Fourth Wheel ||Qinter||

Chapter 14 - Making Preparations

Once Sleet had left the cave, Winter and Tamarin emerged from the narrow tunnel. The cavern was filled with the frozen bodies of IceWings, their eyes still glowing with the thrill of battle, their forms still positioned in fighting stances. Winter's eyes lingered on Rime's ice statue, before he turned away and followed Tamarin toward's the frozen body of Foeslayer. He didn't know why Rime's death affected him so much. They weren't even close. Perhaps it was because Rime was the first person Winter really knew who died in front of his eyes.

Tamarin whacked Foeslayer with her tail a few times. Nothing. Not even a tiny crack. She huffed, frustrated. "Should I grab Rime's narwhal horn spear?" Winter suggested.
Tamarin nodded. "That would be helpful."
Winter pried the spear from Rime's rigid talons before lightly tapping Foeslayer with the end of the spear. Sure enough, the ice disintegrated, and Foeslayer opened her eyes. She blinked. "Another pair of challe- a RainWing?"
"That's right," Tamarin confirmed. "We're here to help you escape, on one condition."
"And what might that condition be?"
"Help us find the old NightWing kingdom."
"The lost city of night, huh? Even if you do find it, I doubt there will be anything there apart from some crumbling ruins. Why do you even want to find that old place?"
"Do you want to get out of here or not?" Snapped Winter.
"Tsk, calm down. I'll lead you there. Just get me out of these cuffs."
Tamarin spat a small amount of acid onto the cuffs. The acid sizzled, but nothing happened.
"Come to think of it, we don't know how to get these cuffs off, do we?" Asked Winter, disappointment evident in his words.
"We don't. But there seems to be a mechanism on them," Tamarin replied. "Try using your frostbreath on it."
Winter inhaled deeply, and carefully directed a puff of frostbreath at the mechanism. The cuffs fell to the ground with a clank. Tamarin grinned. "Let's go."

Qibli paced nervously in the trees beside one of the cave system's many entrances. Why aren't they out yet? They should be back by now. Did something happen to them? Terrifying thoughts raced through his mind.
"We're back," Winter's triumphant voice reached Qibli's ears, and his eyes snapped open.
"You're alive!" He blurted.
"Of course we are," said Tamarin. "If we died, who would save Pyrrhia?"
"Hello," greeted Turtle, with a small wave. "Welcome back."
Moon peered at the NightWing beside them. "Are you Foeslayer?" She inquired.
"Yes," replied Foeslayer.
"Well, now that we're all back together, have you convinced Foeslayer to lead us to the old NightWing kingdom yet?" Asked Qibli.
Tamarin nodded. "We leave tomorrow at dawn."

"So, what happened in the caves?" Asked Qibli, curious about why it took them so long.
"We got lost," Tamarin lied. Winter, overhearing the conversation, felt relieved. The others didn't need to know about Sleet and Rime. They didn't need to know about how he almost destroyed all of their efforts up to that point.
"Ah, I see." Said Qibli. "How did you convince Foeslayer to show us the way to the old NightWing kingdom?"
"We told her she could show us the way to the lost city of night in exchange for her freedom."
"Makes sense for her to accept, then. Well. Goodnight, Tamarin."
"Night."

Qibli couldn't fall asleep. His mind kept circling through what could have happened in those caves. What would have happened if Winter had died in the caves? How would Qibli react? Would he cry? Move on? Qibli didn't know. He could barely even tell what his feelings for Winter were. Qibli got up. He needed a quiet space to think, without the noise of snoring dragonets to disturb him. He left the sleeping area, making his way to the cave entrance where he'd waited during the daytime.
He sat down on a large, flat rock.
"Your thoughts were so loud that I couldn't sleep," Moon complained from behind him. Qibli turned around, and the NightWing sat down beside him. "Moon. You're awake."
"How could I sleep? Your thoughts are a massive source of entertainment."
Qibli puffed his cheeks. "I'm not entertainment."
"Never said you were," Moon pointed out. "Need help sorting out your feelings?"
"Yeah, I just- ugh. I can't help but imagine what would've happened if Winter had died in the caves today. I'd never forgive myself for not confessing to him. I feel like I just need to tell him soon, just in case, you know, just in case the worst possible scenario happens."
Moon smiled. "Love isn't something you should rush. Take your time, none of us will die just yet."
"I hope that's the case," said Qibli. "Thank you, Moon."
"What are friends for?"

~——🌒——~

"WAKE UP!"
Qibli sat up so quickly Moon barely had time to jump back. "Don't headbutt me!"
"Sorry," muttered Qibli, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Glancing through the trees towards the horizon, he could see the sun peeking out over the mountains. Its light was pale and muted, its ascent into the sky slow and leisurely. It seemed as if the sun was tired, too.
"We're getting ready to go to the lost city of night," said Moon. "Get ready and meet back at the main camp in five minutes." She flapped off in the direction of the main camp.
Stupid brain, thought Qibli drowsily. Of course you can't go to sleep the night before the day you have to wake up early. Now I'll have to sacrifice my precious world-saving, prophecy-fulfilling time just to SLEEP just because you couldn't last night. Qibli trotted gloomily after Moon.

After a filling meal of cows caught by Turtle and Foeslayer, the sun had emerged fully from its nighttime hiding place. With the bright sunlight in his eyes, Qibli felt much more awake. He knew he'd still have to get some rest once he reached the lost city of night, though.
Tamarin finished her apples. "Alright, let's go."

A/N:

I found a wiki page called Stupid Wings of Fire. I died of laughter reading it. (Also, go to Qibli page and look at marital status.)

I've got some Qinter planned for the next chapter.

Also, as I said, this is very canon divergent. In this story, Winter can pass over Darkstalker's teeth like any other dragon, only feeling a small shock as he passes over it. You can imagine that it might be because he is related to Darkstalker.

Just a thought: since Stonemover is an animus NightWing, that means he is related to Darkstalker, right? Or does it not work like that? If that's true, that means Winter and Sunny are distant relatives...

Anyway, see you soon!