Work Text:
The festival was overflowing with energy. Qibli’s senses were assaulted with noise and color, and he didn’t mind one bit. The smell of grilled food wafted through the air as music blared from the musicians’ instruments. In every direction, dragons danced or socialized, played games, or performed shows.
Qibli couldn’t keep himself from smiling. For as nightmarish as his upbringing had been, he still considered the Sand Kingdom home, and it felt great to be back.
The Full Moon Festival had been raging since sunset. The central place of the event was the palace; part of it was in the courtyard, but the vast majority of it was held just outside. SandWings from all across the desert had come to take part. Dragons from other tribes were there, too, having been dragged there by friends or to sell their wares.
The entire desert was alive. And all the while, Imperial, Pyrrhia’s largest moon, shone brightly in the night sky.
The courtyard area was where Qibli found himself currently, gnawing on a fried lizard on a stick next to a nondescript food stall. His partners, Moon and Winter, were sitting next to him, with Moon in the middle of the trio. The SandWing glanced over at them and smiled. Although he couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, based on the looks they were giving each other, they were no doubt flirting.
Qibli watched them fondly for a while. He realized that they were playing a game that they would often play, in which they competed to see who could fluster the other more. Surprisingly, Moon seemed to be the one losing. Normally, Winter’s the one who turned into a stuttering mess with just a few words. Especially since Moon can read his mind, she knows exactly what buttons to press.
My charm must have rubbed off on him, Qibli thought, shaking his head affectionately. Every time they played this game, it was the most adorable display Qibli had ever seen in his life.
Eventually, the current music performance ended, and Qibli was able to get a word in. “Three Moons, would you two just kiss already?” he said with a smirk.
Evidently to turn the tide in her favor, Moon went through with Qibli’s suggestion. The NightWing leaned forward and locked lips with the IceWing in a passionate kiss. Consequently, whatever advantage Winter had was ruined, as the IceWing froze (pun absolutely intended). His face became even bluer as he blushed.
Even after all this time of being with Qibli and Moon, Winter still wasn’t entirely used to physical affection. It wasn’t that he disliked it (he loved it, in fact, even if he’d never admit it), he just didn’t know how to respond to it. No matter how suave he tried to be, a simple kiss or touch in the right place, and he was putty in their talons.
Moon separated from Winter and leaned back, giving him a wink as she did so. Winter looked as though his brain had been fried. Smirking, Moon turned to Qibli and said, “I think I won.”
Finally, Winter seemed to come back from whatever planet he was on. He looked to the side pouting and grumbled, “I was going to win, blast it, you cheated.” His blush had not gone down one bit.
“Aw cheer up, Winter!” Qibli said joyfully, “Maybe you’ll get her next time.”
Moon giggled. “I look forward to it,” she said seductively, trailing a talon down Winter’s chest. The IceWing’s blush got so intense, Qibli thought he was going to burst into flames.
“Alright, Moon, that’s enough. You’re gonna break him,” Qibli said, trying to sound reprimanding, but in reality, he found it hilarious .
The IceWing opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by another, larger dragon approaching them. She was a SandWing with pale-colored scales, like the desert at midday. An onyx and gold-colored amulet in the shape of an eye hung from her neck, and atop her head was a brightly shining crown of gold.
Qibli perked up at the sight of her. “Thorn!” he called with delight as she padded over to them. Queen Thorn beamed at him and patted him on the head.
“Hey there, scruffy. Having a fun time?”
Qibli batted her talon away. “Was, until you decided to show your ugly mug,” he joked.
Thorn laughed. “Watch it, kid. I could get you arrested.”
“Since when was ‘insulting the Queen’ a crime?”
“Since two seconds ago, when I made it one.”
The two of them shared a laugh, then Thorn turned to Moon and Winter. “Good to see you two here, as well. Things have been well, I hope?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, thank you for asking,” Winter responded with a bow, automatically switching to his ‘royalty-is-here-so-I’m-going-to-act-like-I’m-lesser-than-them-in-every-way’ mode. Qibli snorted at him.
“That’s good. Just let me know if you need help keeping this one in line,” the Queen said, poking Qibli on the side with a wingtip. Qibli stuck his tongue out indignantly at her.
Qibli realized that Moon had been oddly quiet during the conversation. Looking over at her, he saw her staring at Thorn, her mouth slightly agape. The NightWing’s eyes were wide and looked as though they were glowing. Suddenly, Moon’s eyes dimmed, and she snapped out of whatever trance she was in. Without a word, she turned to Qibli, her eyes filling with tears, and clasped a talon over her mouth.
“What is it?” Qibli asked, concerned, “Did you have a vision just now? What did you see?”
Moon removed her talon from her mouth and wiped the tears from her eyes. Qibli's mind was already brimming with worst-case scenarios until he realized that she was smiling. “It’s nothing bad, I promise! It’s… well, you’ll find out,” she told him.
“Ah… I think I know what she saw,” Thorn said with a strangely neutral expression. Qibli turned to the Queen, brows knitted together in confusion.
“What is it?” he repeated.
“Like she said, you’ll find out,” the larger SandWing responded vaguely, patting him on the shoulder, “Anyway, I should go get ready for my speech. Sunny says ‘hi’, by the way.” With that, she turned and walked away before Qibli could get another word in.
Qibli watched her go for a moment, then turned to Moon, “Okay, what was that?”
The NightWing just shrugged, “It’s supposed to be a surprise! I didn’t even mean to have that vision. I guess Imperial being full is making my powers janky.”
“Well… what’s the surprise?” Qibli asked slowly.
Both Moon and Winter stared blankly at him for a long moment. “I’m kidding! Of course I’m kidding… unless?”
“No!” Moon told him sternly, but Qibli could tell she was holding back giggles.
“Will you tell me?” Winter inquired.
“No! What is with you two? It’s called a ‘surprise’ for a reason!”
“It’s not even a surprise for me!”
“Still! I was never intended to know, therefore I will act as if I don’t,” she declared, tilting her snout up indignantly.
Qibli and Winter looked at each other. “Can you believe her?” Winter asked light-heartedly.
“I know right? Very unprofessional,” the SandWing responded.
“Oh, cry me a river,” Moon said, rolling her eyes. Qibli chuckled and nuzzled her cheek with his snout.
“You know you love me,” he said teasingly. Moon shied away from his touch playfully.
“Most of the time,” the NightWing teased back. She leaned forward and connected their lips in a quick kiss.
After they separated, the music abruptly began again. The beat of the drums seemed to pulse through Qibli’s bones, igniting his soul. Newly invigorated, he grabbed his partners by their talons and dragged them to their feet. “Come on, let’s dance!” he exclaimed with a grin that was all teeth.
“We were just dancing a few minutes ago!” Winter complained, but he made no move to stop him.
“Your point being?” Qibli retorted. To give the IceWing some motivation, Qibli pulled him close, intertwining their tails. “Don’t you wanna spend some time with whittle ol’ me?”
With the SandWing’s face so close to his, Winter was having a hard time thinking. “Believe it or not, there’s a limit to how much of you I can take in one day,” he finally got himself to say.
“Oh?” Qibli responded, raising an eyebrow at him. The SandWing traced the underside of the IceWing’s jaw with the tip of a claw. “You normally don’t have a problem taking what I give you~”
As Winter’s face practically exploded in a blush, Qibli didn’t give him a chance to recover, as he immediately pressed their lips together in a fiery kiss. When they pulled apart, Winter looked almost catatonic. His jaw was moving up and down, but nothing was coming out.
“Didn’t you just tell me not to break him?” Moon laughed, “Look at what you did!” Qibli joined her in laughing.
The ice sculpture of a dragon blinked a couple of times, then appeared to somewhat regain his senses. “Y-You impudent sand-snorter!” Winter stammered out.
“I’m right here, Igloo-Face, you don’t have to yell,” the SandWing teased.
Moon wrapped her wings around both of them before Winter could retaliate. “Boys, boys… I thought we were supposed to be dancing?”
“Oh, right. Forgive me, madam,” Qibli said, pulling her close as well. “Hope you’re ready, handsome,” he said to Winter with a wink.
Winter sighed as he resigned himself to his fate, “As I’ll ever be…”
Hours later, when Imperial was highest in the sky, the festival-goers settled down as they awaited the Queen’s traditional speech. Dragons were packed together in the palace courtyard, chatting amongst themselves. Qibli was near the front of the crowd with Moon and Winter, one of his wings draped around them.
At last, Queen Thorn appeared on the balcony above the courtyard, glowing in the torches and moonlight. The crowd applauded as their Queen spread her wings open.
“Greetings, Sand Kingdom!” Thorn’s voice echoed. The speech balcony’s expertly crafted acoustics ensured that she would be heard by all.
“Thank you all for attending this year’s Full Moon Festival! It feels great to return to traditions again after so long…
“I cannot express how much it means to me to see our tribe united once again. Decades of conflict and bloodshed left us divided and spiteful. It has been hard for everyone to move forward, I know. To be able to stand side-by-side amicably with those we once considered our enemies is something that takes incredible strength. But seeing everyone here dancing and laughing with one another shows that strength. I am not so naive as to believe that everything can be fixed in one night with a party. However, tonight has shown me that we are on the road to healing…
“At the heart of it all, we, the SandWings, are family, and that is what this celebration is about. To celebrate family and kinship. And tonight, for this celebration, I would like to shine a light on one dragon in particular. I ask now that my loyal Outclaw, Qibli, come and join me on the stage.”
Qibli's eyes widened in shock. He turned toward his partners and saw that Moon was beaming. “Go on,” the NightWing encouraged.
Okay… guess this is the surprise, Qibli thought. Flapping his wings carefully, so as not to hit anyone in the crowd, he took to the air and flew upwards to the balcony.
The younger SandWing landed with a small thud on the balcony and peered up at Thorn. She was smiling warmly at him, as collected as ever. But Qibli knew her well enough to tell when she was putting up a front. He could see something other than calm in her dark eyes. Was she… nervous?
“Hey,” the Queen greeted quietly.
“Uh… hi?” Qibli responded, a bit unsure of where this was going.
Thorn took a deep breath and turned back to the crowd, speaking louder to address the audience as well as him, “Some of you know Qibli as one of my most trusted advisors. A dragon who was originally a member of my Outclaws and climbed up the ranks to my court. But, that is not who I know him as.”
The Queen turned back to Qibli, gazing down at him with the warmest smile the smaller SandWing had ever seen. “To me, he is one of my closest friends. A dear companion that I have treasured since the day I met him. One of the most incredible and brave dragons I have ever known.”
Qibli’s mouth hung open as he peered up at her, unsure how to react. He knew Thorn deeply cared for him, as he did her, but it was a mostly unspoken thing. To come out and say it out loud was… a lot. And he still didn’t know where this was going.
The older SandWing placed a talon on his shoulder, addressing him directly. “Qibli… words cannot possibly begin to describe how proud I am of you. When I first met you, you were at the lowest point. Your entire life you had been dragged through hell at the claws of those who were meant to care for you. You have been beaten down over and over, and yet you never lost your light. Throughout it all, you remained steadfast and strong…
“Despite the nightmare that you lived through, you never lost your smile. You never gave up on yourself or other dragons. You continued to be virtuous and kind-hearted in spite of a cruel and unjust world. The amount of tenacity and resilience you possess is one that most dragons only dream of; and watching you grow up into the compassionate, beautiful dragon you are now has been one of the best experiences of my life…
“Your light has supported me through my hardest times, even if you didn’t always know it. Every conversation, every gesture, every gift… reminded me of what makes life enjoyable. Of why it was worth it to continue. When I was spiraling in darkness, your light guided me back…”
Thorn’s voice had begun to waver slightly. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before reopening them. Qibli’s own eyes had started to well up with tears at her words. He was desperately trying to hold them back, refusing to cry in front of thousands of dragons. After a moment, Thorn continued, “Even if we do not share blood, you are my family. Always have been, always will be. And tonight… I would like to make it official…”
Thorn, with slightly shaking talons, reached behind herself and pulled out a piece of paper she had tucked inside her wing. When she turned it over, Qibli’s jaw dropped as he read the bold words at the top.
‘Certificate of Adoption’
Qibli’s head shot up, gazing up at Thorn. Her own eyes had begun to well with tears as she spoke, every word echoing in Qibli’s soul:
“Qibli… with Imperial as my witness, I would like to formally adopt you… as my son.”
Qibli didn’t waste a second. He shot forward into Thorn, wrapping her in a tight hug which she immediately returned. The dam broke and tears flowed freely from his eyes, his body racked with shuddering sobs in Thorn’s… no, his mother’s embrace. He could hear the crowd erupting in applause, but he didn’t care. Nothing outside the warmth of his mother existed to him at that moment.
He didn’t know how long they remained there, but eventually, Thorn pulled away, though only slightly, to address the audience, “Thank you all for a successful Full Moon Festival!” With her wings still tight around Qibli, she guided him inside the palace, the doors to the balcony shutting behind them.
The two of them continued to hold each other closely in the new quiet of the empty hallway. After a while, Qibli regained enough composure that his crying ceased.
“You okay there?” Thorn asked half-jokingly. Qibli looked up to see her eyes were puffy as if she had been crying, too.
“Y-Yeah… I’m alright,” he choked out, smiling up at her. “Are you?”
“I’m doing fine,” she replied in a hoarse voice that said otherwise, “I’m never doing another disgustingly sappy speech like that ever again, so consider yourself lucky I did one for you, kid.”
Qibli chuckled. “Wow, I feel so loved,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Yeah, well, you better. I didn’t go through the unnecessarily complicated and headache-inducing adoption process for you not to.”
“Oh yeah… right. You did do that, didn’t you?” the younger SandWing said absentmindedly, “Sorry, it just… hasn’t entirely sunk in yet.”
“It hasn’t for me either, believe me,” Thorn responded, looking off into the distance.
“How long were you planning this?”
“Honestly? I’ve wanted to do it for a long time. Years ago, even. But I was just never able to. Back in the Scorpion Den, I was the head dragon, but I was still nothing more than a filthy peasant to the Sand Kingdom government. If I, a lowly criminal ringleader from the poorest city in the entire desert, asked them to allow me to adopt you, they would have laughed in my face. Now that I’m Queen, I can do whatever I please.”
“You… you always wanted to?” Qibli asked quietly.
Thorn smiled and nuzzled her snout against his. “Yes. Despite how embarrassingly cheesy everything I said out there was, I still meant every word. I have always thought of you as my family. You’re my son, Qibli… and I love you.”
Qibli felt his eyes welling with fresh tears, but he refused to let them fall. He grinned even wider than he ever thought he could. “I… I love you, too… m-mom…” he said softly.
His mother chuckled. “Heh, it’s weird hearing you say that. But I can’t wait to get used to it.”
“Me either,” Qibli replied. He nuzzled into her again, and she rewrapped her wings around him.
The two of them sat there together, mother and son holding each other closely, losing track of time in each other’s embrace.
Eventually, Qibli and Thorn exited the palace and went back out into the courtyard, where the festival was still going strong. Qibli felt as if he was floating, like in a dream. He felt lighter, as if a heavy weight that he never knew was there had been lifted off of him.
Dragons would approach the two and congratulate them, but Qibli was only partly paying attention. His mind was still spinning with emotions: happiness, relief, nervousness, exhaustion. He didn’t know if wanted to cry, scream, dance, or all three.
The young SandWing was snapped out of his stupor by a yellow shape dashing towards him. He barely had a chance to react before a small, golden dragon crashed into him, wrapping him in a fierce hug.
“EEEEEEEEE OHMYGOSHQIBLICONGRATULATIONSIMSOHAPPYFORYOU!!!!!!” the small dragon squealed in a high-pitched voice.
“H-hi, Sunny, good to see you…” Qibli choked out against the hybrid’s death grip of a hug.
“Okay, okay, Beetle, that’s enough. You’re gonna strangle him,” Thorn piped up from beside him.
“Whoops, sorry,” Sunny said giggling, releasing him from her chokehold, “But I’m so excited! I’m so glad you’re part of the family, Qibli! I can’t believe you’re my little brother now, this is so awesome!”
“I’m guessing you knew about this beforehand?” Qibli asked… his sister… wow, calling her that was weird.
“Well duh!” Sunny responded, bouncing up and down, “It was my idea to announce it during the festival speech. Mom wanted to do something lame like just flat out telling you, but I convinced her to do something a bit more dramatic!”
“I still can’t believe I did that,” Thorn muttered, cringing to herself, “That was the most over-the-top, mushy thing I’ve ever done…”
“I helped her write the speech,” the hybrid stage whispered to Qibli, “You and I both know that she’s not the most feelingsy kind of dragon, so I gave her a few nudges in the right direction.”
“I can be feelingsy if I want,” Thorn bristled, “I just don’t think it had to go as cheesy as it did!”
“Sometimes the world needs a bit of cheese, what can I say?” Sunny said, shrugging.
“If it’s any consolation, Mom, I didn’t mind it,” Qibli said with a smirk, “In fact, you should shower me with remarks about how great and selfless I am more often.”
Thorn sighed. “See? I told you that he’d get a big head about it.”
“As if he doesn’t already have one,” Sunny joked, rolling her eyes. Qibli nudged her with his wing, throwing her off balance.
“Whatever, it’s over and done with,” Thorn said, stretching out her wings, “Just don’t ask me to, and I quote, ‘dig deep within your heart to express your love in its most unabashed form’ ever again, please.”
“I make no promises,” Sunny snarked, giggling.
As the three of them continued to chat amongst themselves, Qibli found himself lost in his own thoughts. And when looking at his mother and sister, he began to feel something. He wasn’t sure what the feeling was, but he felt it satisfied a deep yearning within him.
After he said goodnight to his family and reunited with his partners, the feeling only grew stronger. As Moon and Winter congratulated him and held him, it grew even stronger. And as he lay in bed that night, Moon and Winter snuggled close to him, it grew stronger still. And then, just as he was about to drift off to sleep, he realized what that feeling was.
He felt loved .
All his life, that is all he ever wanted. For someone to care for him as he cared for them. To feel as if he was worthy of love, and at long last he finally did. His mother, his sister, his partners, his friends… they all cared for him and loved him. Finally, he felt content.
Qibli smiled, cuddled closer to his partners, and drifted off to sleep.