," Thorn said, joining Smolder on the joke. Qibli snorted.

"Anything new on the IceWing's treasure?" he asked.

"Can't answer someone who isn't there," Hurricane pointed out.

"Okay, but I am here," Qibli replied.

"Six-Claws arrived yesterday and said that Vulture was indeed involved in stealing the treasure," Thorn told them.

"Yeah, although I think something isn't working. Maybe some of the thieves he hired are wanting more of a cut than what they were originally going to get." Qibli suggested. "Just, over the course of our stay there I hardly ever saw Vulture, and when I ever spoke to my other family, they always said that he was in a meeting."

"Hmm, I'll take that into account if I can catch him." Thorn said briskly. "Right now my first priority is returning the treasure to Queen Snowfall. She'll declare war on us if I don't."

"Thorn," Smolder interjected, then leaned over and whispered something in her ear.

"I think he's proven himself, I don't think we have to worry about him," she said quietly to him before turning back to the dragonets. What was that about? his brain jumped into action. Who would need to prove himself?

Okay, I know it's not me - Smolder and Thorn both know me, and I'm a SandWing anyway. She hasn't known Flame for long, and I doubt he would have proven himself already. He's a SkyWing, so him knowing SandWing secrets maaaaaaay lead to problems, but Thorn has nothing against Ruby. Of course, any other tribe knowing your secrets may lead to problems.

And SkyWings leads to Hurricane, who she hasn't even met yet - I'll need to introduce her. So she wouldn't trust him at all.

So that just leaves Winter. That would make sense with any other IceWing - they're the enemy. They would probably take everything the two of them are saying and take it to Queen Snowfall, which wouldn't help our position any. But Winter - like Thorn said, he's proven himself more loyal to her than Snowfall, to be honest. I mean, he doesn't seem to have anything against Snowfall, he just doesn't have any reason to be loyal to the tribe that betrayed him.

"Qibli!" Thorn called, making him jump.

"Wha- yeah?" he asked. Thorn gave him an amused look. "What'd I do..?"

"I said, as of right now I don't think there's much you can do to help," the queen said, still giving him that amused look. "So you may as well go find something to do."

"Okay, we will," Qibli responded. "Oh, but first, this is Hurricane." he waved a wing toward the bright red dragon, who simply waved, although Qibli could spot a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Nice to meet you, Hurricane." Thorn said politely. "As you probably know, I'm Queen Thorn and this is Ex-prince Smolder."

"Hello Your Majesties," Hurricane said, giving them a quick bow.

"I think we'll be off, if that was all you needed," Qibli said a moment later.

"Yes, that was all," Thorn replied. "You may go." Qibli dipped his head at her, then departed the room.

"Where to next?" Winter asked, joining him in the hall.

"That's what I was just about to ask you," Qibli replied.

"Let's go get something to eat," Flame suggested. "I don't think either of you ate anything when Hurricane brought back some food." Hurricane and Winter nodded in agreement, so Qibli led them there. They each gathered some food and then sat down off to one side of the room. Qibli himself had grabbed a couple scorpions and a bit of water, although Winter simply had water, while Flame had grabbed a small boar, and Hurricane was eating some odd concoction of cheese and a bit of pig stacked between two slices of bread.

"Soooo," Hurricane said after finishing his bite of... whatever it was. "About earlier..."

"Oh," Qibli said, disappointed.

"Don't think we'd forgotten," Flame retorted.

"...It's not that big of a deal anyway," Qibli deflected, knowing that, at least to him and Winter, it wasn't quite true.

"If it weren't a big deal you wouldn't be bothered by it," Hurricane pointed out.

"Oh fine, you win," he sighed, his wings drooping in defeat. "It's just that... I guess I just feel like I failed."

"You didn't," Winter retorted. "I already told you, it was my fault."

"But if it weren't for me you wouldn't have even been over there," he said sadly.

"I still would have done the same thing, and I could just have easily followed you instead. Or gone a different way."

"But you didn't, because of me, I convinced you to go on."

"I was the one who wasn't watching my step."

"I was the one who didn't come looking for you sooner!"

"But if you had come looking for me sooner then you wouldn't have found Six-Claws and Flame."

"But-"

"SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU!" Flame yelled suddenly. "This isn't getting anywhere. I can already see that. You two need to explain better what you mean, or you're never going to understand each other."

"But we do understand," Qibli protested.

"I don't think you completely do," Hurricane said. "It seemed more like you were both just putting out your reasons without listening to the other per- dragon."

"I-" Winter started, but then broke off.

"I guess so," Qibli said slowly, then turned back to Winter.

"And - how would you 'walk into' a trap like that, Winter?" Hurricane asked.

"To be honest, I don't even remember how I got there. I pretty much couldn't remember anything between splitting up with Qibli the first time to when he found me and I- got freed." he finished, blushing. Hurricane gave them both a knowing look that Qibli wasn't sure he liked.

"That's all that happened?" the SkyWing asked.

"Ummmm," they said together. Hurricane snorted with amusement.

"What did they do?" Flame asked.

"Nothing!" Winter and Qibli said in unison, but Flame didn't pay any attention to them.

"Nothing much, they just finally kissed," Hurricane replied, although his tone emphasized that he didn't think it was 'nothing much'. About eight different emotions flashed across Flame's face. "And do you have anything you'd like to add, Flame?" Hurricane asked, turning to flash him a knowing look.

"Um..." the dark red SkyWing mumbled. "Ilikeyouboth."

"What?" Qibli asked, sure he'd misheard.

"He said that he likes you two," Hurricane translated. "And yes, like, LIKES you."

Chapter Text

Qibli PoV:

WHAT THE MOONS IS GOING ON HOW DOES HURRICANE KNOW ALL OUR SECRETS AAARG- Qibli thought, feeling his face heat up.

"I-it's true...?" Flame squeaked. (okay... that felt weird...)

"You realize that since I already know all your secrets and everything there's no point in hiding your reaction from me, right?" Hurricane pointed out. "Just go ahead, don't mind me."

"I just... I had no idea... I'd never really..." Qibli stammered, feeling lost for words, which was not comforting. He turned to meet Winter's gaze, which was still as just pained as earlier, and saw the same uncertainty that Qibli felt. Then without warning, the IceWing stood up and nestled himself under the dark SkyWing's outstretched wing. Flame looked slightly startled, although it was hard to tell whether it was because of Winter's cold scales or his response. Qibli jumped up and joined them, finding himself a spot between Flame and Winter, a cold wing on one side and a warmer one on the other.

Nearby, Hurricane let out a small noise. "Glad we figured that out."

"I- at least for now anyway," Flame obliged. "We should probably figure out everything else, too."

"Yeah..." Qibli agreed reluctantly. A large part of him didn't want to move; he just wanted to stay here, protected and safe and with dragons he loved. But a small voice was clicking in the back of his mind you don't have forever. You can dilly dally later, right now we have more important matters. Even when he reminded himself that Thorn had specifically said that there was nothing for them to help with, the voice - which sounded an awful lot like Vulture, now that he thought about it - still continued to tick at him.

Reluctantly, Qibli pulled away, his heart longing to go back, but his head pulling him back.

"What is there to figure out, though?" he asked. "I mean, we're pretty much just waiting for something to help with."

"Oh, true," Flame said.

~"AAARG MY BRAIN ISN'T WORKING" timeskip brought to you by Fierir the NightWing/RainWing hybrid by Dogfiend (hope that's spelled correctly T-T) (Wattpadian)~

The moons were rising higher and higher up into the sky, and Qibli was starting to feel tired. ([this was originally in all-caps, but it was to distracting so I rewrote it in lowercase] awww. i can't stop picturing qibli rn - its so cute oh great moons) He was very comfortable, sitting tucked under Winter's wing, Flame sitting on his left. Leaning gently on Winter, Qibli had a perfect view of the starry sky and the glowing moons.

"This reminds me of that night after the start of school," Winter murmured. Qibli nodded sleepily.

"Is jus like that night," Qibli mumbled. "Starry and cool... like now..." he trailed off, closing his eyes. He could still hear the other three talking, however it was more distant than usual.

(...)

The next morning, Hurricane came bright and early to wake the three of them up. Qibli found himself still nestled under Winter's wing, with Flame curled around them both - with his head over Winter's neck, so Flame's neck on top of Qibli.

"C'mon, wake up sleepyheads," Hurricane called again. "We've got things to do today!"

"Mrmmfiiiiine," Flame mumbled, lifting his head and stretching his wings. Winter, however, just whimpered slightly and tucked his head underneath Qibli's wing.

"Winter, c'mon," Qibli said quietly, nudging the IceWing with his snout. "You can't go back to sleep."

"'m not asleep," Winter mumbled.

"Then we've got to go," he replied.

"...mkaaaay," the IceWing sighed reluctantly. Slowly, he sat up, folding in his wings as he did so. He wore a mask of tiredness and pain.

"Are you alright..?" Qibli asked.

"I'll be fine, didn't you say we had somewhere to be?" Winter grunted. Qibli shook out his wings, eyeing the chilly prince, then stood up and led the way to Thorn's throne room. (Tbh, idk where they are at this point...)

"Qibli! Oh, there you are!" he turned to see Queen Thorn herself, along with Smolder and Six-Claws, rushing down the hall that led to his room. "I was looking for you! Why'd you leave your room so early, if I might ask?" Smolder gave them a knowing look, which Qibli didn't understand. 

Wait, I was never in there. Why would she think I was in there then? he realized.

"Oh, he wasn't in there," Hurricane piped up. "He fell asleep back there," he waved his wing back the way they had come. "I decided to sleep there because I couldn't sleep out there. Not with the three of them out there together." he added the last part with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Ahem, anyway, we've found you now," Thorn said, regaining control of the conversation. "Now come on, let's go." she turned and led them back out to the courtyard. (ig they were in the courtyard lol) Once they arrived, the queen hardly paused before jumping into the air, winging off into the desert. Smolder and Six-Claws were close on her tail, and Flame and Hurricane weren't far behind. Since Qibli and Winter were the smallest out of everyone, they were in the back of the group.

Judging based on the direction they were flying, Queen Thorn was leading them to the Scorpion Den. Qibli wanted to ask why they were suddenly heading out, what had changed, what they'd found out, and how he could help most, but he was too far back. Instead, he'd just have to wait until they reached the Scorpion Den once again. He glanced over at Winter, who was flying beside him. Something is wrong with him, I should ask him about it later too. Qibli thought. He's seemed... off... for at least two days now.

Well, what kind of 'off' is it? he asked himself, his brain leaping into investigation mode.

Okay, seems like something is hurting him. I can at least figure that out. And I think something is bothering him, mentally, too. Like some sort of lingering fear or worry or guilt from when he was trapped at Vulture's compound.

So, its all mental. He mentally summarized. Which means that I'll need to talk to him about it - alone.

Chapter Text

Winter PoV:

He couldn't wait to land. Or escape the heat. Or something.

Whatever would make his throbbing headache go away.

Winter had had a headache for at least three or four days. I think. It was hard to tell exactly, especially when the days had a tendency to blend together in a hurried blur of events. He was aware of Qibli flying close beside him, but he was pretty sure they were at least a few wingbeats behind everyone else. Over the noise of their wings he could hear them talking to one another, however even his sharp IceWing ears couldn't pick up what they were saying.

~"trust me *evil grin*" timeskip brought to you by Storm the SkyWing/IceWing hybrid by Dogfiend (Wattpadian)~

Winter looked around. Wait, where are we..? he wondered, a little fear slipping along his spine.

"Umm... Qibli?" Winter asked.

"What?" Qibli said, seeming to snap back to reality. Winter waved his arms at the landscape around them.

"But - what? Why- and how-" Qibli stammered, completely confused as well.

"I guess I wasn't really paying attention to where we were going," Winter admitted. "To be honest, I thought you were."

"Oh," Qibli said dejectedly. "I thought you were - I wasn't paying attention either." The SandWing wheeled around to scan the sky, presumably searching for the forms of their companions.

"Sorry, I should have been watching," Winter said guiltily.

"I should have been too," the yellow dragon replied. "I thiiiiiiiiiink I have a general idea where we are?" he sounded uncertain.

"Which way should we go?" Winter asked.

"I don't know for sure," Qibli warned. "But if I'm right then the Scorpion Den would be that way." he pointed toward the eastern horizon.

"Let's try it - even if you're wrong, it's better than wandering around the desert." he said. They flew in silence for a while, until Qibli broke the quiet.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Winter was too tired and overwhelmed to make a sarcastic remark about the SandWing's wording, so simply said, "Yeah, of course."

"Are you alright?" Winter turned to meet Qibli's gaze. There seemed to be a deeper meaning to the question, as if he was also asking what's wrong and moreover, how can I help you? 

"Seems like you already know the answer to that," Winter pointed out quietly, turning away awkwardly.

"I don't," Qibli insisted truthfully. "I'm honestly asking, are you okay?"

"Well... I guess I'm not, really," he admitted. They both remained quiet yet again, each seeming to be waiting for the other to speak.

"What's wrong?" Qibli prompted a few moments later.

"My head's still hurting," he started, although was promptly interrupted by a concerned Qibli.

"Still?" the SandWing exclaimed. "I think that should have gone away by now."

"Yeah, I think so too," he admitted. "But I don't know what to do for it."

"I remember Thorn used swordleaf root for her headaches," Qibli commented, tapping a claw to his chin. "Maybe we could get some of that once we reach the Scorpion Den. Sorry, you were saying though?"

"Just... I guess I'm kind of... confused."  Winter said uncertainly. "Like, more at myself than anything else. For one, I guess Flame's always felt sort of like Hailstorm used to be - you know, more like a brother than anything else."

"Yeah, I get what you mean," the yellow dragon agreed. "I'm still not exactly sure how I feel. I mean, I'd felt the same way, but now I'm sort of questioning it all."

"Mhm," he said, avoiding the other things on his mind.

"Was that all you wanted to bring up?" Qibli asked, nudging Winter's wing. The IceWing shook his head, not quite trusting himself to speak yet for fear of everything coming out wrong. Although since it's Qibli, maybe he'd understand better what I mean. a small voice in his head pointed out. Or... how much its bothering me I guess.

"I... I'm scared," he murmured. When he tried to continue, his voice cracked so he broke off.

"Scared of what?" Qibli asked softly.

"V-Vulture, a-and... being alone..." he stammered, getting quieter and quieter as he spoke.

"Oh..." the SandWing breathed. "I get that - to be honest I'm rather afraid of my grandfather too." he added with an anxious smile.

"I just don't get why I'm suddenly so scared of him," Winter said, looking dejectedly over at Qibli again. "And I feel so stupid for being so afraid of just being alone."

"It's not stupid, you're not stupid," the yellow dragon pointed out gently. "I think I can answer both questions -  well, implied questions."

"Please do," the IceWing requested.

"Vulture was the one who captured you, right?" Qibli asked. Winter shuddered, wincing, and nodded. "Well, I think that answers your question too. And you were alone when you were trapped, so that's where that comes in."

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "I - there was another thing... Darkstalker." he blurted. At first, Qibli didn't say anything, flying just close enough that their wings were brushing slightly. However his expression said a lot.

"Did the nightmares come back?" the yellow dragon asked.

"I- ...yeah," Winter said, blinking rapidly. They flew in silence for a few minutes, and during that time Winter was trying to reign in his emotions again. Suddenly Qibli swooped down toward the sandy dunes below them, angling his wings in what looked like an attempt to land in a clearing among them. Winter followed him, landing in the sand with a thump. He sat there for another moment, trying one last time to keep himself from breaking down. Winter felt warm scales brush against his as Qibli pulled him into a hug, and he couldn't hold in the tears anymore. He buried his face against the SandWing's warm shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably. Golden wings folded around him, and he felt protected and safe.

"It's okay..." Qibli murmured, running a talon soothingly over his spikes.

After a while of the two of them sitting together, Qibli occasionally murmuring reassurances, Winter finally was able to calm down enough to speak.

"Thank you," he choked out. "I- I needed that, that helped a lot." he twined his tail around Qibli's.  (I mean... by now he kind of knows how to do it without stabbing himself.)

"Your welcome," Qibli murmured, pulling his head back to nuzzle Winter's cheek. Winter lifted his talons and wiped at the tear tracks on his face, although several grains caught from off his talons. Qibli took one of his talons off Winter's shoulder and brushed the sand off his face. "C'mon, let's get back to the Scorpion Den." Winter tapped Qibli's snout with his own as he pulled away, then spread his wings to prepare for flight. He followed the SandWing, who jumped into the air and winged off toward the Scorpion Den.

~"yeah, idk" timeskip brought to you by Phylliidae the LeafWing/HiveWing hybrid by Lady SilkWing (Wattpadian)~

It was dark by the time they finally found the Scorpion Den. Qibli's directions were almost exactly correct - they ended up what turned out to be about ten miles south of the city, but they were able to spot it in the distance and change their course accordingly in order to finally reach it.

"Qibli! Winter!" Queen Thorn exclaimed, rushing up and hugging and wrapping her wings around them both, which surprised Winter. "There you are! I was worried about you!" she added more quietly.

"Might I ask what you were doing out so late?" Six-Claws asked, coming up behind her.

"You might be careful!" Hurricane teased. "They were out there for a long tiiiimeee~!"

"Hurricane! No!" Qibli protested. "We just got off course, that's all!" he gave Hurricane a slight glare.

"Ahem, we have things to do," Smolder said, amusement sparkling in his eyes. "Like, more important things than you dragonets teasing each other."

"Right, have you already found Vulture?" Qibli asked. Winter gave a little shudder, which earned him a faintly concerned glance from Queen Thorn. Fortunately for him, it seemed no one else was quite close enough to notice.

"Not yet, however we found Cobra and Rattlesnake," the SandWing queen replied. "They said that Vulture was 'in a meeting' and that we'd have to wait until sunset at the earliest." she looked up at the star-speckled sky above them, then turned back to Qibli with a small grin. "I don't think they'll have any way to hide now."

"Yeah, it's still too early to go to sleep." Qibli said, glancing up at the sky too.

"Let's go find some treasure," Thorn called to everyone. Six-Claws turned and led the way to Vulture's compound, and Flame and Hurricane were close on his tail. Smolder seemed to want to wait for Thorn to catch up, but the queen simply nodded him ahead, so - grumbling a little under his breath - he followed Six-Claws and the SkyWings. Thorn held back for a moment, looking each of them in the eye in turn. "I know you already said you were fine, but was there anything else that happened or anything?"

"Not really," Qibli answered honestly. "We just both got distracted and thought the other was paying attention. Then we realized that we'd gone the wrong way, so we turned this way and flew back."

"Alright," Queen Thorn said quietly. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't attacked or something." she hesitated before she added even quieter, "I know you two both very well, your kind of like my sons. I brought this up, because I've wanted to tell you that if you need anything, even not related to my being queen, you can come to me."

"Thanks," Winter murmured. Qibli didn't say anything, but he was smiling and he nodded in agreement. Thorn briefly rested her snout on top of each of their heads in a motherly way before turning and leading the way back to Vulture's compound.

She quickly entered the compound, expertly navigating the halls. Winter shivered. It was too soon to be back in these halls. He would have thought that it would take more than that to bother him, but that just made him feel worse. Winter unfurled his wing slightly to brush Qibli's, and the SandWing pressed his wing against Winter's while giving him a slight smile that seemed to say it's alright, I'm here.

Soon they found themselves in what Winter had started to call 'Vulture's throne room'. Smolder was sitting between the corner nearest to the entrance Thorn had led them through and the garden entrance where Six-Claws sat, while Flame and Hurricane sat in the opposite corner, and Vulture was sitting on his winged chair. Something seemed different about the tattooed SandWing - he seemed more... tired. While Thorn continued past the entryway, Winter and Qibli simply stopped there to leave more room for the adult dragons.

"Vulture," Thorn said regally, stopping directly in front of the other SandWing. "This is your last chance; return the IceWing's treasure now and you may return to your normal activities. If you don't, then I'll have no choice but to take you back to the dungeons."

Qibli quietly slipped away from Winter's side and slipped behind Queen Thorn to the other side of the room. The SandWing sat down in the third entryway, then watched Vulture with an innocent yet calculating and watchful expression. What was that for? Winter wondered, but kept his gaze anywhere but on Qibli. His eyes flickered to Six-Claws, who was sitting in the other entrance, and he realized. Between Qibli, Six-Claws, and me, we have all of Vulture's escapes cut off.

Chapter Text

Winter PoV:

But, couldn't he just jump out the window behind him? he thought.

No..! He can't! He has traps set specifically to stop dragons from jumping in - or out.

Winter resettled his tail with a small clinking of spikes, not daring to let himself find confidence in his theory. He's still too unpredictable.

"Vulture," Thorn warned, implying that he was running out of time to answer her. The SandWing glanced around at Qibli, Six-Claws, and Winter standing in each of the entryways, then, realizing he had no choice, turned back to Queen Thorn.

"What proof do you have that I know where this treasure is?" Vulture deflected.

"Lots, and I'm your queen," Thorn replied firmly. "You haven't answered me yet." Winter noticed that Vulture's tail twitched toward the bronze gong behind him, and realization hit him like lightning. What's to stop him from calling up some of his Talons and shoving us out of the way to escape? I mean... I couldn't even stop Icicle from flinging me around, it'd be even easier for a full-grown adult.

"Alright," Vulture hissed, recognizing defeat even if he didn't want to. "Yes, I know where the treasure is."

"Good, now lets her it; where is the treasure," Thorn pressed.

"Treasury," the SandWing grumbled.

"Good, take us there," the queen ordered. Grumbling, he led the way, Six-Claws and Smolder on either side of him to make sure he didn't run away. Winter wasn't sure whether he should follow or hang back, but then when Qibli started to follow he fell in step beside the SandWing.

"Is it just me," Winter breathed to Qibli, "or did that seem too easy?" The yellow dragon nodded in agreement, a thoughtful look in his eyes. I bet he's already got five possible theories of what's going on. He thought, then glanced at Vulture. Too bad he can't tell me any of them here, that means I couldn't help at all. He's used to finding these things out on his own anyway. Qibli glanced over at him with a look in his eye that seemed to say 'pay attention, something isn't right.'  Winter nodded slightly, then turned his focus back to the adult dragons. Vulture had now reached the treasury, and was standing grumpily outside of it.

"Why is he just standing there like that?" a voice hissed in Winter's ear.

"Dunno, kind of unsettling," Winter breathed to him.

"Well, did you bury the treasure under the sand?" demanded Queen Thorn. Vulture hesitated, looking down at the path for a moment longer, then jumped at the small queen, taking her down with almost immediately. It was all over in a moment, with the wiry SandWing queen being pressed into the stones beneath them, snarling up at Vulture. Smolder, Six-Claws, and Qibli all immediately hurried forward to haul the tattooed SandWing off of her.

"You have one last chance to show us where the treasure is before I send you to jail." Thorn warned.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty," interjected Smolder. "Aren't you going to arrest him for trying to kill you?"

"Hmm," she said noncommittally. "Maybe, it depends on what he decides to do next."

"I don't see how you could arrest me," Vulture sneered. "You're the one under my talons, I'm in control now!" Six-Claws grabbed Vulture's forearm and began to pull him off the queen.

"You forgot about us," the Outclaw growled as Smolder grabbed Vulture's other arm to help hold him hostage and pull him off Thorn.

"Hey!" Qibli yelped. Then Winter was slammed to the ground, and he let out a grunt of pain as his head smacked into one of the rocks that made up the path. Warm claws pressed his snout against the stone, and the dragon also had their claws pinning his wings down on either side of him. Because of how he'd been pushed to the ground, his attacker had him almost instantly immobilized. No matter how much he flailed around, trying to throw off the SandWing, the other dragon was too heavy to move from this angle. I guess I'm not at my best right now anyway.

Suddenly the area was filled with loud clamoring. Of course, Winter couldn't see anything except the pale gold talon that was pinning his snout. Since he could feel the SandWing stretched over his back, he bristled his spikes to jab at the dragon's underbelly. His captor let out a hiss and claws jabbed Winter's snout. He bristled his spines again, then quickly flattened them down as he tried to take the opportunity to twist away. But instead of getting freed, the SandWing fell on top of him and ended up clawing Winter's face.

"You do that one more time and I'll have no choice but to hurt you," the SandWing snarled, pinning Winter's snout down again so he couldn't respond. He let out a snort, the stinging cuts on his face, which the other dragon's claw-tips were brushing threateningly, disagreeing with the SandWing.

"Smolder!" Winter could pick out Queen Thorn's voice from the clamor. "Go eat some camels!"

"How many?"

"Two!"

"Alright!" Winter thought he could hear the faint sound of wingbeats over the chaos. He tried to peer through the gaps between the claws holding down his head, but he could see almost nothing. It was all a writhing mass of light tan or pale yellow dragons, some of whom had black hoods which made them a little easier to distinguish.

~smol timeskip brought to you by Lady the SilkWing by Lady SilkWing (Wattpadian)~

 After what felt like close to an hour of Winter doing absolutely nothing, he heard wingbeats again - but this time there were more of them. Unfortunately for him, he had no way to find out what was going on, but he heard several thumps and some scrabbling before the queen of the SandWings spoke.

"Vulture, we've clearly beat you." Thorn said in a level tone-of-voice. "Now tell us where the treasure is or we will take you back to the dungeons."

"Its in the treasury!" Vulture snapped.

"Alright, Smolder, Qibli, come with me and let's retrieve it," Thorn ordered. "Six-Claws, I'm entrusting you to keep an eye on him." About five or ten minutes later they returned.

"...isn't there?" Qibli was saying.

"We'll need someone to carry what of it is in there," replied Thorn.

"I can do that," Smolder volunteered. "All I need is some sort of pouch."

"That can be arranged," Thorn said. "And I'll need Six-Claws, Drought, and Qibli to keep Vulture in line while we return to the palace." Winter let out a growl, partially to try and get the SandWing off of him, and partially to remind everyone that he was there.

"Wait - he's been holding you there this whole time?" Qibli asked, sounding surprised.

"Get off," Thorn sighed. The dragon on top of him hesitated, then stepped off Winter. He stood up and shook out his wings, then walked closer to the surrounded dragons, with Thorn turning back to Vulture in the center.

"Vulture, where's the rest of it?"

Chapter Text

Qibli PoV:

"Vulture, where's the rest of it?" Thorn asked, a slight accusation in her tone. There was a long pause as they all waited for Vulture to speak. Maybe he hid it somewhere, like out under a dune or cactus. Qibli thought, his brain jumping into action. But he'd need a way to mark it - some sort of landmark. Unless he could memorize the shape of just any cactus. I would've thought that he would choose something more obvious - but for something like this he wouldn't want to make a show of it.

Unless he really doesn't have the rest of the treasure. Maybe it was stolen - no, who could ever steal from Vulture and get away alive? But maybe he gave it to some of the dragons he had working for him.

Or maybe both. Maybe he gave it to a messenger or a Talon, and they took it and hid it somewhere else.

Okay, so saying he did give it to a Talon to hide, where would he order them to take it? Put it in another tribe's kingdom to make them look guilty? But he has nothing against the other tribes. Hide it somewhere far away so he couldn't be associated with it? But where would he put it? In any other kingdom he'd risk making them look guilty too, and therefore they wouldn't want to have a business alliance with a dragon from the tribe who started the drama.

But what if he did put it in another tribe's kingdom, and he just hid it really well? Somewhere that they'd never be looking, not for anything.

"You have to know something!" Queen Thorn snapped, bringing Qibli back to reality. He glanced over at Winter to see what the IceWing was making of the conversation, since Qibli had apparently missed a part of it. However, the pale blue dragon just looked annoyed as usual, no doubt masking any true emotions around all these strange dragons. Qibli did notice that the IceWing's eyes glittered with many different emotions. I guess I'll have to ask him later. he mentally noted.

"That's all the treasure," Vulture said smoothly. "I don't know where any of the rest of it is." Oh! Qibli realized. He must have given it to one of his Talons to go hide it, but he didn't tell them where to hide it so then he didn't have to give it up. Then he'd be able to use this excuse if he got confronted about it. Like right now. He tried to give Thorn a warning glance to warn her to not trust Vulture, but she was too busy glaring at the tattooed SandWing to notice.

"Fine, we'll deal with this later." Thorn said, twisting around briskly to face Smolder and Six-Claws. "Smolder, will you take the treasure we have to the Great Ice Cliff? And Six-Claws, would you keep an eye on Vulture as we escort him to the dungeons?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Six-Claws said, skillfully keeping his face expressionless when her wings twitched uncomfortably. Teasing aside, it is useful to give the impression that they're nothing more than queen and royal officer. Qibli thought. 

"Of course, Queen Thorn," Smolder replied, and the SandWing queen handed him the bag that held the small portion of the IceWing's treasure.

"Qibli and Winter, are you two coming?" Thorn asked, turning to face each of them. Are we? Qibli wondered, looking to Winter. The IceWing shrugged carelessly. Well, I guess that means its up to me, he thought.

"Yeah," Qibli told her.

"Alright, let's head out then," Thorn instructed. "Vulture, you're coming too, even if we have to drag you to the palace." Behind him, Winter let out one of his signature snorts. What? Does he think that our dragons wouldn't do something like that? the defensive part of Qibli's mind flared instinctively, but then the other half broke in. No... No, he knows all about soldiers being loyal - he was one of them. And he doesn't think like that anymore; he's seen how loyal other tribes can be. He started picturing the soldiers carrying Vulture to the palace, and felt amusement bubble up inside of him. Maybe... he was just laughing. Its funny, after all. He jumped as he realized that everyone else was already taking off, and he quickly followed them into the air. Get your head out of the clouds, Qibli! You're going to get left behind again!

~traveling timeskip brought to you by Blizzard the IceWing by Lady SilkWing~

"Right, now you three take him to the dungeons," Thorn instructed as they landed in the courtyard of the SandWing palace, pointing to Vulture. "Six-Claws-"

"On it," Six-Claws replied, then added, "Your Majesty."

"Thank you," the small SandWing queen responded. "And put him in a cell where he can't talk with Cobra!" she called after them.

"Good idea - I don't think we can trust him at all," Qibli piped up.

"Well, we can trust him to be untrustworthy," Thorn replied quickly.

"Yeah," Qibli agreed. "Also-" he glanced around, making sure that no one else was around. Since Smolder had parted ways halfway back to the palace to head north and deliver the IceWing's treasure, it was now just Thorn, Winter, and Qibli. "I think Vulture knows more about the whereabouts of the remaining treasure than he's letting on."

"Do you have any leads?" Thorn asked.

"The best I could come up with was that perhaps he gave it to some of his Talons to hide it somewhere so then he couldn't be found with it, but he could still have access to it." Qibli replied. "But he didn't tell them where to hide it, that way he could admit that he had no idea where it was, even in a more stressful situation."

"I didn't think he had any problem with lying," Winter commented.

"No, he doesn't," Qibli agreed. "But its more likely that you'll accidentally spill the truth when you're under pressure." (ACK-)

"Okay, do you have any theories on where these 'somewheres' might be?" Thorn interjected.

"No, honestly I think they could be anywhere." he replied, fully expecting a sarcastic remark from Winter. Surprisingly, however, the IceWing remained silent.

"Well, he must have a dragon who does know where it is that he can go to, so we just have to figure out who they are," the queen concluded, then headed off into the palace. Having nowhere else to go, Qibli followed her with Winter on his tail. Thorn led all the way back to her throne room, and despite having nothing to do there, Winter and Qibli still came in with her. The small queen headed over to her desk, which was on the left wall from the perspective of sitting on the throne. She grabbed a few of the little scroll pieces, then took them over to her throne, where she started sifting through them. Qibli walked over to the wall on the right side of her throne and sat down, curling his tail around his talons. Winter sat down beside him, taking up the royal IceWing guarding stance Qibli had seen him in so many times while they were back at Jade Mountain Academy the first time. Thorn glanced over at them, seemingly to check that they were both there, then turned back to her paperwork.

There were a few times that an advisor or councilor could come in and report to the queen, but for most of the time it was quiet and calm.

"Wait - where are Flame and Hurricane?" Qibli asked suddenly. Winter glanced around, as if he too had only just realized that the SkyWings weren't there. "They're... back at the Scorpion Den then?"

"Yeah, I'd guess that too," Thorn put in from across the room.

"Should we go get them?" Qibli asked Winter. The IceWing's wings drooped, the prospect of another long flight to the Scorpion Den and back again seemingly weighing them down. I mean, we kind of have been up-and-running all day. Qibli pointed out to himself. The realization of all the activity they'd done came washing over him, along with exhaustion.

"How about no?" the queen suggested, however she didn't look up from what she was reading.

"Wha - why?" Qibli protested. She looked over at them both with an 'are you kidding me' look on her face.

"Because you two already look like you're about to fall over with tiredness?" she suggested in a motherly tone, reminding Qibli of what she'd said in the Scorpion Den.

"We haven't been doing that much today," he argued, even though part of him did want nothing more than to curl up with Winter and sleep.

"Yeah, but regardless you're exhausted." Thorn replied, then tapped her chin with a claw. "You know, when did you last eat?" Qibli paused to think for a moment, trying to wrack his tired brain to remember something.

"I can't remember," he said with a sigh. "A few days ago?"

"I remember Hurricane brought back a lizard before we left Vulture's compound to get you, Your Majesty," Winter added, and Qibli noticed how quiet his voice was.

"Oh, you don't have to do that either," Thorn told the IceWing. "But you two should probably eat sometime soon." She turned back to her paperwork.

"Hey, are you okay?" Qibli asked quietly. Winter blinked confusedly at him. "Well, just, you've been kind of quiet here today..."

"Oh... I've just had this headache all day," the IceWing murmured. "Well... I guess I've had it for a few days now."

"That hasn't gone away?" Qibli asked. Winter shook his head, wincing slightly.

"How long has it been?" Thorn asked, turning to look at them again.

"I... several days, I think," Qibli answered, resting one wing over Winter's back. "Ever since he got out of Vulture's trap."

"Trap?" she echoed. "Is that why... with Vulture..."

"Yeah," he nodded. "From what I can tell, it bothered him." Judging based on his reaction, it just 'bothering' him is a bit of an understatement, his brain chastised. Winter let out a huff and lowered himself down onto his stomach, resting his chin on his talons. Thorn put down her papers on one of the armrests of her throne and stepped over to Winter's other side.

"Winter," she said softly. "Do you remember what I said before?"

"Yes," the IceWing murmured, sitting up again. "But... what does that have to do with right now?" he glanced up at her.

"Well, because I'd like to know... why didn't you try and do something sooner?" she asked, but her voice was soothing instead of accusatory. Winter let out a long sigh of defeat.

"Because... because I didn't want to seem weak," he croaked.

"If I'm being honest, by doing so you actually made yourself weak now," Thorn pointed out gently. "But Winter, even SandWings get heat exhaustion sometimes. SandWings - dragons who are adapted to live here in the heat. You're an IceWing, no one would blame you for cooler temperatures."

"And if they did blame you then they've got squirrel brains," Qibli chipped in.

"Right," the queen agreed. "If you don't drink anything, you'll die. And if you don't eat anything - Qibli, I'm talking to you too - then you won't be strong enough to do literally anything. You need to eat something if you want to go flying around the continent."

"But I'm not-" they both started at the same time, but were interrupted by Thorn.

"No, you're going to eat something before you leave again." she told them. Qibli let out a small laugh.

"Alright," he said in a jokingly resigned voice. "I promise we'll eat something before we leave."

"Wait - do we have to leave?" Winter asked, lifting his head up.

"Don't we want to find out where Flame and Hurricane got to?" Qibli asked him.

"Yeah, but what about the messaging slates?"

"OH!" the realization hit him like lightning. I should have remembered that sooner, his brain nagged. Yeah, but luckily Winter was able to remember before we left to save us a trip. "Right, I'll write to them real quick." He quickly reached into his pouch and dug out the slate and charcoal.

Flame?  he wrote.

Who's there? came the reply.

Qibli, he responded.

Turtle's here too, another, loopier handwriting said.

Ah, well, Qibli where are you? Flame's handwriting said.

The SandWing palace, Qibli wrote back. What about you?

I'm outside the Scorpion Den for now, tomorrow I'm heading back to JMA. Flame wrote back. Hurricane already left.

I haven't seen him arrive yet, Turtle piped up. But if he just left not too long ago the I'd presume he'd be here around morning. Oh, I'm gonna duck out now, good night you three.

Goodnight, Qibli wrote.

Night, Flame wrote at almost the exact same time. I'd better go too. See you at Jade Mountain.

Yeah, see you there, Qibli agreed.

"So they're safe," Winter murmured, nestling comfortably against Qibli's side. Hardly a moment later, the fierce IceWing was breathing deeply, sound asleep.

Chapter Text

Winter PoV:

He stirred slightly, still surrounded by warm scales as he was pressed against Qibli's side. Oh snowstorms, I dozed off again, Winter grumbled mentally.

"Hey," the yellow dragon said quietly. "Sleep well?" Winter felt the color rising in his cheeks.

"Well... yeah," he murmured back. He glanced around. It was still dark; so still nighttime he presumed. "Where's Thorn?"

"She left, I think she was going to sleep," Qibli explained softly. "I think she thought I was asleep too, and then by the time she left she'd forgotten we were here."

"Wait, do you mean that you haven't slept yet?" Winter breathed. Qibli glanced away awkwardly, which he took to mean 'no'. "Why not?"

"I didn't want to leave you," the SandWing responded, however he still didn't meet Winter's gaze.

"You could have woken me up," Winter reasoned.

"But you were sleeping so peacefully..." It didn't sound like a lie, exactly, it just didn't sound like the true reason behind his actions. There seemed to be something else that he was skirting around with his words.

"Qibli... why... what else is going on?"

The yellow dragon turned and met his gaze with eyes glittering with worry and fear. "I can't solve it. I can't figure it out. I'm useless to help anyone."

"You don't have all the pieces," Winter pointed out.

"I have enough information that I should be able to figure this out. Don't say its because I'm tired, even before nightfall I couldn't think of anything." he sighed. "And how am I supposed to help if I can't figure anything out?"

"There're lots of other ways you can help," he told the SandWing.

"Are there though?" Qibli breathed, glancing over at Winter.

"What do you mean, of course there are," he replied, confused.

"But... if I can't think, and I can't fight, what can I do?" the yellow dragon asked desolately.

"Qibli." Winter said, putting one of his talons under the SandWing's chin so he could gently guide his head so he could meet his glittering black gaze. "You can do lots of things. Great things. So what if you can't do it right this minute, but that doesn't make you useless. You can't be working all the time, because if you do then you'll be even more exhausted. Trust me, you're more helpful than anyone."

Qibli gave him a sad smile, and Winter lowered his talon down to rest atop Qibli's.

"I know how you feel though," he went on. "Less so since I came back to JMA, but I always felt like I couldn't possibly compete with the other IceWings, or later on just against any dragon. Everyone else was better at whatever I was trying to do. First I had my family looking down their noses at me all the time, and then when I came to the Academy not only did I have Icicle looming over me still, but there were dragons from other tribes that seemed to keep one-upping me in classes. But when you kept coming back for me... it made me feel like I was worth something."

"But I don't remember that ever happening in class until when we came back." Qibli interjected, confused.

"I was alright in the self-defense class Tsunami had, and history wasn't too incredibly awful the first time, but otherwise..." he trailed off. There was a long pause before Qibli finally spoke again.

"I guess I've felt the same way about a lot of things too." he admitted. "More specifically, it happened more than once that you seemed better at everything than I was. And then before Jade Mountain Academy, since I was so much smaller than my siblings that made it that much harder to even try to compete with them. They always had a powerful reputation in the Scorpion Den, meanwhile I was always the one who was struggling to stay alive. I was never strong enough to challenge them or earn anything like them. I just had my own reputation of being my mother's youngest, scrawniest, most disappointing dragonet." The sandy yellow dragon let out a small sigh and laid his head down on their talons. A little yawn escaped Winter's jaws, but he didn't feel like they should leave the conversation hanging.

"That's exactly what I was too, honestly," he sighed, lowering his head so he was brushing the tip of Qibli's snout with his own. "But, we've moved past it now, right? I mean, it doesn't matter what each of our families did anymore..." Does it? his mind added treacherously.

"Well... no, I guess not..." Qibli agreed. "It's just hard to stop thinking like that. Every time I mess something up I instinctively think 'this is why Mother never truly cared', 'this is why they're better than I am', 'this is why he doesn't deserve me'." Wait - what? Winter thought, jerking over a little to meet Qibli's gaze again in surprise and sympathy.

"...what's that supposed to mean?" he asked hesitantly, not sure if he rally wanted to hear the answer.

"You deserve better," the SandWing replied bluntly. "You should be with someone who doesn't screw everything up and then drag you into their tribe's drama." Qibli let out a little sniffle and turned away, closing his eyes. Winter lifted his head as realization struck him.

"You don't think I blame you for all this, do you?" Winter asked him quietly.

"Don't you?" Qibli whimpered.

"No, Qibli, of course not! I don't blame you for any of this. You didn't know what your family was doing. You weren't the one who gave away so much valuable information. You weren't the dragon who stole the IceWing's treasure, or even sent dragons to steal it. You're the one that's trying to fix this mess. They'd all be lost without you." Winter leaned down to nuzzle at Qibli's cheek. "And I'd be long gone." he murmured.

Qibli opened his eyes and looked up at him with sparkling, tear-filled eyes. "Would you really?"

"You saved my life, on multiple levels," Winter replied. "First, it was your spell that saved me during the battle over Jade Mountain. Then when I was trapped in Vulture's compound, you freed me. But most importantly... my life is so much harder and darker without you." The SandWing lifted his head too, wiping at his face with his talon.

"I hope you know... I feel the same way about you," Qibli said, his voice wavering. Winter accepted this with a smile and a small kiss on the SandWing's forehead.

"Would it help for you if you told me what you've come up with so far?" he asked. "Or would you rather deal with this in the morning?"

"...I'd hate to keep you awake," the yellow dragon replied, guiltily glancing away.

"I'm already awake, and I've slept enough. What have you come up with?" Winter responded.

"I don't think Vulture would let his treasure leave his sight without knowing where it was going. And I don't think just knowing who to ask where it was would be enough for him; he always wants to be the one on top of everything. He probably wrote down where it is, too, so then in case he ever forgot where it was hidden, he'd be able to find it again. But he'd need somewhere to hide whatever he wrote the location of the treasure on, too." Qibli explained.

"Would he put it in his room?" Winter wondered. "One part of me says he would so then he could keep an eye on it, but then it's also pretty obvious and possibly easy to find."

"Hmm... then maybe somewhere he could watch it but also somewhere hard to find?" Qibli suggested. By now Winter could tell that the yellow dragon's brain was already racing along the path as to puzzle it out.

"Maybe he put it on something?" he prompted a few minutes later. "Something that could be hidden in plain sight?"

"Yeah... he would need to be in the room often to make sure it didn't get found, though," the SandWing replied.

"What if he put it on some of his jewelry? He's got enough of it to easily be able to hide something."

"He could, although here recently he's had a larger risk of being arrested, so he probably wouldn't want it to be on him. That way if he was to be searched then no one else would be able to find it."

"Okay. In that case he would want it to be significant enough that he'd remember it's there, but generic enough to not be out of place among his other prizes."

There was a pause as they both thought of what it could possibly be, then -

"His throne!" they both cried at the same time.

Chapter Text

Qibli PoV:

Of course - we should have thought of it sooner. Its such an obvious hiding place. Who would be able to search a throne, especially while he's on it? Plus it's not often that one would just move something like that. He thought, his mind racing. Too bad we didn't look while we were there; we could have saved a whole flight there and back. But it'll be worth it when the IceWings have their treasure back and everything can go back to normal. He glanced out the window up at the moons hanging in the sky. We should be able to get there by morning, if we hurry.

However Winter was watching him, looking into his eyes as if he could read his thoughts through them. "We shouldn't run off without telling anyone. Let's at least wait for Queen Thorn to wake up."

Qibli sighed in defeat. He knew Winter was right; they'd worried Thorn enough recently. Plus, if he was being honest... he'd really much rather just stay here enjoying the IceWing's company.

 "Alright," he said, tucking his head under Winter's chin comfortably. He closed his eyes and let out a content hum, to which Winter shifted his talon slightly to place it on top of Qibli's.

~timeskip brought to you by Plantfinder the RainWing/NightWing hybrid by z0mbiipozzumz (on Wattpad)~

Qibli woke up to warm talons nudging his shoulder.

"C'mon sleepy heads, it's time to get up," a soft, warm voice - which Qibli instantly recognized as Thorn's - persuaded. He opened his eyes and glanced up at the freckled dragon leaning over him and Winter, who had flopped his head on top of Qibli's neck.

"You too Winter," Thorn prodded the IceWing.

"Rrrhmhmhh?" Winter whined as he stretched and sat up. Qibli sat up a moment later, letting out a little yawn.

"There'll be advisors and officers reporting to me here soon." Thorn told them, her voice still gentle. "I don't think you two will be very interested, so why don't you go get something to eat?"

"M'kay... is there anything new though?" Qibli asked, stretching out his wings.

"What do you mean 'anything new'? If you mean 'are there any new threats' in a way, then from what I can tell; no." the queen responded.

"That's good," he sighed. "I think after breakfast Winter and I are going to head to the Scorpion Den." he glanced over to the pale blue dragon for confirmation. The IceWing still looked tired, but was nodding regardless.

"You're going back again?" Thorn asked incredulously.

Qibli explained how he'd talked about it with Winter to help puzzle it out, and that they'd come to the conclusion that it would be more likely for him to hide it somewhere off of himself because of his arrest risk, and that his thronelike chair would be the best place for him to hide it.

Chapter Text

Winter PoV:

The sun directly between the peak of it's path and the horizon by the time they reached the Scorpion Den. He was more tired than he would ever admit, especially since they had been flying through the heat of the day. But somehow he'd managed to keep close to Qibli, although he suspected that the SandWing was slowing the pace for him. Not that he was complaining. He knew it had slowed them down, but at least this time the were both together and at their destination.

Qibli led the way, swooping down to the entrance of the city with Winter following close to his tail. They landed with a subtle thump and the sound of sand being pushed out of place, and each dragon glanced around at their surroundings. The residents seemed to be too busy with their usual routines to pay attention to two dragonets entering the city. Still, Winter thought he could feel the other dragon's disdain prickling against his scales. At least his time in the Ice Kingdom had given him practice on not reacting - at least on the outside - to other's disapproval.

By now, Winter was familiar with the path to reach Vulture's compound. He'd traveled it enough to get a general memorization of the route at least. Of course, he wasn't planning on using it for anything, since he still didn't like visiting the compound - the one that held so many uncomfortable memories - unless he needed to. Like now.

Don't think about the past - its not useful in any way. Winter told himself, shaking his head as if to throw the memories bodily from his mind. Think about what you're coming here to do.

"You okay?" Qibli asked softly, which made Winter jump slightly. He looked up, and realized he'd fallen a couple steps behind, since the SandWing was looking back at him. Qibli had an understanding and slightly concerned expression as he searched Winter's face carefully. Because out of all the dragons, he'd be the one who'd understand what I'm dealing with best. He reminded himself. Despite this, the only response he gave was reaching out one of his wings to brush one of Qibli's reassuringly.

They continued along to Vulture's compound in silence, broken only by their footsteps or the occasional scurrying of a rat.

~(smol) Timeskip brought to you by Turbine the GaleWing/BoldWing hybrid by CN_Vagabond (Ao3 user)~

It was about early evening when they reached the compound.

There was a bright red and orange sunset in the distance.

Their yellow and ice blue talons scraped across the cold stone pathway as they approached the gateway entrance.

"Well... Here we are.. Again," Qibli said in a mix of seriousness and sarcasm. "You ready?"

He turned to looked at Winter who seemed as confident as ever. Although his tail was all over the place.

Qibli could tell he was worried. "Hey.." Qibli called. Winter turned to look at him.

"We'll be fine, trust me" He held out a sandy talon for his boyfriend to take.

Winter looked down at Qibli's kind gestured for a second. "Right, yeah.., we'll be fine" Winter responded as he took his talon with his own.

He shot Qibli one of his rare smiles to which Qibli returned happily.

They both walked through into the dreaded compound they had both wished to leave behind forever.

Just one last time...

The compound was a winding and mind bending maze of red carpet corridors.

However this time Qibli made sure to not lose Winter as he held on tightly to his icy talon.

They walked in silence, both of them not wanting to make any noise in case there were any of Vultures goons still patrolling the area.

Nothing but the sound of their synced heartbeats in their ears and chest could be heard.

It took a while but they eventually reached the throne room.

Only now we're the boys able to truly see how beautiful the place truly was since it was the only time there weren't any cloaked guards in the vicinity.

"Okay, now that we're here let's pray to the great ice dragon that our hunch on this is right" Winter whispered as he let go of Qibli's warm talon.

He walked up to the large chair in the room before he started scanning it. Qibli did the same on the other end.

Searching was going to require more feeling than looking the darker it got, but at least for now they had some light. Luckily there were no suspicious dragons around to watch them. Leaning over, he started running his claws lightly along the winged chair. Not pressing hard enough to claw the wood, but enough to feel any cracks or niches which could lead to the map's hiding place. He didn't know how big of an area he should be searching for, but any crack or niche could easily be a part of the secret nook.

Longer and longer the time stretched, as they continued to find nothing to bring them closer to finding it. Neither of them want to admit it but they were staring to lose hope.

What if the Treasure really isn't here... What if we were completely wrong

Qibli started to worry and as such didn't notice his tail swung right into a vase.

Surprisingly it didn't break on contact but it was completely obliterated once it hit the study stone wall.

There was a loud smashing sound as it crumpled into about fifty or so different pieces as they scattered across the floor.

Winter turned to glare at him. "You idiot!" He shouted in a hushed voice.

"Sorry!" Qibli yelled back in the same tone. But just then a voice could be heard from the entrance way.

"Hello! Is someone in there?"

There was the sound of talonsteps getting closer.

Quickly Winter ducked behind the back spine of the throne. He grabbed Qibli by the shoulder and shoved him on top of him as there wasn't enough space to fully hide him otherwise.

It didn't take long at all before they both started to blush, only just realizing the awkward position they were sitting in.

Qibli smiled as he teased his already flustered boyfriend.

Winter desperately shook his head as a warning to stop whatever Qibli was up to but he was ignored.

Qibli pressed his lips against Winters and pulled him into a kiss. At fist Winter tried to struggle but eventually ended up kissing back.

"You know... I expected to find you guys here.. But not like this" A familiar voice said from above.

Immediately both of them looked up to spot a dark red SkyWing looking down on them, a jagged scar zigzagging across their face.

"C'mon guys what are you doing! Making out in the enemy base? That's one way to get caught red handed,"

"Flame!" the boys shouted happily.

"Shhh! You're going to get caught if you keep yelling and get someone's attention!" the SkyWing hissed.

"Well - hide then, there's room for you!" Qibli invited quietly. Winter glanced around at the lack of space around them.

"Uhm... really? Cause... that's one thing I don't see in there."

"Oh shut - wait, do you hear someone coming?"

"I don't think soOAAAAAAH!" Flame yelled as Qibli yanked him in too. The SkyWing landed on top of them, which knocked Winter to the ground.

"Do you want to be found?" Qibli whispered.

"No..."

There was a long pause, followed by shifting from on top of Winter.

"Flame?" Qibli whispered.

"Shhh..." the SkyWing breathed.

Suddenly Flame leaned down and kissed Winter. He was surprised for a moment, but he found himself kissing the SkyWing back as his mind went blissfully blank. Which meant that it was by instinct that he reacted to the subtle shifting in Flame's body, until they were saved by a new voice from on top of Vulture's throne.

"Are you three done yet? 'Cause I'm getting tired of all those... noises."

The trio jumped up and peeked around the corner, blushing, to find Hurricane casually sitting in the winged chair.

Qibli was the first to recover his voice. "Hurricane? What're you doing here?"

"C'mon, you've got work to do too," the SkyWing said, not giving a direct answer.

"W-work?" Flame stammered.

Hurricane swatted at him. "Will you please concentrate on why we're here?"

"Right, work - that work,"

Hurricane placed his claws on the bridge of his nose with a sigh.

"Yes, that work."

Chapter Text

Qibli PoV:

"Okay, first things first, did you three find anything?" Hurricane asked.

Qibli glanced at the other two dragons beside him, but quickly turned away before he took the conversation back in the wrong direction.

"We were searching Vulture's chair here for any clues, but we hadn't found anything before Flame showed up," Winter explained.

"Okay, where all did you manage to check?" Hurricane inquired, looking to be putting pieces together in his mind.

Qibli tapped his chin with one claw, visualizing where all he'd checked. "The sides, the back, inside and out, and even the legs."

"Did we check the base?" Winter asked.

"I don't think we had a chance," Qibli replied.

"Well, maybe we should check it now? Maybe before someone in your beloved family comes to investigate all this?" Hurricane suggested sarcastically, pointing at Qibli with his nose. Winter rolled his eyes as he walked around the chair to the front, then reached under it with one talon. There was a long pause before Winter let out a small noise of surprise.

"Hey - I think... I might've found something..." he announced, still rummaging under the winged chair. Qibli pointedly didn't look at Hurricane, knowing there must be some sort of joking 'I told you so' look on the SkyWing's face.

"Can you get it out?" Qibli asked him, barely daring to hope they'd finally found what they were searching for.

Winter grunted. "I'm working on it..."

There was a tense pause, only broken by the subtle grinding of claws on rock and rock on rock. A few minutes later there was a long scrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrch  before Winter emerged holding a small stone box, not unlike the stone underneath the chair. Obviously, Qibli chided himself half a second after he observed this. How else would he hide it?

But, its also too small to hold all the treasure that's missing, so this isn't the end of it. he reminded himself.

Winter picked at a groove in the side of the box until he managed to wedge the tip of his claw in and was finally able to pry the lid off. There was one final sccccrrp before the IceWing took the lid in his other talon and quickly placed it on the ground in front of him. There was an almost inaudible crinkling sound as layers of paper were pressed tight together by Winter's careful claws. However after a moment of picking at the paper, he simply flipped the box over and shook its contents out into his other talon. A single piece of folded up paper. We went through all that trouble just for a piece of paper. Qibli thought wryly, hiding his disappointment.

"Well, I sure hope this is good." Flame grunting, matching the mood of Qibli's thoughts.

Winter didn't respond, instead he only unfolded the parchment and began analyzing it.

After a few moments of silence, Qibli couldn't keep quiet any longer. "What does it say?"

"Its a map," the pale blue dragon said slowly, still looking over the paper carefully. ("A.. cardiograph ..showing the location of items of ..historic and economic value." idk if that's the exact line (ik I cut one line out from between saying what it was and what it was to), but its close XD)

"To the treasure? Already?" Hurricane asked, stepping forward to peer at it over the IceWing's shoulder.

"Yeah, he wouldn't want to risk losing track of it," Qibli pointed out, coming up on Winter's other side so that he too could analyze the parchment.

"Sooooo... its not the treasure, but it'll at least lead us to it, right?" Flame inquired, still keeping his place nearby Vulture's winged chair.

"Yeah," Qibli replied distractedly, comparing the picture on the parchment to his mental map of the desert.

"As long as its not a decoy," Winter added.

"I'm not sure he would have had time to make a decoy just yet," the SandWing countered.

"He might have, we should at least keep it in mind," Hurricane pointed out. 

Qibli let out a small sigh of defeat, although his mind raced along and came to agree with the SkyWing, even if he wouldn't admit it.

"Well, its going to be a decent length trip. Are we going to just head out, or do you think we should get some sleep first?"

It was only at that moment that Qibli realized the tiredness pulling at the edges of his mind. Glancing around, he assessed that it was almost midnight already. It was hard to tell, with one of the moons being in full form, while the others were three-quarters full and a claw-scratch moon. He then turned to his companions, noticing for the first time the slight droop of Winter's wings and the tired look in Hurricane's eyes.

Qibli let out a sigh of defeat. "Yeah, we probably should get some sleep..." he told Hurricane. (me: NOOOOO WHYYYYYY PLS LEMME STAY UP I DON'T NEED SLEEP, AND ITS ONLY 2AM IT'S NOT THAT LATE)

"It would be better to leave when we still have the cover of darkness though," Winter pointed out, although Qibli wondered if he was just trying to prove that he didn't need to rest.

"Yeah, but the moons are bright enough that they'd give us away - especially sparkly IceWings," Hurricane replied. The pale blue dragon let out a snort, but didn't protest further. "Right, now that's figured out, where are we going to spend the night?"

"Hm," Qibli glanced around in the half light, looking for somewhere they wouldn't be found. "Maybe there's an unused storage room we could borrow."

"Okay, do you know where any storage rooms are?"

Qibli wracked his brain, trying to remember all the rooms he'd seen on previous visits to find one they could use. "...yeah, I think so. It's this way, not far from Sirocco and Rattlesnake's room. If I remember right, its where Sirocco hides if he wants to take naps." he headed off toward his siblings' room, being extra careful to be quiet as he neared his alert sister.

"And he won't find us? Or be sleeping there himself?" Flame asked softly.

"No, its not as comfortable as their sleeping quarters, so he only goes there when he's not supposed to be asleep." Qibli explained quietly, stepping into the hall directly outside the room his sleeping siblings were in.

"How do you know all this but not Vulture?" Winter breathed.

"Vulture takes a shorter way to his quarters, and there's a hidden door in the wall so it doesn't look like there's anything there. The only way I know about it was one time when I came here with my mother, I was exploring down here and found Sirocco sleeping in there. Its been his napping spot for as long as I can remember. Although its a wonder he can remember where it is when he often forgets what his agenda for the day is by midday."

"You're more likely to remember something you care about," Flame pointed out.

Qibli nodded as he opened the secret door by poking his claw into what looked like a mouse hole. Almost instantly a portion of the wall popped back into the secret room enough for the SandWing to slide it to the side, a low scraping sound escaping from behind the wall.

"Okay, quick, let's get in," he hissed once the gap was wide enough. And before he knew it, they were all inside the pitch-dark room and Winter was slowly closing the door again. They all sat in silence for a few moments, waiting to be discovered.

Once they felt that the coast was clear, Hurricane shot a small burst of flame from out of his nose to search the room, and once he found a torch, he promptly blew life into it to light their space, which gave them a chance to inspect their surroundings.

'Room' was a bit of an overstatement; it was hardly deeper than the storage shed Vulture kept his celebration food in was wide, but it was easily as long as the entire hallway in width, and just as tall as well. (so kind of like a crawl space, except you can stand up full height in it [which may be normal for crawl spaces, idk, i'm just guessing based on how its called a CRAWL space])

"I agree that we probably should leave before it gets light out," Hurricane murmured. "But for now we should get some sleep."

"I'm not really tired, so you three can sleep and I'll wake you when we have to go," Flame replied quietly.

"Alright, it's probably a good idea to have someone to wake us up when we have to leave," the other SkyWing agreed, heading to one side of the door to settle down and sleep. Qibli and Winter headed for the other, the IceWing curling his tail protectively around the yellow dragon with his pale blue wing draped over his back.

After a moment of hesitation, Flame slipped to Winter's other side, resting his large red wing over the other two. A tense silence hung over the group as they settled down to sleep.

"...I'll be happier once we can get out of here," Winter murmured.

"What, is it too hot for you?" Qibli teased the IceWing.

"Well, y-" he started, but caught a glance at the expression on the SandWing's face and changed what he was saying, "wait, what is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh nothing!" he replied innocently. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to melt in this desert heat."

"...okay what is going on with you?" Winter asked suspiciously.

"Whatever do you mean?" Qibli asked.

"I think I'm thinking the same thing, Winter," Flame commented from the IceWing's other side.

"Which is?" he asked, exasperated. In the fading light, Qibli saw the dark SkyWing lean over until his snout was brushing Winter's ear, and his lips moving to whisper in the IceWing's ear.

Even in the dark, Winter's blush was unmistakable.

Qibli collapsed into giggles, although he didn't know why; his mind was oddly and yet satisfyingly quiet, but there was something else stirring inside his chest that he couldn't identify.

"Now you're both officially insane," Winter snarked, but the lack of his usual sharp edge led Qibli to believe that the IceWing was thinking along the same lines.

"It sounds like you're just as insane though," Qibli replied, regaining control of his giddiness.

"I - n-no I'm not," the pale blue dragon stammered, a little too quickly.

"Which means yes," Flame translated, letting out a short laugh of his own.

"You think...?" Qibli asked, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"Haha," Flame barked.

Qibli had almost forgotten the other SkyWing's presence when Hurricane spoke up from the other side of the room.

"Aight, screw this, I'ma head out."

Oops, Qibli thought, although he didn't dwell on it long as he was soon too distracted to remember the exchange.

(OK HURRICANE'S POV NOW-)

Hurricane left the room (by simply rolling the door open the opposite way it was closed) without looking back at the trio and stealthily crept over to the garden. He curled up in the shelter of a bush, but exposed enough that he could still see the moons hanging brightly over the dunes. His thoughts roamed for a little while as he gazed at the stars.

After a little while, Hurricane gave himself a mental shake and closed his eyes. Still, several minutes dragged by before he finally drifted into unconsciousness. 

~Small timeskip brought to you by Holly the IceWing/SeaWing hybrid by Bug/Buggie~

What felt like only a few minutes later, Hurricane opened his eyes to claws shaking his shoulder. He blinked open his eyes to see Flame standing there with Winter and Qibli behind him (both of whom still looked tired). The SkyWing didn't linger, however, and quickly got up and stretched his wings before nodding to Qibli to say 'okay, let's go.' 

(Qibli's POV again)

Before he knew it, they were sneaking through the silent halls of the compound, Qibli in the lead, followed by Winter, Flame, and Hurricane taking up the rear. Together they slipped through the darkness, slowly, as to keep from making enough noise to wake anyone up. They had made it past Vulture's sitting room already, and was entering the maze of hallways leading to the entrance of the compound. Luckily for Qibli, it didn't matter that it was almost completely dark, because he knew this area well enough to navigate without sight.

But, as if fate was determined to torment him, one of Qibli's claws suddenly got caught in one of the holes in the stones under his feet, and he stumbled forward, only to trip on a loose stone in the pathway. He toppled forward, his wings flaring out and hitting a small table with a little potted cactus on it and sending it to the floor with a resonating shatter.

"Qibli!" Flame hissed.

"I thought you knew where all the traps were!" Winter protested.

"I did! This wasn't here when we came in!" Qibli defended himself, standing up.

"Shut up, all of you!" Hurricane said in a loud whisper. "They're sure to find us if you all start snarling at each other! Stealth probably isn't an option anymore, so lets just get out of here as fast as we can, okay?"

"Okay, okay, fine." Winter grumbled, then turned back to Qibli with a softer tone and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, but we've gotta get out of here," he replied.

"That's good, and let's go," Flame said. Qibli nodded into the darkness and streaked off, keeping his wings tucked in close to avoid crashing into anything. It was hard to see where he was going, since the remaining moonlight didn't really reach into the hall, but there was enough to tell the difference between the walls and an open passage. However, it was primarily by sound that he navigated the maze of halls, using the sound of their claws on the stone echoing to find the open areas. 

Finally, after what felt like hours of plunging into darkness, they reached a covered open space glowing with moonlight. Qibli had never been here before, but it seemed as good a place as any to take a quick break. I must have taken a wrong turn... he thought. But, at least we can get outside. He turned back and saw Winter, Flame, and Hurricane slow to a stop behind him.

That was when he realized. Although his companions had stopped, the tapping of claws on stone didn't. He whirled around in time to see dragons in black cloaks pour into the gazebo, effectively blocking off all of their possible exits within mere moments.

Winter cursed under his breath as Vulture's dragons surrounded them. Qibli braced himself when he saw Vulture himself coming into the open, smirking triumphantly at the group of cornered dragonets.

"Leaving so soon?" the tattooed dragon asked with mock disappointment.

"We were," Qibli retorted, trying to keep his voice as level as his grandfather's.

"Oh I think we still are."

Everyone turned to give Hurricane an inquisitive look, but as they did the red dragon launched himself at one of the guards surrounding them. Flame, Winter, and Qibli joined the assault half a moment later, clawing at them quickly before the other dragons had a chance to react.

All the guards seemed to be panicking, even if they didn't bear the marks from the dragonets' claws, they were all in chaos. Two of the Talons on the sand with severe burns and ragged breathing, and another bore scars from Winter's frostbreath.

Although a moment later this was proven to be an overoptimistic assumption, as the guards stopped and turned to Vulture as if they were awaiting orders. Okay maybe they weren't as scared as they were uncertain.

"What do you think you should do?!" Vulture demanded, utter rage etched in the features on his face. "Catch them!"

As the words left the SandWing's mouth, Hurricane leapt into the air with a powerful flap of his wings, and propelled himself forward - just out of reach of the Talons's claws. The other three weren't able to get out in time, and almost immediately got grabbed. But Qibli instantly whirled around and lashed out at his opponent's eyes, feeling his claws hit their mark as the other dragon flinched back. Taking this opportunity, he leapt into the air, glancing around for Hurricane, who was now spiraling around another SandWing guard. It didn't last long, though, because almost as soon as Qibli looked up, the SkyWing grasped his attacker's arm, sinking his claws in so that they drew blood.

Suddenly Qibli felt claws in his own leg, and looked down to see that one of the Talons had followed him, and was raking his claws down the young SandWing's leg. Qibli let out a hiss of pain and blasted a burst of flames in his attacker's face, which made the claws in his leg draw back enough for him to yank his leg free, wincing as he felt the flesh tear. Then an idea flashed into his mind. While the other dragon was still regaining his composure, Qibli sank his claws into the tawny scales of his enemy just as Hurricane had done before. But unlike his SkyWing companion, Qibli then let himself drop toward the sand, relying on the other dragon to hold him up temporarily as his weight drug his claws down the guard's arm, leaving deep gashes. It was all over in a moment, and Qibli had to flap hard to catch himself, while the other dragon was screeching and just barely caught himself as he fell to the ground with a steady stream of blood flowing out of his right arm, staining the sand in his wake red.

"Come on, Qibli, lets get out of here!"

Qibli looked up to find Winter urging him to join the IceWing higher up in the sky. And as he flapped alongside his friend, he spotted Flame and Hurricane already winging out toward the open desert.

"Shouldn't we-?" Qibli started.

"No time now, we've just got to get out of here!" Hurricane yelled back to him, as though he could read the SandWing's mind. He bit back his questions and focused all his energy into propelling himself after the SkyWings as fast as he could.

Still, he wondered if it was a good idea to fly out into the empty desert without anywhere to go.

Chapter Text

Winter PoV:

He was winging out into the desert as fast as he could. Already, he wasn't sure how long he would last; much to Qibli's protesting, Hurricane was leading them out into the desert as fast as he could. Even though that meant that he often had to slow down in order to let Qibli and Winter catch up. Naturally Flame didn't have much trouble keeping up with the other SkyWing's breakneck pace.

"Hurricane?" Qibli called.

The red dragon sighed. "For the eight-millionth time, Qibli; no I don't exactly know where we could be going. But somewhere this way should be Thorn's Stronghold, and its not like we have anywhere better to go."

"What about the map? Shouldn't we follow it?"

Hurricane shook his head. "No, we don't have any way to carry it - the treasure - securely. And checking it could give away that we know where it is if Vulture made himself a second map, which would presumably cause him to move it to a more secretive spot. We'd be better off taking it to Thorn." he said the last with an expression of distaste, though it only lasted a few seconds before he forcibly returned his face to its former state.

Qibli still wasn't convinced. "What if we miss B- the Stronghold?"

"We'd be able to see it from pretty far away in any direction, and we shouldn't be off by far enough to be out of sight."

"And if we are?"

"Qibli. Trust me. We won't be that far off course."

With what seemed like a great effort, Qibli swallowed back his questions and concerns and they all soon lapsed into silence again.

It didn't last, however, because a few minutes later Hurricane broke the silence again. "It's clearly no good to keep you quiet, so tell me, how did you three get to meeting each other anyways?"

"I thought you knew all this," Flame said, sounding confused.

The red dragon shrugged without missing a beat. "I got told the basics, but that's about all I know."

So Qibli then took up explaining how the Winglets got rearranged this time, so he and Winter got put into the Silver Winglet instead of Jade. It wasn't a long story, even though the SandWing sprinkled in a brief backstory of their first try at the Academy - and how it didn't quite work as planned. 

"So since we got put into the Silver Winglet, Flame ended up as our roommate," Qibli concluded.

Hurricane nodded in understanding. "I see. And how're things between you three now?"

"You know, you seem unnaturally interested in our love lives for a near stranger." Winter pointed out.

Hurricane gave him a searching look. "Am I still really a near stranger to you?"

"Well, we don't know much about you," Qibli interjected

"Especially considering how much you seem to know about us." Flame added, a tiny trace of suspicion edging his tone.

"Huh. I mean, anyone could have figured as much out as I know, to be fair." Hurricane shrugged.

"Yeah, but it would take longer than half an hour," Winter said, rolling his eyes.

Qibli flew up and nudged the red dragon's wing. "Anyway, what about yoooou? Is there anybody you like, Hurricane?"

It was only because of Winter's experience with Qibli that he detected the hint of discomfort that suddenly sprang into Hurricane's demeanor by way of his flitting eyes and the way his tail twitched. Because although the red dragon was clearly good at hiding his true emotions - as seen in the still casual, though faintly surprised, expression on his face - the subconscious motion escaped the SkyWing's notice.

"Maybe there is, maybe there isn't." he replied calmly.

"Which means there is," Flame snarked, though not as rude as he would have been earlier in the school year.

"So what if there is?" Hurricane asked.

"So we wanna know of course!" Qibli responded, looping up, over, and under Hurricane as he spoke.

"Well, get used to disappointment; there's no one to tell you about." the red dragon responded.

"Ha! You little liar," Winter said, though not unkindly.

The cornered dragon simply shrugged. "If you don't want to believe me, that's on you."

Qibli soared over to Winter's side, nudging his side with a wing, asking in a whisper loud enough for Hurricane to hear, "How do we get him to spill it?"

"I'm telling you, there's nothing to 'spill'," he repeated.

"Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure," the pale yellow dragon said, looping around Hurricane again.

He's right that Hurricane's definitely hiding something, but surely Qibli can tell that nothing is going to get the truth out of him? Winter thought as he watched the SandWing swoop up and back down around Hurricane, who flew straight ahead in firm silence.

"Is it a pretty dragon?" Qibli persisted.

"Uh - who? Is who a pretty dragon?" Hurricane asked.

"Your crush of course!" he laughed.

"What crush? Who said I had a crush on anyone?" the red dragon asked, still maintaining his casual exterior.

"Your face told us that," Flame replied.

"My face is telling you I have no crush,"

"At this point I think the only way to get the answer you want out of him would be to ask Moon to read his mind." Winter interjected.

"Then thank the moons for Skyfire," Hurricane muttered, though Winter suspected they weren't meant to hear it.

Once again, Qibli swooped over to brush Winter's side. "I could easily steal it from him. That was one of the few things my mother thought I could do right. Or at least right enough." A shadow passed over his bright face, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

"If you're all quite done with your oh-so-successful interrogation," Hurricane interjected suddenly, a note of irritation buried deep into his tone, "maybe we can-"

"Why don't you want to tell us?" Flame interrupted, almost as if he hadn't noticed the other SkyWing start talking.

"I JUST DON'T, OKAY?" he snapped. Without another word, he propelled himself a few wingbeats ahead of the trio.

A surprised and guilty silence settled among them.

And it was Qibli who broke it a few moments later.

"Wow... I don't think I've seen him that angry before." he murmured, then added. "Outside of battle, of course."

"Yeah. Maybe we shouldn't have pestered him for so long." Flame said, and only then did Winter notice how much time had passed. The sun had risen a while before, but now it was already almost to the midday point.

Judging based on the quick flash of surprise on Qibli's guilty face, Winter guessed he hadn't payed it any mind either.

"No, I don't think getting repeatedly grilled about a question he quite clearly didn't want to answer for nearly an hour bothered him at all." he responded sarcastically.

"Oh don't act like you weren't curious too," Qibli said quietly, sounding distracted.

He opened his mouth, but when nothing came out he closed it again.

"Yo," a sudden interjection from Hurricane caught their attention. "We're almost there. At the Stronghold." He raised a red claw to point at the huge fortress ahead.

"HOW THE MOONS DID WE MISS THAT?"

Hurricane looked like he wanted to say something, but instead he settled for giving them a dark look before turning back to the fast-approaching building.

~ lil 5-10 min timeskip brought to you by Pangolin the LeafWing/HiveWing hybrid by ThatLonleyP0tat0 ~

They all landed together on the sands of the courtyard, Hurricane, Flame, Qibli, then Winter all in quick succession.

In the last portion of their flight, they had decided a course of action, although it was rather obvious what they would have to do. Regardless, Qibli had thought it would be best if everyone knew exactly what was to happen, just in case there were any misinterpretations.

They were going to split up and check both Thorn's meeting tent and her throne room, then if they didn't find her in one spot, they'd head back to the halfway point to meet up with one from the other pair if they'd found her, and both of them if they didn't. Winter thought Qibli was being a little overly cautious, and he didn't think Flame and Hurricane completely disagreed, although no one confronted the SandWing for it.

So now that they'd landed, they split up, Hurricane heading for the meeting tent, and Qibli turning toward the throne room. Immediately, Winter wanted to follow his boyfriend, but then he considered that since Thorn and her Outclaws knew him better than Hurricane, perhaps he should be there to settle any debate as to who the SkyWing was. That'd probably be the better choice, Winter was thinking, but before he could move to follow Hurricane, Flame was already heading after the red dragon. Guess I'm following Qibli, he concluded, his heart giving a sudden excited lurch. Winter. Stay focused on finding Thorn and getting this treasure before Vulture finds out you stole the map. There isn't time for that now.

You can talk and walk, can't you? a smaller part of his brain wheedled.

NO! STAY FOCUSED ON THE TASK IN FRONT OF YOU.

He's in front of you. a dark corner of his brain whispered before disappearing back into the darkness. Winter let out a sigh before sprinting to catch up to Qibli. The SandWing glanced back at him out of the corner of his eye as he approached.

"Hello dearheart, I was starting to think you weren't coming." he said once Winter fell in step, a slightly teasing tone in his voice. Winter felt his face chill, and his heart picked up its pace.

"D-don't call me that," Winter retorted - or at least, attempted to. He was sure his face must be a deep blue by now.

"Why not, dearheart?" Qibli asked, brushing his wing against Winter's.

"I... i-it's not proper for a prince," Winter stammered.

Qibli looked at him suspiciously. "A prince?" He quickly glanced around to make sure no one was in earshot, and lowered his voice just in case. "Forgive me, but weren't you technically freed from that burden?"

"I was, yes," Winter replied, matching his tone. "But you weren't."

It was Qibli's turn to blush.

"It can't be proper for someone of your status to be talking to such a lowlife as me."

"Shut up, I'm not a prince and you know it."

Winter shot him a skeptical look. "Oh really?"

"My entire family is a bunch of crimi-"

"Your family is the most powerful dragons in the desert."

"Am I really a part of their family though?"

Winter stepped ahead of the SandWing, standing in his path so that he couldn't continue past him, and gently placed his talon under Qibli's chin to lift his head so their gazes locked. "Qibli. You are just as much a part of Thorn's family as Sunny is. Don't tell me you've missed all the signs. She thinks of you as her son as equally as she knows Sunny is her daughter."

"She treats Ostrich the exact same way; I'm an Outclaw, yeah, but I'm not like Sunny and Smolder to her."

"No she doesn't. She might be a bit more gentle with Ostrich because of her age, but you're more to her than just an Outclaw."

"You make it sound like a bad thing," Qibli said with a wry smile.

"You know what my point is, there's no reason to try to wriggle around it." Winter said in mock sternness.

"What about you? You saw how she treated you last time we were here, she treated you just the same."

"She only cares about me because of you, love."

Qibli jerked his head back up to look at him again, surprised by his open display of his feelings - and in the middle of the SandWing's Stronghold, no less! Winter was slightly surprised himself that he'd felt so secure in such a public place. But there was something oddly refreshing, about it, like a sudden tension had been and he suddenly didn't care if the whole of Pyrrhia knew how he felt for the SandWing.

"She cares about you -"

"Qibli, you know there's no way around that one; why else would the SandWing queen care about a random IceWing?"

"Because she thinks she could teach the random IceWing a thing or two," a new voice chipped in from the doorway to their right. Leaning on the doorway was Queen Thorn, Smolder visible behind her. "Granted, she also thinks she could teach the random SandWing something too."

"Hello, Your Majesty," they said together.

Thorn sighed. "How many times must I tell you all to drop the 'your majesty' title?"

"I don't understand why we should, Your Majesty," Smolder interjected from inside the throne room.

"I should go get the others," Winter said. 

"You remember where to go, right?" Qibli asked.

"The halfway point between here and Thorn's meeting tent." he replied.

Qibli still looked concerned. "And you know the way, don't you?"

Winter hesitated for a moment, analyzing his mental map of the Stronghold. It wasn't a very detailed image due to his short, infrequent visits, but he had a general idea of where he ought to go. However the delay was enough to open the floodgates that were holding back Qibli's unease.

"I'll go," he said, not waiting any longer for Winter's reply. Without another word, the SandWing turned and brushed past him, his gentle touch radiating love and a fierce protectiveness in its demeanor.

"Looks like he likes you a lot, Winter." Smolder said once they were sure Qibli was out of earshot.

He turned to look at the soon-to-be-king. "Yeah, and I like him too, what of it?"

"Just an observation." the SandWing replied.

"You do Qibli a lot of good." Thorn added, giving Winter a warm look. "I hope you know how much you help him with the little things."

"With all due respect -" 

"Just get to your point, you overly-proper ice cube," Thorn said affectionately, bemused.

"I'm not sure I am much good for him." Winter admitted, uncomfortable with such carefree openness. "If I did anything I'd ruin his perfection."

"No, you don't ruin anything about him." Thorn said gently. She stepped down from her throne, and in three paces she was standing right before him, tucking her talon under his chin so that she could look into his eyes. "You two are very much alike, in case you hadn't noticed, and yet you're each very different. Where Qibli falters, you don't miss a beat, and where you're uncertain, Qibli knows the way. You have a good balance of similarities and differences, so you can help each other improve, but still share at least a few common grounds. But both of you should remember that you should be able to trust the other - including to not laugh at your struggles. You can talk to each other. Just remember that from now on, alright?"

"Alright," Winter replied quietly. "I'll remember."

"Good," Thorn said, her voice between Winter's tone and her own normal volume. She gave him a quick hug, and Winter knew this was what it felt like to have a mother who cared. A moment later she slipped back to her throne. She gathered various pieces of parchment as she sifted through the piles of documents on the throne side-table.

When the SandWing queen took the selected parchments over to a large table - above which hung a map of Pyrrhia - on one side of the room, she spread them out so you could see each of what turned out to be maps side-by-side for comparison. 

About five to ten minutes later Qibli returned with Flame and Hurricane in tow.

"Ah, hello Flame and Hurricane," Queen Thorn welcomed.

"Hello Queen Thorn," Flame replied.

Hurricane didn't say anything, instead simply giving the queen a respectful nod.

"Alright, well, do you have anything you'd like to say or should we just get started?" Thorn asked briskly.

"You know why we're here?" Flame asked, shooting Winter a questioning glance.

"I presume you're here to tell me something to do with the whereabouts of this missing IceWing treasure, is that correct?"

"Yes. We found the map to lead us to it." Qibli replied.

"We think there's a slight possibility that Vulture might have had a backup copy made to put elsewhere, my guess would be a finance room of some sort." Hurricane added.

(wait DO dragons use 'finance'??)

Smolder and Thorn exchanged a confused glance.

"In a treasure room," Hurricane amended quickly.

"Well, in that case, we'd better work quickly, before he knows this one is missing." Thorn responded. She waved the other dragons around her table with a flick of her barbed tail.

Once everyone had gathered around the table, which seemed much smaller with six dragons crowding around it, the group started to compare maps, translate distances and landmarks, and determine where they would find the stolen gold.

They soon saw that if someone were to draw lines connecting the Scorpion Den, a large western oasis, the Stronghold, and a large eastern oasis, you would have a rough square shape, in the center of which was approximately where the treasure was said to be buried. It was shown to be beneath a cactus that looked like a winged hedgehog, near a rock shaped like a tortoise. Smolder debated that perhaps these similarities were simply from the mapmaker being a poor - "or rushed", he'd admitted - artist. And while Thorn made note of these possibilities, she didn't seem to set much in store by them. She argued that Vulture likely thought his hiding place was too hard to find, so he didn't need a decoy there, if he'd even had time to make a decoy. She also suggested that the poor drawings were deliberate in order to make "smarter idiots", as she said, think this was a decoy. 

"Of course," she had countered almost immediately after, "if he thought too deeply on it then he would end up thinking in circles for hours until he either decided it was worthless to think about it or he decided to choose a different hiding place."

But soon enough they were able to determine where they should find the treasure, and how to get there. Once they were finished with the location, the next step was to figure out how to carry the it back in the most secretive way possible. This included both what would carry the treasure and who would carry it. They quickly decided that splitting it among the group with many mid-sized bags would be best. As for who would carry them, Six-Claws was to lead the expedition, and Winter and his colleagues were to go as well. Thorn suggested a few other SandWings for them to take as well, but their names slipped meaningless past Winter. However Qibli nodded understandingly, making small comments.

~ another timeskip, brought to you by Sundial the SkyWing by Rice ~

Winter stretched in the pink light of sunset. His muscles were stiff from sitting cramped around a table for half the day, but he was glad they'd been able to make as promising of a plan as they did. They were all confident that they would be stealthy, but if they were discovered they wouldn't be taken down again. And now that they had a firm plan, and everyone who was to go the next morning had been alerted, there was only one thing gnawing at their attention.

"How about you four join us and Sunny for dinner before heading off to sleep?" Thorn invited.

"Sunny's here? What about the school? Was there a problem there?" Qibli asked, concern sharp in his voice.

"She's fine, she came here to find you three," Thorn explained, pointing a claw at Winter and his clawmates. "She tells me Tsunami is... well, let's just say she's not very happy you ran away again." 

The three exchanged glances, but they weren't very concerned. Sunny was serious about her role and the responsibility that came with it, but she also wasn't one to get angry very fast. And unlike Tsunami, she didn't yell at her students no matter how angry she was. Plus, once Sunny heard about the stolen treasure - if she hadn't already - it was very likely her annoyance about their running away would decrease significantly.

"Oh well," Qibli said with a shrug.

"Well, at least you're not a complete worry-worm," Hurricane commented from where he stood, his large wings nearly touching the wall behind him.

"I was never a worry-worm!" Qibli protested, twisting around to give the SkyWing a slightly offended look. 

" 'What if we miss it? What if we end up flying straight past it and end up near the Ice Kingdom? What if someone melts in this mind-boggling heat that I am perfectly used to?' " Flame mimicked, wringing his talons for emphasis.

"Oh shut up, I do not sound like that." Qibli grumbled.

"Why did that last one sound like it was directed at me?" Winter asked, and wasn't able to keep a wry smile from quirking the corners of his mouth up.

Flame grinned as he stood up to follow Thorn and Smolder, who had just departed out into the hallway and started toward the hall they would meet Sunny in. "Hmm?" the dark dragon asked innocently.

"Oh don't give me that, you know exactly what I'm talking about!" Winter retorted.

"Mm, maybe," he replied, still feigning innocence.

"Well, you were all flopped over and squishy."

Winter glared Qibli. "I do not intend to ever be squishy, you arrogant sand-sniffer."

"No, I wouldn't figure you'd plan on it, snow-brains," Flame said, laughing. "It would happen whether you wanted it or not."

"Then you'll be my squishy," Qibli said. Winter thwacked him with one wing.

"You both act like I would seriously melt, have you not seen me clearly not melting when I've come here before?"

"I like how they're dating and they still can't stop arguing," Thorn commented, halfway joking, from the head of the group.

"Oh, this is their version of flirting," Hurricane told her in a tone that made it sound like it could be a joke or perfectly serious.

"I know," Thorn laughed. 

"Bet they'll never grow out of it either," a warm voice that radiated happy energy called from ahead. Everyone looked toward the source of the voice to see Sunny slipping out of a room and bounding toward the group.

"Sunnyyyyyyyyyy," Qibli groaned, though it was evident he still wasn't being serious.

"Qibliiiiiiiiiiiiii," Sunny mimicked, hitting him lightly with one of her wings.

"Alright you two, knock it off so that we can get to dinner," Thorn joked.

"Knock what off? His head? No fair - Sunny can knock his head off but I can't?" Winter protested, hoping it sounded realistic. 

To his credit, Qibli was able to keep a convincing offended look on his face for almost half a minute before he burst out laughing.

"I'm not sure if it'd be a good thing or a bad thing for you to respond to death threats with laughter," Hurricane commented.

"Hey, I can't be worried if I don't take them seriously," Qibli replied, shrugging easily.

"True, it's always a good idea for you to not be worried while you're getting stabbed."

"Not as if Winter could stab me," the yellow dragon replied.

"Oh yeah?" Winter challenged.

"Yeah, I'm too charming," he said, flashing him a toothy smile.

"Oh shut up," Winter retorted, although his face cooled significantly.

Thorn led them the few yards to their destination, and everyone swarmed inside. It wasn't a large group, but the succeeded in efficiently surrounding the table to claim their meals. They had a wide array of food they could choose among; from crickets, squirrels and scorpions to ducks, goats, dates, and even a camel. Winter still could not fathom why anyone would willingly eat a bug, but he didn't question it.

Once they had each acquired a satisfying amount, they sat in one corner of the room, no distinct order to their arrangement. Smolder started with some small talk, asking about how school had been, and each of them replied appropriately. It wasn't long before they reached a topic of more substance, which started the discussion on its long and twisting journey down the unpredictable path of friendly conversation.

They continued to talk, taking bites of their selected food during breaks in their part of the conversation, until the sun slipped below the horizon and the third of the moons started peeking over the eastern skyline.

It wasn't too much later when Hurricane brought this to their attention and everyone promptly bade each other goodnight and headed off to their separate quarters. Sunny, Thorn, and Smolder took a path leading to the right while Hurricane accompanied Flame, Qibli, and Winter back to their shared room. Winter's mind still buzzed from the meal and corresponding conversations. He was tired, but also exhilarated in a way. He followed Qibli's lead to their room in a mental silence, excluding emotions.

With the fog clouding his mind, it only seemed to take a few seconds to reach their room and start getting settled for the night. Winter headed over to the center of the room and curled up around Qibli, who had already curled into a warm ball of scales, with Flame curling around on the other side. Hurricane claimed what had been Qibli's bed many months prior, rolling onto his side with his back toward the cuddling dragons on the surprisingly soft camel-hair rug.

Tomorrow, Winter thought as he closed his eyes, sleep pulling him under.

Tomorrow... this will all be over...