Chapter Text
Prologue
These events take place three years after the events of Her Majesty’s Queen Ruby’s Murder.
“To clarify, it was you who killed Queen Ruby.” Sirro asked the shaking dragon in front of him.
She was too small to be a killer of a Queen, killer of supposed 56 others.
But then again, so was the IceWing beside her. She was responsible for more than anyone bothered to count.
Kinkajou nodded slowly.
Sirro sighed, “Your mental state couldn’t have been anything stable at this time, correct?”
“She was stable enough,” Shatter told the journalist, voice dripping with scorn.
“But it wasn’t her entirely driving the wheel, correct?”
“If you could call it that.” Kinkajou said, “Nothing made sense that year.”
Sirro nodded. “Did you notice anything odd, especially?”
Kinkajou snorted, “Everything was odd. I was juggling being a runaway, living with a sociopath and arguing with voices in my head.”
Sirro did a sort of odd cough, clearly uncomfortable, “Right,” he said.
“You flatter me too much,” Shatter remarked flatly, in regards to Kinkajou’s sociopath comment.
“And now after a series of events you ended up in a SkyWing prison.” Sirro continued.
Kinkajou nodded, her claws still shaking slightly.
“Can you walk me through what happened?”
Shatter stilled. “You don't have to if you don't want to.” She told Kinkajou.
Kinkajou took a shuddering breath and put a claw on Shatters.
“It’s fine.” She said.
Shatter cocked her head, but didn’t argue.
“I… don’t really know what happened that night. I blacked out, I must’ve, not I did, hurt Shatter. Slit her throat.”
Kinkajou felt her throat gingerly.
“I had to get her help. The SkyWings were the closest. I flew her there, and got her saved. Got her help. Qibli caught up with me shortly after.”
“And Qibli, helped you how?” Sirro asked softly.
“He got me Whitefall. She gradually helped me face what I’d been running from that entire year.”
“Which was?”
“Killing Moon.” Her eyes were distant, as if in another universe.
“That’s all.” Sirro said, getting up. “You don’t know how much this interview means to me.”
“Yeah, yeah. Get out already.” Shatter snapped.
Shrugging, Sirro leaves, and heads to his treehouse.
The RainWing Queen, Glory was kind enough to get him a place to stay whilst he interviewed ‘her’ prisoner.
Everyone knew that Glory wouldn’t actually cause Kinkajou any grief, so her situation was more of a mandatory stay-at-home thing.
As much as she wanted to get her friend better, even Sirro knew that there was no going back from what Kinkajou endured.
Giving his manuscript to the messenger at his door, also courtesy of Glory, he heads into his little home.
It’s cozy, and filled with scrolls.
Technically it’s home to Kinkajou’s resident… mind reader?
Nobody really knows what her job is called, but she checks on Kinkajou everyday to record her mental state.
She’s a somewhat shy NightWing, polite.
Sirro had only ever exchanged names with her, and not much else.
But Lunarshade was studying some scrolls in the corner with Qibli.
Sirro knew of the SandWing dignitary, mainly because he was probably the most famous SandWing besides their Queen, Thorn.
And of course, Kinkajou’s only old friend from before her incident with Moon.
“Mornin’” Sirro said, setting his small punch of writing utensils down.
They both ignored him, but perhaps whatever it was that they were studying was more important.
Sirro went to his hammock and heaved himself into it.
He was rather tired, after everything.
He wouldn’t mind a small nap…
Blinking heavily, he glanced over to the others in Lunarshade’s place…
They were sleeping? Already?
Barely getting up, Sirro glanced out of the window.
A SkyWing and a SandWing, with weird golden stripes trailing their wings were heading towards Kinkajou and Shatter’s home.
Sirro made it three steps before fainting, the darkness overtaking him too.
____________
“They took her.” It was the first thing all of them heard when Kinkajou awoke.
Sirro had gone to wish them goodbye, after waking up on the ground.
All he saw when he opened the door was blood.
Everywhere.
Even Sirro had worked as a part time mercenary in the Scorpion Den, but he had never seen such violence.
Kinkajou, lying in a pool of her own blood, her throat slit.
He barely got enough time to rush her to the medics.
Qibli hadn’t left her side as they worked on her.
Lunarshade, or Lunar as she preferred to be called, had been between dragons constantly, informing and talking and making plans, while Sirro had been recording everything.
Kinkajou suddenly gripped Qibli’s claws harder, more frantic than anything. She was still half asleep from whatever drugs the perpetrators must’ve used on her, but she used her strength to tell Qibli, “Find her.”
Before finally closing her eyes.
Find her.
Find Shatter.