CounterPart

18 | Cicada hive

The HiveWings, the HiveWings ... Sunny ... The Earthquake ... Dad ... The HiveWings.

Squid couldn't remember a time in his life when things had been more tense than now. Icefish had been taken care of and sent back with Auklet, whom Queen Coral had now sheltered so much that he barely saw the little princess anymore. And there had been more deaths ... Inevitably.

This time, there were three: A SilkWing, and two RainWings. The SilkWing happened to be the mother of a Dragonet both Sunny and Squid knew too well, and it broke them to see him in tears and fits of helplessness like this.

No matter what they tried, Dusky wouldn't leave his room for anyone but Luna.

And as the LeafSilk hall was left in ruins, Hazel and Sequoia had no choice but to relocate them all to the Hives where their friends resided.

"Squid, over here." Sunny called stiffly, indicating to a pile of folded hammocks that they'd salvaged from the debris. "Do you think you can help?"

He nodded, and neither of them said a word.

"Do you ... Want to go back to Pyrrhia? Because we can arrange that. Starflight and Fatespeaker left yesterday, but I don't know why."

"No." The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could even consider them. "I want to stay here. I can't risk not knowing."

Sunny closed her eyes contentedly and then gave a flickering smile. "I guess that makes sense."

And I need you to keep helping me. I need you to make me a better dragon. Maybe then I'll get my hero's call.

... Or not. It doesn't matter, does it? Maybe it does...

"Hey, stop daydreaming." She nudged him with a silly grin. "We're leaving for Cicada Hive now."

The flight was long, but not nearly as strenuous as the cross continent trip there, and Squid felt that this time he was a little more at ease. He flew just behind Sunny and Clay: who had grew a shred of respect for him after he saved Umber.

Umber, aforementioned, was talking calmly with Flame on the far left. Squid could've sworn he saw some happiness in his Clawmate's eye, which strangely, made him happy too.

Cicada Hive soon came into view, and he followed the crowd onto a firm looking webbed bridge that shot like a feeler out of the cocoon. Dragons of all colours swarmed around the narrow entrance, so much so that Squid found it hard to navigate. He tried to keep his tail looped around the sidebars at first, which proved to be an excersise in futility.

Then a screeching voice sliced the crowd like a hot knife on butter.

"Sundew! Willow! Oh my Clearsight, who are you dragons? I've read about you, you're a RainWing! Can you really change scales? BLUE, LOOK, A RAINWING. A REAL RAINWING, HERE!"

Blue, Cricket's SilkWing mate, stepped out beside her, his scales dazzling with iridescence in the sunshine. He shot Sequoia an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, she's just - excited. We weren't expecting this ... Many... Um, you'd better come in?" He said, hesitantly.

"I think we'd better talk." Sequoia responded, with a dignified and yet scarcely disguised graveness to her voice. Blue seemed to pick up the hint and nodded, weaving through the crowd to talk to the LeafWing Queen.

Squid picked up snatches of the conversation from where he was loitering on the bridge.

"An earthquake?"