Fire and Ice (Private with Deenirea)

The morning had been particularly hot and humid in the FireWing kingdom. Moisture had clung to the scales of many dragons, and while some simply ignored it, others felt as though they couldn’t take enough baths to get clean. Silver fell into the latter category.

“Ugh,” she groaned as she kept eyeing the scavenger that was trapped beneath her talon. He squirmed and shouted in dismay, which wasn’t exactly pleasant to her ears. It was, however, the only source of entertainment she had for the time being. “I’m starting to regret keeping that NightWing around. Sitting here and waiting feels like torture. An IceWing traveling to the FireWing kingdom is perhaps the most absurd idea I’ve had in years, wouldn’t you agree?”

She glanced down at the scavenger who was now pounding his fists against her claw. Naturally, he wasn’t in a position to be talkative. For small ape-like creatures, they certainly had enough spirit to fight back against impossible odds.

“Fine,” the IceWing said with a sigh. She pressured her claw against his neck harsher and harsher before eventually breaking it. She then scooted the creature’s limp, lifeless body off to the side for the time being. “You stopped being entertaining anyway. It’s too bad I don’t like the taste of your species, else I’d be inclined to have you as a snack.”

After a brief moment of silence, a raspy voice prodded her attention.

“Hey, Silver.”

The light scaled dragoness turned her attention to the NightWing she’d been waiting for, looking a little startled. “Smoke! You always have the habit of sneaking up on everyone, don’t you?”

Smoke nodded her head and grinned. “Sorry.”

“Well?” Silver said, leaning in a little, “don’t make me wait, my dear. Did you find the dragon we were looking for?”

“Yeah, I saw her near a village, not too far away. I think that we should…” Smoke’s voice cracked into a fit of coughing, large puffs of white clouds emanating from her maw.

“Now, now.” The IceWing placed a talon on the NightWing’s shoulder, “don’t think. As long as you found her, that is good enough.”

The coughing dragoness finally collected herself before standing tall once more and reluctantly nodding her head.

“There’s a good girl,” Silver mused, patting her acquaintance on the head playfully. “Now, before I fly out to meet her, how do I look?” She turned to her side, showing off the extra jewelry she’d adorned herself with for the occasion. In addition to her usual accessories, there was a gold harness that wrapped around her midsection, while her ears and the membrane along her wings were specked with diamond encrusted piercings.  

Smoke eyed her the IceWing from head to tale, gulping before tripping over her own words, “w-wow,, you’re...uh...beautiful as always.” The NightWing rubbed her own arm nervously. She’d always reacted this way when Silver asked her for an opinion on her appearance, and it wasn’t hard for the IceWing to discover how the other dragoness felt about her.

Tragically, Silver had no such feelings towards Smoke. Yet she was more than willing to exploit those feelings if it meant she’d get her own personal assistant. The NightWing’s silence and lack of reputation helped with many a theft in the past.

Unfortunately, it would take much more than silence to complete this next heist, a treasury that was so heavily guarded that it was going to require a confrontation with a few aggressive dragons. Neither Silver nor Smoke were talented in terms of the magic, so they had gone in search for someone who was.

That was where Deenirea came in, a FireWing dragoness that Smoke had heard about through eavesdropping. From what she’d deciphered,  this dragoness would be the perfect accomplice.

“Good,” Silver smiled and spread her wings, “then I’ll be off. Wait here until I get back.”

Smoke nodded her head, then watched as the IceWing launched forward and flew off into the distance. When she couldn’t see the glisten of the dragoness’ jewels anymore, the NightWing looked down at her talons. She stared at them for a minute or two while trying to process her feelings on this part of the plan.

A third dragon may be added to their team. Someone else for Silver to give attention to.

Smoke hated that idea.

It was a wonderful day indeed. The kingdom was hot and the sun was shining as bright as it hadn't for weeks and so with the awakening of the sun and blazing temperatures followed the awakening of the firewing dragons, at least the ones in this current village. Dee had flown by the village around two weeks ago and it's action and sudden life was was attracted her to stay for a certain period of time, an uncertain period however. Nonetheless it hadn't only been the positive atmosphere in this rather big village that had invited her but the music that was played in every home and shop, and oh how she loved the music.

Today was ,fortunately for everyone else, her favourite day for it was market day. Diverse scents and spices slithered in the air and tickling her nostrils as the elegant dragons made her way from the centre outward, passing by different stands and dragons mainly from the kingdom yet occasionally she would find an outsider here and there. Those she wouldn't even share a glance, she had close to no positive thoughts about outsiders believing they had the right to walk the holy lands of the firewing kingdom. But oh well there was nothing she could do except have her fun with some of them when boredom threatened to poke at her, if you understood what she meant when mentioning 'fun'. She slowly strode through the jewellery section and gazed at the stones that ranged in sizes plucked into different necklaces and bracelets, she had never specifically been one for jewellery since there had never been a single piece that stood out for and Dee usually didn't bother with things that hadn't got something unique about them.

Reaching the halfway point of the market she remembered something a drake said to her a while ago, mentioning something about another drake selling a nightwing dagger, ah she'd know someone who would adore such a piece. Looking up into he sky, Dee pushed of lazily with her muscled legs and took into the sky. Her red and orange scales glistening in the direct sunlight making her appear somewhat like a living flame. She beat her wings and flew towards the end of the market no feelings of care shed for the other stands, and dropped down at the last stand. The path behind it led to the forest that grew thick close to immediately when entering, it was always a good place to find entertainment with other drakes.

Deenirea folded her wings to her side and looked at the dragon standing infront of her, he was bulky yet still had some attractiveness to his young face and his dark green scales, unusual for a firewing, hid him perfectly in the shadow of his caravan "what'ya want?" he questioned shuffling his wings impatiently "Ah now why so rude to a potential customer?" She waved her hand in quick dismissal "Anyway, that is of no importance. Rumours has it you have a beautiful little dagger from the shadow lands" an eye ridge rose as a single eye glanced over her and his smirk was answer enough for her "Would you be so kind and let me have a look at it?" Without a word in answer he turned and rummaged in some bag. The dragoness took the time to take briefly look at a flash of light in the forest, the something quickly emerged from the tips of the trees and turned into a dragon, before she could take another look at the glistening and odd coloured dragon the male drake returned with the dagger in claw, she smirked as he handed it to her, and judged it, she then carried on talking and questioning the male about it.

Though she wasn’t out of shape, Silver found the flight she took to be much more exhausting than any other, the weather being the biggest contributing factor. What was even more astounding than the fact that she saw plenty of happy FireWings enjoying the day, was that this heat must have been mild compared to the volcanos they lived near.

The IceWing resolved that this tribe was full of dragons who were gluttons for punishment.

Silver winged through the sky, her head swiveling and her eyes scanning the forest below as she neared the village. She didn’t see the dragon she was looking for, or at least, couldn’t pick her out among any of the other FireWings.

In the village, it looked like some sort of festival was taking place. Music and dancing provided a pleasant little scene, something that even Silver could appreciate. It was extra fascinating because when she thought ‘FireWing’ she didn’t think ‘culture’.

An oragish glint caught her by surprise, and she squinted in an attempt to see what it was. Was that a fire? Did someone accidentally burn something?

It suddenly dawned on her how silly it was to be alert about seeing a fire while in the FireWing kingdom. Even more was that what she was looking at wasn’t even a fire. It was another dragon. One whose scales shone brightly, like a beacon signaling to her. Silver didn’t exactly believe in divine powers interfering with everyday dragons, but this could very well have been a sign.

The IceWing swooped closer to the treetops while still trying to keep her eyes on the dragon she’d spotted. It was unlikely that this dragon was Deenirea, but perhaps they would know her whereabouts. With a bit of charm and a few well-phrased questions, she was sure to get the answers she seeked.

Silver slowed her flight and hovered in place for a moment before daintily setting herself down in the market. Quite a few FireWings were staring at her, looking at her with palpable suspicion. Such looks were warranted, however, as why would an IceWing venture this far into FireWing territory? She had to guess that very few of her tribe would ever want to endure the weather here, and on top of that FireWings weren’t exactly known for their hospitality.

Despite how many watched her upon landing, most decided to turn back to continue their festivities. A single IceWing was hardly a threat in these lands, and if she were trying to spy on them then she’d certainly worn the wrong attire to do so.

Silver held her head high and made her way through the crowd. She didn’t look or acknowledge anyone else, instead keeping her eyes locked onto the specific dragon (or as she’d come to realize, dragoness) that she’d seen from a distance. Then again, it wasn’t like anyone was eager to speak with an IceWing in this kingdom, excluding a few merchants that noted her jewelry and tried to entice her to spend her wealth at their shops.

The dazzling dragoness narrowed her eyes at the FireWing she’d spotted, trying to measure the best approach. Ultimately, she settled on the idea of being friendly and somewhat honest. While being an IceWing provided a large obstacle to ‘befriending’ a FireWing, it would be good practice for when she actually met Deenirea.

Casually, she approached the other dragoness’ side and peered over her shoulder.

“Well, that certainly looks interesting, now doesn’t it?” were Silver’s first words as she saw the dagger. “You know, I’ve rarely met a traitorous dragon who hasn’t owned a dagger at one point in their lives. Maybe because it’s a weapon that hides itself so well, and it’s only really effective if its victim is unsuspecting.”

Silver smiled softly at the other dragoness. “My name is Silver Snow. I’m delighted to make your acquaintance. I have a question for you on the whereabouts of a dragon named Deenirea, however...” She looked toward the bulky FireWing in the caravan, then back to the stranger next to her, “My generous nature implores that I purchase this item for you, since you seem so fascinated by it. Would you accept this gift from an IceWing such as myself?”

Deenirea was deep in thought as the other dragoness approached. She would have thought nothing of the rather outstanding dragoness, however the sudden realisation of her being an Icewing in the firewing kingdom took her a little by shock, she frowned slightly as the dragon spoke about the dagger, interfering with her business. Well it appeared as if this dragoness was dedicated and in search for something otherwise she couldn't imagine an Icewing wandering so far from their little playground and exposing themselves to their greatest weakness, heat and fire.

Nonetheless as the dragon continued rambling on Dee took the time to allow an eye to pass over her and catching the amount of jewellery the dragon wore, somehow it made her more appealing. A dragon with a sense of fashion was always right in mind, and one who spoke finely about weapons was even more appealing considering she was very aware of the usual use of daggers. She also came to realise that majority of dragons with such amounts of jewellery found themselves rather superior and it reminded her of a rather old and close friend, such a thing was often not seen as a negative character trait for Dee, for she preferred dragons like that over stuttering dragonets.

Her facial appearance relaxed and she returned back to the dagger and the dragon in the caravan while the other dragoness continued to share information with her that Dee felt absolutely no care for until she mentioned a name, her name.

Her face relaxed further until it had a lethal calmness to it. She flicked her tail as she offered to buy the dagger and Deenirea turned her gaze towards the other tools displayed in the wagon, a smile now upon her face to simply hide the rush of thoughts in her head. Dee hid her smirk at the mentioning of dagger and traitorous dragons, oh but she would never consider herself traitorous, after all the dagger wasn't for her, as beautiful as it was.

She was silent for another few heartbeats before lazily waving her hand and handing the dragoness the dagger "Your act of kindness is very much appreciated, be my guest. It's a pleasure to meet you Silver Snow, now concerning your desired information upon the certain dragoness let us go somewhere else. You never know which curious ears are listening" She smiled at the drake in the caravan and elegantly waved towards Silver "This beautiful dragoness has inquired to buy the dagger for me, do handle the weapon with care please" She said with a certain charm in her voice before turning back to Silver "You speak quite the truth, it is a rare sight for a rebellious drake to be sighted without a dagger, but then again i feel like you've only met one kind of rebellious dragon" She allowed a peak of a sly smirk to appear before it was replaced by another mask of innocence. Glancing at Silver, Dee was sure she hid more secrets behind her just too friendly face and Dee was inquired to discover them all.

The first one would be why exactly Silver was asking around for her. The rest could come after they had a little conversation. Dee inconspicuously peered around for any other drakes that could have taken the same interest for her as this Icewing, ah yes secret number two, why was a ice wing in the firewing kingdom?

“Splendid!” Silver replied with an air of arrogance. She mindlessly reached out and accepted the dagger from the FireWing dragoness before holding it up for the shopkeeper to see (as if he hadn’t already been keeping his eyes on it).

The simple fact that the other dragoness had referred to her as ‘beautiful’ stroked Silver’s ego enough to distract her from the grin that tugged on the FireWing’s lips after mentioning the name ‘Deenirea’.

“And, yes,” she continued whilst reaching up and removing one of her diamond piercings from her ear.  “I agree, privacy for such discussion is invaluable. My sincerest apologies for not thinking of that before I’d brought it up in front of...company.”

The IceWing shot a glance at the caravan owner. “No offense, of course. Rest assured that you do look rather charming for a FireWing.”

She carefully placed her earring in his talon, doing her best to keep her scales from touching his. “This should more than enough to cover the price of this dagger. Any amount I’ve overpaid is yours to keep.” She grinned a grin that was half coy, half nervous. “Consider it a present from my ex-husband. I’m sure he’d wish this jewelry were in any other talon but mine.”

With that, she turned to face the other dragoness once again. Her smile had made a full comeback, except this time her jaw had stiffened a little. “I vote that we go deeper into the forest, if that’s fine with you.”

In addition to the trees providing the privacy that this other dragoness so desired, Silver theorized that the forest was at least a little bit cooler. The heat was admittedly making her impatient, as she simply wanted to find the dragon she was looking for and leave immediately.

Dee watched drake take back the dagger with a smirk, oh she would enjoy using it. She casually listened to Silver and had already turned on her heels as the last few words escaped her maw. She shrugged as she began her strides towards the forest, aware that the dragoness would follow her, she didnt feel specifically care much about how far they ventured into the forest. After all she had a much more surpassing memory of the woods than she supposed this Ice wing had.

Soon her elegant flame like body would disappear within the thick trees, her gaze aimed lazily towards a more familiar clearing. It didn't take long before the expanse opened up before her. It was a small clearing with a slap of rock planted in its midst, the firewing didn't halt but continue up the slab of rock and allowed her body to fall upon it. The heat of the rock was welcoming as she rolled onto her back and stretched her wings away from her body.

After what she had observed she wouldn't believe the Icewing meant her any harm, and Dee was confident enough to know that an Icewing had no desire to play with fire in its own kingdom. Thus she smiled at the approaching Snow, noticing the missing earring Dee showed no sign of remorse nor need to thank her. Instead she closed her eyes "Now Silver Snow, what business do you have with me, and where does such a beautiful and cunning Icewing such as yourself have my name from?" She questioned, minimal hints of mock and sarcasm within her voice.