Criminals ((A Wings of Fire fanfic))

CHAPTER 2

Windstalker's best friend, Gyrfalcon, knew an assassin. 

"This is a terrible idea!" Gyrfalcon hissed in Windstalker's ear. Swan, her other best friend, added, "actually, Gyrfalcon might be right, for once." 

Gyrfalcon swatted at Swan's face but missed. Swan laughed and tripped Gyrfalcon with her long tail so she fell to her side. 

Swan was a glorious pale rosy-red colour, with an angular build. She was the daughter of the queen's top lieutenant, and very vain. Her underbelly was a paler colour than her overall scales, and her wings had hints of pink and white in them, like mother of pearl. Necklaces were always resting on her neck, chokers, fancy ones, you name it. She had an orange ring pattern on her snout, which made her look as if she was wearing a golden muzzle.

"I thought you knew this dragon, Gyrfalcon." Windstalker protested. 

"Well... he was in close contact with the assassin that was murdering us." Gyrfalcon said. "He came over for dinner once and my parents sent me, Arashi, and Lumaku for the rest of the night. He gave us his card, if ever we needed someone dead. I never actually saw him, but he must have been a SkyWing."

"Creepy." Swan added. 

"Too right," Gyrfalcon said. 

"Well he can help me with Hailstone." Windstalker said. "Unless they've arrested him, along with the IceWing."

Nobody spoke for a long time.

Gyrfalcon's long, sleek, wings twitched instinctively in fear as they approached the place where Clearskies lived. Gyrfalcon shifted uneasily again, as her scarred scales brushed a passer-by with spiky protruding armour.

Gyrfalcon had fierce brown eyes, orange scales with hints of yellow, and long, dark orange wings. Her family had probably suffered more than all the others combined. She had a very large, extended family, of whom all were guards. All of them, even her parents had been killed, leaving her with her two sisters, both of whom were older than her, Arashi and Lumaku. She had scars all over her tail, from a narrow escape from the assassin. Her uncle Cloud had found her just in time, but had been killed protecting Gyrfalcon. The mere mention of one of her family members could make her cry.

In Clearskies's part of town, all the homes were small, and rickety looking. The dragons milling about them were all lean and skinny, with dark shadows under their eyes and starved expressions. They had an uncanny ability to move slyly, creeping around the group of female dragonets and eyeing them, Swan in particular. 

At the end of the road, there was a house. Clearskies's house. It was rather small, but built with rough stones and tiny windows. The door had about seven padlocks on it, and looked bolted, even from the outside.

The trio approached warily. 

"So... who's going to knock?" Swan asked. 

"I will. This is my request." Windstalker said. 

She marched up to the heavily locked door and rapped on it before her friends could stop her.

A peephole opened up and a yellow eye was peeking through. "Who is it?" Clearskies asked, in a rough, menacing voice.

"Just two dragonets and a hybrid who need your help!" Windstalker said, in a more high-pitched voice than usual. 

There was a long pause. "A... Hybrid?" Clearskies asked. 

"Yes, it's me, I'm the hybrid." Windstalker said impatiently.

"Normally, I wouldn't open this door, but when another hybrid comes blundering up to my doorstep, I have to make an exception." He said.

"A-another hybrid?" Windstalker asked. Did this dragon kill any hybrid he met? Or—

"Well, see for yourself." Clearskies snorted, interrupting her morbid train of thoughts.

All of the locks were open in a matter of seconds. In front of her, a fully-grown SeaWing was standing. Not a SkyWing. But... his underbelly was pure white, and his gills were pale blue, that faded into an even paler shade. His claws seemed dangerously sharp, and the tip of his tail was bristling with spikes. His SeaWing phosphorescent scales were navy blue, not the paler colour most SeaWings had. His overall scale colour was dark blue, but little white and blue flecks dotted his spine and snout. Little daggers hung on necklaces. Windstalker hoped desperately that they were only for show, but their tips were all the colour of dried blood. Knives and daggers were tucked into sheaths on his ankles and limbs, and a long spear was strapped to his back.

"Nice skull" he commented, jerking his chin towards her face. 

"Three MOONS it's not a skull!" She snapped, fluffing out her neck spikes.

"Well, how was I supposed to know that?" He replied, not looking the slightest bit perturbed. "You said you needed my help?" 

"Erm... yes," Windstalker said slowly. She wasn't sure how to phrase her sentence without offending the SeaWing-IceWing. "I heard that you were in close contact with the assassin attacking the SkyWings, but I'm worried that my brother is too ambitious, and if he becomes evil, I need training to stop him" she blurted.

Clearskies said nothing for a long moment. "So. Snowstorm went and got herself caught, huh." He chuckled, shaking his head. "That IceWing was always such a daredevil. And look where it got her. In prison, convicted for mass murder." 

"Uh... yes." Windstalker said. 

"I'll train you, but I'll need payment. I had to give away half of my treasure to Queen Ruby to even live in this run-down place." He growled, gesturing to the neighborhood.

"I have this!" Windstalker said, pulling her topaz necklace off and placing it in Clearskies's open palm.

"Hmmm." Clearskies said, examining the jewel. "Full silver. Real gem." He snapped his head up. If you have one more thing, I'll train you."

Windstalker's heart sank. The topaz necklace was her only jewel. She shook her head and looked down at her claws.

"Well, I'm sorry, dragonets. But I really need treasure to renovate this dump." He patted the stone walls of his house. "Tell you what. If you can get more treasure for me in five days, I'll train all of you in simple defence. I will require more for advanced, but if you have no treasure, then no battle training. I'm very sorry." Saying this, he turned around and slithered back into his house. Windstalker heard the bolts and locks snapping back together, but almost from far away. 

She whirled towards her two friends. 

"Swan!" She cried. "Your house and mine are full of treasure, ever since Dad became part of the royal guard." 

Swan tilted her head, looking pensive. "I suppose they are." She said slowly.

"I need to be able to protect the tribe." Windstalker said, determined.

"And I think I have a plan"

<AN>

Ah yes, the part where the heroes make a bootiful faliure of a plan to stop the baddie, then it falls apart. 

These are not spoilers. 

-Rainy