Chapter Text
Where do I take this pain of mine?
I run but it stays right my side.
So tear me open, pour me out.
There's things inside that scream and shout.
And the pain still hates me,
So hold me, until it sleeps
“Until it Sleeps” -Metallica
Moon's heart stopped as she watched the unthinkable unfold before her eyes. Winter, his silvery-white scales gleaming in the sunlight, collided with Peril in mid-flight. The IceWing's scales instantly began to burst into flame where they touched the SkyWing's fiery body.
"Winter!" Moon's scream pierced the air as the unconscious dragon plummeted toward the ground.
Peril hovered in place, confusion evident on her face. "Why did he do that?" the SkyWing asked, but Moon was already diving after Winter's falling form, paying no attention to either Peril or the NightWing who had been flying with them.
The group dove after Winter, their wings pressed tight against their bodies as they raced against time. Despite Moon's desperate attempt to reach him, Winter hit the ground with a sickening thud that made her heart lurch. The impact would likely add broken bones to his burn wounds.
Moon landed beside the smoldering IceWing, her talons trembling as she approached him. "Winter... oh no, no!" Tears blurred her vision as she took in his injured form.
Peril touched down nearby, her scales still radiating waves of heat. "I don't know why he did that!" she insisted, wings twitching anxiously. "I tried to avoid him, but he flew right into me!"
The rest of the group landed in a circle around Winter's prone form. Qibli's usually calm demeanor shattered as he whirled on Peril, a growl rising in his throat. "WINTER! Why did you do that to him?!"
"It was an accident!" Peril's voice cracked with panic. "I didn't mean to hurt him!"
A splitting headache suddenly assaulted Moon's mind, but it wasn't from the chaos around her. Her gaze fell on a molten puddle of metal near Winter's body, the remains of his skyfire band. Without its protection, his thoughts flooded into her mind, raw and full of pain.
"Move aside!" Turtle's commanding voice cut through the tension as he shouldered past Qibli, careful to avoid Peril's deadly scales. In his talons, he clutched a small stone. The SeaWing bent over Winter's body and began running the stone across the burn marks.
Moon watched in amazement as the wounds vanished beneath Turtle's careful ministrations. Like water washing away ink, the burns disappeared wherever the stone touched, revealing Winter's healthy white scales underneath.
"What in three moons—" Qibli's eyes widened as he stared at Turtle. "What is that?"
Turtle finished his work, examining Winter with careful scrutiny. "Did I get everything?" he muttered, more to himself than the others.
The pieces suddenly clicked in Moon's mind. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "You're an animus!" She immediately regretted her outburst when Turtle visibly flinched.
"I... I've never heard anyone say that out loud before," Turtle said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Could we maybe not discuss this right now?"
Peril's expression shifted from relief to hurt. "You could have told me," she said softly.
Turtle gave her an apologetic look. "I was thinking about it. Remember when I said we weren't so different, you and I?"
An uncomfortable silence fell over the group, broken only by Winter's shallow breathing.
Qibli cleared his throat. "So... what's our next move?" His eyes darted between Winter's unconscious form and Turtle, who seemed to be trying his best to become invisible.
Moon shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "We need to get Winter somewhere safe to rest." She glanced at Turtle. "We can discuss... everything else... later."
Suddenly, Peril's head snapped up. "Wait, where did she go?"
"Who?" Qibli asked, brow furrowed.
"That NightWing who was following Winter!" Peril spun in a circle, wings spread wide. "Don't tell me none of you saw her, she was enormous!"
"No, I saw her," Moon confirmed, remembering the massive dragon's silhouette. "But I never noticed when she disappeared."
Peril's scales flared brighter with frustration. "I'm done here. Thanks for nothing!" She launched herself into the sky, leaving a trail of heated air in her wake.
Turtle watched her go, words seemingly caught in his throat...
Moon jolted as Winter's thoughts suddenly burst into her mind, a vision of a towering female IceWing looking down at him with disappointment. His dreams were starting, and from what she could sense, they weren't pleasant.
Qibli sighed, stepping forward. "I'll carry him. Let's get back to Possibility."
Moon’s eyes opened slowly but then she was hit with shock. She found herself standing before a massive ice cave, surrounded by pristine white landscape that stretched endlessly in every direction. The scene was foreign to her. She'd seen ice and snow before, but nothing like this absolute winter wonderland.
Before she could explore further, wingbeats drew her attention to approaching dragons. Her initial fear of being caught in IceWing territory melted away when she recognized one of the approaching dragons.
"Winter!" she called out joyfully, but her friend showed no sign of hearing her. He landed gracefully before the cave entrance alongside four other IceWings, including his brother Hailstorm. When Moon tried to touch his wing, her talon passed right through him like mist.
This wasn't reality, she was in Winter's dream.
The largest IceWing, a regal female, addressed the two brothers. "Prince Winter, Hailstorm," she began, her voice as sharp as icicles. "Your task is simple: enter the cave and strike the frozen dragon with your spear." She paused, her next words falling like snow. "The one who returns will claim first place in the rankings. The other... we shall bid farewell." With a meaningful nod, she took to the sky.
A male IceWing approached Winter. "Remember: be strong, vigilant, strike first."
"Restore our family's rank," added another, their words heavy with expectation.
Moon watched Winter's face carefully. To others, he might have appeared confident, but she knew him well enough to see the doubt in his eyes, the slight tension in his wings. Whatever this task was, it wasn't what he wanted.
The scene shifted as Winter and Hailstorm descended into the cave, the world beyond the entrance dissolving like fog. Moon hurried after them, her heart pounding with growing dread.
The cave's interior took her breath away. Hundreds of frozen dragons stood like macabre statues, their faces trapped in eternal expressions of surprise and fear.
"Frozen dragons!" Winter's voice echoed off the ice. "There must be hundreds!"
Hailstorm remained silent, moving purposefully toward the back of the cavern. There, trapped in the ice, stood a NightWing unlike any Moon had ever seen. Even frozen, the dragon's fury was evident in every line of her body.
Winter joined his brother as Hailstorm struck the ice with his spear. The resulting explosion of ice shards revealed a NightWing who seemed to fill the cavern with her presence.
Both IceWing princes stepped back, their confidence wavering before her imposing figure.
The NightWing sighed with the weariness of centuries. "Oh good, more IceWing dragonets with spears," she said, her tone surprisingly sardonic.
"I'm here to kill you," Hailstorm declared, though his voice lacked conviction.
"Aren't you all?" she replied dryly. "Shall we introduce ourselves first?"
Winter found his voice. "I'm Prince Winter, and this is my brother Hailstorm."
"Brothers," the NightWing's expression darkened. "How devastating. Welcome to my prison. I am Foeslayer."
The name hit Moon like a physical blow. Foeslayer, the mother of Darkstalker himself.
"Everyone is always surprised," Foeslayer said, gesturing around the cavern. "Though what's the point of keeping prisoners if no one knows about them?"
"But it's been—" Winter started.
"No!" Foeslayer cut him off. "Please, don't tell me. I don't want to know how long..."
Hailstorm seized the moment, lunging with his spear aimed at Foeslayer's heart. But the NightWing moved with the practiced ease of countless similar encounters. She wrenched the spear from his grasp and used his momentum to throw him against the icy wall.
"Hailstorm!" Winter's cry echoed Moon's own as he launched himself onto Foeslayer's back, claws tearing at her scales.
"You fool!" Foeslayer roared, easily dislodging him. "Do IceWings get dumber every year? Do you even want to win?"
Winter struggled to his feet, his voice fierce with conviction. "That's not what I want! I don't want to win if it means Hailstorm has to die!"
Moon felt her heart swell with pride as Winter continued, "What are we fighting for? Some stupid number on a wall?" He turned to his brother, eyes blazing. "Your life is worth more than any ranking, Hailstorm!"
Moon's heart stopped at Winter's words. Would he really sacrifice himself for his brother?
Moon could hardly believe her eyes. This was like watching a completely different dragon, a mirror image of the Winter she knew. The proud, reserved IceWing had never shown such raw emotion before. What could have triggered such a change?
Hailstorm's eyes dropped to the frozen ground, guilt written across his features. "I would have said the same thing, brother..." His gaze snapped back up, uncertainty morphing into anger. "But I sacrificed myself for you once already," he growled, "and it was the WORST thing that has ever happened to me!" He lunged forward, snatching up his spear. "I want my life back. I want MYSELF back."
"I never thought you would be the one I had to destroy to put my life in order..." Hailstorm's voice dropped to a bitter whisper.
Moon's mind raced. So that's what the dragon meant by "Whoever remains"...
One of them had to die. The realization hit Moon like a blast of frost breath, and she watched as Winter stumbled backward, visibly wounded by Hailstorm's words.
“What if... what if I told the Queen to just put me in last place?” Winter stumbled on his words, really hoping it wouldn’t come to this.
Hailstorm looked down, guilty again, “Where’s the honor for me in that?” Hailstorm shook his head, “No, they won’t agree to it... you know how mother and father are, they would probably just kill whoever they wanted if one of us comes out alive.”
Were those the two dragons that stayed with them as they went into the cave? They definitely didn’t act like caring parents... Moon could never imagine her mother glaring at her like that.
Foeslayer cleared her throat, “As interesting as this is, could one of you kill me please?”
Winter and Hailstorm both gave her a confused look. She shook her head, “I haven’t eaten in hundreds of years, being awake is truthfully more painful than dying over and over again.”
Winter looked bugged by that, “So you just get murdered over and over again?”
Foeslayer sighed, “Here’s some advice, never make an animus angry...” she pointed at the spear, “Those spears freeze anything it kills...”
Moon must have came to the same realization as he did, re-noticing all the frozen and dead IceWings around them. That would mean they were murdered by the spears...
Winter looked sick to his stomach, almost wanting to drop the spear. This is truly what the dragon met by only one returning. After Foeslayer dies, one of the IceWings would murder the other.
Winter looked up at Hailstorm, unsure what to do. Moon did not like where this was going, dream or not. “You kill her Hailstorm...” Winter asked him. Hailstorm hesitated but he nodded, readying the spear.
“As quick and painless as you can be please?” Foeslayer said, closing her eyes. Hailstorm nodded, he quickly thrusted the spear forwards and straight into her heart.
It was almost instant, a large layer of ice wrapped around Foeslayer and completely enveloped her. Hailstorm quickly ripped the spear back out of her, finishing the job completely.
Moon tried to not wince at what she just saw, realizing this was the first time she ever saw a dragon get killed right in front of her, and that was Darkstalker’s mother.
It remained quiet for a long while, both brothers not wanting to continue. Hailstorm broke the silence first, “Mother and Father told me earlier today,” he suddenly looked down, guilty, “They said no matter who killed Foeslayer, I was chosen to win...” he shook his head, “Winter, they wanted me to kill you.”
What shocked Moon right then and there... Winter didn’t look shocked, he didn’t even flinch.
Winter sighed and threw his spear down, “All right then... I guess that’s what you have to do...”
Hailstorm shook his head and threw his spear down onto the ground as well, “You know I can’t do that Winter, you just rescued me,” he sat there for a couple moments before continuing, “You're my brother, I could never kill you.”
Winter bowed his head and nodded back, “If we can’t kill each other, maybe I can just leave after you go up and claim victory?”
Hailstorm backed up in shock, “Winter, you couldn’t,” Hailstorm protested, “If you get caught by Mother and Father, they would kill you!”
Moon gasped at that, was it actually this bad, why would they kill their own dragonet?
Winter bowed his head even farther, “Then I will leave the Ice Kingdom all together, you said it yourself... even if I was the one to return alive, they would kill me.”
“But you would be by yourself Winter?” Hailstorm said, unsure of what he was hearing.
Winter looked back up, placing a talon on Hailstorm’s shoulder, “I would usually agree with you on that...” A small smile came to his face, but his eyes showed how he was truly feeling, “But... I think I have some friends.”
The world around them suddenly started distorting and disappearing.
Moon’s eyes shot open, realizing what just happened. That wasn’t just a dream. This is what happened after Winter left a couple days ago. Did he actually go through that much in just a couple days without them?
If that was just a couple days, how was his whole life in the Ice Kingdom?
She could hear Winter’s mind waking up, Oh Moons, how am I not dead right now?
She could suddenly hear panic a little, Even better yet, how am I not injured?
Moon heard Winter grunt as he stood up, watching him as he inspected his body, Not a burn mark at all on me...
Wait, where am I?
She could feel the exact moment when Winter realized who he was with, Oh, it’s Qibli, Moon, and... Turtle? He thought confused, Why is Turtle here ?
She could hear Winter start to walk around, feeling how happy he suddenly was to be with his friends, T hey actually waited for me, I thought I would never see them again.
Moon started suddenly feeling guilty for listening to his mind, so she quietly stood up.
Winter noticed her getting up and his mind switched to her, Moon is awake... if only she knew how much she met to me...
Moon almost froze, and a thought came across her... one that made her feel horrible.
I shouldn’t tell him... No, not after what he just went through.
she stood up straight and braced herself, she knew he wouldn't like what she had to say...
"Winter,” she said to get his attention, “Your Skyfire broke.”