Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Ignore the sea’s song

It's melody plays to lull

It's strain shall kill our will

Whatever passage was written below it was smudged. Still Joro kept staring, one of their legs coming up to touch the crinkled and torn up paper held in their talons that displayed the haiku. My ancestors were a funny bunch I presume. Even with their focus being directed at the writing they could never not help but remember the striped patterns across the seven legs that curled around their body in a resting position. 

They had heard that in the old world, at least in the previous era, that patterned legs were considered an attractive trait. Now it's more of a liability. Perhaps if they lived way back then they would have been a noble or perhaps assimilated into royalty. Though that thought wasn’t as appealing considering their traditions.

Being something like a court jester could've been better for me I think…

Joro stiffened to a sound of movement somewhere deeper within the cave. Their many dark eyes wandered for a minute, before finding it safe to move away from the crevice they found themselves in. The only thing worse than being trapped in a flooding cave would have to be with another Spiderwing... No matter how small the possibility now...

At this moment Joro remembered the former tradition that the nobles of the time feast on a deceased monarch’s corpse... From what Joro read in a decaying library it was seen as a primitive barbaric tradition from the far past that even the old world they knew no longer practiced. 

But it seemed that with a little stress now the cluster has come full circle.

As for the looming threat of the water below them, sure, Joro’s subspecies were able to go catatonic for a while and thereby survive for years if they needed when immersed in water, but these waters seemed to have a... one could say negative effect on the Spiderwings.  

Joro nimbly leaped from underground formation to formation to broken monument. A fair distance above the slowly yet steady rising waters. At one point these were some kind of castle decoration, the sinuous catacombs that they reside in was once a part of a bustling Empire. Many many years ago. Where the Spiderwings once thrived as far as Joro knew. But now things are different. 

The majority of their former home was deep underwater and those who fell victim to the waters were a part of that history but perhaps if they were really unlucky they would slowly go insane until death from the waters or otherwise, but at least the effects of the waters made one less desirable to the things that wanted to eat them.

The poem that they held onto with their back legs began to slip. They didn't so much as attempt to grab onto it again. Letting the parchment fall into the still waters. Leaving a small ripple on the surface for the first time in what may have been the first time in years, the crinkled paper appeared for a moment to lose all flaw as the letters on the paper seemed to dissipate before the delicate old parchment itself disintegrated, sort of a death in a way. It looked almost perfect. 

Making an attempt would have been painful. Trying something would have reminded them of their mother, Divingbell, who ironically had met her end years ago attempting to recover a beloved toy that Joro had dropped into the waters before the danger was known by all. 

Being a small dragonet at the time, Joro had waited and waited for three days for their mother to surface again before someone else found them.

It was nice back then, when the Spiderwings used to try to help each other out.

Joro ignored the loud pitter patter noises and whooshing sounds above them, only focusing on their goal. They climbed up onto the ceiling of the cave and without another thought confidently began sifting on it with their legs, breaking the roof above them with their motion. Their eyes momentarily feel like they are being burnt from the inside the second the rather dim light hits them.

The surface…

Their grip weakened, but not because of any loss of stamina, no, the rain was loosening up the soil too well, if they weren't quick about this they would surely fall to the waters. Joro, with all their might pulled themself over, crawling away from the hole desperately. 

This… is all wrong

It was worse than they could have imagined. Looking all around on every side Joro can see the ocean. They hadn't been to the surface too many times but he remembered more greenery, trees, beaches. Now all but the towering mountains and some landscapes were still present. They had even heard at one point there were whole settlements up here, but all of that was now Submerged… Sunken?

Drowned.

The only reason I came up here was so that I could find food. But what creatures are still alive after this?

They should have known. Everything was dying here. Where they used to be able to find fat moles hiding in the labyrinth they all called home with little effort, They even had trouble even finding other dragons now. The thought of being the very last one, not even of their own species but the very last creature, made them sick to their very core.

Fish. They remembered.

They were not the best at fishing, especially when they only ever tried it years ago, but using some string they made and a tiny earthworm they found (that for the record they were perfectly happy to eat instead if it came to it) Joro was rather pleased to admit that they had caught some kind of weird water bug creature after hours of seeing no fish. 

It was bigger than the worm at least.

Joro climbed and positioned them self on a tall structure; it couldn't quite be classified as a building. Just a structure that allowed some of the spider dragons to build their nests above ground if they so pleased a hundred or so years ago.

Though with prey on the surface becoming less desirable throughout the years along with some strange happenings. Almost everyone returned underground. Ironic. Joro looked out to the sea. Which was just a way of consuming the entire island. The cold rain hitting their face and horns, the winds screeching it's bitter hatred in their ears, they crushed the water bug between the front legs they used to hold it, clear light blue liquid oozing from the bug's exoskeleton, coating their yellow stripes.

They didn't feel very hungry anymore. Though what filled them wasn't something that would provide sustenance like the ghost of a meal the water bug provided; it was something present within their veins, something that admitted both filled and fueled them for the time being at this instance. Anger.

It wasn't fair. 

After everything that happened. All that they had done up until now for the sake of their survival, All this pain, all the struggle. It would have all been for nothing. They would be wiped out just like that without a struggle. Without another living thing to hear their final croak as their stomach digests it's own lining.

Only if they stayed that is.

Joro decided then, If Portia didn't want them then they didn't want it either.

They recalled a past visit to the surface years back where they found the washed up corpse of a creature they did not recognize from sight or from their reading, it appeared lanky, and well preserved... some kind of unfamiliar thing but with some more identifiable parts of it missing. Strange things like these would seldom wash up on shore but it was a point of wonder for their cluster. 

Joro had decided not to eat it then for the reasons that it looked like it had been there for a while and if the coconut crabs had not already scavenged the corpse to the point of nothing by now then it wasn’t something meant to be eaten. How very picky they were back then.

The thing was clearly something from off the islands, it appeared to be a foreign terrestrial creature that must have swam to the island, Joro assumed this based on what remained of it, so therefore there must be more land out there.

It was probably just a pipe dream, a stupid idea based on an old weak lead and the threads of an echo of a once hopeful soul trapped by it's damnation. They truly had no idea what was out there. Though worst case scenario the ocean gives them closure.

It was better than waiting for salvation to fall into their webs.

Chapter Text

‘I can't do this.’ a much younger Joro struggled with stretching and kneading their webbing into the thick membrane like texture she needed, but clumsily would get some webbing on her talons and somehow draping off one of the joints of her second row of legs.

“If you are not going to be using your legs for the web I highly suggest making all the silk you need before hand” The voice her unofficial caretaker, Redback, echoed behind her “I also advise that you avoid being in flood risk areas such as this…”

“But Fang is still nearby. I want to show mom I've gotten better when she comes back.” The dragonet reasoned.

“Fang… Not exactly the most reliable dragon, that one.” Redback leaned over to observe the scroll that was sprawled out besides Joro’s project, eyes narrowing. “You want to make a web balloon? What use would that be in the underground?” 

“I’m hoping to be able to glide one day… Or maybe use it for diving.” She responded. 

Redback hummed as Joro cut off some string from her wrists with the sharp end of her leg, maybe pleased that she decided to talk back to him today. “I would once more advise against attempting that. The surface is not exactly a safe spot for dragonets right now. Either.”

"So nowhere is safe.'

“Yeah, Yeah, Liability, obligatory responsibility over another's offspring whatever.” Joro mumbled and

Redback sighed

“I know what you are referencing... 'The Misfortunes of my Nurture', I don't see why 'The Ties of Tides' series is too good for you."

"I finished that series last week."

"Really?" 

Shw nodded absently “All I’ve been doing lately is reading... and when I can't I like starring up..." She turned her head to face him "Can you take me diving?” 

“Not a chance.” Redback responded. "I do hope you grow a little more patient when you get older."

“Did you find mom yet?” Joro finally asked.

Redback shook his head. “Not today, Jojo. The underwater cave systems themselves are far more complex than our networks. She could be anywhere.”

“Ok.” She paused looking at the scroll beside her. Not reading, but just blankly staring down at it. “Redback... can you also be open and tell me when you are lying to my face?" She had attempted to sound collected in her confrontation, she had even played this scene so many times in her head but her voice came out in a croak.

“...No Joro, don't-”

"Jump to conclusions? When you talked about web balloons you thought I was going to parachute first. If you were actually diving down for the missing dragons you would've probably thought that I was going to try and find her and then try to stop me!” Joro took in a heavy and shaky breath before continuing. “So was there at least a body?”

Redback made an appalled noise “Joro!"

“Is it wrong though? I'm open to evidence to the contrary. But really, I've seen how the others try to dance around the topic and sometimes straight up ignore me. You are the only one who lies to my face and I will never ever forgive you for it! I… h-hate….” She broke down into tears.

Redback's expression softened as he curled his legs around them both and wrapped his talons around her in a hug. “I am so sorry…” 

There was always something about being consoled by the one who has done the hurting that almost turned it into something humiliating. They stayed like that for a minute that felt almost like an eternity. One of Redback's shorter legs patted her back, and Joro's tears would be replaced by reluctant sniffles and hiccups.

“Did you even try to look for her?” Joro had gotten out through her spasms.

“I can’t begin to imagine how you feel but Divingbell... was my best friend… Since I was your age. She was the most wonderful dragon I ever knew. It's no wonder her dragonet would also call me out for being terrible too. But…”

Joro squeaked as he hugged even tighter.

“...I don't want her to be gone either.” He continued in a pained tone.

A new voice chimed to their side “Very sweet and all, touching, but Redback, you are needed to assist in a situation in tangle caverns. There is an issue.”

Joro peaked over to see Funnelweb. Glowering over the two, his predatorily piercing black eyes contrasting the pale white of his body, a clash visible to them even in darkness. Redback released their grip on Joro and gave Funnelweb a venomous look “In a minute. If they are so desperate for backup I am sure they would be more than pleased if you can get there quickly to aid them. " Funnelweb made no more of a fuss with the exception of their colony's equivalent of an eye roll and headed away. “Joro, it was smart of you to not believe me and come to your own conclusion. In the past I would try to discourage this because you've always had difficulty connecting with others, but… things are going to be very different now.” 

“You don’t want me to trust you anymore?” She asked.

“No. I need you to believe me. When I come back, I'll tell you everything that's been happening. The whole truth. You deserve that much. You must at the very least have some idea, you’ve always been anything but naive.” He got up and inspected a web in the corner she had made before smiling “I’ll be back with dinner.”

Redback was a passable parental figure to Joro and even in the time frame he stuck around. Though, Joro would never see him as one, or feel much towards any other dragon after the loss of their mother. Though, in time, he too would die for Joro. Just as a parent would for their child. Then again, many others died for them as well. Pierced by their fangs and their life now fuel for Joro.

Though before that he had been dishonest to them once more. And in their past heart to heart no less... even if unknowingly. 

Joro is naive. A stupid naive sentimental fool if they could believe that they could get any sense of salvation from their little plan.

Atop the tallest mountain on what was once the zenith of their known world, Legs gripping a large blanket of silk, Soon enough their parachute had caught a strong current and off they were. But a long while their parachute had failed them and now they had to refashion it into a raft. silk was a durable material but they at first had doubts about its buoyancy but it was at the very least efficient. Now they felt a little more confident in writing in the journal they had brought with them, snatching the block of coal in their dries web bag and snapping a piece off of it. 

‘Day 5: On water but doing fine. Wishing to find an island with cool weather, plentiful food, and open space for me to build a web.’...

They paused. The full extent of their hunger hitting them, creating parachutes most definitely had taken a lot out of them, and the fact that Joro had only eaten sparingly wasn’t helping. But they could bear it a while longer.  Considering the sort of hunting their colonies specialized in Joro had little issue remaining still, thank the moons for a lower metabolism!

There was this one time a shark tried to curiously bite one of their legs. So Joro bit it back of course. Poor thing. Even to a starved, desperate, and somewhat crazed dragon it really wasn't that good of a meal. 

Joro refrained from eating the stripped pilot fish that swarmed the drained corpse, visually distressed at the loss of their symbiotic partner in crime. But regardless, any hunger Joro had was satiated for the time being. 

They added onto their journal entry.

…‘Has how I have been living previously ruined me? I don't believe my current emotions are normal for any “well adjusted dragon”. I’m not really taking this chance because I’m particularly hopeful. In all honesty, I sincerely doubt that I will find anything close to what I’m hoping for. But maybe things are better this way. I know my clustermates had surely seen me as a waste of resources but they're no better than me)’

Joro realized they were pouring their heart out, rather embarrassingly, their deepest and most childish thoughts, but they at least could find solace in the fact that there may not be another soul who would be able to understand them where they were going. They saw some other creatures as well. But mostly just floated, trying their best to keep going right, Resting on random tiny islands and trying not to deviate despite how much the weather often seemed to hate them. The bright sun during the day was often too much for their eyes and the sea would throw literal temper tantrums in the form of awful storms and crashing waves. Not to mention the incessant humming that seemed to emanate from the very depths of the ocean, perhaps also the glint of some sea creature's dark scales as some part of it's body surfaced for but an instant.

Day 16: More water again, nothing worth mentioning. Sorry.

And from there their memory fuzzed over. Just more days worth of drifting. At least until something significant finally happened. 

The blues of the sky had long since died and in its stead there was the veil of night, only illuminated by the billions of stars in the sky and the moons. Gentler than the boisterous beaming of the sun during the day but still rather bright nonetheless. They came across an island. Nothing like the little rest stops they had taken. It was a much larger mass though before so much as setting down a talon on the island did their hopes immediately shatter. The air had the quality of marinating soot, the shimmering stars were swallowed up by dark grey and black clouds and the night was illuminated by red splotches of lava.

Joro felt their eyes water at first contact. There was no way that they would be spending another in this island's vicinity! But they just couldn't bring themself to row away. Something about this island drew them closer, be it their own curiosity or maybe they associated the ocean with the calamity back home, perhaps they wanted a break from the sea so they followed their misguided instincts rather than common sense.

They left their stringy raft out on the shore of the island. Clearly the eruption had happened recently, but not so recent that the majority of the lava wasn't already basalt. It may have rained heavily here too at some point. That could have helped.

Joro would be careful with where they placed their legs as they traversed.

Whatever I find had better be worth the impending organ failure…

Chapter Text

To maintain a life you must take one. That's how it works everywhere.

It doesn't take a genius to make the connection but most don't really think about it, which shouldn't be too big of a surprise, considering how ingrained this would be for every living creature from the greatest apex predators to the microscopic organisms that live within them and from the most stagnant plant life to the animals that would usually be hunted. But just because it's the status quo for all places does not make the action itself any less grotesque.

With any consolation, Joro would not have to think about taking away any life on this island, for there was no way under the three moons and the sun that any creature would willingly try to live here.

The heat from the small pools of lava made their scales and throat feel dry in a crushing sense. It was horrid, only slightly muddled by the webbing they wrapped around their legs for protection. Yet they proceeded in careful strides. 

Convinced that if their instincts, which they could normally trust, were telling them to find something on this island, something good may as well have finally fallen into their webs. Or so they thought.

…A tunnel. They sighed dramatically. Of course! A tunnel Joro, A path to the underground where you belong. Now instead of slowly starving and waiting to drown you have the option of boiling yourself alive with semi hardened lava instead!

But the lure they had been feeling had gotten far more intense than even the heat from the lava. They were repulsed yet intrigued despite their better judgement once again they entered.

After mentally nothing they were unlikely to though when they lifted their eyes they were absolutely dumbfounded at what was blocking their way.

A statue? Joro hoped it was a statue with some creative liberties taken in its creation but they unfortunately could tell the difference between a carving and something formerly alive.

Have I... entered some kind of alternate universe? What is that thing? They thought Yes and no... life can take on different forms in different places after all.

Joro brushed one of their legs over the two eyes one's frozen desperate expression. Reaching out... Perhaps for a doomed salvation. It was almost Beautiful... Familiar... Relatable, despite the dragons defects.

There are… or where others here… This one seems to have bat wings but no legs. A bat dragon. They decided. So at some point others inhabited this island. 

Joro at a early point in their life would have been horrified at this sight but right now they felt a little more than simple confusion.

They thought back to that old Dragonet's tale of a winged dragon falling onto Portia, eventually expiring on the island for the bewildered locals to stumble upon. Interesting... But there was never any validity to the story, not unlike those cave paintings found in the upper gossamer district. Intriguing but ultimately not worth their time.

Joro personally imagined the winged-one as bird-like with feathers, but then again it should have been a work of fiction. And yet here was one. Gruesomely deceased and encased in a state of confusion and fear. Just like in the story. Judging by size it was possibly around my age.

“So you weren't lucky enough to escape your own circumstances hm? Mind telling me if you are a fossil or a corpse?” Joro eyed the bat dragon’s soot-preserved expression of terror.

“You are perhaps the best company I've had in a while.” They told it before scurrying their way up the walls until their legs had a hold of the ceiling of the tunnel and proceeded deeper. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

A little black and dark blue dragonet, not even a month in age sat below a large tree and looked up to it wide jawed with an almost unwieldy conviction. “Hey! Moons to Eventide! We need to gather as many berries as we can remember?” A second one chimed from a distance away. Slightly older than the first. He had rainbow scales beneath his wings and on his ruffles that stood out against his dark purple. An obvious hybrid.

A third one, scales a similar shade to Eventide flashed green and red in color, though it wasn't all that obvious in the speckled moon light pouring in from the trees “We should've moved on by now.”

“Is it ‘cause you're scared of the Volcano?” The rainbow dragon prodded. 

“No… But! One day the lava from the volcano will come through the hole and I will not be the one sitting under it!” The rainwing dragonet justified herself. Nightwings have strong fears of the volcano, given what happened to them. She reasoned Even the really young ones if they didn't have their ears stuffed with soil as their parents yelled at them.

“But it's NIGHTtime… Not daytime so you don't haveta worry about 'one day'.” the rainbow dragon shot back.

This was exactly why she disliked having to hang out with such young dragonets.

“Peacemaker, you are such a pain. I totally won't save you if lava pours down on you from that tree because you will be ungrateful regardless. And I can't say as a Rainwing I'm fine with where the tunnel goes.”

“So how many strawberries did you get so far?”  Peacemaker asked, ignoring the her previous statement.

“....One two three four five… Seven. You?”

“Twenty-three. I won! Take that, Cassava!” He answered pridefully and with his chest puffed.

“Whatever, Of course. I was going for freshness, not quantity.” She turned her attention to the smaller Nightwing “Come on Evie, You’ve been sitting there for like twenty minutes. We went out here for your sake and seriously, what is so interesting about that creepy looming hole anyways? There are much more interesting things in the Rainforest.” 

“Yeah! Like last week I found a beetle that had the same colors as a strawberry!” Peacemaker butted in and Cassava glared at him, but the little dragonet rose up from his spot with a vigor that was not present before and rushed over to the two in a panic tears streamed down his face leading to the two to freeze up in shock at the unexpected change in his demeanor “Go ‘way!” he commanded once more, but lacking the vocabulary to properly communicate his emotions further. 

Peacemaker, was the first of the two to regain himself, a bit flustered and now backing off “Oh... Okay. I’ll be over there gathering more berries” Peacemaker took off to someplace out of sight. 

“No! No! No!” Eventide bounded over and pulled at Cassava’s tail now whispering “...Go away! …Go!”

“Eve, are you okay? I don't like this place either but...” The Rainwing asked, bringing a gentle talon to Eventide’s head.

“Cassa...” He pointed to a tree “Go uhway”

“Huh?” She looked in the direction he pointed, above them, peeking out from the dark hollow of the large tree were eight eyes that were shimmering in the moonlight against a huge dark face. 

Being a little over four years old, Cassava up to this point was relatively confident traversing the rainforest alone, not including the whole Rainwing abduction thing from about a year ago, but still. She was familiar with most of the flora and fauna of the rainforest, most because every so often a new species or variation can be discovered. But the thing that stared back at them… It's  a dragon. She realized, a bit awestruck but she begrudgingly beat herself up over her previous theory.

To think she was nearly convinced of the existence of the “Rainforest Monster” Queen Glory had been going on about when she first arrived (even though it had been the Nightwings in reality). Just another dragon, Albeit appearing large enough to be fully grown with a buggy apperence.

Looks more Creepy-Crawly than the illustrations of the Pantalan dragons in scrolls or the lessons on the other tribes... Creepy in general was a far better descriptor though.

“Hello?” She called up to them and received nothing in response. Much like how you would expect from an empty hole without something you should theoretically be able to talk to starring you down.

Eventide pulled on her tail once again. Sniveling slightly. 

The weight of the stranger’s stare bored into her very soul. It was unclear if their gaze was passive or evaluating. She almost felt paralyzed in fear but surely, the wars were over now. For both continents. This Dragon had no reason to want to hurt them. Right?

“Hello? Who are you?” She called up to them but got no response. Not so much as a head tilt or a single blink or anything to indicate that they were so much as breathing, appearing to be eternally frozen at the tunnel's mouth. They had no expression to speak of but their eyes pierced through her very soul. No anger, no outward hostility yet somehow deeply threatening “No… No…” Eventide mumbled and pulled at her tail once more before she pulled him under her wings. She wanted to camouflage right then and there but that would just leave Peacemaker who was all alone as an easier target for this possibly dangerous dragon. 

She took one good look at the things where their wings should be. How their frames were oversized and bent without any membrane between them. It was horrific.

Only now did the bug bug dragon take a singular step forward, but whatever they were planning would not happen today as Cassava shot away into the trees in the direction Peacemaker had taken, praying he would not have diverged. 

She grabbed him too and he let out a little yelp but seemed to grasp the urgency of the situation and followed.

 After an uncertain while they hid under a brush not far from the Rainwing's village, she felt relieved before a realization hit her like an untimely coconut to the back of the head. “Hey… I wasn't supposed to bring you two this close…” She remembered. Sure they were doing something a little rebellious going to pick berries by themselves, It was past midnight obviously so everyone was asleep. Hopefully Peacemaker wouldn’t snitch to anyone but… “I should definitely take you both back to your own village” She offered.

“You left your basket behind,” Peacemaker noticed.

“It’s not a big deal.” She tried to argue, pulling both night dragons into a bush to lessen the chances of being spotted. “I can go with Parrot in the morning to get it back.” 

“I can ask my mom to give-”

“Shash...” Eventide used both of their talons to clamp Peacemaker’s jaw closed, shutting him up.

“And just what are you doing?” The voice of one of the Queen’s guards rang from above them.

“Deathbringer?” 

“Well as you can see. I am.” He said pridefully “Bodyguard to the wisest and without a doubt the most beautiful queen in all of Pyrrhia.” And obviously so much more than just that for Queen Glory, if every time she had seen the two of them together had shown her. Did we really need an introduction?

Cassava took a few subtle glances for hidden Rainwings in the trees, not as though that would've helped much. She thought that maybe the Queen was here too and he was trying to flatter her while she was trying to be stealthy like he often did. He seemed to always want to be by her side by any means like a baby sloth. She noticed him staring at her expectantly and she just smiled politely.

“Having trouble falling asleep, is that right? You do seem rather frazzled. A nightmare perhaps?”

“Something like that…” She replied. 

He gave her a skeptical look “Well you seem rather unsure.”

“It's just one of those waking up with cold wet scales type of dream. But I don't think I remember too much of it” 

“Funny, I'm here because of some reports from the Nightwing village that two dragonets are… unaccounted for at the moment. Any idea what that's all about?”

Missing dragons… three moons... That dragon we saw in the Nightwing tunnel must've… Oh. Nevermind they're with me. Oops.

“Your face says it all.” Deathbringer observed plainly moving to the brush of plants and ripping it off, exposing her two friends. “Uhh… good morning?” Peacemaker gave them both a sheepish smile as the first hints of dawn creeped across the sky. And one could clearly see the sleepledd displeasure on Deathbringer’s face illuminated by the soft light of an awakening sun as he muttered something under his breath, picking up and holding Eventide closely.

“Come on, your mothers are worried about the both of you. Moons, Hope was just about ready to bite my head off. And Cassava, I'm letting this slide for today because I am tired but please refrain from exposing the location of the village to random Nightwings! And don't cause more trouble!”

“Sorry.”

“Hmmph. I should be bringing these two home now. See you.” He said, taking off and waiting midair for Peacemaker to follow who just tilted his head at Cassava. A part of herself told her to follow. To spill everything that had just happened to a dragon who could handle this. To someone who would know what to do and could take the burden off her shoulder. 

In truth she was somewhat intimidated by the prospect of having to face their queen with the info, which seemed rather nerve wracking considering the Queen's personality and drive demanded the utmost respect and she wasn't exactly comfortable in non-casual situations. 

If she told the Queen and her bodyguard there is a chance Cassava would be putting a dragon in some undeserved peril, and perhaps wasting The Queen’s and her guard’s time. 

Embarrassingly, she didn't quite think that what… who she had seen was real. The eyes… the sharp appendages that reminded her of conjoined sewing needles jutting out from their body. The seeming absence of wings in far their adulthood, Matching none of the descriptors of any dragon she has ever heard of. She had  accidentally made a major discovery but didn’t have anyone but a literal baby to corroborate her story.

It was supposed to be a quiet night of picking strawberries to make a tart for Peacemaker’s mother, and now she was questioning her mind.

What if she was going crazy and she would end up like that one dragon who couldn’t sleep and change his scales?

What if nobody would want to be around her anymore?

But with the look she had gotten from the stranger lingering in her mind, their intense unreadable expression, she knew they were not something her mind could make up. I have to tell.

“Hey! Wait up! Deathbringer!” She took off after the two dark shapes before they disappeared into the infinite green of the Rainforest.

Chapter Text

There was no hope that any sunlight would ever seep through a cobweb covered cavern, but that was to be expected of the lower reservoir, an underwater pond only for the likes of the singular Portian dragon tribe, but if there ever were any pests, seldom had they ever been present, then the clusters of web would serve their purpose “That’s worrying.” A brown spider dragon began his descent down from a web holding two thread wrapped lumps in both talons containing food of some sort “but at this point our cluster is relatively stable”

“So we should just ignore the issue until we end up in a predictable crisis?” Redback hissed "Tarantula, this is water we are talking about! We can't just depend on our reserves forever!”

“That's not what I'm suggesting, you know that's not it. Drinkable water means nothing to dead species. We must understand-”

“It's been nearly two decades since the first incident, now look at where we are now! Displaced, starving, sick, insane or dead. Understanding the Drowning wouldn't have done anything then or now.” 

Unbeknownst to the two bickering adults, they were being watched. Fang made an anticipant grunt type sound a bit too close to Joro's ear and she wanted so badly to tip his two namesakes right out of his stupid mouth. After hours of following Redback, her appointed guardian was close to saying something that corroborated one of his dumb theories, but which one? She was not quite sure, he was one of those who talked plenty but said absolutely nothing. Joro learned long ago in her short life to tune him out.

“It's not my decision in the end I would take it up with Jumper. Or Funnelweb….” Tarantula held out the two sizable wrapped masses once more and Redback elevated and hooked them onto one of his legs, not having much concern over having to balance himself having seven other legs for that purpose. He eyed them disappointedly after sniffing it “I'm assuming we are in shortage of prey in the underground as well.”

“Hey! Don't string up the messenger, I only provide the food.” 

“Oh! I see. It would appear that the colony’s wellbeing is nobody’s duty. Is that it?” Redback observed once more.

‘I can't take any more of this.’ Joro decided, turning away. 

“Joro?” Fang asked, still in the hushed tone  "Why are you leaving?”

“I don’t care.” She hissed scampering away from him 

What did it matter anyways?

__

“Please take care!” Deathbringer called out to Eventide’s father who just slammed the door in their faces after rightfully giving Cassava a small scolding for bringing his baby along to a midnight berry picking expedition. 

Cassava felt it best to leave out the part that Eventide had practically attached himself to her when she and Peacemaker were trying to take off and had nearly thrown a conniption large enough to uproot the rainforest when she tried to remove him. 

“Yeesh. Some dragons.” Deathbringer commented.

It wouldn't have helped her case anyways she believed. The tiny dragonet was peering at them from the other side of the tinted jungle leaf windows as she and Deathbringer left. What the baby's expression was about was news to her, after all, what worries could a dragonet that small possibly have? She tried not to mull it over, there were more important things to go over.

The night dragons in the village that were already up, giving her wandering glances before continuing to their own business, by now Cassava was almost a commodity in the night village.

“It's not a bother, besides, at worst we are at least aware of the threat and at best we make a new Pantalan friend.” He reassured her again.

“Yeah…” She hadn't been upfront about the description of the stranger, their lack of wings and the sharp looking thingies that replaced them… 

The sets of pupiless eyes look like those of a sandwing or icewing. A bit like the two who had come into the rainforest with Kinkajou and Moonwatcher a while back but devoid of something she couldn’t place her claw on. 

Now that she was thinking about it, it may have been some oddly colored partially camouflaged rainwing… someone playing a cruel prank on her?

“...I'm at least happy you can be upfront and honest about the fact that you snuck off and broke Queen Glory’s curfew!” Deathbringer suddenly added in a miffed voice after yet another awkward second of silence. 

With him bringing up the Queen, Cassava was reminded of the older dragon’s obvious boundless loyalty to her, only temporarily subdued when she utterly demanded it. Maybe they are having some sort of altercation. 

That might be the reason why he hadn't gone straight to her to report before he came back with Cassava. 

That must be it.

“It was really helpful that you explained everything to me. But definitely not something I would expect of you of all dragons!” His voice snapped her back to reality.

“I’m sorry.” She said quietly 

She heard him quickly mutter under his breath. She didn't catch everything but did strain her ears to hear “...like i'm talking to” and “Moonwatcher”

“... Peacemaker dragged you along, correct?” Deathbringer prompted and then made a disappointed noise as some sticky clumps of a spider web got stuck to his claws, which he had some difficulty removing. 

“Yes! It wasn’t even my idea.” She said “Peacemaker was very insistent on the whole thing.” He also basically blackmailed me with with my crush on Mi-

“You are far larger than him, and, in theory, should not be a little more assertive.. but I somewhat understand. For someone named Peacemaker that dragonet seems destined to be the center of quite a lot of chaos, especially when everyone else is trying to sleep through the night. If Hope had any sense of what he was going to be like before he hatched, I would bet my best dagger that she would have called him Nightowl!”

“Does he keep everyone in the night village up? Is he really that bad?” Cassava snorted and he grinned back. 

“I did warn you that I was dangerously funny at some point didn't I? And yet you somehow didn't believe me.” He said.

“You're so not!” She retorted jokingly.

“Oh! I totally am! I am as good of a comedian as I am a bodyguard. Thank you very much!”

“Our poor queen…” Cassava exhaled, earning her a playful tailwack to the leg.

The smell of wet ash now permeated through the air as she looked up to see the same hole the strange dragon had appeared from only a few hours ago.

“They would have been around here, correct?” Deathbringer’s expression was more focused as he scanned the immediate area. 

“Yes sir.” She replied.

It took a few minutes of examining, Inspecting and sniffing the surrounding area. Flying up to the treetops, inspecting a pile of leaves and swiping at the ground and after a long while Deathbringer appeared to get increasingly impatient.

He shook his head “I've searched every crevice of this area diligently, at least eight once-overs. No scattered ash or dirt to indicate that they had taken off, no talon prints other than some brocket tracks. The nearby canopies also seem undisturbed…”

He trailed off, looking to not wanting to continue what he was saying. She had a clear idea of the implicit hint he was giving her.

He must think I've been making that stuff up. Or that she had been so tired she was seeing things. She couldn't see anything too out of the ordinary either. She looked up to him and nodded. 

“How about you go back? Sun time must be in just a few minutes.” He suggested. “It's highly unlikely given everything about the volcano but… I'll check the tunnel.” 

She could only nod as he shot into the tunnel and with his black scales his form immediately disappeared into the depths of its abyss.

Have I messed up and wasted someone’s time again? She wondered.

The jungle was oddly quiet as she traversed her way through the jungle. The monkeys ceasing their howling and any rainforest birds seemed strangely scarce.

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Drawing :)