Claws Up, Teeth Ready (Wings of Fire Fanfiction)

Chapter 1

     Bluetang angled his wings to catch a current, being careful to keep a grip on the bundle of fish he was holding. Having four wings helped with swimming. He had been out fishing for his mother. Bluetang lived alone with his mother in the Summer Palace. He had no memory of his father, but his mother said he was a SilkWing, which explained Bluetang's antennae and four wings. He tried not to use his smaller wings when flying; they just got in the way.

     Hey, Bluetang!

     A flash of scales drew his attention. It was his friend, Brook. Brook was a hybrid, like him. He was half MudWing and just looked like a brown SeaWing.

     Hi Brook. Bluetang flashed back. I've got to get this back home. Mother told me to be quick.

     Brook nodded. Okay. Can I come with you?

     Bluetang smiled. Sure. Can you share the load though? I've got a lot to take back.

     Brook held his talons out and Bluetang gave him some of the fish before continuing his journey back home.

* * * * *

     The SeaWing SilkWing hybrid shook himself off as he hauled himself out of the water, Brook close behind. Bluetang beckoned to his friend before opening his wings to take flight and head towards the cave he and his mother lived in. He landed on the ledge with a thump.

     "Mother, I'm home!" Bluetang called out. "I brought Brook too."

     "Bluetang!"

     His mother came speeding round the corner, looking scared. She came to a stop in front of her son and wrapped her wings around him.

     "Mother, what are you doing? Are you o-"

     "Thank goodness you're alive."

     Bluetang wrestled himself out of his mother's grasp. She wasn't usually this worried about her son. She knew that he could handle most things on his own and, if he couldn't, would ask for help.

     "What's wrong?" Brook asked. He knew this wasn't normal for Bluetang's mother too.

     "They're hunting and killing hybrids." she said. "A group of three hybrids killed the Queen. They don't know who but they know they're hybrids. Run Brook, run Bluetang, run. Run whilst nobody else knows."

     Brook snatched up several fish and flashed to Bluetang to do the same. He hugged his mother again before hastily gathering more fish. He looked back to his mother.

     Goodbye. He flashed sadly.

     Good- Before he could see the rest of his mother's message, Brook pushed him over the ledge.

     "Where do we go?" Bluetang asked Brook.

     "I think there's an old human village to the south of the kingdom that nobody really pays attention to anymore." said Brook.

     "What about the Talons of P-"

     "Hey!"

     Bluetang turned his head just enough to catch a glimpse of a group of guards before Brook grabbed his talon and tucked his wings into a dive. The SilkWing hybrid screamed as he got pulled full speed into the water. Once the dragonet got back to his senses, he swam as fast as he could.

     Brook expertly navigated the coral reefs and fish (though they didn't take much effort because they swam away whenever they saw a dragon). Bluetang tried his best to follow his best friend but his extra two wings, which were much better for speed than agility, just kept getting in the way and briskly stopping him and slowing him down when they got stuck in seaweed. Brook turned upwards in the water and shot into the sky. Bluetang did the same but was much further behind the brown dragon than he would have liked.

     The guards were getting dangerously close. Bluetang glanced behind him, thinking this would be the end of him and Brook. Then an idea came to him. His other two wings. He'd never used them when flying, only whilst swimming, but in a way swimming was basically the same as flying. He briefly tucked his wings in, making him free fall.

     "Bluetang!" Brook called out from above. "What in the moons are you doing?"

     Bluetang flattened the outside of his small wings to the insides of his bigger wings, the only ones he'd used for flight until now. He stayed in a dive for a little longer to pick up speed. Suddenly he opened his wings, all four of them. If he kept his wings together, they should work like a pair of massive SkyWing wings. Bluetang shot upwards, nearly colliding with a scared and confused guard that was diving after him. Bluetang flapped after his best friend, trying to get used to how fast he was flying now. He grabbed Brook's talon and, without saying a word, shot forward, flapping his wings furiously. Soon, the guards were just specks, desperately winging towards them.

     They'll probably turn back soon. Bluetang thought.

     They'd made it, at least for now. They'd survived another day. Now, they had to find shelter and, with luck,  other hybrids that had been chased out of the Kingdom of Sea.