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Qibli stares up at the dragon staring down at him. A hulking shadow of power and promise. ‘He can make me an animus.’ He pictures himself, the objects he could make! ‘There's more to it,’ The rational part of his brain supplies.
“There more to it,”
“I was going to throw in a tiny spell,” Darkstalker admits. Crystals casting rainbow light like they were both under a sea of melted colour. “To make it so you could not do any harm to me,”
Qibli stares up at him, “That’s it,” he doesn't believe him for a second.
Darkstalker picks up a rock. “I enchant this so that the dragon holding it knows at all times I am telling the truth,” He throws it at Qibli.
The sandwing holds it in his claws. “Did you actually enchant the rock to do that?” He asks. “Yes, I can’t change an enchantment said out loud only to add more,” He agrees. True, according to his rock, but his suspicions aren't quelled.
“Enchant it to kill you if you lie to me,” He holds out the rock. “You can remove it after the conversation,”
Darkstalker touches a claw to the rock, “I enchant this to kill me If i lie to the holder in the next five minutes,” He adds begrudgingly.
“Is there more to the spell?” He asks.
“No, though I hope we’d become friends in the future,” Qibli looks at the older dragon. He unclips his earring leaving it hanging by a thread.
“Is that still true?” Darkstalker hesitates. “Enchant this rock to kill you if you change the spell, I’ll agree that I can’t harm you, but I want a choice of what I do, I’m not going to be your tool,” Qibli reclips his earring and hands over the rock.
“And give me some paper, you have to read it word for word,” Qibli adds he scribbles it down.
He waits until he has finished every word. “If I do not make Qibli and animus with the only other thing I will do is make him unable to harm me I will die immediately,” Darkstalker looks resigned. “Would you like to write the spell I cast? I’ll edit it if you try to avoid my one caveat,”
“Yes,” after some negotiation Darkstalker raised the spell to his face and Qibli unclipped his earring.
“I enchant Qibli to be an animus and also that he is unable to harm me and I am unable to harm him,”
Qibli expected a rush of power, but he didn’t feel much. He grabbed a rock. “I enchant this rock to fly over there,” The rock soared over and dropped. He nodded at Darkstalker. The dragon burst from the cave.
He summoned his friends to his side.
“Qibli what’s going on!” Moonwatcher asked, panicking at the confined space.
“I have a solution,” he turned to the cave and dived to the entrance. “I enchant all Icewings and Nightwings to see each other's pain and be at home. They cannot return to this spot until the next sunrise,” He yells. The Nightwings and Icewings disappear to their homes.
“Qibli what did you do?” Moonwatcher growls.
“I might have just saved Pyrrhia.,” He answered.
His spell worked and Darkstalker was not happy. “I nearly won,” He growled.
“And, Personally I’m partial to not killing all the Icewings,” Qibili answers nonchalantly.
“I gave you magic and can take it away,”
“I enchant myself to be immune to all of Darkstalkers future spells,” Qibli smirks. “I also enchant Darkstalker to not be able to enter the Ice kingdom without permission from the queen,” Qibli see’s Darkstalker seethe then brighten
“Actually I enchant the Ice, Sand, Sky, Sea, Rain and Mud kingdoms to follow the same rule,” He decides realizing Darkstalker might just destroy the Sandwings instead.
Darkstalkers eyes narrow, “You are walking a dangerous path,” He growls.
“Then I’ll watch my steps,”
Days had passed since the incident. Jade mountain was somehow both oddly loud and disturbingly quiet. The halls echoed with whispers just beyond where he could make out the words, but most dragons didn’t talk to him anymore.
“Get you’re stupid magic claws away from there,” Most dragons. Winter leapt over to him. “Leave Snowy alone,” He scooped up the scavenger in his claws.
“I just wanted to look at the spear. It's fascinating,” Qibli had been spending a lot of time at Winter's scavenger preserve. Helping him and Moon set it up. Winter had banned him from using magic, but he was okay with that.
“It’s so small, I didn’t realize anything but dragons used them,” Qibli said, fascinated.
“It’s amazing,” Winter agreed, “But you still shouldn’t touch it!” Moonwatcher slunk past both of them back toward the main building. Winter turned to follow, waiting for Qibli to fall in toe. Study time was done.
Moonwatcher choose Winter. Qibli wasn’t sure when it happened since Moon stopped talking to him altogether. One day she just left Jade academy and joined Winter at the sanctuary. A shame really since Qibli considered doing that, now the only dragons who talked to him were Turtle, Sunny, Peril and always nervously Clay. The rest avoided him as spread whispers behind his back.
He missed Moonwatcher, but oddly her presence here felt like an invasion. His friendship with Winter was the only one that didn’t change. Winter yelled at him for accepting the magic, sure, but Qibli is almost sure that he’s grateful for him stopping the fight. It balanced out and as long as Qibli doesn't use magic in front of him. He’s okay.
That didn’t mean Qibli stopped though, he’d enchanted both this place and Jade mountain to reject Darkstalker once he was left. As well as a necklace that brought him to Darkstalker if he tried to kill anyone. It was made with a method he saw the Rainwings using, friendship bracelets they’d called it.
The Rainwings weren’t truly avoided except for Kinkajou. More so giving him the cold shoulder or as cold a shoulder as a Rainwing could muster.
“Bye guys,” Qibli left the building.
“Bye,” Winter called out. He took flight. Thorn was shocked but hadn’t rejected him. He’d asked to stay in the Sand Kingdom but Thorn wasn’t loosening up on it. Besides he was still responsible for ostrich even if she’d seen the other Sandwings avoid him and followed suit. Turtle and Anemone were being avoided though Turtle not to the same extent. He’d tried talking to Anemone but she was avoiding him, still talking but avoiding. Which with his current situation was actually really good.
“He saw what happened to me!” She’d whispered brokenly to Tamarin.
Qibli entered the mountain again. The whispers suddenly hushed. The Icewings suddenly left. It was lonely.
He den was empty; they hadn’t replaced Winter or Moon yet. He couldn’t stay here, so he’d go home. He shoved his belongings into a bag and ran to the library.
Starflight drew back at his entry. “I’m pulling out,” Qibli stated.
In a heartbeat he was in front of the scorpion den, enchanted to look different like a Sand/sky hybrid from possibility. Qibli stood in front of it. He was Hawk now. His scales were a sandy brown, his chest pale, his wings and tail tipped with red, black horns and sunny yellow eyes. He was unusually small even for a sandwing with uncomfortably large wings and no tail barb.
It was nicer than he remembered after Thorns fixing it up, she sent a patrol through to look for dragons in need of help every day. Perhaps they’d bring him.
A few days in the scorpion den did him good. The dragons here were unfriendly, but not just to him. He’d made a few friends a group of other hybrids. Most of them were a clutch, their mother was a Mudwing and their father was a Sandwing.
Mineral was the Bigwings. You could almost mistake her for a Sandwing. She had sandy scales and a white belly, but she had a trail of white spines on her back, a flat tail and no barb. Also was larger than many adult Sandwings though she was nearly full grown.
Crocodile’s also as big as a Mudwing also with their much darker colouration, you’d think he was a Mudwing! He was brown, black horns and spikes and a grey belly. He had a barb on his tail though Qibli, no Hawk had since learnt it was nonfunctional.
Pebble however had a completely functional tail. She looked like a normal Sandwing greyish sandy body, white belly and horns, a black sail running down. She was the runt of the clutch, like Qibli, but her siblings actually cared about her. However Qibli grew with time. Pebble’s body had no such plans. The backstory he’d crafted for Hawk similar to his own was that his mother was a Sandwing and her and his siblings drove him out. They were horrified and gave Pebble extra cuddles after that. If only Sirocco and Rattlesnake were like that.
Puddle may be the reason for that. She was a bit bigger than her sister but still small; they both came from the same egg. She had a very Mudwing build and a grey body, her belly was a Sandwing white but her horns and sail were black.
Silt was the youngest and the closet to average Sandwing height. He looked like a Mudwing though strong and sturdy. His scales a sandy brown he had a white belly and black horns his sail was black to. There was a knob on his tail but Qibli wouldn’t call it a barb.
All five of the siblings had red-brown eyes. Pebble, Silt and Mineral all needed to be warm for fire but in the dessert that's not a problem. They were born in possibility. Being a Mudwing their mother left pretty early. Their father abandoned them soon after she left. A kind older Sandwing took them under her wing and moved them here though she’d passed away before the wars end. After that the siblings started playing music for food and traveling. That was Qib-Hawk's best guess as to why Thorn was unaware of them.
They’d meet Pukeko near the Diamond Spray Delta. He was born in the talons of peace. His dad was the Mudwing and died not long after he and his siblings were born. Later most of his family including his mother were killed by Skywings. He and his sister had quickly moved the bodies and buried them to keep them out of Burn’s claws. By the time Mineral and the other found him. Pukeko was completely alone, his eldest sister and Bigwings died of starvation and he was close. He was fine now if maybe a little skinny. His back had black scales running down it, his spines and horns also black. His body was a dull blue and his belly a slightly darker shade. He had a reddish brown face and socks; he also had a reddish tail. He had blood red eyes and glowing scales which in his case were dull and constantly on whether he liked it or not. They were also large like plates and located on his shoulders and knees. He’d terrified dragons into thinking he was a red eyed demon in the night. He was also by far the youngest and their drum player.
Mineral played the bass, Crocodile the guitar, Puddle the Xylophone and Pebble sang. Hawk played the guitar too, when Crocodile needed backup thought with Qi-HAWKS skills that wasn’t often. The music they made was loud and free.
The group was preparing to leave for Jade mountain. Qibli wasn’t sure how to feel about that. On one hand Tsunami would love it, Peril to most likely maybe they’d stop fighting on the other he’d have to face Ostrich again and he’d be guilty about leaving her.
He’d just have to make sure she’d have fun. They set out.
“Have you ever considered playing for the new Queen?” Hawk asked. Qibli had the spell change his voice so he was less recognizable and octave lower and raspier like a Skywing.
“Do you think she’d like it?” Mineral asks.
“Can’t say,” It took everything inside him to stop himself screaming ‘yes she would!’ “I know she won’t behead us though,” He joked.
“She might,” Pukeko whispered.
Crocodile snorted. “Gemsbok said she came in and adopted dragons in need of help,” he shook his head, “It’s Thorn apparently remember her tried to save the Scorpions den,”
“Oh yeah,” Pebble piped up, “She loved our music last time, when we were still with Chuparosa,” She smiled fondly at the memory. Chuparosa was the elderly Sandwing who took them in.
“She might not like us singing about the queen dying though,” Puddle interjected.
“I mean it’s quite clearly about Burn though,” Silt added in defense of his song, he wrote that one along with most of the others. A Lot of the time one of them came up to him with an idea and in a few days he’d write it, however Mineral write a song herself once and occasionally Pebble would write one to she was responsible for all the happy go lucky songs, no revolt, no tragedy just the power of friendship and running thru meadows. They still had the same powerful instruments and vocals as the rest of their songs though.
“We could do ‘We’ll get there,’ and ‘Firelight,’” Mineral suggested. Silt hung his head, both of those where Pebbles.
“We could do a version of the ‘dragonets are coming,’” Hawk suggested.
“That's right,” Puddle perked up, “Sunny’s her daughter right,”
Mineral paused. “It would be a good stop,” She looked at Pukeko, “If everyone's okay with that,”
“What if she hates hybrids....” Pukeko muttered.
"Her daughter is a Hybrid," Hawk reminded him.
“Plus, she’s seen us perform before she didn’t seem to care. Personally I’m all for it, I bet they have the good stuff,” Crocodile licks his lips.
“Like camel!” Silt perks.
“That's so good,” Puddle does a strange little dance as she walks. “It’s the camel dance,” She says, catching Qibli's look.
He shakes his head.
“A Mudwings appetite is never satisfied,” Crocodile huffs, “It’s a curse you’ll never understand Hawk,”
“I dunno,” Qibli pauses, “It may be similar to my,” He flung himself onto his back legs, his front claws facing the sky and wings stretched wide, “Skywing lust for power!” He yelled, slipping backward into the sand.
Crocodile, Silt and Puddle chuckled. Pebble smiled then saw Pukeko whose wings were pressed tight to his sides. Mineral gave him the look. Qibli flopped to his side and tried to get up only to step on his wing.
He made an undignified squeal and tried to get to his feet but was continuously blocked by his oversized wings. Crocodile burst out laughing, Pebble elbowed him. Then Pukeko let out a snort. Qibli froze. Pukeko was always anxious around Skywings and distant from Hawk. Qibli smiled, he was starting to feel at home here.
Suddenly Qibli was in the night kingdom. Darkstalker stood on his hind legs over a Nightwing who was staring at him horrified. Qibli leapt between them. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!” Qibli roared. He forgot he’d enchant himself to appear when Darkstalker tried to kill someone.
“Who are you?” Darkstalker asks as he claws pass harmlessly over Qibli. Qibli pauses looking at his red feet.
“Hawk,” He answered.
Darkstalker looked at him disbelievingly.
“I’m a friend of Qibli’s,” He adds.
“Seriously he figured out he couldn’t harm me so he got more people to do it,” He growled. “I didn’t see you in the future…” His face darkened, “He stopped me from seeing you didn’t he,”
Qibli had in fact enchanted himself so Darkstalker would only see Qibli in his visions not his disguises since he wanted some peace from him and if he disappeared Darkstalker would be suspicious. It was the yellow bead, also known as the only bead on his necklace.
“Yes,” He answered. “Now what are you doing?”
“I told him that me and a few others wanted to go back to the jungle,” The Nightwing answered.
“She’s part of my kingdom,” He growled.
“Welcome to politics, if no one likes you they retaliate,” Qibli turned. “Come on,” He turned to the Nightwing.
Darkstalker lashed his tail, “You can’t do that,”
‘I enchant,’ Qibli searched the room desperately hoping Darkstalker hadn’t found a way around the skyfire. ‘That rock to look and act the way I did as Hawk and to switch places with me,’ In the split second it took for the spell to take effect he thought. ‘I want to look like myself again,’
Qibli appeared across the room Hawk walking forward. “I enchant all the Nightwing’s who want to leave myself and Hawk to the old Nightwing village in the jungle,”
He appeared in the jungle. “Turn back into a rock,” He whispered. Hawk collapsed into a rock and he scooped up quickly. “Come on all of you who want to stay, I'll bring you back to Glory,” He turned around. The group of Nightwings was astoundingly large, about half of them.
“I don’t think you need to,” Glory appeared from the trees.
After dealing with that Qibli returned back to the group as Hawk.
“Where in Pyrrhia did you go!” Crocodile snapped.
“I had to deal with something,” He lied.
He stayed with them for the rest of the day. Performing for Thorn was fun until he heard them talking in the halls.
“Qibli would have loved this,” Thorn said.
“He would’ve,” Six-claws agreed, “Any updates on him,”
“Still missing, Glory saw him briefly in the Rainforest yesterday he was with a group of Nightwings who wanted to come back but then he disappeared again,” Thorn sounded so sad. ‘She had Sunny now she’ll be fine,’ He told himself. Still he couldn’t help the tears in his eyes. Just like Moon had Winter she had Sunny and time would show she didn’t want him anymore. That’s why she sent him away.
The group was asleep when Darkstalker showed up in his dreams. “You may have protected your friends and their friends from harm, but..”
“Leave them alone,” Qibli interrupted.
“I’m going to ruin their lives,” Darkstalker snarled.
Qibli was awake and leapt to his feet. Darkstalker may not know what his new friends look like. “I enchant Mineral, Crocodile, Pebble, Puddle, Silt and Pukeko to be undetectable to Darkstalker,” He drafted a letter to them explaining he was a friend of an animus and had to leave. He looked at them tears stinging his eyes “Bye,” He slunk out the door of the room Thorn gave them. Making his way to her quarters.
“What do you want,” Six-claws growled.
He looked at him. “Can you tell Thorn that Qibli is safe,” Six-claws stared at him. “I’m a friend of his,” He looked back down the hall.
“Where is he,” Six-claws asked. “We need to know,”
“No you don’t,” he slunk away. No one needed him.
The pattern repeated a few times. First with Jaguar the lost Rainwing then another incident with Darkstalker. Than Mindkiller, a young Nightwing from the Rainforest joining jade academy. It was so nice to talk to his old friends again, till Darkstalker started a war. Splash a Seawing with an interest in scavengers who suddenly disappeared with the arrival of strange dragons in the Ice kingdom. Then Seal a low ranking Icewing. Then Rimu a Leafwing. Eventually he stopped making friends; he'd just lose them anyway. He started to reuse old ones representing each with a bead. Yellow for himself, Red for Hawk, Shimmering gold for Jaguar, Black for Mindkiller, Blue for Splash, Grey for seal a crack in the bead for the wing injury he’d gotten in that fight and red for Rimu. He’d started changing the personality he presented when he made a new one somewhere around Jaguar because no Rainwing would act the way he did.
Eventually the loneliness got to him. He’d made a small house that shifted around between Pyrrhia and Plantala and enchanted their bead to project them. Unless he was them at that point. That includes the Yellow bead he’d assigned to himself.
Time flew and Darkstalker lived. Qibli realized he’d have to live. A ring on his finger that froze his age, prevented sickness, poison or injury and most importantly death.
Today was important. Thorn was very old. Sunny remained her only dragonet, but age took everyone. Except him and Darkstalker.
He’d given himself a Sandwing disguise Gila. She was an orangey tone with a back sail and horns her belly a paler shade of orange. Her bead was orange.
Gila got some funny looks as she entered the palace. His jewelry was disguised on all his forms except for Hawk who’d kept a small string necklace.
“Who are you,” An unfamiliar guard asked. She almost looked like Ostrich.
“Gila,” She stated, standing firm over the slightly smaller dragon.
“Ostrich,” Oh, this was Ostrich! “Why are you at the palace and where are you from,” She asked.
“Small town near the sea,” She answered. “I want to talk with Thorn,”
“Why,” Ostrich asked. What happened to the small dragonet he knew?
“I have news of the Sandwing animus,” Gila lashed her tail.
“Qibli?” Ostrich asked.
“That one, his associate, Hawk I think, was seen in my hometown,” She lied. She had no hometown.
“Come on,” Ostrich led her through the palace, so familiar yet strange.
“What is going on here,” Thorn was larger then Qibli remembered, she had the size of an older dragon, like the one she is now.
“She had news on Qibli,” Ostrich answered.
Thorn looked at him. She bowed. “You’re majesty,” She should have done that sooner. Gila wasn’t familiar with the royalty.
“What new do you have? Is he okay?” Thorn asked.
“He’s fine, I have more information but none for a location as public as this one,” Gila growled.
Thorn sighed deeply. “Follow me,”
They turned into a private room, Qibli’s old room untouched and dusty. “You shouldn’t allow yourself to be left alone with random dragons,” He mused.
“What information do you have?” Thorn growled. Qibli only needed himself here, he could bring Hawk to though. Soon there were two more dragons in the room, Himself and Hawk. Gila was back to herself now though she was created for this purpose so that wasn’t much yet.
The queen whirled around to claw them when she spotted Qibli. “Both of them are my creations,” He explained. “Hawk was meant to be a new identity to live under but Darkstalker ruined that. The rest are for ease of existence,” He explained.
“Wha-” Thorn begun.
“Gila attracts less attention than I do, I was controlling her until this point she’s herself again now,” Qibli answers.
“Course I am,” Gila hissed.
“Not the nicest dragon, but ah well,” Qibli looked at Thorn who looked back horrified.
“You possessed dragons,” She muttered.
“Oh, no no no,” Qibli straightened. “I made them. They're illusions technically I can inhabit their body's when I need to and when Darkstalker does something I randomly appear as any of them,” He explains, “Their connected to the beads,”
Thorn looks extremely uncomfortable. “They take on the personality I play them as. Without me piloting they stay blank,” He continues.
“Why’s one cracked?” Thorn asked.
“He was injured, well I was but also not really I didn’t feel pain and it was only the illusion of a wing injury but I applied the look permanently,”
“Is his in pain?”
“No,” Qibli answered. “I keep them around instead of just turning into them because I got lonely and didn’t want anyone to actually get hurt,”
“Mhmm,” Hawk steps forward, “How's the old band,”
“Well they play for the court now,” Thorn answered.
“Sometimes I go out and play music in some locations and Rimu runs a traveling florist. We can’t stay in place long but we all have our own lives,”
“That makes it worse,” Thorn stated.
“Dunno, think of us as Qibli clones who look and act a little different,” Hawk states.
Qibli nods, “I can connect with them telepathically when I need to and I make sure not to take over when their busy unless I have to,”
Thorn stares at him. “It’s not necessary,” Qibli’s about to rebut when she says something else. “He’s still a dragonet,”
“I should make them age!”
“You should come home," Thorn corrects. "You missed seeing your Nephews and Nieces grow up,” Thorn begs
“I don’t care about Rattlesnake or-” She cuts Qibli off.
“Sunny’s dragonets,” She states. “And Moonwatcher and Winter’s. And Kinkajou and Turtle’s,”
“I should give them magical protection shouldn’t I,” Qibli pondered.
“No! You should talk to them,” Thorn said crossly.
“They don’t want me around,” Qibli stated.
“They might,” Thorn said.
Qibli scowled, “As if uou didn’t send me away as soon as Sunny was in the picture,” He paused. “Moon didn’t want me around when Winter calmed down and she and the rest of the world didn’t want me as soon as I got magic,” He snarled.
“Qi-”
“I don’t know why I came here, I think I just wanted to say goodbye properly,” He turned. Gila and Hawk disappearing. “Goodbye, I hope you have a wonderful rest of your life,”
“Qibli please stay, an argument isn’t goodbye,”
“It’s gonna have to be,”
The centuries flew by like eagles powerful and daunting. Everyone Qibli used to know was dead. He’d regret letting his roles age when they started to die too. He’d made new ones but with every passing decade became more and more aware. Immortality was so so lonely, but he was afraid to find out what happened when it was over. He’d permanently settled on an Island not long after his friends deaths there was now no longer anyone to look for him who didn’t already know his location.
The Night Kingdom was unstable and Animus had been born in the kingdom, Darkstalkers dragonet. Deathwatcher was his name; he also had a sister named Moonflight. Qibli could guess where the names came from, especially when Darkstalker started calling the girl Moon.
Qibli decided not to have dragonets, but his roles hadn’t done the same; they had stuck to each other due to Qibli’s Island. Their children became his roles as well. Though he’d stopped calling them that. He regularly introduced new ones though starting them from dragonets. They developed themselves now. He didn’t need dragons; he had his blossoming kingdom.
Qibli did nothing when Moonflight created a poison that temporarily cut an animus’s ability and turned all spells on the dragon off. He felt only delight when he’d heard Deathwatcher finished his father off. Queen Moonflight took over and many of the Nightwing reunited with their old tribe after that. Deathwatcher fixed the area and made it safe for Icewings again. Then swore to never use his magic again. Qibli would have let himself follow suit, but he just couldn’t.
Deathwatcher fell in love with an Icewing. The Icewings were pretty stoked to have their magic back. His dragonets took up the old tradition of one spell per lifetime again. Though they ignored the one about marrying a royal.
Qibli's kingdom grew and grew. It came known as the puppet kingdom. A name Qibli never understood. Dragons from outside thought it cruel to take over his dragons occasionally, but he kept them safe.
The Icewings created a stone making it so all animus had only one spell. Qibli made himself a tail ring that blocked its effects.
Eventually he fell in love and had Dragonets of his own. Thorn and Moon, Moon was also an Animus, just like him. Qibli was just fine letting the Icewings rock have its effect on her. She’d created a jewel that allowed any dragon who wished to to talk to another dragon telepathically communicate with each other.
Most of his dragons no longer looked like any other tribe; they came to be known as Glowwings for their iridescent wings and glowing spines. Moon and Thorn had wanted to see the world and he’d allowed it. Today was the day of their return.
He ran through the city, He’d long enchanted himself to look like his citizens. He had their powerful tails, small frames and webbed claws. They had varying abilities much like the Hivewings. Qibli as their king had access to all of them.
He watched the boat arrive off his shore eagerly.
“Hello!” he called as soon as he caught sight of their faces. Thorn looked much like his form mostly yellow with White horns, spines and white belly and an orange shine. Moon was blue her scales caught the light a golden yellow. She also had white everywhere else like her sister.
“Hi,” Thorn greeted her poison spiked tail lashing a beautifully rare ability, deadly and powerful much like her.
“Hello!” Moon called, she had always been the friendliest she hugged him then her mother.
Maybe Qibli should have guessed how like him, Thorn was. Maybe he should have known how she’d convinced her sister early on to make herself immune to the Icewings magic prevention rules. Maybe he should have realized how their mother never truly seemed happy around him and the way she always seemed to know how things would play out. Maybe he should have noticed the growing resentment of his dragons. Maybe he should have made himself immune to sleep gas so he would have noticed when Thorn broke his tailband and replaced it with a fake. Maybe he should have expected Thorn to find Moonflight’s recipe and then add a little foxglove to his food. Maybe he should have paid more attention to Darkstalker’s demise at the fate of his children, how a holiday and their future seeing mother showed them how much better things could be. Maybe then he wouldn’t have ended up dead at his dragonets hands. Or maybe just maybe he should have let himself die with Darkstalker instead of just like him.