Avalanche's face was dripping with rain, as three moons shone in the night sky.

As a dragonet, she had loved flying in storms purely for fun. Now, she knew that they were more than just that. They were her cover.

Her mission had been successful. She just had to sneak into the SkyWing palace, knock out a guard and steal their armor, then sneak into the hatchery to make sure that a SkyWing egg had been stolen by the future guardians of the dragonets of destiny.

However, it hadn't quite gone as planned.

The SkyWing egg had been stolen, but the guardian had been intercepted by Princess Burn, which had killed them and destroyed the only chance the Talons of Peace had had at getting a SkyWing egg.

But even worse still. All the other eggs had been destroyed too. Or rather, as some guards had mentioned, burned. Avalanche didn't quite understand how, but her heart had been filled with dread. She didn't have the strength to look more into that.

After all, she was a mother now. Her dragonet, Flame, was waiting for her to get home.

She was glad she had left the army, despite all the complications and hurt that had followed. Her egg had hatched only a few days ago, before the brightest night, and as much as she had wished for Flame to be the SkyWing for the prophecy, she didn't want to be any closer to Queen Scarlet than she had to. Plus, she didn't want her son to be growing up far away from her, and with Kestrel of all dragons. Her own monster had already caused too much damage, and who knows how much she could have messed up her own dragonet.

Flame... she'd always liked that name. It wasn't quite as in-your-face as some other SkyWing names but was more important sounding than the usual colors or birds. Not quite as powerful as her own, though. Avalanche - moons, she really loved her name.

As she glided lower toward the ground, she could see the rocky crests of the Claws of the Clouds Mountains, and with a bit of searching, she found the grassy plateau where the Talons were camped.

A few carefully concealed tents were up, and as she neared, she could smell the scent of roasted meat. However, much more distinct was the sound of an unfamiliar voice, as well as one she know way too well.

"Ah, there you are, Avalanche!" Nautilus exclaimed, noticing her landing close to him. She had known him for some years now, and despite him being a reserved leader, his worried tone quickly told her something was wrong.

She huffed. "I'm fine, I don't see why you'd need to sound so worried - I know that palace a little too well. Even though-," she trailed off as she turned to face him, realizing his worry hadn't been directed to her well-being.

A NightWing, with pitch-black scales and weird, dark gold eyes, towered both Talons of Peace, looking less-than-pleased... and quietly furious. Avalanche had only ever seen Morrowseer once before, when he first announced his glorious prophecy, meant to end the War of SandWing Succession once and for all, to the Talons, but she just had one certainty about the brooding NightWing: his presence meant trouble. 

"SkyWing. You have just returned from the palace, have you not?" He inquired, his expression unchanging as he demanded and waited for her report.

"Yes-" Avalanche replied, regaining her composure. "It is how we feared. Hvitur was killed, and the egg was destroyed by Princess Burn. All the palace is on the highest alert. But worse still... Scarlet ordered that all the other eggs that were supposed to hatch today be destroyed. We... don't have a chance to retrieve another one before the end of the night. It's all up to the guardians now." She reported, trying multiple times to hold his glare.

The NightWing's roar cut through the night sky. If it hadn't been for the thunderstorm's cover, she would have been worried that other dragons in the vicinity might have heard him.

"You're all failures," he snarled, irreparably furious now.

"Morrowseer, please... I know the guardians, they will figure something out-," Nautilus said, trying to quench his anger. It didn't work.

"I shall leave nothing in your talons anymore. You are lucky that we have devised a second plan, and thanks to your failure we'll be forced to use it." As he finished that sentence, his scheming eyes moved to look at Avalanche.

And as Nautilus looked at her too, she began to feel more and more anxious.

"What second plan?" She asked, forcefully. 

"Is there something they aren't telling me?" she thought, anger building in her mind. "Is the prophecy gone now, or not? Why wasn't I informed about this 'Plan B'. Maybe... no- it can't be..."

"Avalanche... it's your son. Morrowseer is talking about your son," Nautilus said, echoing her thoughts with equal worry.

"Wait- no no! You are not taking my son!" Avalanche growled, flaring her wings "I did not leave the Sky Kingdom just to have my son taken away from me. I will not let Kestrel or any other dragon raise him. He's my dragonet."

"Please, Avalanche. We already talked to Flint, and he agreed that-" Nautilus started, but the SkyWing was quick to cut him off. 

"Flint never cared about Flame! I can't believe you asked him before me, Nautilus! I can't believe you thought his word could be trusted," She snarled, digging her claws into the damp ground beneath her talons.

Flint... how could she have been fooled by such a dragon. The only real reason he was still around was because Nautilus needed him as a spy in the SkyWing palace. But still... she knew that there was more to his loathing of her than just pain. And she didn't want Flame to shoulder that burden.

"Morrowseer would make sure he's ok! And I would let you visit every few moons," Nautilus tried, in his usual diplomatic way. But it wouldn't work on her.

"No. Get your claws off his destiny," she declared, finally finding the strength to look Morrowseer in the eye.

"You have no say in this SkyWing. The NightWings will take what they need to end this war, whether it fits the prophecy or not," Morrowseer retorted assertively, and began marching toward where he knew Avalanche's tent was.

No.

No.

"They are not taking Flame from me!"

She launched herself forward with extraordinary speed, propelling herself with her wings. Morrowseer mustn't have expected that, with his future-seeing powers and all, because he growled when Avalanche sank her claws deep into his neck.

The larger dragon thrashed around, eventually throwing off, but Avalanche was faster. She rolled in the air and kicked him in the snout mid-fall, a trick that she'd learned in the army, earning herself a sharp grunt from him.

Morrowseer grabbed her as she touched the ground. He propelled them both into the air and began sinking his claws into her forearms.

Avalanche wasn't going to let him have his way. She sank her own claws into his belly, causing him to let go of her ever so slightly, and she thrashed into his grasp until she was freed.

As they glided down back to the camp, he attempted to slash at her but she dodged, quickly swooping around him, and disappeared into the air seemingly.

A sharp yelp of pain cut through the night, and as the NightWing landed, he noticed that Avalanche had managed to bite the tip of his tail, a dragon's most vulnerable point.

She landed gracefully before him, between her tent and the NightWing.

"Stay away from my son, or there'll be more of that. Much more," she snarled, standing her ground, wings outspread menacingly.

They glared at each other for a long moment, until Morrowseer growled and turned away from her.

"Very well," he declared. "But let me warn you right now, dragon of the avalanches: one day, your son will be ours, and he'll have the great destiny he's supposed to have." And with that, he lifted off silently, disappearing into the night sky.

"Mom?"

Flame's voice perked up just as the NightWing disappeared. He must have seen the fight. He must be scared.

All the muscles in Avalanche's body relaxed as she hugged her son ferociously.

"What? That was?" He queried, as Nautilus silently disappeared too. She knew she would have an in-depth talk with him later. As well as more vicious 'talk' with Flint.

"It's ok, gemstone. We're SkyWings - no wind can move us!" she said, holding his snout. "I was just defending you. That's what a mother does, you know." She paused looking for words as she looked at his big, hopeful eyes.

"This is such a cruel world, little one. But perhaps, if you can use your claws to carve a way through the cruel, you'll find freedom at last. I know you have that fire in you."

"And you're going to have to learn to do that too, my little warrior," she said with a fierce smile. "You'll learn how to fight - and you'll make sure no dragon, no matter how big or bad, can ever, ever scathe your perfect scales."