They circled and flew back towards the castle. Auberon was stolid. Eclipse cocked her head, watching him as his wings casted a shadow on the castle.
But as they grew nearer, something felt off. Her feathers bristled. Why had everyone stopped talking? She had only been there for a few days, but large places like this always had a conversation going on.
Dragons were gathered outside. They were talking in low tones.
Auberon clicked and dived, parting the crowd. "What is it?" he demanded.
Eclipse followed and landed quietly at the edge of the cliff. Worry etched the dragons' faces, like something atrocious happened. She only caught snippets over the roar of conversations.
"...looks awful..."
"Dreadful!"
"What could have made those marks...?"
"Who did it?"
"....why would they do that?"
She pushed forwards. Eclipse put her foot somewhere wrong and accidentally stepped on a branch. Except, this branch yelped.
She turned and began to apologize when a long, fearsome face bore into her. He had scales that reflected the light, and a menacing forked tongue that slipped between his fangs.
"Watch it," he snarled in a gravelly voice. Eclipse gulped and moved quickly.
Finally, she made it into the castle. No one was there, except for a ring of dragons muttering. One of them sobbed. What's happening?
She neared them. Auberon was with them, talking in a low voice. He swiveled his head around. His eyes sparked with fear.
Eclipse stopped. Two dragons saw her and parted. She was glad she hadn't eaten, because she turned and retched.
A dragon caked in blood lay strewn on the floor. From the lack of blood trails, she guessed their body was carried in. Its neck was slit in such a ragged manor, almost its whole head was off. She tried to find out who it was, but they were so covered in blood and guts it was hard to tell. But something nagged in the back of her head.
"Eclipse," someone hissed. She looked up, eyes watering. It was Auberon.
"You have no business here. Please wait outside like the others."
She obeyed and stepped outside, her stomach crawling.
"Eclipse? Eclipse!"
Her head snapped up. Someone was bustling through the crowd. A smile grew on her face.
"Marte! Over here,"
Marte came over, tail plume flared in fear. She had a wild look in her eyes.
"Eclipse... oh, Eclipse..." Her voice caught and she choked back a sob.
"What is it?" Eclipse asked, cocking her head to the side.
Marte shook her head, maw shut, eyes glazed.
Eclipse gasped. She knew whose body it was.
It was Twig's.
Eclipse perched outside of her nest, watching as Auberon somberly flew in. The scouters glided silently behind him, disappearing up into the hole on the ceiling. Auberon, with quite difficulty, shoved himself inside.
"Wow, I haven't seen a meeting since I first came here," Marte murmured. Her voice quavered. Eclipse looked at her with worry. Marte's feathers didn't stick out anymore, and her eyes were always distracted. It'd been three days after her son's death. Things have gotten denser in the air since his burial. Marte's friends stopped by constantly.
