Scorpion could only stare at Rattlesnake, the silent air becoming a thick fog, almost suffocatingly tense. The desert crickets had long since gone quiet, making the SandWing's ears ring in a desperate attempt to hear anything, even just a buzzing white noise. Her sides were still heaving, her belly aching as her adrenaline begane to seep away, her strained body growing sore as small scratches filled with sand made their presence known in stinging waves.

The IceWing still pinned to the ground underneath her, his talons pressed up against her underside in a frozen pose, watched her gaze as they stared at Rattlesnake, the other SandWing looking up from her blade to the two of them. Scorpion could hear him heaving quietly beneath her, their breathing matching in pace.

Rattlesnake's an Animus, Scorpion huffed, she's an Animus.

But how was that even possible? I thought Beetle wiped out Animus dragons years ago, or...did she not get all of them? Beetle's reign of terror didn't just affect the SandWings, it affected several tribes across Pyrrhia, all because of a dragon who worked under the SandWing Queen.

The Animus Slayer.

Said to be a dragon who won nearly every fight, immune to animus magic, and had the SandWing army at their command. If Beetle couldn't be there, the Animus Slayer would be in her place. It was said all Animus dragons had been wiped out, their families slaughtered entirely to eliminate the chances of more Animi being born. Not even the IceWings were safe in their tundra. But then how was one standing before her now? Decades after the last animus was said to have been killed in 4955 AS. Was one missed?

"You're an Animus," Scorpion whispered.

Rattlesnake's head shot up, looking at her.

"That dagger-" she motioned towards the blade- "it's enchanted."

Rattlesnake was quiet for a moment.

"It is," she said slowly, looking back down at the knife as she tucked it back away into it's sheath.

"And you enchanted it, didn't you?"

"That's impossible," the IceWing shot in, "there are no Animi left on Pyrrhia!"

Rattlesnake didn't argue as Scorpion slammed her talons down on the IceWing, pinning him down once more as he hissed, trying to kick his way out of her hold. The SandWing's hind talon stomped on his tail, making him yowl before gritting his teeth and glaring up at her.

"Let me go!" He demanded.

"Yeah, I don't think so."

"You've already killed Blur, what more do you want from me?"

"In case you've forgotten," she snarled, lowering her snout inches from his own, "you're the one who tried to kill me! Not to mention killed my sister and her partner!"

"And in case you've forgotten, there's an Animus that seems to be more worth your time right about now!"

"That comes second, you come first."

He blinked at her, "WHAT!?"

Rattlesnake came up by her side as he struggled, Scorpion pressing him down into the cooling sand. "Get her away from me!" He roared, "don't touch me!"

Scorpion wrapped her talons around his snout, shutting him up. "For an IceWing, you don't know how to be quiet."

He continued to struggle, kicking and thrashing in her grip, but he was no more dangerous than a cobra with its head caught in a snare. Scorpion pulled back one of her arms, bringing it back down with a strike from her elbow. His eyes widened in a shocked daze with a grunt hissed through his teeth, before they started to droop. The only thing keeping his head up was Scorpion holding his snout, and once she let go, it fell limply to the floor with a thump. She stared down at his limp form, before looking over towards the body of his partner in crime.

Blur, he said his name was?

The other IceWing remained untouched, the sand around him stained a mix of blue and purple, the ground clumping as it soaked up the blood seeping from the fresh corpse. Moons blasted, she cursed, now I only have one assassin. She took a moment to let herself calm down, her heart still hammering away inside of her chest like a set of drums. In, she sucked in a breath, and out.

"Scorpion?"

Opening her eyes, Scorpion looked at Rattlesnake, the other SandWing peering at her hesitantly.

She didn't really know what to think, her mind in a numbing spiral with wordless thoughts, not even pictures. It was empty and full at the same time, racing in an endless circle. Rattlesnake's an animus, and, but how is that possible? Were what mostly filled her mind, the two thoughts chasing each other like a pair of coyotes.

"Does anyone else know?" Was the first thing she asked.

Rattlesnake shook her head, "no."

As she stared at the other SandWing, she saw how the ice that should've consumed the entirety of her wing was shrinking back, melting away into a steam, no frost-burns marking her body. She should be burned! How isn't she burned?

Scorpion reached out, grabbing rattlesnake's numb-shoulder, turning her, lifting up her wing that should be frozen solid. She should be writhing in agony, roaring in pain, or at least hissing in pain, unable to move as she tried to hold her composure until help arrived. But no, she stood there, not even flinching as Scorpion moved her wing around.

"How are you not hurt?" She asked, "why aren't you getting frost burns? Your scales should be falling off!"

Before her own eyes, she watched ice continue to seep away into an untraceable steam that was whiskered away by the wind, until there was nothing left.

"A spell," Rattlesnake said, "it was a spell."

"On what?" She demanded, "Animus dragons can only cast spells on obje-" Scorpion paused, releasing her grip on Rattlesnake, "sorry, I just-....."

Scorpion didn't know what to say, no words coming out to describe how she felt. But Rattlesnake looked to understand, reaching out with one of her wings before hesitating, and pulling it back with a frown. "You're reacting....a lot better than I thought you would, if you were to find out."

" 'If I were to find out' ?" Scorpion repeated, with a puzzled look.

"You weren't supposed to know, no dragon was."

"So it was an accident."

"Yes."

The two stood in awkward silence, Rattlesnake looking down at the IceWing, while Scorpion stared at the space around her. Neither knew what to say, or at least Scorpion didn't.

What am I supposed to do? I have one dead IceWing, an unconscious assassin, and an Animus. Scorpion didn't know what to do- no, that was a lie. Scorpion did know what to do, but she just felt conflicted. I should drag all three of them back to the palace, leave the interrogating to Camel and the head of the royal guard, and hand over Rattlesnake. Camel never really got rid of the law Beetle put in place in 4927 AS.

All Animus dragons must be reported to or brought before her majesty.

Yet something about it just felt wrong. She was conflicted, by her own morals....and her own desires.

I was the one who caught him, she looked down at the unconscious IceWing, I should be the one to force the answers out of him, find out who wanted me and my family dead, and deal with it myself. Camel was doing nothing to find them, but she was. Camel was looking, just not in the right way. Scorpion scowled, she could've looked harder. They could've found them by now, but Scorpion did. She found them first, not Camel.

And Rattlesnake helped me do it.

What would Camel do? What would she do after learning that Rattlesnake, a newly appointed guard, was an Animus? Would she use her? Force her to use her magic? Would she lock her away in the dungeons in hopes of keeping her contained? Scorpion didn't know.

She looked back at Rattlesnake, the other SandWing standing stiffly.

"I'm going to be honest, I don't know what to think."

Rattlesnake blinked, "you don't know what to...think?"

"No, I don't," she admitted, "my heads a jumbled mess right now."

"So you're...not...handing me over to the queen?"

"You know about that law?"

"I just know your mother never got rid of it, so I assumed it's still in place."

"It is."

"And you're not obeying it? Not handing me in?"

Scorpion went quiet.

I should hand her over to Camel and Ringtail, I should give her to my parents, but what would they do with her? I know what Beetle did. No Animus dragon came back after being discovered by the tyrannical queen and her mercenary. Camel and Ringtail wouldn't do that though, right?

"You helped me," she started, "and you didn't rat me out to the royal guard or my parents."

Scorpion stepped off of the unconscious IceWing, moving towards Rattlesnake who stood stiffly like a tumbleweed still attached to it's roots decaying roots beneath the sand, keeping it in place, even against the winds.

"So the least I could do is do the same."

Rattlesnake blinked, staring at her for a few moments, searching her gaze. I'm not lying, she thought, Rattlesnake kept my secret, so I'll keep hers. There must be a reason why she kept her powers hidden, even as an Animus, there has to be a reason. And she could ask later, but for now she just had one more thing to deal with tonight.

"Thank you," Rattlesnake's shoulders sagged with relief, "thank you."

She must've been sure I would've handed her in, Scorpion realized, watching the other SandWing recollect herself with a deep breath. I've never seen her look so tense. Sure Scorpion had only known her for a few days, but Rattlesnake held herself upright, a stern pokers face like a shield, emotionless like the throne room statues.

Scorpion shook her head, looking back at the limp IceWing at her talons, the dead one a few wing lengths away. "Now for the hard part," she motioned towards the two of them, "how do we get them back to the palace without being seen?"

Rattlesnake hummed, "they stick out like sore talons."

"You could say that again," she agreed, "if only we could hide them in plain sight, sneak them into the palace that way and lock them in a room or spare cell away from the other prisoners."

They'd blend in with the other IceWings locked away beneath the palace and the arena, but getting them down there and into the palace in the first place would be the tricky part. We could always sneak in through the arena, Scorpion thought, mapping it out in her head. Beetle connected the arena to the dungeon's when she was a princess, so it was easier to drag them out to fight for her entertainment. That entryway still works, Camel never closed it. Getting them close to the arena in the first place was going to be the difficult part, if carrying them through the streets wasn't going to be hard enough.

I don't want to leave that one either, she looked back at the other IceWing's corpse, all though it would be easier.

"What should we do with him?" Rattlesnake asked, looking back at the dead IceWing.

"We won't be getting anything out of him," Scorpion sighed.

"But at least we have one. Better than both getting away, or worse."

Scorpion hummed in agreement.

"We could always leave him for the outer patrols to find," Rattlesnake suggested, "someone's bound to notice a dead IceWing just outside the city."

"But what would my mother think?" Scorpion walked towards Blur's body, pointing at her face, then his shoulder, "she's bound to notice his scars and recognize him."

"Would that be a bad thing?"

Scorpion paused.

It might make her even angrier if she realizes this was one of the two who attacked me and Sapphire....killed Sundance and Tarantula. She'll ramp her searches up even more, if it's even possible, to find him. She looked back at the unconscious one, but she won't have to search long. Once I'm done with him, I'll give him to Camel. I just want enough time to interrogate him myself first. The answers were right there, right there, locked away in the mind of the young IceWing no older than herself. All she had to do was get him back, and pry them out of him.

"I suppose not," she concluded, "we can leave him. No point in dragging him around and getting his blood everywhere. But now we just need to find a way to get him back."

The two looked back towards the young IceWing, making their way back.

"I'm supposed to be on a lone outer patrol shift tonight, night watch, I could point any soldiers to the dead one. I'll say I saw white scales. That could give you time to sneak him back, if you can carry him."

Scorpion snorted, "I've carried heavier than him. He looks lighter than a sack of sand."

With Scorpion being a large, well built SandWing like her mother and eldest sister, she was good at heavy lifting. Able to lift large pieces of sandstone, carry several sacks of sand used to help board up windows during a sandstorm, and carry other dragons. The most she had ever tried to lift had been both Ray and Thorn, with Cactus and Quicksand cheering her on. Her legs had nearly gone out at the sudden weight as Ray leaped on top of both her and Thorn, making Thorn wheeze from the air being forced from his lungs.

Carrying is a lot harder than moving, she had learned that day after being too confident in herself, but she had managed to hold the two princes up, even if her talons felt as though they were about to buckle under her the longer she stood. But she did it.

"Alright," Rattlesnake chuffed lightheartedly, "didn't mean to doubt you."

"It just sounded like you were challenging me," she shrugged, "an easy challenge."

Scorpion lowered herself to the ground, dipping her snout towards the sand, just below the IceWing's jaw and upper neck. Before she could plunge it under him, Rattlesnake stopped her.

"Wait," she held out her talon, "let me make it easier to hide him."

Scorpion looked up at her, before pulling back, standing up once more. No longer looking up at the grey SandWing. "Make it easier?" She asked, "how do you plan to do that?"

"I've never exactly tried out a spell like this before, but I've heard of it-"

Oh, Scorpion realized, that's how.

"-Turning him into a SandWing."

"Would that even work? Turning a dragon into something they're not?"

"Like I said, I've heard about it, Animus dragons hiding themselves in the scales of other tribes, blending in, making themselves disappear."

"Have you...done any spells even remotely like this before?"

Scorpion heard about how powerful Animus dragons were, practically able to bend anything to their will given the chance, that's why Beetle feared them so much, but like the Eye of Onyx, Scorpion couldn't help but feel skeptical. Maybe Animus dragons weren't that powerful, but again, all she had really seen was a flying dagger that followed commands until ordered to stop.

Rattlesnake paused, holding her talon over the IceWing's side, her lips pulled in a frown.

"No. I don't....I don't use my magic that much. It can be draining, and dangerous if I'm noticed."

"Right," Scorpion said slowly, not sure of what to say as she watched Rattlesnake's claws ghostly hover over his side, brushing his scales lightly. It was like watching someone pick out the perfect jewel to put in as a scale stud. When she finally touched one, it seemed to glow, shimmering like it was made of stars as she whispered.

Scorpion's ears pricked, straining to listen to Rattlesnake's whispers. It was so quiet, even the faintest breeze seemed to carry it away, becoming lost in the wind.

"Enchant this scale too-...-ange the-......-earer into a SandWing-.....-able earring."

She caught the main idea of the spell, but before she could ponder about the last few muttered words, the scale seemed to glow even more. A blinding white, even against the IceWing's body, but it didn't shed off light like she'd imagined. It was more like a blinding glow, that didn't light up the area around them, just the dragons. Scorpion squinted as the scale shifted, moving, changing shape. It began to crawl up towards the IceWing's ear, hooking itself into place and taking the shape of a shimmering silver earring speckled in white like his scales.

The rest of his body rippled, scales quivering and spines rattling in the sand as they too began to change. His body filled out, his wip-thin tail broadening, his spines forming a hooked barb that rested lightly in the sand. His talons fused, their serrated edges smoothing out into normal talons, turning a warm grey, matching his broader horns that were striped a pearly white. His scales turned into a warm, golden yellow, reminding Scorpion of her sister's -Sundance's- scales. They were paler than her sisters though, closer to golden sand. His spines thinned out, forming a sail that ran down along his spine, a blonde sail.

Scorpion stepped closer, crouching down by the IceWi- no, SandWing's snout, in awe. Peering closer at him, she noticed freckles that dotted under his eyes like tiny constellations, mapped across his face. He had sharp cheekbones, like her, but his horns weren't as sharp. They looked rounder, smoother.

"Does he look convincing enough?"

Scorpion looked up at Rattlesnake, "he looks like any ordinary SandWing."

"Good," Rattlesnake sighed in relief, "good."

Scorpion stared down at the SandWing laing in the sand at her talons, his injuries from their scuffle still marking his body, the spell didn't get rid of them. Her mind raced with questions. How did the spell work? Scorpion thought Animi needed objects to cast their spells, things to put the magic into. At least from the stories she'd heard growing up, told to her by advisors, her siblings, and even some of the oldest of the royal guard.

What if dragons count as objects? Her mind wondered, a shiver of unease raking its claws up along her spine. She knew stories about dragons being cursed by Animus dragons, but it always was in relation to some object that had to be broken in order to free them from the curse. But those were just stories, her mind tried to reassure itself, even though she'd just seen it before her very eyes: a dragon casting a spell without an object. But what about the scale? Rattlesnake touched his scales first.

She looked up from the assassin, towards Rattlesnake.

"How did that work?" she asked, "you didn't put it into anything."

Or do Animus dragons not need objects and those were just made up in stories? Was it all old dragon-tales? But the royal archives say the same thing, and those aren't rewritten unless absolutely necessary.

"His scale holds the spell," Rattlesnake said, "turning into this earring-" she pointed to the snowy white and silver speckled earring- "so the spell can be removed, turning him back."

"So you enchanted him? A part of his body, a dragon."

"I can't enchant dragons."

Scorpion stared at the other SandWing, pointing back down to the unconscious one at their talons, raising a brow.

Rattlesnake stared back.

"I can't enchant dragons-"

Scorpion snorted.

"-Animus dragons can't do that."

"What do you mean they can't?"

"It just doesn't work," the animus shrugged, "some have tried it in the past, but it never worked."

"But scales do?"

"It's technically an object," she explained, reaching up to tug at one of her own, "it's something that can be removed."

"And if it is removed? What happens to the scale if you didn't turn it into an earring or...or something else that was meant to be removable?"

"Then the enchantment is broken, and it's just an ordinary scale. No spell."

Scorpion stood there, puzzled for a few moments before shaking her head. "You can explain this all later to me, but first we need to get him back to the palace without being caught."

"Alright," she nodded, "go, I'll head to the watchtower. You've got thirty minutes before I alert the guards."

Scorpion crouched down by the unconscious Sandwing once more, hooking her snout under his neck and tossing his head onto her back, bucking the rest of him up until she could grab ahold of one of his arms, tugging him on the rest of the way. He was lighter than her brothers, but still heavier than she thought he would. Not too heavy to carry.

"We'll need a story for him," Scorpion pointed out.

"I've got one in mind," Rattlesnake reassured, "once you get him to the palace, wait outside the market. I'll come back, and drag him in, calling for Tamba and Imbali and say there was a scuffle on the other side of the city."

"That'll connect him to the dead one though, don't we want eyes off of him?" What if some dragon realizes he's not really a SandWing? Someone is sure to know.

Rattlesnake paused, her eyes narrowing as she stared down at the sand in thought.

"With all of the off duty military being suddenly brought back full force, he should be able to blend in. A new recruit, there's been a lot of those lately," Rattlesnake had been one of those newly recruited soldiers. "He'll just be another new face. I'll figure out the rest once we regroup."

The other SandWing froze once she was done, blinking in remembrance of who she was talking to, before dipping her head, her chin butting her neck. "Sorry," Rattlesnake apologized, "I shouldn't be ordering you around."

"It's alright," now it was Scorpion's turn to reassure her, "if you've got a plan, I'll follow it."

"Royalty really shouldn't be taking orders from other dragons lower than them."

"And you said it yourself," Scorpion pointed out, her wings stretching out, "I'm different from other royalty, I listen."

With one final glance back at Rattlesnake, Scorpion took a running start, pushing off into the air with a powerful leap, flying off towards the palace that stood off in the distance, the stronghold looming eerily in the distance, shrouded by shadows even in the moonlit night. Scorpion kept herself high up at first, her talons gripping the limp forearms that draped over her shoulders like the paws from fur pelts she'd seen dragons wear. Once she saw the market place in view, she dove, her eyes scanning the streets for any signs of hidden soldiers.

It was quiet, hardly any dragons aside from soldiers out and about at this time of night, the moons now resting behind her instead of over the stronghold from when she and rattlesnake left. As quickly as she dared, Scorpion tucked her wings and sharply flew into one of the long, narrow streets that wasn't draped in cloths or tarps to block out the day's heat. Her talons hovered over the sand, her wings barely shifting once they shot back out, silently slowing down as huts and buildings flashed by her like a haze.

This is when it'd be wonderful to have NightWing wings, she internally remarked, focusing on her landing once her talons touched the cooling sand. NightWings were practically silent in flight, their wingbeats hardly audible, aside from the first flap in take off. Unless the first flap was heard, no dragon could hear them coming. It made no surprise that it helped to make them excellent spies, assassins, bounty hunters, wildlife researchers, and thieves, her mind reminded her, thinking back to the trial Camel had to deal with days before Scorpion and her brothers hatching day....and Sundance's remarks about the tribe as a whole.

Scorpion shook her head, painfully screwing her eyes shut to chase away the imagery of her sister and her consort laying dead in the streets, their life having been sucked away by the very sand they called home, staining it a chrismon red.

Focus, she scolded herself, opening her eyes, readjusting the SandWing draped over her back, her ruby pendant thumping heavily against her chest as she skidded to a stop. The sand shifted under her talons, absorbing the sound as she came to a stop. Moving quickly, Scorpion made her way through the streets, weaving between huts, slipping between houses and structures as silently as she could. Her tail was interwoven with the unconscious assassin's, her barb hooking onto his to keep it from dragging across the ground, leaving a direct trail in their wake for soldiers to follow.

She passed through a small and narrow alley between two larger huts, their gritty walls pulsing a fading warmth that washed over her. Everything was cooling: the sand, the buildings. The heat was slowly starting to seep away, sucked out by the nightly chill. It would keep the morning cool once the sun began to rise, until everything was back to its scorching warmth that would last until the next night. Her talons dug into the sand as she walked, her claws prickling from the chill.

Is Camel keeping every dragon in their houses? Scorpion wondered as she stepped out into the next main street, the wall of the market coming into view between several huts up ahead. It wouldn't surprise her if her mother was, it would make the soldiers jobs easier.

Scorpion looked down both ways on either end of the street, her ear pricked for any sign of a patrol. Nothing, she hummed, quickly stepping out of the moonlit casted shade as swiftly making her way across. Once she was back in the veil casted by the huts around her, Scorpion took another second to listen.

Crunch crunch shuffle click crunch shuffle click crunch crunch shuffle click crunch clack.

It was faint, but the sound of a patrol reached her ears, and it sounded larger than the few she and Rattlesnake avoided earlier that night. Four, maybe five? She thought, her speckled maroon-amber eyes narrowing, slipping away between the houses. Once the sounds grew louder, Scorpion paused, crouching behind one of the huts, listing as the patrol stalked past. She still had yet to see any patrols with torches or lanterns, it was like the whole city had gone dark.

Yet it still feels like I'm being watched, Scorpion's frown deepened, concentrating on the fading, already faint, talon steps until she could no longer hear them.

Shifting the weight of her passenger with a grunt, Scorpion trekked on, making her way closer to the wall surrounding the market. Once she reached it, its tall stature looming over her, forcing her to crane her neck back, Scorpion paused.

Did Rattlesnake want her to wait outside or inside the market? Which end too?

Scorpion's mind scrambled, trying to remember if it was mentioned. No, she realized, no, it wasn't.

Camel spit, she cursed with a huff, her talon stomping the sand in frustration.

The SandWing draped over her shoulders let out a groan, jostled.

Scorpion looked at him from the corner of her eye, still out, she hummed, shifting his weight once more, slowly this time. If he did wake up, Scorpion had no idea how he'd react. Rattlesnake said other animus dragons used this kind of magic to hide in other tribes scales, meaning they still had their memories. Does that mean he'd remember who he was? Or did she enchant him to forget what happened? She didn't know, and Rattlesnake wasn't here to answer, leaving her unsure.

Scorpion hated being unsure, and she was unsure of...a lot...right now.

With a sigh, Scorpion continued on, walking alongside the wall of the market, keeping her ears pricked for any signs of more patrols of soldiers. Stepping lightly across the sand, and keeping hers and her passengers tails off the ground. His weight was beginning to weigh down on her, but she kept going. Just have to get around to the other end of the market, and regroup back up with Rattlesnake.

Scorpion had to pause every so often, not making a sound as patrols passed on the streets. There were some close calls of soldiers peering in between huts and houses, scanning the darkness that wasn't lit up by moonlight. It felt wrong to be sneaking around her own soldiers, the dragons who swore an oath to protect her and her family. But I'm not hurting them, and they're still doing their jobs. She'd snuck around guards before, sometimes to slip out onto the top of the stronghold to watch the sunrise before she was called to breakfast and going off to her princess duties.

Once the last wing of soldiers passed, Scorpion picked up her pace, turning the corner of the wall, the palace in sights, towering above the huts and abodes, its outer wall creating a flat top to the buildings surrounding it, its blocky towers shooting into the night sky like broad talons, not a torch lit inside, illuminating the windows.

We'll wait here, Scorpion lowered herself to a crouch, letting the SandWing draped across her shoulders slip down onto the sand. If any soldiers came by, she could quickly pull him and herself away behind the market's wall, out of sight. It also allowed her to keep watch.

With a flick of her ear, Scorpion's gaze turned upwards, staring up at the moons that were slowly creeping towards the horizon to her right. It would be hours still before they started to fade away, faintly visible in the blue sky once the sun started to wake, but for now their silver moonlight tickled the sand, lining the walls in sharp whites.

Scorpion lowered herself down further, laying in the sand. She suppressed a hiss, swallowing it down as her belly ached at the pressure. Now that she had a moment to relax, her adrenaline seeping away. She could now feel every ache and burn, but it felt...good. They were all earned from hunting down her attempted killers, the killers who took her sister and her consort.

Looking down at the knocked out SandWing beside her, she scowled.

"You better have been worth it," she whispered.

I'll get my answers soon.

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

The next few hours passed in a blur, the second Rattlesnake had met back up with Scorpion, the two snuck back into the palace with their fugitive in the midst of the chaos once the first soldier returned with news of Blur's body being found along the edges of town, just past the dunes. The stronghold had sparked to life, torches being lit like dragonflame cacti being ignited, a line of flames being lit, flashing the settlement in sudden light, sparking dragons awake in their abodes to do the same in alarm. The army swarmed the streets, in search of the other assassin, who was hidden away in the medical wing, unknowingly being tended to by Tamba and Imabli.

"You just found him like this?" Tamba asked.

Imbali, blinking the sleep from her eyes, wove her talons around the unconscious SandWing's head, a large bruise forming where Scorpion had struck him earlier that night. The room was lit with torches, the scent of herbs filling her nose sharply, helping to keep herself and possibly the other dragons in the room awake.

Rattlesnake sat by her side, a tail length away, dressed in her light armour. Back straight as she watched the healers work, Tamba questioning her.

"Just below the tower, he was one of the new recruits guarding the base while I kept watch."

"Would explain the unfamiliar face, a young one too." Imabli hummed, tiredly.

Tamba tsk'ed, shaking his head.

"The queen shouldn't be putting these young soldiers out in the dark alone." He shot a glance at Scorpion, and when she didn't protest to him speaking out against her mother, he continued. "I know her majesty is doing what she thinks is best, but...it's doing no dragon any good."

"She's just angry," Scorpion sighed.

"Even more so with one of your attackers being found dead, your highness."

"Iceberg's response seemed to have her fairly riled up tonight," Imabli pointed out, her eyes kept on her work, "this just added to it."

Scorpion blinked, "there was a response?"

The two healers shared a look before Imabli turned back to her work, Tamba turning to Scorpion.

"Yes, you highness. Iceberg wrote back to Camel, and it wasn't good from what we've heard from a few of the guards who endured her outrage."

She scowled, partially a frown, conflicted, as Tamba continued.

"Iceberg claims to have no knowledge of the murder of your sister and her consort, or the attempted murder of her highness Princess Sapphire, and yourself."

She says she doesn't have anything to do with it? Scorpion could see why it would make her mother so furious, she probably doesn't believe a word Iceberg says. But would she have been more angry if she had admitted to it? Scorpion honestly didn't know. Another thing to be unsure about.

The assassin on the bed groaned, having all attention snapping over to him.

Tamba shot to his talons, "is he waking up?"

"I'm not sure," Imabli admitted, peering down at the other SandWings eyes that groggily blinked with a groan.

Green, Scorpion realized, his eyes are green. Even half closed, they looked like emeralds in a statue of sandstone, a pop of colour against the sandy yellows of his scales. They were almost like Imbali's, just richer in colour, vibrant, and less like dried leaves.

"Hello?" Imabli asked, gently prodding his snout, "are you waking up? Can you hear me-....um...." the healer turned to Rattlesnake, "did you manage to catch his name? Saying their names usually helps to bring them out of it if they're waking up, something they'll recognize and naturally respond to."

Rattlesnake paused, Scorpion shooting her a glance, looking back at the healers just as quickly.

"It's alright if you don't-"

"Meerkat," Rattlesnake straightened, "I believe his name was Meerkat."

"Meerkat? Alright," Tamba turned back to Imbali and the assassin, "Meerkat? Meerkat can you hear me? You're in the stronghold's medical wing."

Scorpion turned to Rattlesnake, whispering sharply, "he can't wake up with them in here! What if he attacks them?"

"He shouldn't-" Rattlesnake shot a quick glance at the healers- "he shouldn't remember anything."

"I thought you said animi have used that spell in the past to hide, meaning they had their memories?"

"They did! But I made sure he wouldn't reme-"

"W-Wh....wha.....?" Came a groggy voice, making the two SandWing's snap their attention back to the healers and the assassin. Meerkat was still groggily blinking, snout wrinkled in discomfort as he winced, talons reaching up to grip his head, his ears pinned back in pain. His tail curled, thumping in discomfort.

"Meerkat? Meerkat can you hear me?" Tamba asked again, quieter this time as he moved in front of the injured SandWing, repeating where he was.

Before Scorpion could stay to watch more, and try to sneak in time to interrogate him, guards pushed their way through the door, the hanging dried herbs tied to the back thumping at the sudden movement. "Princess!" One cried out, "there you are, we've been searching the entire palace for you! What are you doing down here, the stronghold's on lockdown!"

Scorpion stood. She should've known Camel would lock down the palace once word reached her about Blur's body.

"I was wondering, heard a commotion, and came here," she said.

"You shouldn't be wandering around at this time!" One guard fretted, a smaller SandWing with dusty brown scales. "Especially now! Her majesty is calling for the royal family in the throne room, it's urgent."

"We're being locked in there again?"

"It's for the best, you know your mother means well. And it's the safest in the palace right now. If her majesty sees fit, you'll all be moved into the central chambers."

The central chambers.

Only Scorpion's parents were permitted to be down there. It was where the entirety of the SandWing royal treasury was located, locked away and guarded fiercely. It would've been where the Eye of Onyx, if it even existed, would've been kept. Locked away in a safe place until it was retrieved by the queen for the day. It gave the queens a reason aside from daily checks to make sure the treasury was well kept and secure. It was also where the food stores were located, reserves in case of a sand-in, but there hadn't been one bad enough to resort to that, not since Queen Lioness in her early years.

"Alright," Scorpion sighed, "let's go."

As the wing of soldiers began to file out of the room, one staying behind to follow after Scorpion, she turned back to Rattlesnake.

"You," she spoke to the animus, orderingly, "stay here to guard the medical wing and watch over him." he pointed towards Meerkat.

Rattlesnake straightened, her chest puffed almost as soon as Scorpion spoke, instinctual. It happened with all soldiers over time. Scorpion was relieved to not see any hints of offense or hurt in Rattlesnake's eyes, though she did see a flash of fear that was swept away just as quickly as it came.

"Yes, your highness."

With one last glance towards Meerkat, Scorpion turned to follow the guards out, the door being shut behind her as she stepped into the warm, torch lit hall. Each post was lit in a blooming flame that crackled hungirly, practically devouring their posts. As they walked, Scorpion's mind wandered, watching as winglets of soldiers rushed by, barking orders down the halls, and filling the air with flapping wings like the dragonet wingery.

Her stomach still ached, scratched still burned, and she was grateful nobody seemed to notice yet. I just have to make it through Camel and Ringtail, she sucked in a breath, letting it out around her nose ring. Scorpion's scales tingled, her body fidgety, at the thought of questioning the IceWing- now Meerkat. It made her heart hammer like a set of drums in her chest, beating heavily against her ribs.

Soon, it finally started to dawn on her, reality settling in like a cold breeze washing along her back, making her sail stiffen.

Soon, I'll know who tried to kill me. Who tried to kill me, and killed my sister and Tarantula.

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- MindlessTyper