Thread:Stardust the IceWing-RainWing/@comment-36583452-20190705142836/@comment-38158014-20190716040259

This is what I have for the first two viewpoints of Chapter 3. I'm thinking Dreamfinder for the next POV?

Haddock

Haddock had always been forgettable.

From his completely average SeaWing appearance to his quiet, anxious personality, he was almost always that dragon at the back of the group. That dragon who didn’t participate, instead choosing to sit in the corner with his snout in his book. Although it might hurt from time to time (having no friends could sometimes get lonely), it was a strategy that had never failed to keep him out of trouble.

That is, until now.

He shot a terrified glance at the huge lion-headed animal rampaging through the town, tossing its head and breathing fire everywhere like how one would normally throw confetti. Already, the left half of the city was a blazing inferno, and the flames were spreading fast. Dragons were running away, screaming, or in one SandWing’s case, weeping uncontrollably.

“Maybe we can just sneak away before it notices us?” Garnet asked nervously. Haddock barely comprehended the words; he was still stuck in the help-we’re-all-going-to-die mindset.

The chimera suddenly looked up - straight at the dragonets - and belched out a huge burst of red and gold. It began to shoulder its way through the crowd toward them, using its deadly breath to clear the way whenever needed.

The universe had a terrible sense of humor.

“Guess that’s not happening, then,” Burning muttered.

Oddly enough, Grasshopper’s eyes looked… excited. “I told you, you’re demigods! Instead of running away, this is a great chance to unlock your powers!”

Hailfall rolled his eyes. “Yeah, because the best time to learn is totally under life-threatening pressure.”

Dreamfinder looked just as petrified as Haddock, which gave him a guilty twinge of relief. “But - what if we die - I don’t know - we haven’t had any training!” Her voice rose at the end, and her eyes were wide with fear.

Hailfall twined his tail with hers. “Look, all our lives, we’ve been cooped up in that run-down, stinky orphanage. And each and every day, we wished to be out here. To take risks, to have crazy adventures, to live. Isn’t this something we all longed for? To breathe the fresh air and to fly in the sky? If we want to do all that, we have to get through this. And we will.”

He sounded so determined, even Haddock’s spirits were lifted slightly. It was obvious everyone else felt the same - eyes were brighter, wings snapped briskly, tails twitched. They were ready.

With one talon, Grasshopper sketched out a battle plan in the dirt. “Chimeras can breathe fire, so we need to be very careful. Garnet, Crimson, and Hailfall, you dive-bomb it from above. Sage, Burning Sparrow, and-”

“ATTACK!” Tembo bellowed, galloping into the chaos toward the chimera. Crimson raced after him, shouting a few colorful words.

“Ooooh-kay,” Sage said. “Should we go after them, or-”

The chimera materialized out of practically nowhere and swallowed Garnet whole.

Burning Sparrow

“Give her back!” Burning yelped as crimson scales disappeared beneath golden fur. He hurled himself onto the chimera, scratching madly. Needle-sharp claws slashed along his scales, leaving behind stinging trails of pain, but he didn’t care - his friend was in there.

The hybrid was faintly aware of Crimson and Tembo arriving back on the scene and his other adoptive siblings grappling with the monster, but one fact was starkly apparent: they were losing. Dreamfinder was limping into the bushes with her hind leg dragging limply behind her, Haddock had blood streaming from a cut on his forehead, and Sage’s front ankle was blackened from a burn.

And still, Garnet was nowhere to be seen.

The chimera roared and blasted flames in every direction, turning the clearing into utter mayhem. Bushes, plant life, even dragons were ablaze. One such was Grasshopper, the HiveWing wreathed in a cloud of heat as he battled fire with fire. Burning almost wanted to stop fighting and stare, marveling at the demigod’s powers, but a sharp blow from the snake head stopped him. He leapt atop the chimera’s muscled body to avoid the serpent, nearly falling off but just barely hanging on.

Burning pounded the chimera with strike after strike. “Give - us - Garnet - back!” he panted. The chimera responded with a burst of fire that glanced his left side, and sparks quickly engulfed his wingtips.

Alas, Burning was burning.

Flailing around in the grass, he managed to extinguish the flames before major damage was done. However, scales were missing, and part of his wing was an ugly charcoal. Wincing from the pain and trying not to look at it, he went the same way some of his friends had gone: the bushes.

Dreamfinder looked up in alarm as he dragged himself in, her glowstripes flashing. “Wh-who’s there- oh, it’s you.” She flopped back onto the ground, panting. Up close, Burning could tell that her leg was probably broken.

“I’m fine,” she interrupted before he could ask. Oh, well, it had been a pointless question anyway.

“I’m going back out there,” he said, struggling to his feet. “I… I just needed a breather.” You know that shoulder’s going to need more than a breather, he mentally chided himself.

But he couldn’t leave Garnet.

He took a deep gulp of air, steadied his trembling legs, and charged out into the clearing. “FOR JUSTICE!” he screamed. For once, he had succeeded at making a dramatic entrance.

Burning was just giving himself a mental pat on the back after seeing his friends’ mouths hanging open like O’s, when the lights started.