Wings of Fire: The LightningWing

Chapter 12 - A SandWing

Dazed, Shock watched Paradise pummel the SandWing, viciously snaring her claws at it's talons. Behind him, Paradise's pile of fruits sprawled out, changing the green grass to a fruity color. Paradise tackled the SandWing, holding back the poisonous barb with the vines she still had in her pouch. Eventually, when the SandWing was pinned, Paradise stabbed her with a tranquilizer dart in the neck. The SandWing went limp, her wings dragging on the ground. In amazement, Shock gazed at Paradise. RainWings can do that? His mind said. Shock tried flying, but fell into Paradise's wings, hugging her. The poison stung. "Paradise!" Shock bellowed, pressing his face into her side. Paradise hugged him back, then staring confusingly at the rock behind him . . . with chomps out of it. "Did you EAT that?" She pushed Shock over and wobbled to the rock. Shock could see the limp SandWing sprawled out in front of him. Paradise's scales turned a greenish purple as if she was scared to know if he ate the stone or not. Shock looked at Paradise as if she was crazy. "Natural diet." was all Shock could say about the boulder. He looked from Paradise to the SandWing. "We should bring this SandWing back to where we are camping." Shock carefully examined the posture of the dragon. By the looks of it, this SandWing was a young 6 or 7 year old and female. Paradise leaped over to Shock's side. "Here. I'll try to carry her. You . . . you try to fly with that scary scar." Her talons stroked the tip of his wing where the barb had touched him. "Then I'll get your fruits too." Shock said, wobbling over to the pile of fresh fruits. Paradise smiled and slid herself under the limp body of the SandWing, binding vines to the SandWing's legs and snout. Struggling to rise, Paradise lifted herself up with the SandWing close, furiously flapping her wings to rise. At the same, Shock painfully lifted to carry Paradise's fruits. The poison stung his scales. Paradise and Shock swerved through the plain, eventually arriving back at the camp. Toad, Maroon, and Beluga all stared in surprise when they saw the little RainWing carrying a dragon bigger than herself, a SandWing. "Paradise, you have a-a-a SANDWING ON YOUR BACK!" Beluga yelped, jumping to hide behind Maroon. Maroon snarled and nipped his ear with her teeth and shouted, "We know that, dimwit! What does that look like to you? An IceWing?" Beluga barked a laugh and then snapped his jaw shut. "No, no. It looks like a SandWing." Toad snarled, backing up to where his tail tugged Beluga to him. "And plenty enough, it looks like Cobra." He bellowed, examining the limp body when Paradise dropped the SandWing to the ground. "W-wait. Does this mean we go to the Ice Kingdom now?" Both Toad and Maroon snarled at him again, but Shock nodded. "Apparently, yes." Shock glanced at Toad. "And who is Cobra?" Toad looked down. He threw his tail back and forth, avoiding Shock's glare. "She was a SandWing on Burn's army. She hated supporting Burn, so she repented. Burn vowed to catch her, so she sent an army after her. I helped her escape the army Burn sent, but Cobra was still injured badly. I had to nurse her back to health and feed her, and for that she gave me great gratitude and told me that I shouldn't be there to help her anymore. Cobra was long lost from me after that day." Toad tried to hide a smile at Cobra. "Wait." He said, lifting up her wing carefully. "WHO TORE HER WING?" Shock snarled and eyed the flailing SandWing carefully. "She attacked first." Shock lifted his wing to show the poisonous mark. "So I had to do something." Toad scowled but acknowledged the painful black seething Shock's scales. Shock spread the fruit around his talons, and Paradise jumped to gobble them up. "Cobra was protecting herself!" Toad yelled, tackling Shock viciously. "How would YOU like it?" Toad aimed his teeth toward Shock's wing, but a tail flew by and hit Toad in the side, a barbed tail. "Toad," the stricken voice of Cobra barked. "Toad, I understand enough too, but don't bite his wing." She looked at her torn wing. "Well, a nip wouldn't hurt." Toad hoisted himself up and snarled at Cobra. "After all I've done for you, you refuse to let me protect you, like I always have?" Cobra directed her vision to the odd group of dragonets. "So, SkyWing, SeaWing, RainWing, MudWing, and . . ." Cobra lifted her talon to point at Shock, who almost felt like he should hunch back behind some dragonet, one of them. Paradise jumped in front of Shock. "Well, the SeaWing is Beluga, oh! I am Paradise. That angry SkyWing is . . . who again? Oh, yea! That's Maroon. And, oh wait. You know Toad. And I suppose," Paradise backed up a bit before directing a talon at Shock. "I suppose this is my LightningWing buddy, Shock!" She galloped gleefully in a circle while Shock and Cobra laughed. "A bit complex for saying names, huh, Toad?" Toad scowled and snarled at Paradise. "Yes." He growled. Shock whipped his tail in front of the bouncing RainWing and tripped her, making all the dragonets laugh, even Toad. Cobra swung her tail in circles, trying to avoid hitting any of the dragonets. "So why in the world is there five dragonets travelling the world together?" Cobra barked, flaring her wings and directing her attention to Shock. "I, just guessing, but I believe you are the leader of this abrupt group?" Shock nodded. "It's a prophecy developed by an ancient LightningWing." Cobra scowled, but smiled quickly. Her talons flew quickly into the air. "I left a prophecy, but that doesn't matter, right Toad? No war, right?" Cobra pushed Toad to his feet. Toad lightened his face and let his emotions go. "No war, Cobra, but we do need you." Cobra smiled. "In that case, I'm in!"