Wings of Fire: Nighthawk

Chapter 21: Cheers!

It was quite the neat establishment. A cave in the side of the cliffs that surrounded the spire. He landed and looked around inside, a band was playing in the corner while several seawings shared drinks and stories. Shark led him over to Tempest and Piranha.

"Nighthawk! There ya are. Was wonderin when you'd get here." The large seawing boomed and pulled a stool for him. "Come! Sit."

"Got busy." Nighthawk rumbled and sat down, looking at Piranha. She just snorted and sipped her drink quielty. "Don't think we met."

"I seen you once or twice." She growled and kept drinking. "Great work with those battle plans."

"Thank you. You won't believe what I got for an award."

"My sister wrote a scroll about him." Shark rolled his eyes with a small grin. "He was just as shocked as I was."

"I'm not surprised, hmph." Piranha snorted a bit. "But hey, at least you get to go down in history."

"Hm." Nighthawk shrugged and ordered himself something to drink. He looked at Tempest and saw she had a medium sized keg she had poked a hole in and was drinking out of. He blinked and tilted his head. "That's one way to do it."

"Ya got that right!" She thumped her tail which shook the table before she took a few sips. Nighthawk watched the other two hold onto their drinks to prevent them from spilling.

"You three come here often?"

"Once a week, usually. To celebrate and discuss a few things about the war here and there." Shark shrugged and took a few gulps of his drink. "Not a bad spot to unwind as well."

"Always enjoyed heading to the bar. Nice to relax, this music isn't my thing."

"Hey now, they're not so bad! They got a good rhythm going. And they play for the queen often." Tempest nudged Nighthawk, nearly knocking him over. He readjusted himself once his beverage arrived he took a few swigs and leaned back.

"Hm." Nighthawk shrugged and leaned on the table with a sigh. He kept drinking.

"Sooo..." Piranha looked over at him. "Why's he here?"

"Because I invited him." Shark said. "Figured he deserves a few rounds for saving everyone. Least we can do for him."

"I'm flattered." Nighthawk said sarcastically and rolled his eyes and got another mug. He wasn't a fan of the whole hero thing. He definitely did not deserve to be referred to as one. Not after everything he caused.

"Chin up a bit." Tempest smiled. "You're brave as hell. Taking on Cardinal like that, fighting against the skywings practically alone, and sneaking into a skywing camp, all takes guts. Something I haven't seen from any of Blister's soldiers, or any Nightwings. Not that I've met any, nor do I want to."

"I don't-"

"Yes you do." Shark said with a small glare. "Enjoy a few drinks. Tempest is paying."

"What? Oh fine. He does live with me." She snorted. "I need another keg! Bartender, I'll make it worth your while." She got up and walked over to him. Nighthawk glanced at Piranha.

"What's your position?"

"Third in Command. I mostly just plan with Tempest and train soldiers. And when there's a battle I'm on the front lines. Always enjoy cutting down enemy dragons."

"That explains the scars." Nighthawk shrugged and adjusted his cloak.

"My scars are a testament to my bravery. Unlike that cloak. What's it for anyway?" She asked and prodded at it. He listened to her claws tap against the metal plates inside the fabric.

"What does it look like? I don't like being naked, it's weird. You're all weird." Nighthawk snorted and crossed his arms. "It's also cozy."

"Cozy?" Piranha laughed a little bit. She either thought it was funny or stupid. Could he both, he figured. Based on the look on her face she was humored by it. He shrugged and kept drinking, unfazed.

"And we aren't naked." Shark snorted and sat up. "We have scales." They were too naked, and he always wondered why dragons never wore anything, he figured it was because they were mindless animals. They weren't, they had emotions and thoughts, they were sentient. "The only time dragons wear anything is jewelry, armor and such. Nothing like that cloak. I might have seen a cape or two."

"Capes are dorky." Nighthawk snorted.

"Agreed!" Tempest said as she sat down with a thud beside them. "Very dorky. And to be fair, Nighthawk's cloak is armored. It's actually a neat little thing he made." She flicked her claw at his chest, creating a muffled clanging noise.

"I did notice that." Piranha said. "Never seen anything like that. What happens if you catch on fire? That's not going to be pleasant." She commented and raised a brow.

"That is an excellent question. I have no answer. Probably could find a way to dampen the fabric, perhaps.." Nighthawk shrugged. "But my crossbow allows me to stay out of the range of most fire. So...yeah." he pulled the hood of his cloak off.

"Right. Anyway, you can take that off. You don't need to hide."

"Absolutely not." Nighthawk snorted. "And why do you want it off?"

"Must be hot in that thing." Piranha snorted and sat beside him. Nighthawk gave her a skeptical look, crossing his arms.

"I'll pass. Just about done anyway." He said while finishing up his drink. He stood and felt a talon on his shoulder, he looked back to see Piranha. "What?" He asked, then he saw her stand up too and tap her glass with a fork.

"To Nighthawk! Our newest hero! To the dragon who saved the islands!" Piranha called. "Let's hear it!" She roared. Now all the patrons in the bar were cheering and chanting for him. He wasn't a fan of it but he couldn't stop them, so he let it happen. It lasted for about thirty seconds before it stopped. He sighed.

"Thank you, everyone. Enjoy your drinks. I'll make sure to save more seawings. Gotta go. Cya." Nighthawk bowed and quickly walked out of the bar before spreading his wings. He was awfully tired now, so he just wanted to rest in his bed. He flew up and landed in his cave before walking to his bed, which he then flopped into.

"Mfh.. hm.." He sighed quielty before getting cozy. He may not like attention, but perhaps being a glorified hero wasn't so bad after all.