Frost wrinkled her snout as she cautiously sniffed at a vine draped from the trees above. It was slick with moisture, and the sharp scent of decay clung to it, thick and overpowering. She pulled back with a shiver, shaking her head to rid herself of the smell. The rainforest was alive in a way that felt suffocating — buzzing insects, dripping water, and the ever-present weight of humid air pressing against her scales.

The IceWing sighed heavily, her breath curling into a faint mist despite the warmth. She longed for the biting chill of the Ice Kingdom, the clean, crisp scent of snow, the satisfying crunch of frost under her talons. Why did it all have to smell so... rotten here?

"You doing alright?"

Frost glanced to her side to find Glory standing beside her, her jewel-toned scales glimmering faintly in the dappled sunlight. The RainWing's gaze was curious, though not unkind, her head tilted slightly as she studied the IceWing.

"I'm fine," Frost muttered, though her tone was clipped. She was grateful for Glory's diplomacy, but the concern only made her feel more out of place. It was no secret that IceWings didn't fare well in the rainforest. The heat. The wetness. The smells.

Glory raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced, but said nothing more as Tsunami swooped down from the treetops, landing with a splash in the muddy ground. The SeaWing's blue-green scales shimmered as she flicked her tail, sending droplets flying.

"It's too wet here," Tsunami declared, shaking her wings in irritation. "Honestly, though, Glory, you should love this — being a RainWing and all."

Glory rolled her eyes, her frill twitching with mild annoyance. "Yes, because I obviously adore mud sticking to my scales and vines getting tangled in my tail."

Tsunami grinned. "You do live here, don't you?"

"By necessity," Glory shot back. "Not by choice. I'd happily trade a few weeks in the rainforest for some fresh sea air or even a crisp IceWing breeze."

Frost perked up slightly at that, a flicker of surprise crossing her pale, frost-blue eyes. "You... would?"

Glory nodded, giving Frost a rare, genuine smile. "Of course. Just because I'm a RainWing doesn't mean I love the rainforest. Sometimes, it's too much, even for me."

Frost's expression softened, her posture relaxing ever so slightly. Perhaps they weren't as different as she'd thought.

Tsunami, however, looked unconvinced. "Yeah, well, I'll stick to the ocean, thanks. Rainforests are way too crowded for my taste."

"You're not wrong," Glory said with a sigh, glancing around at the towering trees and thick undergrowth. "It's beautiful, but it's alive in a way that doesn't let you forget it."

Frost nodded slowly, taking in the scene around her with fresh eyes. The rainforest was alive — teeming with life in every shadow, every leaf, every drop of water. It wasn't the familiar stillness of the Ice Kingdom, but perhaps it had its own kind of beauty.

Still, she couldn't help but wish for a moment of quiet, where the air was cold and the world was still.

"Let's just keep moving," Frost said, stepping carefully over a root that twisted like a serpent through the mud. "The faster we're out of here, the better."

Glory chuckled softly. "Agreed. But who knows? Maybe you'll warm up to it."

Frost shot her a look, one brow ridge raised. "Don't count on it."

Tsunami laughed, her tail flicking as she strode ahead. "IceWings don't 'warm up' to anything, Glory. Isn't that kind of the point?"

The three dragons continued through the dense jungle, their conversation echoing softly in the humid air. And though Frost still longed for the chill of home, she couldn't help but feel a little lighter — as if, just for a moment, the weight of the rainforest wasn't quite so oppressive.

SCENEBREAK

It took a while, but soon the dragons settled down. Clay curled up beside Frost, his warmth comforting against her cold, smooth scales. Starlight nestled under one of her broad wings, seeking shelter from the soft, steady rain, while Sunny, ever restless, wrapped her tail tightly around herself, trying to find solace in the damp, echoing night.

Frost, however, remained awake. She couldn't sleep — the sound of the rain pattering against the leaves felt alien to her, unsettling, like the rhythmic drumming of something sinister in the dark. The rain didn't belong in this place, not for her, not here, not now. It was a quiet thing, whispering its cold, intrusive touch through the canopy above, but it gnawed at her in a way the wind never did.

Her restless thoughts were interrupted when she noticed Glory standing nearby, just at the edge of the clearing. The RainWing was still, eyes fixed on the dark expanse of the forest, her tail coiled tightly against her body. She was staring into the distance, her posture stiff and unreadable.

Curiosity prodded at Frost, and silently, she rose to her talons. She shook the wet mud from between her claws, the sound of it slapping the ground faint beneath the steady rhythm of the rain. She moved slowly toward the RainWing, the damp air heavy with the scent of wet earth and ancient leaves.

"Are you alright?" Frost asked softly, her voice barely a murmur, careful not to disturb the moment too loudly.

Glory glanced at her, and for a heartbeat, Frost thought she might not respond. But then the RainWing nodded, a slow, deliberate motion. "Yeah," she said, though her tone was distant. "It's just... strange being back here. I didn't think I'd ever see the rainforest again."

She sighed then, her wings shuffling uncomfortably against her back, and curled her tail around her hind talons. "Do you think... I'll ever find my family? Any part of it?"

Frost lowered herself beside Glory, flinching when a frog, unseen in the shadows, leaped over her claws. The touch of the small creature sent a sharp reminder of the wildness of this land through her spine, but she forced herself to stay calm. "I don't know," she replied quietly, her voice carrying the weight of truth. The blindfold over her eyes hid any outward expression, but the tension in her shoulders spoke volumes. "Perhaps. Perhaps not. Who knows? I don't understand RainWing society, not the way you do. I guess... we'll find out."

Her words felt hollow, though she couldn't offer anything else. The truth was, the mysteries of their world — their past, their families, their futures — were tangled in layers of uncertainty that neither of them could hope to untangle.

Suddenly, Frost felt a shift in the air, a prickling sensation crawling across her scales. Her head snapped up, and she caught the faintest ripple of sound in her mind. Six Eyes. The voice echoed in her thoughts, an inexplicable presence. Frost's nostrils flared as her six eyes burned beneath her blindfold.

"Wait," she whispered, cutting through the quiet night. "Do you smell that?"

Glory tilted her head, sniffing the air. The scent was faint but growing stronger — two MudWings, unmistakable, their heavy bodies nearing.

"Hide," Glory hissed urgently, her instincts snapping into motion as she lunged forward. Her claws grasped Frost and tugged her into the ground, her mud-soaked body covering Frost with startling precision. The IceWing barely stifled a yelp, forcing herself to go completely still, her heart pounding as Glory's weight pressed down upon her.

The MudWing soldiers marched past, their voices gruff and low.

"I don't like this patrol," one of them muttered, his deep voice laced with a strange unease.

Glory's muscles tensed, her heart thumping in her chest as she listened. The voice was so close, too close. It was coming from just two trees away.

"Too close to that creepy rainforest, if you ask me," the same MudWing grumbled.

"It's not really haunted," said the second voice, but there was hesitation in it, a small tremor of doubt. "You know the only things that live there are birds and lazy RainWings."

Frost's scales prickled, a frown creeping beneath her blindfold. Lazy? She thought bitterly, memories of the past biting at her. That's what everyone used to say about RainWings during Darkstalker's time. Well, not that rudely. But it felt like the same insult. Back then, Queen Anaconda had led them to war. Now, it felt like their reputation had faded, leaving behind whispers of laziness and weakness.

Well... not so much anymore, Frost mused quietly in her mind.

She leaned slightly forward, eyes narrowing behind the blindfold as she listened intently.

"If that were true," the first MudWing muttered, "Her Majesty would let us hunt in there. But she knows it's not safe. And you've heard the noises at night. Are you telling me it's the RainWings screaming like that?"

Frost's head tilted slightly, her horns clicking gently against Glory's belly. The RainWing quickly clamped a claw over Frost's snout to keep her from moving, her sharp gaze flicking toward the soldiers.

"Not to mention the dead bodies," the first guard added, his tone colder now.

"That's not some kind of rainforest monster," the second guard retorted, though her voice faltered. "That's the war. Some kind of guerilla attacks to scare us."

"All the way down here? Why would the SeaWings or IceWings come all this way to kill one or two MudWings here and there? There are bigger battles everywhere else."

The second guard, voice shaking, spoke faster. "Let's go a bit faster. They should really let us patrol in threes or fours instead of in pairs."

"Tell me about it."

Their footsteps squelched, fading into the distance as their voices grew quieter, and then vanished entirely.

Slowly, Glory unwound herself from Frost, the pressure lifting from the IceWing's scales. Frost stood, shaking off the mud and dead leaves that clung to her like the weight of the world.

"Yuck," Starflight called out from the side, narrowly avoiding a splatter of mud with an irritated flick of his wings. "Be careful!"

Frost barely spared him a glance, still lost in thought.

"Well, that wasn't one of us at all," Tsunami muttered, shaking out her blue wings with an irritated flick. Her scales shimmered like moonlight on water as she glanced back at the now-empty path where the MudWing guards had just passed. "We better hurry and get the RainWing in place before those guards come back."

Frost barely acknowledged Tsunami's words, her thoughts tangled in the cryptic exchanges between the MudWings. It seemed the tension between the tribes had been growing, something stirring deep within the forest — something they had yet to understand. The war, the whispers, the strange things moving through the darkness.

But then, as though to answer those unspoken thoughts, the forest screamed.

The sound sliced through the air, raw and primal, a noise that seemed to carry the weight of the ancient trees themselves. It was neither the cry of an animal nor the war cry of a dragon, but something altogether more haunting. It rattled the air, shaking the leaves from the trees, sending a ripple through the ground beneath them.

Frost's heart leaped in her chest. It was a scream of agony, of terror. The sound tore at the quiet night like a wound left too long unattended.

"What was that?" Starlight whispered, his voice trembling as he crouched lower to the ground, eyes wide.

Glory stiffened beside Frost, her blindfolded gaze distant, as though searching the dark expanse of the rainforest. "That wasn't a RainWing," she said softly, a note of dread creeping into her voice. "No RainWing screams like that."

Tsunami's eyes narrowed. "It doesn't sound like anything we've heard before."

The trees seemed to bend under the force of the scream, the air thickening with an oppressive weight. The rain, which had softened to a gentle mist, now seemed to pause, held in place by the sheer power of the scream that reverberated through the forest.

"Something's wrong," Frost murmured, her voice barely audible over the lingering echoes of the scream. Her six eyes burned beneath her blindfold as she scanned the darkness, her instincts screaming that they were no longer alone.

Glory's wings fluttered nervously, her tail lashing behind her. "We need to go. We need to move. Now."

Frost nodded, her claws digging into the wet earth. "I agree." But as she moved, a shiver crawled up her spine. There was something else now — a presence. Something older. Something darker. And it wasn't far behind them.

The forest's scream lingered in their ears, and Frost could only hope they were fast enough to avoid whatever had made it.