Wings of Fire: The LightningWing

Chapter 10 - A MudWing

Shock wiped gunk off his talons and shook Paradise awake. "What? WHAT? No, I'm not hungry, oh wait, there are pineapples? Sure I'll eat." The little RainWing chattered in her sleep. He shoved her harder, and her snout rolled into a pile of mud. "Yuck." She moaned, sitting up to scrape the mud off her snout. Shock shook his wings to shoot off the dry mud. "Morning, sunshine." He said, pulling Paradise to her haunches. Her scales rippled in a vibrant red, orange and yellow, like the sun. Maroon and Beluga still snored in the mud behind Paradise. Her eyes turned almost a bright green as she searched the mud. "MudWing, today, right?" Her squeaky voice echoed. Shock smiled. "Muddy as ever." He said. Paradise flicked her tongue in and out. "Eww, muddy." She stared down at the mud and shuffled away to Shock's side. "Are we going to wake that angry SkyWing?" She aimed a talon at Maroon.  Shock noticed the splotches of purple dotting her scales. "Well, I sort of do want to shove two dragonets in one day. But the Kingdom of Sand and the Ice Kingdom are so far away." Shock waddled over to Maroon and shoved her side. "So yeah, wake the SeaWing, I mean, Beluga." Maroon moaned and pushed her claw into a pile of mud. Beluga squeaked a roar when Paradise tickled his side. What are you doing, Beluga? He thought. Suddenly, racketing wings sounded nearby. Maroon shot her head up and stared into the sky, and Paradise nervously stared in the direction of the wingbeats. Sure enough, a MudWing shot over the cliff. The dragonets had slept the night before next to a towering mountain separating them from the Mud Kingdom. Beluga tiredly raised his head before quickly jumping to cower behind Maroon, who stood fiercely, staring at the sky. Shock bared his teeth and stared at the hovering MudWing, who gracefully blasted a plume of fire at the dragonets. Shock jumped before the dragonets and spread his wings, consuming the heat. His scales were covered in pain, but the MudWing was startled. Maroon leaped into the air and tackled the MudWing, straining her large wings to weight him down. Maroon and the MudWing crashed into the mud, the dragonets getting covered in muck. As if I'm not in enough muck already, Shock thought. Maroon wrestled the MudWing to where she pinned his shoulders in the mud. "Let me GO!" The MudWing bellowed, tearing his talons at Maroon's scales. Maroon held her talon over the MudWing's mouth, and Beluga held down his talons. The MudWing snapped at Maroon's jaws, but she held him firmly. Paradise hunched under Shock and rummaged through a small pouch wrapped around her neck. She pulled out a long vine and wrapped it around the MudWing's wings and talons. Maroon let go of the MudWing and he tried to jump to tackle her, but stumbled with his talons bound. "Is this the best you can do?" He asked, snarling at the little RainWing. "Vines?" The MudWing tore at the vines, but they held him down. Maroon smiled. "Yeah, I think it is. Nice job, little RainWing." Surprisingly, Paradise did a quick bow to Maroon and turned a greenish pink. "Let me go, I have a queen to serve. Queen Moorhen will like a new relic." The MudWing pointed at Shock. RELIC? Shock was furious. He bounded to the strangled MudWing and gritted his teeth, pressing the MudWing's chest with his talons. "I am no RELIC." He snarled, putting up a talon. Maroon pushed him off the MudWing, whispering in his ear. "This is as good as you're going to get for a playtoy of Queen Moorhen's, you know." Shock stared at the MudWing carefully. "Regretfully, I know." The dragon tried to tear from the bounds. "What do you want me for anyway?" He growled, shaking his wings. Paradise jumped forward to inform the MudWing on the situation, but Shock leaped before her. "Short and sweet, Paradise." He whispered. Was she really going to keep it short and sweet? "Prophecy," she gleefully said. He snarled. "No, I'm in Queen Moorhen's army. I am in Burn's army if my queen requests." Paradise looked confused. "Oh, different prophecy." Beluga stammered, pulling in his wings and hiding further back behind Maroon. The MudWing thought for a moment before saying, "Does it mean I can stop acting like a brainless soldier of Queen Moorhen's? Does it mean I get to stop having to fight powerless SeaWings? I'm in." Beluga snarled when he heard "powerless SeaWings" to Shock's knowledge. Shock stepped forward. "Then we need to know how to address you." He said, flapping his wings. As soon as they got out of the muck, Shock would be joyful enough to eat ten elephants, whatever they are. "If you are asking my name, it is Toad. Otherwise, you are speaking jibberish." Toad bit at the ropes binding his talons. Shock wasn't exactly sure he wanted to release the MudWing just yet. "Could you, maybe, release me?" Paradise nervously eyeballed Shock, who nodded his head to symbolize that she could let him go. It was barely fading morning when Toad was set free of his bounds. "That feels good." He said, stretching his talons. Maroon's wings had been flared up ever since Toad was released. Shock could see painful marks from where Toad had scratched her on her underbelly. Toad ended up rolling playfully in the mud before they lifted off into the air. "Where are we going?" Toad bellowed, squishing mud in his talons. Shock didn't know just yet. They needed a SandWing and IceWing, but he didn't know which one would be best to get first. Beluga piped up, "How 'bout the Ice Kingdom! Even better, no fire!" Toad and Maroon snarled at Beluga, and he hid behind Shock. "I take it the most of us are more leaning toward the Kingdom of Sand?" Shock asked, ignoring Beluga's growling. Paradise, Toad, and Maroon all nodded. Shock knew plenty well that the flight to the Kingdom of Sand would take up the rest of the day, unless they traveled by nightfall to avoid the burning of the day's heat. On the other talon, they did have to find the hidden NightWing Kingdom to get their NightWing, unless one is roaming freely like Beluga and Maroon were. The dragonets lifted themselves into the air, Toad on Shock's tail, and beat their wings in the direction of the Kingdom of Sand.