Chapter Text
Blue
When I first arrived in Pyrrhia, the sheer beauty and diversity of the continent's landscape was truly a sight to behold. Even the linear journey from the western coast to my temporary home at Sanctuary was one of the most awe-inspiring experiences of my lifetime.
I remember the soft, chilled touch of glittering white snow as me and the others landed outside of an Ice Kingdom town called Among-the-Evergreens. I'd never seen or felt anything like it; a few of the locals nearly fainted when I told them there's no such thing in Pantala. We also flew over the Kingdom of Sand. Such a barren and desolate biome compared to its neighbors and my homeland; yet the sprawling desert still managed to mesmerize me with its golden sand dunes, sprawling canyons, and gorgeous rock formations.
*BOOM*
A blinding and alarmingly close bolt of lightning pierced through the rainstorm and struck an unsuspecting mountain beneath me. The reverberation alone rattled my sensitive antennae and felt like it was going to fracture my skull. Okay, this is officially my least favorite part of Pyrrhia so far. Sorry, SkyWings.
I'm flying south from Sanctuary along the Claws of the Clouds Mountains. Me and the two other Pantalan dragons are supposed to show up at Jade Mountain Academy by sunset at the latest. Apparently my internal clock hasn't yet adjusted to the Pyrrhian day cycle; I greatly overslept and woke up to our guide—Riptide, poking me in the shoulder at around noon. He gave each of us maps, but I really wish he would've tagged alongside me. Maybe then I could've found my way directly to the school instead of flapping aimlessly in a relentless monsoon.
It's more my fault than his. I strenuously pumped my waterlogged wings against the howling squall, searching desperately for any sign of Jade Mountain's infamous twin peaks in the distance. We were given a few days to rest at Sanctuary and explore a bit before having to fly towards the academy. Vespa and Shamrock took off hours before I did; Riptide probably assumed I could also find the way on my own.
The bellowing roar surrounding the storm muted the wheezing sigh that tumbled out of my maw. SilkWings weren't meant to fly against downpours: Our wings grow heavy after absorbing so much rainwater; the main reason why we have antennae in the first place is to detect and avoid hazards like this one. The weather here is just so sporadic. I slammed my eyelids shut as another flash crackled overhead. There were blue skies above me merely twenty minutes ago. I'm sure me being in such a rush to find the academy didn't help my senses whatsoever. Perhaps my six year perfect attendance streak isn't as important as I thought it was.
My heart is pounding through my chest, and I couldn't tell if my ragged breathing is a result of exertion or hyperventilation, or both. The storm is making me feel overwhelmed: My wings are battling a losing war against the gale, the prickling sensation of dense raindrops on by back is starting to hurt, and my eyes are stuck in a permanent squint from all of the water and lightning bolts streaking in front of me.
I have to find Jade Mountain right now. I anxiously thought while scrutinizing each and every mountain peak in my limited field of vision. This storm isn't letting up, if I don't find it soon... My brows furrowed with tension as a very prominent (but not two-peaked) cliff side arose from the curtains of rain. To my absolute shock, it was only a few hundred feet beneath my talons as I fluttered over it. I'm losing altitude. I'm about to splatter against those rocks.
A determined hiss broke through the wailing cacophony as I shakily banked away from the peak and tried to maintain a general sense of direction. Calm down, Blue. Everything is FINE. The mountain is a ways beneath you and to your side now; all of this is in your head. The figurative weight on my chest marginally lifted with my self-encouragement. If I can fly a teeny bit further, I'll land at the academy, and I'll be safe. You've got this.
My antennae sharply perked upwards, and a pungent smell assaulted my nose out of nowhere. Reflexes overrode my momentary confusion as my talons instantly covered my ears and my elbows blocked my eyes.
A loud crash came from my left as the supercell targeted the cliff I'm flying around with all of its might. The accompanying flash of lightning produced a blazing glow that was visible even through parts of my eyelids. I had peeked through my elbows for a scant few seconds before once again shielding my face. A wave of smoldering embers pelted my scales, irritating my wings even further and prompting a violent cough from me as one particularly smoky fragment struck my exposed nostril.
"Nope!" I resolutely yelled to myself as I veered away from the burning mountaintop. "No, no, nononono." At this point, the only thing growing faster than the dread pooling in my stomach is my airspeed. My wings sharply angled downwards and I swooped low into a nearby gorge. After a very sporadic and brief period of combing the narrow valley, I somehow spotted what looked to be a cave entrance barely discernible underneath the deluge.
"I need to land in there before I get zapped." I huffed out, yawing my lithe body towards my newfound salvation. The unrelenting winds only grew stronger in the strait gorge, forcing me to flap my sore and overburdened wings harder than I ever have before. Come on. A thunderbolt from above illuminated the cave's spiky mouth, beckoning me to dive deeply into its safer depths with an angelic radiance. Almost there. Almost-
My eyes bulged out of my head. "TOO FAST!" I yelped and splayed out all four of my wings as wide as they could physically go. My head and lower body lurched forward from the sudden braking, narrowly missing a few stalactites and sharp ledges jutting out of the entrance. The very edge of my tail caught itself in the path of my outstretched hind talon, tripping me into a painful tumble against the solid ground.
On the third flailing roll, my body struck a moss covered boulder and came to a complete stop. I remained dazed for a few moments as my brain analyzed the damage, then I let out an agonizing groan. "Yeowch." I coarsely stammered while my body achingly slid off the slippery rock. My drenched scales made an unceremonious *Splat* sound as I limply fell onto the floor back first.
I laid still on the ground for some time, working on steadying my breaths and resting my... everything, to be honest. I'm hurting in places I didn't even know I had.
After what seemed like an adequate amount of recovering time, I weakly rolled onto my stomach and inspected my form. Remarkably, nothing appears to have been broken during my crash landing. The homemade knapsack I weaved with my own gold silk held together astonishingly well; a small peek under its fastened lid revealed that all of my belongings were dry and unharmed.
The good news ended there, unfortunately. My soggy wings miserably drooped over my sides, their muscles crying in agony at the subtlest twitch. Mud and clusters of pebbles cling to many parts of my body, masking the various cuts and bruises forming over my scales. Also, the cave smells.
My snout whisked around in the air as I tried to identify the strong odor. The cave itself is nothing super remarkable: Gray stony walls, the occasional patch of green moss and nettles, enough room to stand up and walk around in; the only unusual feature is the abnormally warm temperature compared to outside.
Another wave of that putrid scent assaulted my sinuses. I raggedly coughed into my elbow a few times before remarking, "Smoke?" Sure enough, as I glanced upwards towards the ceiling, I noticed a thin layer of hot steam gently channeling through the various stalactites hanging off of the cave's roof. Following the direction of its flow, my eyes promptly discerned a faint orange glow reflecting from somewhere behind the boulder.
"Did I land in a volcano?" I fretted whilst making an effort to stand up. My hind leg is especially wobbly; I must've pulled a muscle during the first part of the crash. "That'd be my luck; escape from one type of natural disaster just to fall right into an even scarier one."
Somehow, I managed to put all four talons beneath me and prop myself against the mossy rock. I tentatively peered around the boulder and searched for the dampened light's source. The tunnel stretched further ahead and around a sharp corner. I couldn't see the area directly, but the flickering light seemed to be coming from somewhere deeper in the bend.
My feelers vigilantly waved around in the humid air. Aside from the muffled vibrations of the storm outside, I couldn't sense anything particularly foreboding from the mountain itself. One of my antennae winced at a harsh movement from alarmingly close by. The sensation reminded me of my old HiveWing teacher raking her claws against the chalkboard whenever she was angry.
Soon afterwards, my ears picked up the sound of raucous scraping coming from farther down the tunnel. The stone walls grew brighter as a shrill hissing noise filled the cave. My feelers curled inwards from distress and I immediately ducked behind the sturdy boulder.
A furious roar rattled the sides of the tunnel and nearly knocked me off balance. Blazing heat swept around the boulder as something large and weighty smashed against the wall right across from my hiding place. Dust flew into my frantic eyes before I could identify what it was.
Okay, probably not a volcano. I tried wiping my arm across my face, successfully making my vision even blurrier and more excruciating. Probably—Most definitely occupied by someone else. Someone very angry, by the sounds of it.
Something sharp and scratchy struck my tail, eliciting a startled yelp from my maw. I shakily spun around on my talons and backed away from the sudden attacker. My eyes vigorously blinked in an attempt to clear out debris from my gaze and focus on what (or who) is literally an arm's length in front of me.
I kept blankly staring through the grime and tears on my face until my view finally cleared up. The gray and scraggly form of a collapsed stalagmite lay somberly on the floor next to my boulder. A soft sigh of relief tumbled out of me.
Why are they so mad? I hesitantly chanced a peek around the edge of the boulder once again and quickly spotted what was thrown into the wall. The smoldering remains of a sizable rock were strewn about all over the cave's floor. A gaping crater now scars the innocent sedimentary wall.
Are they a SkyWing? I turned away from the newly created mess and watched as the raging tempest pelted the tunnel's opening with an endless barrage of rain. Do SkyWings love flying? It's kind of in their name, after all. Maybe the dragon in here is angry because they can't fly in this weather.
More crashing and clawing sounds emanated from behind the bend. I quietly sat down on my haunches and pointed my antennae towards the curve. Spending so much time being a cautious SilkWing (or being cripplingly anxious, as Luna unfairly calls it) has greatly refined my sixth sense. I'm hoping it'll lend me some forewarning in case the other dragon decides to hurl a second stone in my direction.
Lots of pacing. My feelers danced around as I shut my eyes in concentration. They must be a larger dragon; the vibrations from their steps are very pronounced. I tilted my head in confusion. What's that crackling sensation I'm picking up? Have they lit something on fire?
Both my antennae and ears twitched at a peculiar noise coming from the dragon. Their breathing sounds uneven, harshly broken up by wheezes and sniffling. I could also feel them trembling as they trudged around in circles and... oh. Oooohhh.
My now saddened gaze studied the dimly lit corner. The orangish light bouncing off the bend's walls danced and wavered, but I still couldn't see any shadow of the dragon's figure. I know that sound like the back of my talon. They're crying. The sensation of woefully dragging one's claws down their face tingled my feelers. Yup, I did plenty of that, too. Especially in the days before I left Pantala.
I took a deep breath in order to steady myself, then I began limping towards the curve. Maybe they just need someone to talk to. My hobbling hind leg stubbed itself on an obscured stalagmite, and I had to bite my lips to prevent an embarrassing squeal from leaving my maw. That always helped Luna whenever she felt gloomy; hopefully it'll work for this slightly more temperamental dragon.
The ruckus further within the tunnel ceased right as I was halfway towards the corner. I charily stopped in my tracks, unsure of what the other dragon's planning on doing next.
Perhaps they've stopped to contemplate. My throat felt increasingly parched despite the humid air: I want to say something, but judging by the vicious sounds and collateral damage caused by this individual, a poor choice of words could seal my fate way faster than the thunderstorm ever could.
I ran my tongue along the roof of my mouth and fidgeted with my own claws. Come on Blue, when's the last anything remotely offensive came out of your maw? No one's ever truly felt enraged over the things you've said. Your actions, on the other talon... A weary groan floated from my lungs.
"H-Hello?" I stammered out with the vocal clarity of a one-year-old hatchling. Shoot, did I sound too unsure of myself? Maybe I should've gone with, "Hi, how are ya?" Or possibly, "This weather can't make up its mind, huh?"
A low and shaky hiss responded to my greeting, and I swear the lighting on the surrounding rocks seemed to shrink away from me. "Go away, Clay." A stern yet very anguished voice carried over from around the curve. Their words sounded gravely and raw; they've been sobbing for quite a while.
My brows quirked as I inspected the walls around me. "Clay?" I confusedly queried. "This cave's made of limestone." A second passed by before I weakly chuckled at my own words. "Oh! I'm sorry, are you talking about that Clay?" I sat on my haunches and rubbed some grime off of my arm. "I've heard bits and pieces about him at Sanctuary; is he as nice as other dragons say?"
My modest effort to make conversation fell flat on its face. The only noise my ears could perceive was the ominous whooshing of the storm behind me.
Right as I felt another question rising into my throat, my feelers began to perceive some faint movement from ahead of me. My eyes momentarily watered as the faint glimmer coming from the bend gradually brightened the dim tunnel I'm standing in. I kept a vigilant lookout for any shadows of a moving dragon on the nearby walls, but the cave only continued to light up while my feelers quivered from the dragon's wary shuffling.
I didn't know what I was expecting: Maybe a torch being held out by an outstretched talon, or possibly a glass lantern if this dragon were particularly fancy. Whatever scenarios were coursing through head came to a crashing stop when they—or rather, she finally poked her fearsome head around the corner.
Her eyes are a blazing shade of blue that burned into my retinas with a perusing, snarly glare. Steam billowed from her flaring nostrils, and as she fully exited from behind the rocky cave opening, I had a belated realization. She is the light source.
The temperature dramatically rose with each of her forward strides. Fiery copper colored scales radiated with a scorching heat reminiscent of a ravaging forest fire. As I somewhat predicted earlier, she's frighteningly larger than I am. I've never seen such rippling muscles on another dragon before, and her spiky horns and claws sent a stinging jolt of terror around the length of my spine.
She stopped a short distance in front of me. Her breathing is so heavy that a cluster of sparks shot out from in between her glistening teeth as she glowered down at me. "What. Are you." She demanded with a harsh, stentorian voice.
"E-Er, we-" I uneasily coughed to my side and cleared my throat. "I'm a SilkWing. Y-You know, from Pantala." My lips curled into an unsteady smile, "I'm Blue, by the way."
The beast in front of me flippantly snorted and scrutinized my form once again with her withering leer. "You're clearly purple."
I was tempted to laugh until I realized how dead serious she is. "Well, I guess in some places." I timidly spoke while glancing over one of my quivering arms, "B-But no, my name's Blue." Working up a vestige of courage, I lightheartedly chortled. "Blue-Purple-Green doesn't quite have the same ring to it."
Somehow her piercing eyes maintained their ferociousness even as her expression turned into one of disinterest. "You're right, that'd be a trashy name." She lifted a talon off the floor and pointed behind me towards the cave's main entrance. "Good chat, now get out."
My head turned to its side and I glanced over towards the entrance. I could tell from here the storm hadn't eased whatsoever: Rainwater is now pooling in the mouth of the cave, and stray wind gusts created wispy gyres from the steam lingering beneath the roof. "Uhm..."
"Did you not hear me, you little gnat?" The dragoness fumed at my apprehension. I whipped my head around just in time to witness her scales burst into flames and send me scurrying backwards. "GET OUT!" She savagely shrieked, flaring her colossal wings and igniting an inferno in the area around us.
Without a moment's hesitation, I turned tail and sprinted in the opposite direction. This could not have gone any worse. My strained leg painfully stumbled a few times, but thanks to my fiery friend illuminating the entire cave, I managed to dart around all of the tripping hazards. I didn't even consider—am I trespassing? That'd be a fantastic way to start a new life on this continent: Break and enter into someone's home.
My talons came to a slippery halt at the cave's rugged exit. The cold rain certainly felt kind of nice after my hasty retreat from the tunnel's now oven-like interior. Can't say I'm stoked to fly in it once again, however.
The feelers on my head quivered from a strong movement somewhere beneath me. I breathlessly limped to the very edge of the opening and squinted downwards. The bottom of the gorge had flooded from the onslaught of rain, creating a series of white water rapids that would certainly drown an already exhausted and injured SilkWing.
The puddle of water I'm standing in began to feel strangely warm around my tail and hind talons. My heart sank into my stomach, and I meekly turned around to face the familiar source of heat.
She had her front claws dipped into the rainwater, causing that particular edge of the shallow pool to boil. The dragoness sat on her haunches, feigning a look of patience as she stared at me expectantly.
"Well?" She asked with a mocking quality to her voice, "Spread your pretty wings butterfly; where's that commitment I saw when you were running away with your tail tucked between your legs?"
I weakly flapped my sodden wings and casted a pleading look in her direction. "I can't fly like this!" My front claws nervously pawed at the slick stone beneath me, "Please, can I just stay in here until the storm dies down? I won't make any noise or bother you o-"
The dragoness cut me off with a loud, exasperated sigh. "Maybe you just need some proper motivation." She darkly offered, standing up and taking a scalding step forward. "Would a little push help you?"
My maw refused to speak proper Dragon as a series of terrified and disjointed stammers pelted out of my throat all at once. The dragoness nonchalantly waved a steaming talon through the air. "No no, don't worry." She crookedly grinned as she took yet another splashing stomp towards me, "You don't even have to ask; that's how nice I'm feeling."
"PLEASE!" I practically groveled, shooting another terrified look over my shoulder. "I'll die if I go out there! Even if I don't instantly plummet into the river, I'm completely lost!" The edge of my tail drooped over the spiky ledge as I tried to back away from the scorching talon reaching towards me. "All of the peaks look the exact same; I can't possibly find Jade Mountain in this monsoon!"
The dragoness' sharp claws stopped, hovering in the rain only a few inches away from my upper chest. Her glowing eyes blinked with confusion, "Wait, the academy?" She glowered at me with suspicion, her threatening talon still raised in front of me. "Why are you going there? Our teachers haven't mentioned anything about a SilkWing of all creatures enrolling."
Even through my ragged and nervy panting, I shakily chortled. "It was going to be a surprise." My lungs drew in a couple more wheezing breaths before continuing, "Me, a HiveWing, and a LeafWing enrolled about a week ago. I'm supposed to meet one of the educators on the cliff outside of the Great Hall; Riptide mentioned it could be Sunny, Tsunami, or possibly Clay if he's not too busy."
A subtle flicker ran through her pupils as the dragoness heard Clay's name. Her eyes lowered a bit, and I noticed that her radiant scales had marginally dimmed. She's thinking. I optimistically mused, keeping my wary gaze on her wavering talon. That's good. Hope she's thinking, "Oh, he's only an innocent student who's been sent here as part of an olive branch by the Pantalan tribes. He's totally harmless, and I definitely shouldn't throw him into a raging body of water.
I put on a tense, toothy smile as the dragoness glared at me once again. She stood rigidly for one or two more seconds, then she forcefully groaned. "By the moons, wipe that pathetic look off your face already!" Her piping hot talon carelessly splashed down into the simmering puddle as she irritably stepped to the side of the cave. "Get in here."
A long sigh of relief left my maw, and I wasted no time at all trudging away from the muddy and soaking wet cave exit. Once I had sat down by the mossy boulder, I appreciatively nodded at the approaching dragoness. "Thank you, uh..."
She pertly huffed and rolled her eyes, "My name's Peril." Her tail swept away some obtrusive pebbles on the floor, then she took a seat fairly close to me. "Typically I don't have to introduce myself." She halfway muttered under her breath.
Before I could ask her about that last sentence, Peril flared her heated wings open, this time in a much more relaxed manner. "Hold your wings out." She firmly ordered.
Not wanting to enrage her a second time, I languidly splayed my four drooping wings to my sides.
Peril leaned forward and slightly curled her wings towards mine. The golden veins running through their webbing grew brighter as a wave of heat swept around my frame. I held back a blissful sigh. My wings had only begun to dry out, and yet they already felt pounds lighter.
We sat in an uncomfortable silence for some time. Peril seemed preoccupied with other matters: Her gaze listlessly drifted towards empty corners in the cave, and a downcast, simmering expression remained etched across her face. I, on the other hand, am simply relaxing for the first time in hours. Now both my wings and my legs are sore; I haven't ran that fast since I was escaping mind-controlled HiveWing guards with Io many months ago.
I chanced another peek at my fiery acquaintance. She still seems pretty upset, but what for? My lips pursed as I went over a list of reasons in my head, then I decided to take a chance with what I felt is the most probable one: "Is this your home?"
Peril mildly started at the sudden question, then she shook her head. "No," She glanced around the tunnel with a bored look, "This is just a random cave I flew into."
"Oh." I ran a talon over my antennae, wiping away some stray water droplets. "This cave's alright," My bruised tail bumped into the fallen stalagmite, prompting a small wince from me. "Yup, decently warm, not super damp..."
I awkwardly trailed off as Peril offered no reaction to my small talk. What to say, what to say... My claws dully tapped on the stone floor, the sound of their soft impacts hardly noticeable over Peril's crackling and the faraway sound of rain hitting the cave entrance.
My eyes flitted between the rainstorm and Peril's large wingspan. "Are you a SkyWing?" I curiously asked. "Does the rain make you sad?" Briefly appeared in my mind, although I had a feeling such an inquiry would result in my snout being melted off.
"No, I'm an IceWing." Peril curtly replied. Her fiery eyes met my inquisitive stare; I swiftly decided the spider on the ceiling is more interesting to look at. Peril groaned and slapped a talon on her face, "YES! I'm a SkyWing!" She sluggishly dragged her claws down the length of her snout, creating a miniature shower of sparks. "Why are you asking so many questions, huh? Am I not allowed to dry your wings in peace?"
I bashfully shrugged my shoulders, "I'm only wondering why you're so unhappy."
Peril seemed taken back by my response. "I'm not—You don't-" She ceased her stuttering with a resounding stomp on the ground. "Why do you care!? I was about to kill you three seconds ago!"
"But you didn't." I gratefully answered, putting on a warm smile. "Besides, I've been concerned about you since I first landed in this cave." I gestured towards the scattering of stone fragments in front of the boulder, "You pulverized that poor rock out of anger. And while I was hiding right here, it sounded like you were-"
"Do you fear death?" She interrupted with an eerily sweet tone. Her body language had grown tense, and her expression distinctly read: "I dare you to finish that sentence."
My maw gradually shut, the prior words dying on the tip of my tongue. Wow, she's making this really difficult. I kept my contemplative eyes connected to her steely, unyielding glare. She's put up so many barriers around herself. Her hiding so far into the tunnel earlier wasn't a coincidence; she didn't want anyone to witness her in such a state.
An image of Sundew's bristly face flashed through my head. Heh, Peril kind of reminds me of that grumpy LeafWing. To think I was raised to fear such a caring and heroic dragoness. Something suddenly clicked within my brain, and I thoroughly hoped what I'm about to say could ease into Peril finally opening up. Even if it's only by a tiny amount.
"I don't hate you." I softly began, prompting a look of bewilderment from the SkyWing. "It seems like you're going through quite a lot, at the moment. Now, part of me wishes I had landed in another cave." I chortled and shook my drying wings in the air, "You were quite upfront with your desire for privacy, as you showed a few minutes ago."
I woefully sighed through my nostrils, "I'm glad I found you, however." My tail flicked towards the cave opening, "There's a lot of misery in the place I come from. Dragons from every part of my continent are haunted by the actions of a merciless tyrant, a monstrous mind-controller, and a brutal war that ravaged our beautiful environment and nearly wiped out an entire tribe of dragons."
My slightly less grimy talon reached upwards to wipe my eyes. "My friends are working their hardest to repair all of the damage, and they're doing a great job so far." I dropped the talon away and pointed a claw towards my chest. "It pains me to say this, but I'm no longer a part of that. I..."
The words caught in my throat. Should I really speak about this right now? Peril is fully attentive, her head slightly tilting as I became silent. No. I shouldn't mention what happened to me in Pantala; her problems are more important.
A forlorn groan tumbled out of my maw, "It was a very challenging time for me. Apparently it is indeed possible to run out of tears." The edges of my lips gradually curled into an upbeat grin. "That's why I want to help you, Peril. Despair will only fester if you try tackling it alone."
I playfully batted my wings toward the fractured pebbles on the ground, sending the skipping across the cave floor. "I'm sure destroying things feels pretty satisfying at first; but from my personal experience, simply talking to a friend—a stranger even, can be a major relief in the long run."
I gently bowed my head towards her, "Believe me, whatever your problem is, I won't judge. And before you ask, yes, I will not tell a single soul because I deeply value my life." My claws delicately opened up and rested on their sides: A subtle gesture that I have nothing to hide, and that I mean no harm. "Since landing in Pyrrhia, I haven't come across a doleful dragon yet. I intend to keep that streak alive; if you allow me to, or course." A small chuckle left my maw, "No pressure. It probably means nothing to you."
Peril held completely still as she (hopefully) considered my words of encouragement. Smoke placidly rolled from her nostrils, and the radiance of her scales remained a warm, but less than intense glow.
She took a very long, steady breath, then softly exhaled with her eyes shut. "Just my luck," Peril's gaze reopened, this time with notably less antagonism. "I flew all the way out here to get away from the mess I caused, and the first dragon to find me is one of those annoying therapists."
A joyful laugh belted out from me, "Oh moons no, I wouldn't dare: I'm not licensed." My talon started reaching around my neck towards my knapsack, "I can give you the address for mine, if you'd like." The slip of crumpled parchment grazed against my claws. "Granted, they're all the way in Pantala, but she's very good! She even said I'm her favorite; how often do you hear that from a dragon who's supposed to be impartial?"
Peril candidly waved off my offer, "Nah. The last one I had died after our first session: Fell from a high window, according to the guards."
She innocently smiled as I retracted my talon and uneasily gawked at her. "You still wanna hear me out? Your wings are dried, y'know." She pointed her horns towards the exit. "The storm has probably moved on by now. Trust me, I'll be fine if you leave." Her gaze lowered, "Sounds like you actually have a place to go, as well."
My feelers began to wave in the air, delicately rocking as a series of heavy impacts pelted the area surrounding our shelter. Peril gaped at them with a prudent countenance, "Uh, whatcha doing with those things?"
I glanced towards the rain battered mouth of the cave, then back at her. "Hail."
Right after the single syllable left my maw, the cacophony near the end of the tunnel rapidly became louder. We didn't have to look: A large, lumpy sphere of ice noisily ricocheted off a jagged ledge and bounced the full distance between us and the cave's mouth.
Peril gave it an unimpressed look as it skipped along the uneven floor and came to rest in front of her talons. In the blink of an eye, she slammed her palm on top of it and instantly created her own set of bubbling geysers in between her claws. I recoiled backwards in alarm, narrowly avoiding a small jet of heated steam.
"Well," The SkyWing uttered, shooting me a tepid smirk. "I guess you better make yourself comfortable: It's quite a long story."