Poison

Poison huddled in the fireplace of a house in Yellowjacket Hive, where she'd been for the last hour and had had to listen to the screams grow quieter and quieter. Now the whole Hive was deadly silent.

A door creaked open. Poison froze. "Hello?" Asked the LeafWing. Poison held her breath, knowing that her breathing would move the wooden blocks hiding her bright gold and black scales. "Please come out," said the sweet feminine voice. "I live here." Poison wasn't about to listen to a LeafWing right after the invasion.

The LeafWing's eyes trailed to Poison's hiding spot. "I can see you." Poison cursed under her breath and jumped out, landing on the LeafWing, who shrieked in distress. "Ow! What the heck? I live here, too, you idiot!" She wriggled her arm free and pulled something out of the anklet pouch around her left ankle. "See? It's my library card. For this Hive." Poison studied it. It definitely wasn't a fake. "Now will you please get off of me?" She asked.

Poison retreated. The LeafWing stood up and brushed herself off. "I'm looking for the remaining civilians," she explained. "I'm Foxglove." Poison took a moment to look at the LeafWing. She'd never seen one so close. She had reddish amber scales with a brownish stomach. Odd-colored white freckles dotted her snout, and she had pretty amber eyes.

"Poison." They shook talons.

"Fitting name," Foxglove muttered.

"Hey!" Poison said, indignant. "My mother chose my name, not me!"

Foxglove sighed. "You're right. Where is your mother? Was she... I know my tribe was rounding up all the HiveWings..."

Poison laughed awkwardly. "No, no. I was adopted by a SilkWing. I never met my parents. But Mother–er, Theona– lives in Tsetse Hive with my adoptive sister, Seaglass."

"Oh, I live there part-time," Foxglove said. "And my friends Ferret and Hope live there."

Poison heard a noise. A whimpering. "I think there's a dragon trapped somewhere on the next floor!" She cried, taking off. Foxglove flew after her, complaining that her wings hurt because someone attacked her even though she was trying to save them. Poison just rolled her eyes.

She found the little HiveWing stuck under a fallen bookshelf. "I've got you," Poison said quietly.

The HiveWing dragonet wailed. "T-t-the LeafWing t-took m-my m-mommy!" She sobbed. "I-is she gonna t-take me?" She whimpered, pointing at Foxglove.

Foxglove shook her head sadly. "No. I'm here to protect you."

The HiveWing sniffed as Poison lifted the bookshelf. "Hurry!" She said, grunting. The dragonet darted out. Poison let the bookshelf fall.

"What's your name?" Foxglove gently asked the dragonet. The dragonet hesitated, looking at Poison. Poison nodded. "You can talk to her."

"Junix," she said meekly.

"What are your parents' names?" Poison asked.

"Um..." Junix thought for a bit. "Mommy's name is Izula, and Daddy's name is Caterpillar."

Foxglove looked deep in thought. "I think I've heard of a Caterpillar."

"How?" Poison asked.

"A colleague of mine mentioned, 'My friend Caterpillar was supposed to be here, but his dragonet has a fever.'" Foxglove looked pointedly at Junix. "I presume that's you?"

Junix nodded. "I did have a fever! A month ago! And I was throwing up and the puke looked like—"

"Let's stop right there," Poison advised. Junix frowned.

"Are there any other dragons here?" Foxglove asked Junix.

Junix hesitated. Then her eyes widened. "Redspot! He's my SilkWing friend! He was getting a snack–"

Poison rushed into the kitchen, where all the things were knocked over. "Check under the shelf," she commanded to Foxglove, who hurriedly began to push it up. Poison, not finding anything, ran into the bedroom next to them.

She peeked under the bed. "Redspot?" she asked.

A tiny white ball unfurled, revealing the light red spots on his body. "C'mon," Poison prompted.

He slowly climbed out, flinching when his wing buds bumped the bed frame.

"Th-the scary dragons have left, right?" he asked nervously. 

"Yes, they have," Foxglove replied comfortingly. "Are you hurt?" 

The small SilkWing shivered. "I-I don't think so?" He said, sounding unsure.

Foxglove and Poison exchanged glances. Poison found herself wondering if Foxglove's odd coloration was normal for LeafWings, but decided not to ask. "We should get moving, there are probably more survivors left in the rubble that need to be helped." 

"Yeah," Foxglove agreed. "I doubt the LeafWings got them all." 

Poison turned back to the two dragonets. Junix was telling Redspot a joke to make him laugh, and it felt like her heart was melting at the sight of the two interacting. "What should we do with them?" Foxglove asked softly. 

Poison shrugged uncomfortably. "I-I'm not sure," she muttered. "I was just told to 'keep calm and order' by my instructor. I guess they never expected it to turn into a full-blown invasion."

"You're a soldier?" Foxglove asked, Poison's previous statement had piqued her interest.

"Yeah, me and my friend Agility," Poison confirmed. "I'm usually just a guard and carry out minor assignments. This though... This isn't what I'm used to doing." She shook her head.

"Ah," was all Foxglove responded. It was clear that she was thinking. "We should take them with us, and take them back with you to be cared for." 

"And you'll come with me?" Poison asked hopefully. She had to admit she enjoyed the LeafWing's company.

"No, I think I'll stay with my friends in Tseste Hive. I work there part-time anyway, so it won't be too big of a deal..."

Poison tried to not let her disappointment show. She'd known that the chances of the LeafWing staying with her were slim, but it would be nice to talk to someone other than Agility for once. "Your friends?" She asked instead of letting her disappointment.

"Oh yeah, their names are Ferret and Hope," she paused as if remembering something. "And there's my childhood friend, Stardust. We both grew up in the Diamond spray delta, but I moved away at the age of twelve and haven't really spoken to them since." 

Poison waved for the two small dragonets to follow them, then turned back to Foxglove. "Your friends sound really interesting, do want to tell me about them?" she asked.

Foxglove's face lit up like a lightbulb. "Of course!" She said happily. "Only if you tell me about your friends."

Poison laughed. "I'm afraid I only really have one friend, and that's Agility." 

Foxglove gave her a bashful smile. "Well, count that as two friends now." 

Poison felt a strange wave of embarrassment. "Your friends?"

"Oh, yes. First, we have Ferret..."

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A/N

lol double update. 0_0 I'm literally grinding these chapters