Foxglove

Foxglove had to admit Poison was helpful. She was a pain in the tail, but she was helpful. The fierce HiveWing was completely black with a single golden stripe running down her back, although her spines were black, interesting colors on a HiveWing.

By the end of the day, Foxglove and Poison had found over twenty HiveWings, mostly small dragonets that were either injured, stuck, or knocked out, nine SilkWings, and even an unconscious LeafWing soldier, whom Poison paralyzed with the sharp end of her tail, which was very unnerving to watch.

Other than that, the Hive was empty. The strangest part was the lack of SilkWings. Wasn't the LeafWings' job to round up HiveWings? Why bother with the SilkWings?

Foxglove relayed this to Poison, who asked the female SilkWing who was comforting Redspot.

"Fled," she said. "They evacuated to Tsetse Hive and Chalcid Hive, through the webs." Chalcid Hive was the ruling Hive, and its name changed with every queen that occupied it.

"It's so dumb that the SilkWings had to flee because of the LeafWings' order to get the HiveWings," Poison commented. The HiveWings around her nodded in sympathy, though some rolled their eyes.

"This war is for all of us," one muttered.

"Well, we will soon be reunited with some of the SilkWings," Poison said, raising her voice. "I'm sure the others notified Queen Chalcid, but I'm going to travel to Tsetse Hive." Foxglove noticed Poison's eyes flitted to her and thought the HiveWing was hoping to see her family and maybe even Ferret and Hope. The idea warmed her scales. 

"But your duties as a soldier?" Foxglove prompted. As much as she wanted Poison to come with her, the HiveWing soldier did have duties to fulfill. 

"I'm taking a break," Poison grumbled under her breath.

"Are you going to see your family?" Foxglove blurted.

Poison's ears drooped and she looked down awkwardly. "Well, Theona isn't exactly...she runs an orphanage. She doesn't want us to call her mother. Seaglass and I are best friends though, almost like sisters. I'll probably hang out with Agility, and hopefully she'll take a break too."

"Oh, Poison," Foxglove said in remorse. She listened carefully, hoping to hear more information on Agility.

"I don't need sympathy," Poison snapped. Foxglove recoiled, and the HiveWing took a deep breath. "Sorry. I'm used to hanging out with Agility, and she knows everything about me."

"What's she like?" Foxglove asked tentatively.

Poison sighed. "She's kind, sweet, a little shy. She's a RainWing-SkyWing hybrid, and she's my best friend."

Foxglove didn't know why the words pricked at her.

"What about your friends?" Poison asked her.

"Ferret, Stardust, and Hope," Foxglove said with a smile. "Hope is the sweetest dragon I've ever known. She would probably cry if she accidentally killed a butterfly." Poison snorted, but it was clear she admired someone who couldn't hate. "Ferret is... well, he's had a hard life. His parents abandoned his sister and his eggs, so they had to start with nothing. Then his sister was murdered by a MudWing, King Argil–"

"King?!" Poison exclaimed.

"You didn't hear?" Foxglove asked. "He killed Queen Fawn and Bayou and took the throne."

"What about Princess Hazelnut?" Asked Poison. Foxglove couldn't tell, but her dark eyes seemed to flash in anger. "She should get the throne, not some murdering centipede."

"I know," Foxglove said, and they sat in silence for a minute. "No one knows if Hazelnut is alive."

"Oh."

"I haven't seen Stardust in years," Foxglove admitted, steering the conversation back on topic. "She was raised apart from her tribe with me– by the Diamond Spray Delta. We used to play so much hide-and-seek, especially with a fruit. Then I moved here and... I wish I know what happened to her."

Poison gave her a wry smile. "You could contact her, Foxglove."

"Gee, I haven't thought of that," Foxglove deadpanned. "I tried, but she probably moved."

"Keep looking," Poison said. "I've been looking for my parents my whole life. I haven't found them, but I won't give up." She fidgeted with the pearl pendent that hung around her neck. "So look for her!"

Foxglove fidgeted with her talons. How could she explain the quite fears that lurked in the back of her mind? That if she reconnected with Stardust, it wouldn't be the same? They weren't dragonets anymore; what if they had nothing in common? What if Anthracite and Basalt had done something to her? What if she forgot about Foxglove all together?

"It's complicated," Foxglove mumbled. "Anyway, shouldn't we be helping to get these dragons where they belong?"

Almost comically, a bored SilkWing asked, "When can we go home? What is Queen Pygmy doing about this?"

A HiveWing glared at him. "Queen Pygmy isn't helping you. She abandoned her subjects who lived in the Hives."

"You mean Queen Chalcid forced us to stay here!"

"Queen Chalcid has provided shelter for countless SilkWings and Pyrrhians!"

"Yet no LeafWings," chimed in a small green SilkWing.

The HiveWing reeled on her. "The LeafWings just kidnapped our families!"

Foxglove flinched. "We can't keep blaming everyone! I live in Yellowjacket Hive. Queen Achillea has no care if I live or die."

A HiveWing guard from Tsetse Hive barged in. "What is going on here?"

"There was an attack on Yellowjacket Hive," Poison explained. "The LeafWings took hostages."

"We don't know how many are dead," said a SilkWing.

"I saw LeafWings trying to push SilkWing dragonets off a balcony," Foxglove said quietly.

The HiveWing guard was horrified. "Oh, no."

"They didn't," she explained. "I stopped them."

"I stepped over a body covered in vines," whispered a HiveWing who was clutching a dragonet close to her. "There were purple wings, all twisted..."

"This is the Bloodworm Hive Massacre all again," said a haunted SilkWing, gazing towards Yellowjacket Hive.

Foxglove followed her gaze and gasped. "Oh, no, look," she said in a strangled voice.

There were cries of horror all around as they stared at the Hive. It was covered in vines. The windows were sealed, a few lingering green dragons remained, severing the strands of silk that made up the webs exiting the hive and isolating it.

Yellowjacket Hive was the LeafWing's now.

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A/N

Guys I'm not dead I swear x.x