Chapter Text
Qibli observed Darkstalker and his minions for about two days before he announced that he was going to the rainforest to rally his tribe, and then doing so roughly fifteen minutes after he declared that he would.
He asked, or rather ordered Sunny to hand over her Nightwing students. Or whoever wanted to come, at least.
Sunny had only shrugged and said that he would have to let the students choose for themselves. Tsunami wasn’t back yet either. Where was she?
The most concerning thing was that they’d lost Umber out in that storm a few days ago. He was gone. Well and truly disappearing from Jade Mountain entirely.
Was Umber really that mad about them not listening to his argument for why he should keep the scroll?
He was a small Mudwing, anyhow. He wasn’t going to be an issue if he returned with a vengeance. Like Scarlet or Chameleon.
(Minus the snapping necks and murder stuff, and the height difference).
What? Am I hoping that he turns evil or something?
I wasn’t a good friend to begin with, why am I hoping he hates me enough to want to kill me?
He sighed and listened to Winter. Whatever Darkstalker said to him that fateful morning must’ve scared him so badly that he started to be friendly with him. Or maybe he was just in a bad mood. Like always.
“…Thanks for helping me.” He muttered, poking at his tightly wrapped arms.
“Sure.”
“Are you upset that I was being a little…haughty earlier?” He asked.
“Nope, not at all.” He replied with a wave of his claws. “I’m used to having tough scales from living with my family anyway.”
Winter grimaced at himself. “Queen Glacier sent me here to be friendly with other tribes…I should’ve started doing that.”
He’s probably talking to me to get close to Moon, huh?
His company was nice, though. Qibli would savor all of the attention he could get before they got bored of him.
“I’m sorry anyway. I don’t know what came over me.” He said, shifting his claws together and tucking his head.
“I told you…It’s fine.” He muttered, trying his best not to let any of his sarcasm spill over.
Winter needed something, that’s for sure. He couldn’t let Darkstalker get any information from Winter, but he also needed enough to even keep Winter around. Moon would be heartbroken if Darkstalker killed him for real this time.
“Qibli?”
“Hm? What?”
“Do you feel weird?”
“What kind of weird?”
“Like something is wrong…I feel this weird tingling. It’s not from my wounds though.” He admitted, fidgeting with his claws.
Bingo. Pyrite felt like that and she was enchanted. Darkstalker did do something to him.
“Do you think it’s because of Darkstalker?” Qibli asked, quite invested, truthfully.
“No…It wouldn’t be.” He whispered with a shaky desperation in his voice. “He would never do something like that to me.”
Qibli sighed. Winter was Moon version two.
Here we go again.
“Wouldn’t he? You don’t know that.”
“I trust him.”
Qibli was quite thrown off by that. Even if he was expecting it, it still felt weird coming from Winter’s snout.
“Don’t you as well? Why—? Are you hiding something? Did you enchant me? Are you just covering your tail and blaming Darkstalker for your actions?!” He exploded, slowly getting more riled up like a boiling pot of water. Winter fumed, pointing a claw angrily in Qibli’s chest, wings flared in ice cold anger.
“Tell me—! What did you do to me?!”
Qibli locked his jaw and kept silent. If he argued, he’d end up in a world of hurt.
“Qibli?!” He snarled, “Qibli, answer me already!”
He deadpanned, looking at the floor and trying not to respond or even show any of his true emotions. Fear, sadness, anger and a list of other things that would make Winter even more angry. Or perhaps rash enough to do something stupid without Qibli being able to stop him.
“Qibli, what is wrong with you?! Darkstalker isn’t evil! His father deserved all that came to him!”
He made the mistake of blurting out his thoughts.
”Don’t you mean your great, great, great grand uncle?! What’s wrong with YOU?!” He snapped, “He was an Icewing like you, and you say something like that? Then you say that you’re loyal to your tribe first? Why are you even mad at me?!”
Winter shut himself up really fast.
”…I suppose that I shouldn’t be.” He said finally.
“If you enchanted me, then I trust that it’ll be good. Animi like Darkstalker deserve trust too, I guess…”
Qibli fumed, but he couldn’t express it. Not right now. Darkstalker clearly did something, probably something horrible and mind altering. It was dumb of him to steer the conversation towards Darkstalker in the first place. He should’ve known better.
“I apologize for my rude behavior.” He said, head tilted to the side like a brooding Prince would.
Because he is one you idiot!
“Do you know Ostrich?” He asked.
”The little Sandwing that flew off last night?”
”Sort of, yes.”
He paused in confusion, “Wait, what?!”
Winter shrugged at him. “Peril told me a pair of Sandwings flew off to the Sand Kingdom last night, at about midnight.”
It was his turn to fire off questions this time.
“Did you see them?”
“I watched them leave with Peril.”
“Why didn’t you stop them? What were you doing up?”
“Homework.” He muttered, “We didn’t know what they were up to. We didn’t bother them.”
He sighed in confusion, trying to calm himself down.
”Okay…” He gasped, “You know they were going to the Sand Kingdom, right? I’m going to go follow them.”
Winter grimaced.
“I’m…following you.”
“Why?”
“To make up for all of my…issues with you recently. And to pay you back for finding Hailstorm with me—apparently.”
He explained, twitching his wings.
“Fine.”
This was probably apart of his enchantment. Fine then. He’ll lure Winter away from Darkstalker, then he’ll strike with his earring and—
Doesn’t Turtle have that bowl that makes more of whatever’s inside of it?
Does it make anything but food?
He had to try though. Later that afternoon, he casually walked over to Turtle’s room, careful not to draw too much attention to himself. Qibli removed the pieces of the bowl from under Umber’s now empty cot. He was getting a bit more nervous about him not returning after three days. With shaking claws, he slot the bowl together and dropped his earring inside.