Fourth Wheel ||Qinter||

Chapter 8 - North

A/N:

Sorry I haven't updated in so long. Usually I update at least once a week and it's been a lot more than 1 week since the last update. If you've been reading or following me for a while you'd know that I don't usually update on time. A lot happened in the previous chapter, including some serious character development for Winter. After that I just don't really know what to write. I've been thinking I could set up a voting system in the comments on what you guys want to happen next. Should I do something like that or do you want the whole story to be full of unexpected twists and turns? Tell me in the comments.

Enjoy the chapter!

- Victory

An urgent hiss reverberated through Winter's skull. "Get up, guys!" It sounded like Turtle.
He opened his eyes a crack and saw the green SeaWing raising his talons and putting them back down again anxiously. It was still nighttime, but the glow of the moon, the stars and Turtle's glowing scales (mostly the last one) blinded Winter's onyx-black eyes. "What the heck Turtle?" Winter grumbled, fatigue dragging down his eyelids and dulling the usual sharp edge to his voice. "I was sleeping."
"I know that, you dimwit! We're all tired, but I saw a few dragons flying this way! One of them was Peril. The Dragonets must've noticed we were missing."
Winter got up and nudged Qibli awake with his snout. "Come on, we have to go." Qibli didn't question him and got up. Meanwhile, Moon was busy helping Tamarin up, who seemed both grateful and annoyed at the same time. "Let's go," she told them before launching herself into the sky, propelling herself forward with her star-studded wings. Qibli, Winter, Tamarin and Turtle followed suit.

They flapped on, heading north to the border between the two kingdoms was located to find the hut of Jerboa II. To Winter's relief, Darkstalker didn't pester him for the rest of the journey. He decided that he wouldn't tell the others about Darkstalker yet, since he wasn't related to the prophecy and they needed to focus on the prophecy and nothing else. The leaves wrapped around Qibli's talons were stained red, but luckily they had stopped dripping blood. Qibli flew with his legs loose and hanging, since if he tensed his leg muscles it would affect his injured talons. However his flying was a lot less streamlined and slowed them down a bit. Winter stared at him, and he didn't realise he had been staring until Qibli lifted his head to glance forward, and Winter looked away, blushing furiously.

The five dragonets flew for a while before they could see the vague coastline in the distance, battered by heavy hammering sleet. Palm trees bent so dangerously low that their leaves were mere inches from scraping the drenched sand, which was bubbling with sea-foam from the churning black waves. Winter didn't mind the cold, but the wind was definitely irritating. He couldn't even fly straight.

Moon squinted through the downpour of water and ice and could make out the shadowy outline of a small, surprisingly undamaged hut. "There!" She shouted over the overwhelmingly loud storm. "Over there, that's Jerboa's hut!" She flapped faster, making her way steadily to the hut. Tamarin wasn't about to follow when the wind hurled the top of a palm tree at her. As Moon looked back, her eyes widened in fear for the blind dragonet. She was about to scream a warning when Tamarin dodged smoothly, and the top half of the palm continued to hurtle past her and crash landed on the sand. "Like I said," Tamarin grumbled. "I don't need vision to know that a tree is trying to kill me." She flapped ahead to hover next to Moon. The others, still slightly dazed, followed.

The door creaked slightly as Moon pushed it open with her head. It was warm and well-lit inside, a stark contrast to the dark, cold storm outside. "Hello?" Turtle called cautiously. "Jerboa II? We're looking for Jerboa II, is she here? I mean, are you here?"
"Who are you?" Came a voice. It seemed to come from the walls. Winter whipped his head around and hissed.
"Stop being so paranoid," Tamarin told Winter. "It's probably Jerboa."
"Yeah, but why do we trust Jerboa? What if she's lost her soul?" Winter asked.
"I have not lost my soul," Came a voice from behind them.
The dragnets turned around and came face-to-face to a tall, long-necked, graceful SandWing. She spread her wings in a welcoming gesture, revealing brown triangle patterns on them. "I'm Jerboa II. What can I provide you with? Food? Water? Warmth? Shelter?The storm really is quite bad outside."
"Um, actually-" Qibli began awkwardly before he was cut off by Moon.
"We're here because you were mentioned in our prophecy. Do you have any information about the prophecy that we could use?"
"No, I don't think so." Jerboa said. "Can you tell me what the prophecy was? If it foretold this, there must be something I can do to help you."

Moon nodded and started to concentrate. She took a deep breath and began.

"Descendant of evil's love beware—
Sea is coming to burn the heir.
Hidden away in a shell of death;
His magic will give you your very last breath.

Born silvery under the heavy night sky,
Away from the ashes of a dragonet's cry,
Seek the one with infinite life,
Or you shall live in everlasting strife.

Before twilight on Thremb's Day end,
Find the light in Pyrrhia's night—
Else, a soul you must now spend.
Before he begins history's end."

When Moon finished, she opened her eyes and didn't notice the flicker of horror that briefly crossed Jerboa II's face. Winter did, though, and he squinted at her. "What was that?" He asked suspiciously.
"Nothing," Jerboa replied quickly. "I can tell you one thing, though. Thremb's Day is the old name for the Brightest Night. It's no longer in use."
"Of course!" Turtle exclaimed. "There's a night with three full moons coming up soon."
"You haven't told us everything." Winter growled stubbornly. "What are you hiding?"
Unable to deny what Winter had just said, Jerboa stared down at her talons before saying, "Alright, I'll tell you. But you're not going to like what you're about to hear." She paused.
"Go on," Qibli prompted.

"I'm not the one with infinite life you should be looking for. The dragon you should be looking for is Darkstalker."