(This is a sort of prequel to some of my main characters in this story I have. Hope you like 
)
Its kill or be killed.
Don’t show them who you really are, they will use it to hurt you.
Always bite first, because if you don't, they will.
Those are some of the lessons Raven learned as she grew up. Weakness could not be afforded in the clan. It was a constant war to stay on top, and once you were on top, another battle to keep your spot.
Raven snapped at the skinny dragon next to her, hissing as he yelped and jumped out of the way. She paced down the hall, glaring at the dragons around her. She flicked her tail in irritation and turned, heading towards the wide opening in the stone tunnel.
She stepped into her father’s chamber, her claws making faint scratching sounds as she walked across the glittering obsidian floor. Her father was coiled up on his spire, his long black tail trailing down. Raven could feel his cold eyes burning into her, as if he was mentally plucking off all of her feathers, one by one.
“Report.” her father said, his voice echoing coldly through the bare chamber.
Raven looked up, her orange eyes meeting his yellow ones. “The war general is dead, Vulture. Nobody will find him.” she said, remembering how her silver shuriken had flown from her talons and into her victims long white neck.
Vulture flicked his tail and shook his head, his ragged black crest raising between his long horns. “Good,” he said, sounding uninterested. “Get out of my sight.”
Raven dipped her head and left, hurrying back through the claustrophobic halls and out the clan base's hidden opening. She spread her wings and took to the air, circling high over the small island these miserable dragons all called home. The sea was inky black around her, and the sky was perpetually cloudy. But if she flew high enough…
After a few seconds of blindness as the gray clouds surrounded her, she rose above them and the sun lit up the clouds around her. She took a deep breath and tried to relax. She would never show it, but she hated living in the clan. Her father controlled every aspect of her life, and everyone else's life. He recruited dragons under the disguise that they were fighting for justice, while in reality they were heading from one cage to another like scared, confused rats.
Cloud dragons that were considered “impure” were rejected from the higher up society, the cloud cities in the sky, and anywhere else where the queen ruled. This included dragons who were not pure white in color, as well as any with strange magic. They were considered cursed, and the queen of the cloud dragons killed or imprisoned them on sight. Many dragons had been killed and were forced to flee. Nobody left the clan.
Raven had been born into the Clan. Her mother was dead, killed soon after Raven’s hatching.
Raven was never told why, and she knew better than to ask.
Raven tilted her wings slightly and banked to the left, descending back down into the gloom. The foggy outline of the mainland was before her, ragged, wind whipped pine trees sparsely decorating the craggy mountains.
She spent a few hours hunting, successfully catching a few skinny rabbits and a deer. She wolfed down the rabbits and carried the deer back to base.
After dropping her kill in the food pile, she headed down to her chamber. It was out of the way from the other clan members, and it had a large steel door that locked. She used her key to unlock the door and went inside, locking it behind her again. Here is where she kept her gear and spent the rare moment of free time.
The back wall glittered with silver knives and daggers. Her prized silver gauntlets were propped up on a stand, with jewelry hanging from the wicked serrated claws. In the corner a pile of furs lay, with a few of her molted feathers scattered among them. Raven plopped down and sighed, pressing the palms of her talons against her eyes.
Another day trapped in this moons-forsaken place. She thought. If only I could get rid of him, and then I would be free to do as I please. She considered this, not for the first time. It would be so easy. Slip into his chamber at night with a knife, poison in his food…..
You’re not helping. You know it would never be that easy. She told herself, her tail flicking angrily. Or I could run away…..
She cut her thoughts off again. It was impossible. She would be hunted down and killed, she was sure of that. Vulture did not let his pets go so easily. But she felt so hopeless. Her whole life she had been her father’s puppet, killing who he asked her to, no questions asked.
She never felt bad about killing. It was just a job for her. Most of the time they didn’t even know what hit them. Those dragons were just names on a list to be checked off to her.
She turned around so she faced the gray stone wall, flicking her tail over her snout. A lone brown snail moseyed up the stone, leaving a shimmery trail of slime behind it. She followed the snail’s path as it made its slow, laborious journey to an unknown destination before she fell asleep.
The next morning, she headed back to the throne room to accept her new mission. Her father’s most recent advisor, a fidgety dragon named Birch, gave her a rolled up paper.
Her new mission was to scout the CloudWing palace, learning the numbers of guards, the weaknesses, and information about the queen. Usually Raven didn’t do scouting missions, but this one was particularly risky, and any risk of getting caught or even seen could ruin the Clans entire mission.
Raven collected her favorite set of silver throwing knives, some razor sharp claw tippers, which are basically rings with blades attached that slid over your claws to make them longer and sharper. Simpler and lighter than an entire gauntlet. She placed her items into the many pouches she wore. She had learned it was better to pack lighter than you thought, because extra items could impact your speed and agility.
Raven made good time crossing the ocean to get to the mainland, and flew quickly through the perpetual storm that covered this area.
Some dragons theorized that the storm was due to the fact that there were so many cloud dragons here , dragons of weather and air. There were also rumors that Vulture could control the weather. Raven didn’t believe that, because he would not have waited so long and planned so carefully for his victory if he could use a hurricane to wipe out the queen’s dragons so easily.
Either way, the storms kept unwanted dragons away, deterred by the lack of prey, gloom, and constant wetness.
Raven navigated the wind with ease, using it to her advantage to push her out of the stormy territory. Her black wings didn’t get wet, the drops striking and rolling off instead of soaking in.
Eventually, the rain slowed, then ceased altogether, as the foliage below got greener. Raven could hear faint birdsong, and the cawing of crows. The sun was rising, and Raven didn’t want to be spotted by any possible cloud dragon scouts, so she quickly spiraled down into the trees, to the ground below. She hunted for a good while, burying a few rabbits to eat in the evening so she didn’t waste time hunting.
This is how Raven’s next few days went, until she spotted signs of cloud dragons nearby.
The Cloud Palace was unique in the way that it moved, drifting wherever the winds took it. It was literally in the clouds, formed by dragons with a special kind of magic that made clouds into solid forms. Many of these dragons served as Queen Cirrus’ personal builders, and they were paid well.
The Cloud Palace was in the sky, but soldiers trained below and dragons lived in nomadic camps, following their queen. Raven would find her target in a camp somewhere.
Soon Raven could see canvas tents arranged on the ground, and a few white feathered dragons flying or milling on the ground, lit by silver moonlight. She landed on a craggy hill, covered in dark rocks, where she was unlikely to be spotted. She unrolled the paper that held her targets description and details about her mission. Then she began to plan.
Her target was a cloud dragon soldier named Squall, that showed promise in rising in the ranks and becoming a threat. He was intelligent and an extremely experienced fighter, and he had saved his squad from Clan guerilla attacks on multiple occasions. Raven’s job was to eliminate him before he rose to higher power and caused significant damage.
The next night, Raven searched for him. She slipped through the camp, a noiseless shadow, gathering information. Eventually she found him.
An elegant white dragon stood speaking to a scout. He was tall, but not much bigger than Raven herself. His long wings swept over his back, and they were twitching with slight annoyance.
“Another one of our generals is dead?” Squall questioned, flicking his tail. The smaller white scout looked nervous.
“Yes, sir,” the scout replied. “General Cyclone was found. It looks like he’s been dead about a month. His throat was slit with a throwing knife or shuriken of some kind.”
Ah. Raven thought. I remember him.
She had killed him in her previous mission, she recalled. She was amused at the fact it had taken them so long to realize.
After watching a moment longer, Raven slunk away and took off back to her camp.
The next few nights, she continued this process, watching Squall and learning his schedule. Occasionally he seemed to suspect something was following him, becoming a little edgy as time went on. Raven was extremely careful, so she was confident she wouldn’t be discovered.
A fortnight later, it was time. Squall had a watch out by himself, far from the palace and camp. Raven followed him silently, lingering as far back as possible. Squall hummed a tune to himself as he went, unaware that he was being hunted.
Raven decided that she would use her own claws to kill him. She wore her favorite gauntlets, the silver glinting dully in the dark.
Eventually Squall stopped, and Raven slid into the pitch black shadow of a tree, standing absolutely still. Her target turned around, scanning the trees with sharp green eyes. They seemed to linger a flicker longer at Raven and her hiding spot, but eventually he relaxed. Raven silently slunk towards a rock that overlooked the clearing where Squall stood. She crouched there, waiting… waiting….
She leapt. A black serpentine shadow darting from the rock. But somehow Squall was ready.
Squall leapt out of the way, rising up on his back talons and turning around rapidly to smash Raven with his long, whiplike tail. Raven was caught completely off guard as she hit the ground with an uff, the wind knocked out of her as she skidded across the leaves. She rolled quickly out of the way as he leapt at her, rolling onto her feet and flaring her wings threateningly.
She hissed furiously and lunged forward, but he met her halfway.
The two dragons struggled, parrying each other’s blows and dodging claws.
He’s good, Raven thought begrudgingly as she slashed towards his snout. Squall suddenly grabbed Raven’s wrists and flared his wings, beating them around her face.
Raven was momentarily blinded and confused, but darted her head forward to inflict a vicious bite. She connected, her teeth locking around Squall’s throat, and he let go of her, shoving her away.
Raven fell back and the two cloud dragons circled each other. As she glared at her opponent, she was furious to see that Squall almost looked amused, like he was enjoying this. His green eyes had a twinkle in them, even as crimson blood trickled onto his white feathers from his neck wound.
Angered, Raven reached for her pouches of knives, and was horrified to brush her talons against only her own feathers. She looked down, shocked, to realize that her weapons were all gone. She whipped her head up to see Squall grinning, holding up her pouches.
“No cheating,” he said, tossing them into the undergrowth.
Furious, Raven snarled and leapt at him again recklessly, and he knocked her legs out from under her easily, and pinned her to the ground without effort.
So this is it. Raven lamented. I’m going to be killed by this idiot dragon, alone in the forest, before I could kill him myself. She could feel the heat rising in her face. How embarrassing, she couldn’t even rely on her own skills.
“I win,” said Squall as Raven struggled furiously. Raven spat in his face. Squall flinched backwards for a moment, and then laughed. He laughed.
“Don’t patronize me,” Raven hissed, as this ridiculous dragon laughed in her face.
“You have spice,” Squall said, grinning down at her. “You don’t see much of that here.”
“That’s because all of you city dragons are used to bowing and scraping to Cirrus and her ridiculous rules. Now let me go.”
To Raven’s enormous surprise, he did. Raven stood up quickly and bared her teeth, but somehow she didn’t feel the same about killing this dragon. He had spoken to her. Somehow, now he was more than a name on a list.
“Queen Cirrus is…. ambitious,” Squall said, grimacing slightly. Raven stood still, processing the fact that Squall didn’t seem frightened of her, and also the fact that he implied he didn’t completely support his queen. Raven was not often confused.
“Ambitious as in an absolute tyrant?” Raven hissed, lashing her tail. Squall made a small hm sound, looking thoughtful.
Eventually he chuckled. “You’re right, she hasn’t done much good for her tribe. Almost everyone agrees.” He frowned slightly.
He seemed so at ease.
“I still have to kill you, you know.” Raven said, interrupting his thoughts.
“Ah, of course. My apologies.” Squall replied. “You’re one of those rebel dragons, aren't you?”
Raven hesitated before nodding.
“Well then, may I propose a rematch?” Squall said mischievously. He gave her a smile, and Raven fought the inexplicable urge to smile back.
“What is your name, interesting rebel?” he asked.
Raven responded begrudgingly. “Raven.”
“Meet me here tomorrow at midnight, Raven.” Squall said. “Remember, no cheating.”
The next day Raven spent pondering. She had never been so confused in her life. Squall could have killed her, but he didn’t. She had failed to kill him, and she lost the fight, and he let her live?
Your not actually gong to meet him tonight, are you? Raven thought incredulously. She could easily just sneak up on him, catch him off guard another time.
As Raven considered this, she realized something was different. It felt unfair and dishonorable to her to do that, but since when had she cared about honor? Or more importantly, the way her prey felt?
He had made her so angry, yet she wanted to figure him out. What??
She spent her day scouting the camp, hoping she wouldn't spot him. She stole some new weapons, since she wasn’t sure what had happened to her knives the night before. It was difficult, sneaking around. She stood out like a sore thumb, her black feathers showing against the green grass, but she was quick and alert.
Eventually she flew back to her camp with her stolen goods, her thoughts still preoccupied.
“Urrgh,” she growled, gritting her teeth and rubbing her eyes angrily. She hated herself for even considering Squall's offer. Something about breaking her father’s rules tempted her, though.
When midnight grew near, Raven took off towards Squall’s clearing. It was still a bit early, but Raven hoped she could get there before Squall.
She landed on the same rock as before, and waited.
Eventually she heard wingbeats and looked up, seeing Squall hovering above the clearing. His long white wings caught the moonlight and made him seem to glow. He saw her right away, and his eyes caught hers. Raven narrowed her eyes and leapt from her rock, flexing her claws as Squall landed on the opposite side of the clearing. He still looked annoyingly confident.
“I thought you wouldn’t come,” Squall said with an easy smile. Raven growled.
“Bold of you to say, seeing as you’re the one I’m here to kill,” she replied.
“You sound very confident that you will succeed,” smirked Squall, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Shall we?”
Without hesitation, Raven lunged at him, but instead of running at him head on, she leapt over Squall’s head and landed behind him, leaping onto his back as he turned. His powerful wings opened and flapped furiously as he twisted his head around in an attempt to dislodge her. Suddenly he rolled over, forcing Raven to move. She rolled as she hit the ground and glared at her opponent.
As before, the dragons battled, neither sustaining any injuries aside from superficial scratches. And once again, Raven lost.
She hissed furiously as Squall looked down at her once more, a stupid smug look on his face.
“Maybe next time,” he said, sounding regretful as he stepped off of her. Raven leapt to her feet.
“Or maybe,” Raven snarled, “You could just let me kill you.” She glared at Squall, who was sitting across the clearing and looking at her thoughtfully.
“But that would be no fun, and I would like to get to know you better,” Squall replied, looking up at the sky. “Nothing much happens here, and you are an interesting dragon. It would be a shame if I died. And I assume you hate it where you come from, too.” he looked at her knowingly.
“You know nothing about me,” Raven snarled, but he was right. She would hate to go home before figuring out more about this fascinating dragon.
But a worry fluttered in the back of her mind like a caged bird. If Vulture knew she had left Squall alive, she would be killed, or worse. The longer she waited, the more the danger grew.
“Either way,” Squall went on, “I think you’ll be back again.” he said, his eyes catching hers mischievously .
Raven felt a flare of anger, because he was probably right.
The next night, she was back, and he was waiting for her. Once again they sparred, and once again Squall won.
“So why do they want me dead?” Squall inquired, panting.
“That’s none of your business,” Raven replied, running one talon through her crest.
“Ah,” Squall said, pointing at her. “It’s because I’m too glorious, and its threatening your little rebel movement.” he mock rolled his eyes, tossing his head with his wings half spread comically.
“Ha, you wish,” Raven said, circling the clearing. “You are threatening our “little rebel movement” , though.”
Squall laughed, a warm sound. Raven watched him carefully. He looked so relaxed.
“You know, your rebellion isn’t going to go anywhere,” Squall said, his face turning serious again. “Cirrus will crush you first.” He glanced away, staring into the trees.
“Hm,” Raven said, following his gaze absently. “My father isn’t one to be crushed easily.”
The two dragons were silent for a moment. Eventually Squall turned back to her.
“Your father leads it?” he asked, tilting his head. Raven nodded, before hissing in anger at herself. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Squall could tell everyone important information and ruin the mission. She glared at him furiously. He said nothing, only waited.
“Doesn’t it get exhausting?” he asked softly. “Being angry all the time?”
Raven looked away, shredding the grass beneath her with her claws.
“I can’t afford not to. I can’t afford to care. It’s too dangerous.” she hissed, lashing her tail.
Squall took a step closer. “Sometimes it is dangerous to care,” he said. “But it's deadly to be angry at the world all the time. I stopped getting angry a long time ago,” he said. “I get to live my own life without that burden.”
“Do you though?” Raven snarled, teeth bared. “Your queen is a tyrant, whether you like it or not. You are not free. You know what she does to dragons of her own tribe, yet you still fight for her blindly.” she took a step towards him, hissing, but Squall held his ground.
“Not blindly,” he responded, eyes dark. “Most of us despise what she has done.”
“Then why don’t you do anything?” Raven asked, taking another step. Squall didn’t respond, only looked down at her.
“By standing here with you, Raven, I am doing something. I didn’t kill you because I want to learn more about you,” Squall said quietly, his tail making a faint whispering noise as it brushed over the leaves. “I could also never kill something so full of life.”
Raven froze, alarm bells going off in her head. What?? What kind of trick is this?
He didn’t look away, and Raven was suddenly hyper-aware of how close she was. “You don't even know me!” she cried, narrowing her eyes before turning rapidly and flying away as fast as she could. She could feel his eyes following her as she left.
Her mind whirled as she flew. She was outraged and fascinated in equal measure.
Raven had always assumed most cloud dragons were as bad as their queen because why else would they follow her? She had been taught that they were all oppressive and evil, but Squall had single-handedly flipped that view. He seemed like he cared about what happened, and despised the blatant injustice of the queen’s discrimination . And he treated her as if she was more than a tool, he treated her as if she was a person.
Raven didn’t understand. She was used to dragons moving out of her way, never acknowledging her past that, or her superiors using her like a tool. She thought back to how Squall seemed to take her emotions into consideration.
Raven’s thoughts spiraled this way constantly, as she went about her daily tasks, hunting, spying.
As evening hit, she flew over the cloud dragon tents, scanning the ground for Squall.
As she circled, she heard a shout from below. Whipping her head around to look, a flare of panic running through her, she saw a scout crouching close to the ground, peering at something. As Raven swept closer, she realized it was a long black feather. Her feather.
Rabbit guts! She hissed. She couldn’t leave any evidence of her being there.
The scout raised his head to the sky, scanning with sharp eyes. Fortunately, it was dark and Raven was sure she wouldn’t be spotted.
“Hey!” the scout shouted again, spreading his wings and taking to the sky, gliding a short distance to land in front of a large tent.
“General?” the scout said, poking his head inside.
A huge female cloud dragon stepped out, a low hiss sounding as she spotted the feather in the scout’s talons. She took it from him, her tail sweeping menacingly.
No no no… Raven thought in a panic. She had to attack. She couldn't leave, not now. She had no weapons, but she couldn’t allow them to sound the alarm. She rose in a tight spiral and dove, her wings close to her body like a falcon. She barrelled into the general with the force of a train, knocking her over. The huge white dragon was caught by surprise, but not for long. The general flung her off with a roar. Raven hit the ground, closer to the scout than she liked. She rolled to her feet and spun, smashing the scout in the face with her tail at the same time as rising onto her hind legs, claws and teeth bared, wings spread. The general let out a furious hiss and lunged, but Raven was faster, slithering underneath the dragon’s attack and raking her claws along the general’s underbelly. Raven heard a satisfying yowl of pain as she leapt into the air.
Suddenly something hit her from behind, smashing her into the ground and knocking the wind out of her. A third dragon had joined the fight.
Raven fought down her rising fear. She couldn’t fight off three trained soldiers at the same time, she knew. But she continued fighting grimly.
The three dragons circled her, hissing. Raven crouched, hissing furiously. The scout slashed at her, landing a glancing blow on her brow. Pain flared and Raven flinched back.
Suddenly she leapt into the air desperately. Instantly she was pulled back down violently. She couldn’t see as her snout was pushed into the dirt, and she could feel talons around her neck as she struggled. It’s over. She thought. Black clouds floated in her vision as she suffered the effects of her lack of oxygen. Vaguely, she thought she heard something. It sounded like… Squall..? She must be hearing things.
Suddenly she was pulled violently to her feet. She could feel the cold steel of a dagger against her throat as she struggled to stay standing. She blinked, her vision and her thoughts blurry, and the pain of a thousand cuts pulsing vaguely.
“Let her go!” Raven was sure she heard it now. She opened her eyes blearily and saw Squall standing off against her three attackers. He looked… angry? And perhaps a little scared.
“What?” snarled the general, the one that held Raven. “Are you mad? This is a rebel, probably an assassin!”
“She isn’t here to hurt anyone!” Squall yelled, his crest flaring.
“This rebel attacked us!” hissed the scout. “And judging by the feathers I’ve found around camp, she’s been here for a while.”
“It almost seems like you know this dragon, Squall,” sneered the general, pushing the edge of the dagger a little deeper into Raven’s throat, drawing a few beads of blood. Raven winced.
“Don't hurt this dragon, Drizzle,” Squall said, holding up his talons calmingly. “You know the queen will want to interrogate her.” He took a small step forward.
Raven’s thoughts raced. How could she possibly get out of this?
“You didn’t answer my question, Squall.” General Drizzle said softly, menacingly. “How do you know this dragon? Are you a traitor?”
The third soldier had circled around, behind Squall, closing off any escape.
“I am not a traitor,” Squall said. “I am faithful to my queen and this kingdom.”
“Don't act like none of us haven’t heard you complaining before, about how Cirrus has ruined our species. Like we don’t notice you, sneaking out in the night. Were you meeting this rebel?” Drizzle snarled. Raven could feel a thin trickle of hot blood running into her feathers.
Squall narrowed his eyes but didn’t say anything.
“So you have.” said Drizzle softly. “You’ve been going out to visit your rebel girlfriend?” she laughed bitterly. Squall only glared at her, before looking down, defeated.
General Drizzle tipped her head towards the dragon prowling behind Squall. The soldier pulled out his own long silver dagger and leveled it towards Squall’s throat. Squall let out a low hiss, lashing his tail but said nothing.
The three soldiers hauled Raven and Squall in the air, with warnings that if they tried anything, they would be dropped from the sky before they could even flap a wingbeat away.
Raven seethed with rage and self loathing. How could she be so stupid? If these dragons didn’t kill her, her father surely would.
She could feel Squall’s eyes on her and looked back. He met her gaze for a moment with an unreadable expression before shifting his eyes to study their captors.
Raven wondered if he regretted defending her.
The soldiers were arranged in formation, Drizzle leading in front, and the scout and third soldier flanking on either side. Raven and Squall flew close enough for the tips of their primary feathers to brush against each other as they flew.
They rose higher and higher, eventually flying into the thick layer of clouds. Ravens claws twitched. She could use the clouds as an advantage to escape. She considered this, but a voice interjected her thoughts. “Drizzle has cloud magic,” said the scout, at the left side of Raven. “Don’t even think about it.”
Drizzle snorted.
Raven let out a small hiss of frustration. It was hopeless.
Eventually they broke through the thick fog, into a bright, sunlit city. Hundreds of CloudWings milled around, flying, browsing the shops, playing with their young ones.
A massive, towering cumulonimbus cloud loomed over it all. The palace.
Drizzle started descending with a tilt of her wings. The bitter entourage followed suit, as Drizzle landed on the cloud surface. Raven was shocked as her talons hit the surface. The clouds were as solid as the earth and bitterly cold. Drizzle didn’t wait and marched off towards the palace, barking at them to follow.
Cloud dragons turned to stare as Raven went by. Her black feathers stood out starkly against the pristine white clouds and dragons. She flicked her tail and stood taller, refusing to let them think she was afraid, or more importantly, ashamed. She glared at them challengingly. Most dragons looked down instantly, and the ones that didn’t did not look angry seemed… almost regretful.
They’re spineless. Raven seethed. As long as they are kept comfortable, they are never going to challenge authority.
Even as she stared at her captors, they refused to acknowledge her presence.
She watched as General Drizzle paused for a moment at the palace cloud, before raising her talon and touching it. A faint silver pulse rippled from her talon, through the cloud like faint lightning. Then she stepped through, her long white tail flicking. Raven hesitated for a moment involuntarily. It was possible that she would never come out of here.
The scout let out a snarl and she stepped through, Squall stepping in beside her.
The fog cleared to reveal a clear, open atrium, with a towering cathedral roof. Servants scurried around, sliding glances across the new dragons but not pausing in their tasks. A tall, tall throne stood at the end of the room, and there coiled the queen.
She was huge. Her elegant body curled on the throne, her long, whip thin tail trailing onto the floor. And her head towered above, her face beautiful in a harsh, cold way, ice blue eyes narrowed. She saw them right away.
Queen Cirrus shifted with a hiss that shivered along every one of Raven’s bones. Her massive white wings spread, wider, wider, until it seemed like all there was in the world was the queen and her cold menace. She could feel Squall take a step back. She didn’t blame him, but flared her own wings and narrowed her eyes challengingly at the Queen.
Squall hissed urgently, nudging her, but Raven ignored him.
Drizzle's eyes widened in outrage. “Disrespectful worm!” she snarled, whirling on Raven, a talon raised and claws bared.
“Stop.” said Queen Cirrus. Drizzle glared at Raven a moment longer before turning back to the queen respectfully, looking down and folding her wings.
“Yes, my queen.” General Drizzle said. “I captured this rebel in our camp. She attacked me, and I have reason to believe that Squall here is working with her.”
“Squall?” said the queen, shifting her focus on Squall. He folded his wings in closer, the only sign of his fear, and responded calmly.
“I wanted to learn more about the dragons that want to bring our kingdom down, so we can eliminate them more efficiently.” He said.
“Is that so?” said Queen Cirrus, tilting her head. Squall nodded. The queen’s eyes flicked to Raven.
“And you,” she said silkily. “What was your mission?”
Raven met her gaze steadily. “Confidential.” she said simply, flicking her tail.
The scout flanking her made a move as if to attack, but the queen flicked her tail.
“Not yet.” she said. She leaned closer to Raven. “What was your mission?” she hissed. Raven took an involuntary step back.
“I’m an assassin, if thats what your asking.” she said, glancing at Squall for a moment.
“And who were you sent to kill?” Cirrus asked. Raven was silent. Somehow, she didn’t want to uncover Squall’s treachery. She knew Squall was staring at her. As the silence lengthened, Squall suddenly stepped forward.
“Raven was sent to kill me,” he said. Raven turned to him, surprised he was willing to expose himself. Squall looked back at her with a slight smile. “Obviously she failed.”
“He was defending this rebel,” the general snarled, swinging her head aggressively towards Squall and narrowing her eyes.
“I had my reasons,” Squall replied evenly. The queen still looked regally poised, and none of what was happening before her seemed to affect her.
“Oh?” she said. “Your excuse is that you simply wanted to know more about them? Squall, I think you missed one extremely important part…. It can go both ways.” she narrowed her eyes. “How much information has this assassin collected? If she escapes, it could be over for us all.”
Raven snorted. “I’ve been spying and killing here for months.” she said, with a small smile. “I’ve collected more information on my own than I could ever get from Squall here.” She figured that she really had nothing left to lose.
She could hear Squall scoff as if he was offended and looked over at him. He looked back at her with a surprising twinkle in his eye. She felt as if he was officially her ally, and she could rely on him.
Suddenly Queen Cirrus clapped her hands together. “I’m bored of this. They're obviously both guilty, just execute them and be done with it. But not here, take them away.”
Instantly, knives were drawn and Raven and Squall were grabbed. The three soldiers dragged them away roughly.
They were taken back down to the ground. The cloud dragons skimmed low over the forest, spiraling down and landing in a secluded clearing. A beginning of a plan began to glimmer in Raven’s mind’s eye. She glanced over at Squall, who was looking down at his talons thoughtfully. He felt her eyes on him and looked up and nudged her, carefully lifting one wing. A glimmer of sharp steel glinted there. Squall shot her a silent grin, and Raven nodded, a flare of hope lifting her spirits. She flexed her claws, watching their captors as they discussed.
“Alright,” sneered general Drizzle. She drew her dagger, longer than the other two dragons and wickedly sharp. “Who wants to go first?” she hissel.
“I think Raven would,” said Squall with a wink. Drizzle looked suspiciously at him for a moment before glaring at Raven. “Grab her,” Drizzle snarled, and the scout and soldier grabbed her arms in an iron grip. Drizzle leveled the dagger at Raven’s throat, and gave a growl of satisfaction. She drew her arm back to plunge, and Raven only narrowed her eyes.
Suddenly a knife sprouted out of the General’s own neck, and she gasped, eyes wide, stumbling slightly. Raven felt her captor’s grip loosen slightly and whipped her head around, freeing herself, her head striking like a snake’s. She bit down hard on the scouts throat, the metallic taste of blood gushing in Raven’s mouth, and the scout let out a strangled yelp and fell backwards, flailing. The soldier lunged at her, but Squall barreled into him, another knife in his talons. The scout kicked out with his hind legs and struck Raven’s soft underbelly, knocking the wind out of her. She let out a grunt as she was knocked off. She flared her wings defiantly and lunged forward again, the scout dodging deftly. His pale white neck feathers were sticky with the blood dribbling from the bite wound. He crouched low to the ground, lashing his tail, eyes wide. He was a young dragon, not quite an adult yet, and smaller than Raven.
Raven bared her teeth at him, circling, trying to find an opening. The other dragon looked shaky, and was slow to spin to meet her as she leapt at him once more. But this leap went over him, to the other side, and she tackled him as he was off balance. The scout collapsed, and Raven began raining blows. Eventually the other dragon struggled free and fled into the sky.
Raven turned to see Drizzle still on the floor, clutching her neck. She glared up at Raven defiantly, taking in wheezing breaths. Thin blood trickled from her mouth. She tried to speak, but she broke off in a coughing fit, the grass becoming speckled with crimson.
Raven realized she didn’t hear Squall anymore and whirled around. Nothing. How could she have lost him?
She quickly dispatched General Drizzle and loped into the trees, scanning.
“Squall?” she called. Nothing.
She searched for thirty more minutes, but there was no trace of them besides a few torn out white feathers.
She turned around, suddenly spotting something she hadn’t noticed before. A dragon sized white lump lay in the fallen leaves, and Raven's nose twitched at the scent of blood. She rushed to it, a flare of panic raising her crest.
It was the soldier, one wing seemingly broken, his feathers streaked and slashed with scratches. His eyes stared glassily off into a world Raven didn’t know. A sense of relief settled on her, but her thoughts still spun. Where is Squall? Is he hurt? With a sinking feeling, she realized she thought she knew what had happened. He had flown away, realizing it was too dangerous to stay with her.
She returned to the clearing. It was a complete mess of feathers and blood, with the huge body of Drizzle off to one edge. Raven sighed. What will I do now? She couldn’t return home. If her father found out that her mission had gone so wrong, he would kill her. And he wouldn't fail.
She would have to become a fugitive. She was suddenly filled with crushing despair.
As she sat and thought, she thought she heard someone calling her name. She froze for a second, stifling her yelp. She crouched carefully, staring off in the direction of the sound.
“Raven!” the voice called. Raven’s ears pricked as she recognized Squall’s voice. She leapt to her feet and ran to his voice, seeing him wandering in the trees as she got closer.
“Squall, you idiot!” Raven snarled as she neared him. His face lit up at the sight of her. “You disappeared!” he yelped. “I thought you were dead!”
“No, you were the one that disappeared!” Raven yelled. “I thought you were dead!”
As she looked at him, she realized he was bleeding from injuries that looked quite severe.
“You’re gonna bleed out on the forest floor and actually die!” Raven cried.
“We need to go,” Squall said urgently. “Breeze is going to bring backup, I know it.”
“Breeze?” Raven asked.
“The scrawny scout you were fighting. I saw that he got away.”
Raven snorted. “Where are we supposed to go?” she asked.
“You can go home to wherever you came from,” Squall said. “I’ll fly away and find somewhere safer to live.”
“I can’t go home,” Raven responded. “My father will kill me, literally. And besides, I’m done with that life.” She looked away from him.
Squall brushed her wing with his gently. “Come with me?” he asked, shifting to meet her eyes. “We’ll find a new place.”
Raven looked up at him and he smiled.
“I’ll come with you,” Raven said.
She took his talon.
(And the rest, they say is history blah blah blah, I didn't want to write anymore.)
Vulture reference haha
Raven >: )
)Its kill or be killed.
Don’t show them who you really are, they will use it to hurt you.
Always bite first, because if you don't, they will.
Those are some of the lessons Raven learned as she grew up. Weakness could not be afforded in the clan. It was a constant war to stay on top, and once you were on top, another battle to keep your spot.
Raven snapped at the skinny dragon next to her, hissing as he yelped and jumped out of the way. She paced down the hall, glaring at the dragons around her. She flicked her tail in irritation and turned, heading towards the wide opening in the stone tunnel.
She stepped into her father’s chamber, her claws making faint scratching sounds as she walked across the glittering obsidian floor. Her father was coiled up on his spire, his long black tail trailing down. Raven could feel his cold eyes burning into her, as if he was mentally plucking off all of her feathers, one by one.
“Report.” her father said, his voice echoing coldly through the bare chamber.
Raven looked up, her orange eyes meeting his yellow ones. “The war general is dead, Vulture. Nobody will find him.” she said, remembering how her silver shuriken had flown from her talons and into her victims long white neck.
Vulture flicked his tail and shook his head, his ragged black crest raising between his long horns. “Good,” he said, sounding uninterested. “Get out of my sight.”
Raven dipped her head and left, hurrying back through the claustrophobic halls and out the clan base's hidden opening. She spread her wings and took to the air, circling high over the small island these miserable dragons all called home. The sea was inky black around her, and the sky was perpetually cloudy. But if she flew high enough…
After a few seconds of blindness as the gray clouds surrounded her, she rose above them and the sun lit up the clouds around her. She took a deep breath and tried to relax. She would never show it, but she hated living in the clan. Her father controlled every aspect of her life, and everyone else's life. He recruited dragons under the disguise that they were fighting for justice, while in reality they were heading from one cage to another like scared, confused rats.
Cloud dragons that were considered “impure” were rejected from the higher up society, the cloud cities in the sky, and anywhere else where the queen ruled. This included dragons who were not pure white in color, as well as any with strange magic. They were considered cursed, and the queen of the cloud dragons killed or imprisoned them on sight. Many dragons had been killed and were forced to flee. Nobody left the clan.
Raven had been born into the Clan. Her mother was dead, killed soon after Raven’s hatching.
Raven was never told why, and she knew better than to ask.
Raven tilted her wings slightly and banked to the left, descending back down into the gloom. The foggy outline of the mainland was before her, ragged, wind whipped pine trees sparsely decorating the craggy mountains.
She spent a few hours hunting, successfully catching a few skinny rabbits and a deer. She wolfed down the rabbits and carried the deer back to base.
After dropping her kill in the food pile, she headed down to her chamber. It was out of the way from the other clan members, and it had a large steel door that locked. She used her key to unlock the door and went inside, locking it behind her again. Here is where she kept her gear and spent the rare moment of free time.
The back wall glittered with silver knives and daggers. Her prized silver gauntlets were propped up on a stand, with jewelry hanging from the wicked serrated claws. In the corner a pile of furs lay, with a few of her molted feathers scattered among them. Raven plopped down and sighed, pressing the palms of her talons against her eyes.
Another day trapped in this moons-forsaken place. She thought. If only I could get rid of him, and then I would be free to do as I please. She considered this, not for the first time. It would be so easy. Slip into his chamber at night with a knife, poison in his food…..
You’re not helping. You know it would never be that easy. She told herself, her tail flicking angrily. Or I could run away…..
She cut her thoughts off again. It was impossible. She would be hunted down and killed, she was sure of that. Vulture did not let his pets go so easily. But she felt so hopeless. Her whole life she had been her father’s puppet, killing who he asked her to, no questions asked.
She never felt bad about killing. It was just a job for her. Most of the time they didn’t even know what hit them. Those dragons were just names on a list to be checked off to her.
She turned around so she faced the gray stone wall, flicking her tail over her snout. A lone brown snail moseyed up the stone, leaving a shimmery trail of slime behind it. She followed the snail’s path as it made its slow, laborious journey to an unknown destination before she fell asleep.
The next morning, she headed back to the throne room to accept her new mission. Her father’s most recent advisor, a fidgety dragon named Birch, gave her a rolled up paper.
Her new mission was to scout the CloudWing palace, learning the numbers of guards, the weaknesses, and information about the queen. Usually Raven didn’t do scouting missions, but this one was particularly risky, and any risk of getting caught or even seen could ruin the Clans entire mission.
Raven collected her favorite set of silver throwing knives, some razor sharp claw tippers, which are basically rings with blades attached that slid over your claws to make them longer and sharper. Simpler and lighter than an entire gauntlet. She placed her items into the many pouches she wore. She had learned it was better to pack lighter than you thought, because extra items could impact your speed and agility.
Raven made good time crossing the ocean to get to the mainland, and flew quickly through the perpetual storm that covered this area.
Some dragons theorized that the storm was due to the fact that there were so many cloud dragons here , dragons of weather and air. There were also rumors that Vulture could control the weather. Raven didn’t believe that, because he would not have waited so long and planned so carefully for his victory if he could use a hurricane to wipe out the queen’s dragons so easily.
Either way, the storms kept unwanted dragons away, deterred by the lack of prey, gloom, and constant wetness.
Raven navigated the wind with ease, using it to her advantage to push her out of the stormy territory. Her black wings didn’t get wet, the drops striking and rolling off instead of soaking in.
Eventually, the rain slowed, then ceased altogether, as the foliage below got greener. Raven could hear faint birdsong, and the cawing of crows. The sun was rising, and Raven didn’t want to be spotted by any possible cloud dragon scouts, so she quickly spiraled down into the trees, to the ground below. She hunted for a good while, burying a few rabbits to eat in the evening so she didn’t waste time hunting.
This is how Raven’s next few days went, until she spotted signs of cloud dragons nearby.
The Cloud Palace was unique in the way that it moved, drifting wherever the winds took it. It was literally in the clouds, formed by dragons with a special kind of magic that made clouds into solid forms. Many of these dragons served as Queen Cirrus’ personal builders, and they were paid well.
The Cloud Palace was in the sky, but soldiers trained below and dragons lived in nomadic camps, following their queen. Raven would find her target in a camp somewhere.
Soon Raven could see canvas tents arranged on the ground, and a few white feathered dragons flying or milling on the ground, lit by silver moonlight. She landed on a craggy hill, covered in dark rocks, where she was unlikely to be spotted. She unrolled the paper that held her targets description and details about her mission. Then she began to plan.
Her target was a cloud dragon soldier named Squall, that showed promise in rising in the ranks and becoming a threat. He was intelligent and an extremely experienced fighter, and he had saved his squad from Clan guerilla attacks on multiple occasions. Raven’s job was to eliminate him before he rose to higher power and caused significant damage.
The next night, Raven searched for him. She slipped through the camp, a noiseless shadow, gathering information. Eventually she found him.
An elegant white dragon stood speaking to a scout. He was tall, but not much bigger than Raven herself. His long wings swept over his back, and they were twitching with slight annoyance.
“Another one of our generals is dead?” Squall questioned, flicking his tail. The smaller white scout looked nervous.
“Yes, sir,” the scout replied. “General Cyclone was found. It looks like he’s been dead about a month. His throat was slit with a throwing knife or shuriken of some kind.”
Ah. Raven thought. I remember him.
She had killed him in her previous mission, she recalled. She was amused at the fact it had taken them so long to realize.
After watching a moment longer, Raven slunk away and took off back to her camp.
The next few nights, she continued this process, watching Squall and learning his schedule. Occasionally he seemed to suspect something was following him, becoming a little edgy as time went on. Raven was extremely careful, so she was confident she wouldn’t be discovered.
A fortnight later, it was time. Squall had a watch out by himself, far from the palace and camp. Raven followed him silently, lingering as far back as possible. Squall hummed a tune to himself as he went, unaware that he was being hunted.
Raven decided that she would use her own claws to kill him. She wore her favorite gauntlets, the silver glinting dully in the dark.
Eventually Squall stopped, and Raven slid into the pitch black shadow of a tree, standing absolutely still. Her target turned around, scanning the trees with sharp green eyes. They seemed to linger a flicker longer at Raven and her hiding spot, but eventually he relaxed. Raven silently slunk towards a rock that overlooked the clearing where Squall stood. She crouched there, waiting… waiting….
She leapt. A black serpentine shadow darting from the rock. But somehow Squall was ready.
Squall leapt out of the way, rising up on his back talons and turning around rapidly to smash Raven with his long, whiplike tail. Raven was caught completely off guard as she hit the ground with an uff, the wind knocked out of her as she skidded across the leaves. She rolled quickly out of the way as he leapt at her, rolling onto her feet and flaring her wings threateningly.
She hissed furiously and lunged forward, but he met her halfway.
The two dragons struggled, parrying each other’s blows and dodging claws.
He’s good, Raven thought begrudgingly as she slashed towards his snout. Squall suddenly grabbed Raven’s wrists and flared his wings, beating them around her face.
Raven was momentarily blinded and confused, but darted her head forward to inflict a vicious bite. She connected, her teeth locking around Squall’s throat, and he let go of her, shoving her away.
Raven fell back and the two cloud dragons circled each other. As she glared at her opponent, she was furious to see that Squall almost looked amused, like he was enjoying this. His green eyes had a twinkle in them, even as crimson blood trickled onto his white feathers from his neck wound.
Angered, Raven reached for her pouches of knives, and was horrified to brush her talons against only her own feathers. She looked down, shocked, to realize that her weapons were all gone. She whipped her head up to see Squall grinning, holding up her pouches.
“No cheating,” he said, tossing them into the undergrowth.
Furious, Raven snarled and leapt at him again recklessly, and he knocked her legs out from under her easily, and pinned her to the ground without effort.
So this is it. Raven lamented. I’m going to be killed by this idiot dragon, alone in the forest, before I could kill him myself. She could feel the heat rising in her face. How embarrassing, she couldn’t even rely on her own skills.
“I win,” said Squall as Raven struggled furiously. Raven spat in his face. Squall flinched backwards for a moment, and then laughed. He laughed.
“Don’t patronize me,” Raven hissed, as this ridiculous dragon laughed in her face.
“You have spice,” Squall said, grinning down at her. “You don’t see much of that here.”
“That’s because all of you city dragons are used to bowing and scraping to Cirrus and her ridiculous rules. Now let me go.”
To Raven’s enormous surprise, he did. Raven stood up quickly and bared her teeth, but somehow she didn’t feel the same about killing this dragon. He had spoken to her. Somehow, now he was more than a name on a list.
“Queen Cirrus is…. ambitious,” Squall said, grimacing slightly. Raven stood still, processing the fact that Squall didn’t seem frightened of her, and also the fact that he implied he didn’t completely support his queen. Raven was not often confused.
“Ambitious as in an absolute tyrant?” Raven hissed, lashing her tail. Squall made a small hm sound, looking thoughtful.
Eventually he chuckled. “You’re right, she hasn’t done much good for her tribe. Almost everyone agrees.” He frowned slightly.
He seemed so at ease.
“I still have to kill you, you know.” Raven said, interrupting his thoughts.
“Ah, of course. My apologies.” Squall replied. “You’re one of those rebel dragons, aren't you?”
Raven hesitated before nodding.
“Well then, may I propose a rematch?” Squall said mischievously. He gave her a smile, and Raven fought the inexplicable urge to smile back.
“What is your name, interesting rebel?” he asked.
Raven responded begrudgingly. “Raven.”
“Meet me here tomorrow at midnight, Raven.” Squall said. “Remember, no cheating.”
The next day Raven spent pondering. She had never been so confused in her life. Squall could have killed her, but he didn’t. She had failed to kill him, and she lost the fight, and he let her live?
Your not actually gong to meet him tonight, are you? Raven thought incredulously. She could easily just sneak up on him, catch him off guard another time.
As Raven considered this, she realized something was different. It felt unfair and dishonorable to her to do that, but since when had she cared about honor? Or more importantly, the way her prey felt?
He had made her so angry, yet she wanted to figure him out. What??
She spent her day scouting the camp, hoping she wouldn't spot him. She stole some new weapons, since she wasn’t sure what had happened to her knives the night before. It was difficult, sneaking around. She stood out like a sore thumb, her black feathers showing against the green grass, but she was quick and alert.
Eventually she flew back to her camp with her stolen goods, her thoughts still preoccupied.
“Urrgh,” she growled, gritting her teeth and rubbing her eyes angrily. She hated herself for even considering Squall's offer. Something about breaking her father’s rules tempted her, though.
When midnight grew near, Raven took off towards Squall’s clearing. It was still a bit early, but Raven hoped she could get there before Squall.
She landed on the same rock as before, and waited.
Eventually she heard wingbeats and looked up, seeing Squall hovering above the clearing. His long white wings caught the moonlight and made him seem to glow. He saw her right away, and his eyes caught hers. Raven narrowed her eyes and leapt from her rock, flexing her claws as Squall landed on the opposite side of the clearing. He still looked annoyingly confident.
“I thought you wouldn’t come,” Squall said with an easy smile. Raven growled.
“Bold of you to say, seeing as you’re the one I’m here to kill,” she replied.
“You sound very confident that you will succeed,” smirked Squall, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Shall we?”
Without hesitation, Raven lunged at him, but instead of running at him head on, she leapt over Squall’s head and landed behind him, leaping onto his back as he turned. His powerful wings opened and flapped furiously as he twisted his head around in an attempt to dislodge her. Suddenly he rolled over, forcing Raven to move. She rolled as she hit the ground and glared at her opponent.
As before, the dragons battled, neither sustaining any injuries aside from superficial scratches. And once again, Raven lost.
She hissed furiously as Squall looked down at her once more, a stupid smug look on his face.
“Maybe next time,” he said, sounding regretful as he stepped off of her. Raven leapt to her feet.
“Or maybe,” Raven snarled, “You could just let me kill you.” She glared at Squall, who was sitting across the clearing and looking at her thoughtfully.
“But that would be no fun, and I would like to get to know you better,” Squall replied, looking up at the sky. “Nothing much happens here, and you are an interesting dragon. It would be a shame if I died. And I assume you hate it where you come from, too.” he looked at her knowingly.
“You know nothing about me,” Raven snarled, but he was right. She would hate to go home before figuring out more about this fascinating dragon.
But a worry fluttered in the back of her mind like a caged bird. If Vulture knew she had left Squall alive, she would be killed, or worse. The longer she waited, the more the danger grew.
“Either way,” Squall went on, “I think you’ll be back again.” he said, his eyes catching hers mischievously .
Raven felt a flare of anger, because he was probably right.
The next night, she was back, and he was waiting for her. Once again they sparred, and once again Squall won.
“So why do they want me dead?” Squall inquired, panting.
“That’s none of your business,” Raven replied, running one talon through her crest.
“Ah,” Squall said, pointing at her. “It’s because I’m too glorious, and its threatening your little rebel movement.” he mock rolled his eyes, tossing his head with his wings half spread comically.
“Ha, you wish,” Raven said, circling the clearing. “You are threatening our “little rebel movement” , though.”
Squall laughed, a warm sound. Raven watched him carefully. He looked so relaxed.
“You know, your rebellion isn’t going to go anywhere,” Squall said, his face turning serious again. “Cirrus will crush you first.” He glanced away, staring into the trees.
“Hm,” Raven said, following his gaze absently. “My father isn’t one to be crushed easily.”
The two dragons were silent for a moment. Eventually Squall turned back to her.
“Your father leads it?” he asked, tilting his head. Raven nodded, before hissing in anger at herself. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Squall could tell everyone important information and ruin the mission. She glared at him furiously. He said nothing, only waited.
“Doesn’t it get exhausting?” he asked softly. “Being angry all the time?”
Raven looked away, shredding the grass beneath her with her claws.
“I can’t afford not to. I can’t afford to care. It’s too dangerous.” she hissed, lashing her tail.
Squall took a step closer. “Sometimes it is dangerous to care,” he said. “But it's deadly to be angry at the world all the time. I stopped getting angry a long time ago,” he said. “I get to live my own life without that burden.”
“Do you though?” Raven snarled, teeth bared. “Your queen is a tyrant, whether you like it or not. You are not free. You know what she does to dragons of her own tribe, yet you still fight for her blindly.” she took a step towards him, hissing, but Squall held his ground.
“Not blindly,” he responded, eyes dark. “Most of us despise what she has done.”
“Then why don’t you do anything?” Raven asked, taking another step. Squall didn’t respond, only looked down at her.
“By standing here with you, Raven, I am doing something. I didn’t kill you because I want to learn more about you,” Squall said quietly, his tail making a faint whispering noise as it brushed over the leaves. “I could also never kill something so full of life.”
Raven froze, alarm bells going off in her head. What?? What kind of trick is this?
He didn’t look away, and Raven was suddenly hyper-aware of how close she was. “You don't even know me!” she cried, narrowing her eyes before turning rapidly and flying away as fast as she could. She could feel his eyes following her as she left.
Her mind whirled as she flew. She was outraged and fascinated in equal measure.
Raven had always assumed most cloud dragons were as bad as their queen because why else would they follow her? She had been taught that they were all oppressive and evil, but Squall had single-handedly flipped that view. He seemed like he cared about what happened, and despised the blatant injustice of the queen’s discrimination . And he treated her as if she was more than a tool, he treated her as if she was a person.
Raven didn’t understand. She was used to dragons moving out of her way, never acknowledging her past that, or her superiors using her like a tool. She thought back to how Squall seemed to take her emotions into consideration.
Raven’s thoughts spiraled this way constantly, as she went about her daily tasks, hunting, spying.
As evening hit, she flew over the cloud dragon tents, scanning the ground for Squall.
As she circled, she heard a shout from below. Whipping her head around to look, a flare of panic running through her, she saw a scout crouching close to the ground, peering at something. As Raven swept closer, she realized it was a long black feather. Her feather.
Rabbit guts! She hissed. She couldn’t leave any evidence of her being there.
The scout raised his head to the sky, scanning with sharp eyes. Fortunately, it was dark and Raven was sure she wouldn’t be spotted.
“Hey!” the scout shouted again, spreading his wings and taking to the sky, gliding a short distance to land in front of a large tent.
“General?” the scout said, poking his head inside.
A huge female cloud dragon stepped out, a low hiss sounding as she spotted the feather in the scout’s talons. She took it from him, her tail sweeping menacingly.
No no no… Raven thought in a panic. She had to attack. She couldn't leave, not now. She had no weapons, but she couldn’t allow them to sound the alarm. She rose in a tight spiral and dove, her wings close to her body like a falcon. She barrelled into the general with the force of a train, knocking her over. The huge white dragon was caught by surprise, but not for long. The general flung her off with a roar. Raven hit the ground, closer to the scout than she liked. She rolled to her feet and spun, smashing the scout in the face with her tail at the same time as rising onto her hind legs, claws and teeth bared, wings spread. The general let out a furious hiss and lunged, but Raven was faster, slithering underneath the dragon’s attack and raking her claws along the general’s underbelly. Raven heard a satisfying yowl of pain as she leapt into the air.
Suddenly something hit her from behind, smashing her into the ground and knocking the wind out of her. A third dragon had joined the fight.
Raven fought down her rising fear. She couldn’t fight off three trained soldiers at the same time, she knew. But she continued fighting grimly.
The three dragons circled her, hissing. Raven crouched, hissing furiously. The scout slashed at her, landing a glancing blow on her brow. Pain flared and Raven flinched back.
Suddenly she leapt into the air desperately. Instantly she was pulled back down violently. She couldn’t see as her snout was pushed into the dirt, and she could feel talons around her neck as she struggled. It’s over. She thought. Black clouds floated in her vision as she suffered the effects of her lack of oxygen. Vaguely, she thought she heard something. It sounded like… Squall..? She must be hearing things.
Suddenly she was pulled violently to her feet. She could feel the cold steel of a dagger against her throat as she struggled to stay standing. She blinked, her vision and her thoughts blurry, and the pain of a thousand cuts pulsing vaguely.
“Let her go!” Raven was sure she heard it now. She opened her eyes blearily and saw Squall standing off against her three attackers. He looked… angry? And perhaps a little scared.
“What?” snarled the general, the one that held Raven. “Are you mad? This is a rebel, probably an assassin!”
“She isn’t here to hurt anyone!” Squall yelled, his crest flaring.
“This rebel attacked us!” hissed the scout. “And judging by the feathers I’ve found around camp, she’s been here for a while.”
“It almost seems like you know this dragon, Squall,” sneered the general, pushing the edge of the dagger a little deeper into Raven’s throat, drawing a few beads of blood. Raven winced.
“Don't hurt this dragon, Drizzle,” Squall said, holding up his talons calmingly. “You know the queen will want to interrogate her.” He took a small step forward.
Raven’s thoughts raced. How could she possibly get out of this?
“You didn’t answer my question, Squall.” General Drizzle said softly, menacingly. “How do you know this dragon? Are you a traitor?”
The third soldier had circled around, behind Squall, closing off any escape.
“I am not a traitor,” Squall said. “I am faithful to my queen and this kingdom.”
“Don't act like none of us haven’t heard you complaining before, about how Cirrus has ruined our species. Like we don’t notice you, sneaking out in the night. Were you meeting this rebel?” Drizzle snarled. Raven could feel a thin trickle of hot blood running into her feathers.
Squall narrowed his eyes but didn’t say anything.
“So you have.” said Drizzle softly. “You’ve been going out to visit your rebel girlfriend?” she laughed bitterly. Squall only glared at her, before looking down, defeated.
General Drizzle tipped her head towards the dragon prowling behind Squall. The soldier pulled out his own long silver dagger and leveled it towards Squall’s throat. Squall let out a low hiss, lashing his tail but said nothing.
The three soldiers hauled Raven and Squall in the air, with warnings that if they tried anything, they would be dropped from the sky before they could even flap a wingbeat away.
Raven seethed with rage and self loathing. How could she be so stupid? If these dragons didn’t kill her, her father surely would.
She could feel Squall’s eyes on her and looked back. He met her gaze for a moment with an unreadable expression before shifting his eyes to study their captors.
Raven wondered if he regretted defending her.
The soldiers were arranged in formation, Drizzle leading in front, and the scout and third soldier flanking on either side. Raven and Squall flew close enough for the tips of their primary feathers to brush against each other as they flew.
They rose higher and higher, eventually flying into the thick layer of clouds. Ravens claws twitched. She could use the clouds as an advantage to escape. She considered this, but a voice interjected her thoughts. “Drizzle has cloud magic,” said the scout, at the left side of Raven. “Don’t even think about it.”
Drizzle snorted.
Raven let out a small hiss of frustration. It was hopeless.
Eventually they broke through the thick fog, into a bright, sunlit city. Hundreds of CloudWings milled around, flying, browsing the shops, playing with their young ones.
A massive, towering cumulonimbus cloud loomed over it all. The palace.
Drizzle started descending with a tilt of her wings. The bitter entourage followed suit, as Drizzle landed on the cloud surface. Raven was shocked as her talons hit the surface. The clouds were as solid as the earth and bitterly cold. Drizzle didn’t wait and marched off towards the palace, barking at them to follow.
Cloud dragons turned to stare as Raven went by. Her black feathers stood out starkly against the pristine white clouds and dragons. She flicked her tail and stood taller, refusing to let them think she was afraid, or more importantly, ashamed. She glared at them challengingly. Most dragons looked down instantly, and the ones that didn’t did not look angry seemed… almost regretful.
They’re spineless. Raven seethed. As long as they are kept comfortable, they are never going to challenge authority.
Even as she stared at her captors, they refused to acknowledge her presence.
She watched as General Drizzle paused for a moment at the palace cloud, before raising her talon and touching it. A faint silver pulse rippled from her talon, through the cloud like faint lightning. Then she stepped through, her long white tail flicking. Raven hesitated for a moment involuntarily. It was possible that she would never come out of here.
The scout let out a snarl and she stepped through, Squall stepping in beside her.
The fog cleared to reveal a clear, open atrium, with a towering cathedral roof. Servants scurried around, sliding glances across the new dragons but not pausing in their tasks. A tall, tall throne stood at the end of the room, and there coiled the queen.
She was huge. Her elegant body curled on the throne, her long, whip thin tail trailing onto the floor. And her head towered above, her face beautiful in a harsh, cold way, ice blue eyes narrowed. She saw them right away.
Queen Cirrus shifted with a hiss that shivered along every one of Raven’s bones. Her massive white wings spread, wider, wider, until it seemed like all there was in the world was the queen and her cold menace. She could feel Squall take a step back. She didn’t blame him, but flared her own wings and narrowed her eyes challengingly at the Queen.
Squall hissed urgently, nudging her, but Raven ignored him.
Drizzle's eyes widened in outrage. “Disrespectful worm!” she snarled, whirling on Raven, a talon raised and claws bared.
“Stop.” said Queen Cirrus. Drizzle glared at Raven a moment longer before turning back to the queen respectfully, looking down and folding her wings.
“Yes, my queen.” General Drizzle said. “I captured this rebel in our camp. She attacked me, and I have reason to believe that Squall here is working with her.”
“Squall?” said the queen, shifting her focus on Squall. He folded his wings in closer, the only sign of his fear, and responded calmly.
“I wanted to learn more about the dragons that want to bring our kingdom down, so we can eliminate them more efficiently.” He said.
“Is that so?” said Queen Cirrus, tilting her head. Squall nodded. The queen’s eyes flicked to Raven.
“And you,” she said silkily. “What was your mission?”
Raven met her gaze steadily. “Confidential.” she said simply, flicking her tail.
The scout flanking her made a move as if to attack, but the queen flicked her tail.
“Not yet.” she said. She leaned closer to Raven. “What was your mission?” she hissed. Raven took an involuntary step back.
“I’m an assassin, if thats what your asking.” she said, glancing at Squall for a moment.
“And who were you sent to kill?” Cirrus asked. Raven was silent. Somehow, she didn’t want to uncover Squall’s treachery. She knew Squall was staring at her. As the silence lengthened, Squall suddenly stepped forward.
“Raven was sent to kill me,” he said. Raven turned to him, surprised he was willing to expose himself. Squall looked back at her with a slight smile. “Obviously she failed.”
“He was defending this rebel,” the general snarled, swinging her head aggressively towards Squall and narrowing her eyes.
“I had my reasons,” Squall replied evenly. The queen still looked regally poised, and none of what was happening before her seemed to affect her.
“Oh?” she said. “Your excuse is that you simply wanted to know more about them? Squall, I think you missed one extremely important part…. It can go both ways.” she narrowed her eyes. “How much information has this assassin collected? If she escapes, it could be over for us all.”
Raven snorted. “I’ve been spying and killing here for months.” she said, with a small smile. “I’ve collected more information on my own than I could ever get from Squall here.” She figured that she really had nothing left to lose.
She could hear Squall scoff as if he was offended and looked over at him. He looked back at her with a surprising twinkle in his eye. She felt as if he was officially her ally, and she could rely on him.
Suddenly Queen Cirrus clapped her hands together. “I’m bored of this. They're obviously both guilty, just execute them and be done with it. But not here, take them away.”
Instantly, knives were drawn and Raven and Squall were grabbed. The three soldiers dragged them away roughly.
They were taken back down to the ground. The cloud dragons skimmed low over the forest, spiraling down and landing in a secluded clearing. A beginning of a plan began to glimmer in Raven’s mind’s eye. She glanced over at Squall, who was looking down at his talons thoughtfully. He felt her eyes on him and looked up and nudged her, carefully lifting one wing. A glimmer of sharp steel glinted there. Squall shot her a silent grin, and Raven nodded, a flare of hope lifting her spirits. She flexed her claws, watching their captors as they discussed.
“Alright,” sneered general Drizzle. She drew her dagger, longer than the other two dragons and wickedly sharp. “Who wants to go first?” she hissel.
“I think Raven would,” said Squall with a wink. Drizzle looked suspiciously at him for a moment before glaring at Raven. “Grab her,” Drizzle snarled, and the scout and soldier grabbed her arms in an iron grip. Drizzle leveled the dagger at Raven’s throat, and gave a growl of satisfaction. She drew her arm back to plunge, and Raven only narrowed her eyes.
Suddenly a knife sprouted out of the General’s own neck, and she gasped, eyes wide, stumbling slightly. Raven felt her captor’s grip loosen slightly and whipped her head around, freeing herself, her head striking like a snake’s. She bit down hard on the scouts throat, the metallic taste of blood gushing in Raven’s mouth, and the scout let out a strangled yelp and fell backwards, flailing. The soldier lunged at her, but Squall barreled into him, another knife in his talons. The scout kicked out with his hind legs and struck Raven’s soft underbelly, knocking the wind out of her. She let out a grunt as she was knocked off. She flared her wings defiantly and lunged forward again, the scout dodging deftly. His pale white neck feathers were sticky with the blood dribbling from the bite wound. He crouched low to the ground, lashing his tail, eyes wide. He was a young dragon, not quite an adult yet, and smaller than Raven.
Raven bared her teeth at him, circling, trying to find an opening. The other dragon looked shaky, and was slow to spin to meet her as she leapt at him once more. But this leap went over him, to the other side, and she tackled him as he was off balance. The scout collapsed, and Raven began raining blows. Eventually the other dragon struggled free and fled into the sky.
Raven turned to see Drizzle still on the floor, clutching her neck. She glared up at Raven defiantly, taking in wheezing breaths. Thin blood trickled from her mouth. She tried to speak, but she broke off in a coughing fit, the grass becoming speckled with crimson.
Raven realized she didn’t hear Squall anymore and whirled around. Nothing. How could she have lost him?
She quickly dispatched General Drizzle and loped into the trees, scanning.
“Squall?” she called. Nothing.
She searched for thirty more minutes, but there was no trace of them besides a few torn out white feathers.
She turned around, suddenly spotting something she hadn’t noticed before. A dragon sized white lump lay in the fallen leaves, and Raven's nose twitched at the scent of blood. She rushed to it, a flare of panic raising her crest.
It was the soldier, one wing seemingly broken, his feathers streaked and slashed with scratches. His eyes stared glassily off into a world Raven didn’t know. A sense of relief settled on her, but her thoughts still spun. Where is Squall? Is he hurt? With a sinking feeling, she realized she thought she knew what had happened. He had flown away, realizing it was too dangerous to stay with her.
She returned to the clearing. It was a complete mess of feathers and blood, with the huge body of Drizzle off to one edge. Raven sighed. What will I do now? She couldn’t return home. If her father found out that her mission had gone so wrong, he would kill her. And he wouldn't fail.
She would have to become a fugitive. She was suddenly filled with crushing despair.
As she sat and thought, she thought she heard someone calling her name. She froze for a second, stifling her yelp. She crouched carefully, staring off in the direction of the sound.
“Raven!” the voice called. Raven’s ears pricked as she recognized Squall’s voice. She leapt to her feet and ran to his voice, seeing him wandering in the trees as she got closer.
“Squall, you idiot!” Raven snarled as she neared him. His face lit up at the sight of her. “You disappeared!” he yelped. “I thought you were dead!”
“No, you were the one that disappeared!” Raven yelled. “I thought you were dead!”
As she looked at him, she realized he was bleeding from injuries that looked quite severe.
“You’re gonna bleed out on the forest floor and actually die!” Raven cried.
“We need to go,” Squall said urgently. “Breeze is going to bring backup, I know it.”
“Breeze?” Raven asked.
“The scrawny scout you were fighting. I saw that he got away.”
Raven snorted. “Where are we supposed to go?” she asked.
“You can go home to wherever you came from,” Squall said. “I’ll fly away and find somewhere safer to live.”
“I can’t go home,” Raven responded. “My father will kill me, literally. And besides, I’m done with that life.” She looked away from him.
Squall brushed her wing with his gently. “Come with me?” he asked, shifting to meet her eyes. “We’ll find a new place.”
Raven looked up at him and he smiled.
“I’ll come with you,” Raven said.
She took his talon.
(And the rest, they say is history blah blah blah, I didn't want to write anymore.)
Vulture reference haha
Raven >: )
