Wings of Fire as Humans

Common sense is for the weak

OH BOY IS THIS CHAPTER SOMETHING

I wrote this after an absolutely awful day of crying nonstop. I opened my computer, looked at the plot outline for the next chapter, and thought 'Woah, this is worthless!" So, what did I write instead? An intermediary chapter, focusing on the best girl Peril herself, and how she sees her weird little friend group- aka an excuse to write a dramatic rendition of the JW's mental dynamic with her, toss in some protective pseudo-big sister content, and make fun of Morrowseer, all in one package! Anyways, all of this takes place in the span of about 2 minutes because we all know that Peril's mind is always either an empty void or a tornado or raging thoughts. I kin her a little too much to be healthy...

Peril was not the best at reading people- to be fair, she'd never really felt the need to try while growing up, considering that most people already judged her negatively within 10 seconds of meeting. For a while, the only person she'd really been able to determine the emotions of was her foster mother, Scarlet- though, perhaps that was just because she only had two expressions- 'murderous glare', and 'even more murderous glare'-- When she'd first been informally adopted into this odd group of friends, only a few months ago, it had been practically impossible to guess what any of them felt from their faces. Sure, over time she'd grown to feel truly more at ease with them then she had with anyone else before- but that didn't mean that her mind was clear. These days, she still sometimes found that nagging voice in the back of her mind, whispering wicked thoughts. Telling her that these supposed friends of hers didn't care. That she was still the odd one out. That they were only waiting to leave her. That she couldn't ever know what they truly felt. At times like those, Peril could only hope her misplaced confidence would come out and knock those negative thoughts upside the head with a baseball bat. One that was full of sharp nails. And very large. 

Still, she wasn't afraid to admit that she cared for this bizarre group of people very much, and the thought of Moonwatcher being upset by that snail slime-coated pretzel of a man, Morrowseer genuinely upset her. As she walked the forest trail in large strides, suspiciously glaring at the vice principal, who was engaging in an indistinct conversation with Starflight further down the trail, Peril could sense her internal bitch-slap timer ticking down. Getting closer to zero with each second. The audacity of this man was so obvious as he marched aside the other boy, completely neglecting the existence of the 4 other children behind him, that she felt that if she were left alone for another minute she would probably pounce on him. Sure, that would be a pretty stupid decision on her part, as Turtle would probably say if he were here. The boy was constantly cautioning her, telling her not to do things, always with actual concern in his voice- and Peril had trouble understanding exactly why. They had only known each other for a few months, and she wasn't his responsibility- so why did he care what she did so much? Plus, Turtle's warnings and worried comments weren't even rude or condescending, not like the ones she'd so often heard from Scarlet- he cared, as did the others. Even when their warnings fell on deaf (or rather, uncaring) ears, she still heard them. And Peril wanted to make them feel safe and cared for as well, no matter how stupid it may all sound.

Phrases like 'Peril, do not lick that swingset!', 'Leave those poor geese alone, Peril!' or even 'Peril- Sidewalk gum is not edible!' may have only been half-jokes, but they still reached her. And it was the same with Moonwatcher, and with all the others- she knew what it was like to be scared that someone would hurt you. Of course, growing up with Scarlet wasn't the same as what her friend was facing right now, but it was more than enough, and Peril wasn't ever going to stand down, never going to let it get that far or that painful for Moonwatcher.

Now, for the action. Peril may respect Turtle. She may appreciate, and even heed his advice, sometimes. But, her friend wasn't here right now- he was back at the lodge, and not a single Hamilton reference could be heard in the quiet forest to prove it. This could only mean one thing. Now, Peril was allowed to do whatever she wanted, if it meant reaching her goal. Sparing one more glance at Winter, Qibli, and Kinkajou behind her, whom she had unfortunately been too caught up in her own mind to consult, Peril quickened her pace. She had planned it all in her head- she would grab Morrowseer by the shoulders, unceremoniously step on his ugly toes, and then probably hit him with one of her signature elbow-punches, directly in the face. Sure, there were a million other things to take into factor, namely the fact that this man was almost twice her size, despite Peril already being a large girl- but who really cares about details like that, right? Turtle? Well, he wasn't here right now, and she was about to beat this grown man up so bad, that he would wish he-

A voice interrupted her burning tornado of gleeful murder-thoughts. It took her a second to realize it was that of the vice principal speaking to Starflight, only a few feet away from her and still unaware that she had been creeping up behind him. But the words sliced right through her plans like a bloodied knife as her mind stuttered multiple steps backwards in thought. Peril froze in place.

"Young man," Morrowseer grumbled, his voice lowered to nearly a whisper. "Once we return to the lodge, you will bring my daughter to me, won't you?"

So, this was all over the place, but I guess I can only blame it on how I've been feeling these days lol. I've also started doing beta editing for some fics on AO3 in my free time- if any of you would like me to check over grammar, spelling, or something else in your fanfiction, I'll gladly give you an email to reach out to me at, and I'll get to it when I can. Aside from that, Arcane; League of Legends has pretty much taken over my life at this point, so I would be absolutely thrilled if I could go on a desperate rant about that to someone lmao :D

Anyways, this was more of just an introspective semi-vent chapter dedicated to Peril, so expect to get back to the action (and more comedic moments) soon!! I'll see you next time, and happy Winter holidays!

<3