~Chapter Five~
Citron gawked at his parents. “Mother? Father?” he said.
Evergreen, tried to plaster on a smile for his son. But it just made him look like he was swallowing a whole jackfruit. “Citron, how . . .nice it is to see you.” Juniper said.
Acacia stepped back. “I’ll give you all some time to talk. If you need me, I will be with Tropic on my throne.” He walked away smiling to himself and humming.
“Citron.” said Evergreen. “Is it true you have powers? Acacia wouldn’t stop chatting about them. Pineapple has them as well. She’s quite good with hers. Turning invisible and whatnot. Where is Pineapple?” Juniper called out his sister’s name into the crowd.
Moments ed before a lavender colored wolf emerged from the bustle of guests. Her fur gleamed with sapphires and diamonds. Her tail long and flowing sweeping over the floor elegantly. A brown and blue wolf, accompanied her. Wearing a hood that covered his body, but not his face or paws.
“Yes, Mother? I was in the middle of a conversation, with a Heat Dragon. He talked too much, but I was still interested in what he had to say.” Pineapple said.
“Ah, there you are, dear. Pineapple, this is your brother Citron. The one that disappeared years ago.” explained, her mother. He thought his sister would jump with joy. That she’d engulf him in the warmest hug Citron had ever experienced. Or at least ask what happened to him, all those past years. Pineapple didn’t even try to seem happy.
She tossed her head back, flipping her fur. She gave him a beautiful smile showing off her teeth. “Hello, Brother. Nice to see you again.” Pineapple uttered. “This is my partner Okapi.” She gestured to the hooded wolf beside her. He smiled brightly at him, showing off his sharp teeth.
Evergreen gave the wolf a small glare, a low growl rumbling in his throat.
“Wow, Citron.” Okapi expressed. “You’ve grown so much since the last time we’ve seen each other. What am I saying? You probably don’t even me. I was your sisters best friend years ago. We used to play together for hours with you. Until, you disappeared that one day. Speaking, of which where have you been? Did you get lost or something?”
“We don’t have time for that.” Juniper, abruptly stopped him. “Now, back to your powers. How do they work? Can you make anything float? Can you make yourself float? What about dragons? Does it work on them too? How long have you known about them?”
The flood of questions, made Citron shake a bit. “Um, I . . .I don’t really know. Am I supposed to know? Was I taught that before?” He started pacing on the spot, stepping in a jitter.
Okapi put a comforting paw on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Citron. Royal wolves learn how to control powers in school, but you left before you heard the lesson.”
Citron blinked fast. “Yeah. Excuse me everyone, I need to take care of somethings.” he hurriedly dashed back to the throne area.
Acacia sat sleepily, watching his subjects below. Tropic sipped on a coconut’s milk, a slim straw poking out of a hole. “Uncle Acacia.” The king jumped and looked at his nephew. “Citron! Have you caught up with the others? That didn’t take long.” The prince stepped up to throne.
“King Acacia, didn’t you tell me that only royal wolves have powers?” Stretching the king gave him a stern nod. “Yes, only from the royal family.”
“Then, why do normal GrassPaws have powers as well? Like, Okapi.” Citron questioned his uncle. Acacia’s eyes grew bigger. “W-what?” Tropic said. “That’s impossible! He’s not part of royalty! Is he even able to manifest powers?” She looked down at her paws as if questioning everything she’d ever done.
“It’s because he has magic.” Jinx said. King Acacia gave her a quizzical glance. “And how would you know that?”
Jinx held her paw out towards the crowd. “Ever since I’ve met a single GrassPaw they’ve given off a certain. . .aura of some type. Happy, and cheerfulness. Like, a laughing hyena.”
Tropic scoffed at her. “I mean that in the best way.” continued Jinx. “He however gives off a different aura. Twisted and, similar to a shark or scorpion. And look at his tail.”
She pointed to the wolf. Okapi was scratching his ear roughly, his claws pointed. Citron gazed at his tail, but it was easily covered by his cloak. As he swatted a close by fly, a slim tail ruffled out and quickly slipped back in.
“GemPaw.” Fennec said. Citron twisted his head back and saw Okapi and Pineapple trotting out of the party swiftly.
When he tried to run after him something loud crashed through the platforms. A fire began to burn through leaves and branches the structure was made from. Dragons and wolves scattered as the flames started to spread. Canopy, and vines burned through the floors. Cobalt blue dragons came swarming in, spraying the fire with huge streams of water. Twisting and turning they got every angle and ounce of the huge fire.
Soon the burst of flames, were just a few floating embers. The air fell silent, as if everyone was holding their breaths. A large meteoroid sized rock stuck out of the floor. “Is this the attack?” Acacia said. “Should we evacuate the wolves?” Citron looked up the gaping hole above him, it perfectly showed the illuminating moon in the nights sky. “I’m not sure.” he whispered back. “But I think it would be best.” Acacia nodded and ran to a much higher platform.
“Hooooooooooowwwwlllll!!” he billowed from above. As if on instinct all the guards and males began to go into a battle stance, while the rest of the party began to hurry out. General Forest and two other muscular dragons came swooping in.
“Peony, stay in the middle with the pups, and hatchlings. Leaf you can be in the back with the older females. And I’ll guide the group to the secret grass entrance. Got it?” Forest said.
“Yes, sir!” replied Peony and Leaf, proudly. They landed in front of the clutter of wolves, as Canary sidled up beside the general. “General Forest, I think I should accompany you on the evacuation. My necklace can provide a strong force field to protect everyone. I’d be proud and honored to help you in the escape.” She squared her shoulders, and gave the green dragon a nod.
Forest shrugged. “We’ll need all the help we can get. You can stay with, Peony in the center of the group.” Peony, gave her a grin flaring his pink and white wings.
“Now, let’s move out troops.” Forest said. Canary waved to Sparrow before disappearing with the fleeing wolves. The grey WindPaw looked as if his whole world had just been destroyed. But he quickly stood taller and flexed his wings in remorse.
“Citron, when is this happening? Everyone is already in their positions waiting in the trees.” Queen Tropic said trotting beside her husband. “Soon, Aunt Tropic. We should find a place to hide for the time be-.”
“Tangerine! Tangerine where are you?!” called a ginger wolf, emerging from the bustle. Tangerine ducked under one of Citron’s legs. “Is that your mother Tangerine?” The orange wolfling replied with a shaky “yes”.
The ginger wolf stopped and smiled at Tangerine as she galloped over. “Tangerine! Darling, where have you been? Never mind you can tell later. For now, let’s catch with the rest of the group.” She slowly came out from under Citron, and retreated to her mother.
“Mom! I can’t leave now; my new friends need me! I’m going to become a wolfling of promise.” Tangerine’s mother gave her a bewildered look. “What in a macaw’s feathers are you talking about?” The wolfling jumped in excitement. She pointed to Citron and the others. “Mother, those are the real wolflings of promise! Like in the poem! And Prince Citron, my best friend, is one of them. So, if I help them save the world, I’ll be one too!”
The ginger wolf rubbed her temples in frustration. “No, no, no.” she said. “You are not saving this or any other world any time soon.”
“But, mom.” Tangerine whined, with a quiet whimper. Citron came close and put a comforting paw on her head.
“Listen to your mother, Tangerine. I don’t want you getting hurt, because of this war or my doings. You’re too. . .important to go into this battle. . .besides we need you to do something else.”
“Really? What is it?” she said perking up. “I need you to make sure all the hatchlings and wolflings in the escapees stay calm, and don’t get separated from the group, or their parents. So, they don’t worry too much about the attack. Can you do that for me? What am I saying? Of course, you of all wolves can.” Citron smiled down at her. Eagerly, tugging her mother down the path she screamed “come on mom we need to catch up with the others!”
Her mother, mouthed a “thank you” before they went sprinting done the trailing paths.
A, while later, they all huddled in the windy tree tops. Jinx quietly tried to quickly teach a few spells to Nightgazer as the others stared intently at the ground and sky. “If, I know Cider he’ll try to attack when no wolves are awake to alert anyone. He’s a tricky wolf for an Alpha.” King Acacia said.
Rustling came from a platform below them. Immediately a red wolf came marching through. A pair of wings flapped behind him. He stopped to sniff the air, then continued on.
“That’s odd what’s a WindPaw doing in my jungle. Citron can you go down there and capture that snivelling wolf for us? Then when we have him, we’ll interrogate him and get some answers. Maybe the Flame and Wind Clan are teaming up! I wish I’d thought of that.”
“Sure.” He carefully leaped down from branch to branch. Citron tapped on his earring.
Maybe now I’ll figure out what this gemstone’s power is.
Creeping through the bushes for a few minutes, he stopped to find the wolf pacing back and forth while scratching at his head.
“Stop it!” he said. “Whoever you are just stop!” Citron had heard that voice before. One that he’d heard almost every moment of his life. Canyon! But what’s wrong with him? Who’s he talking two? And what’s with those wings he somehow sprouted.
“Don’t fight it! This’ll only make me angrier wolf!” his voice came out in a deeper tone. A vengeful tone speaking demandingly.
“If I use your powerless body, I can travel anywhere in the world! Not a single soul will care where you run off to. You’re my little fireless fighter Canyon. Now you’ll finally be worth something in this miserable war.” Canyon’s eyes were a dark black like a MoonPaw’s fur. They turned back to red and his normal voice spoke.
“Please, just free me! I’m useless! You said it yourself. Sure no one will notice me missing, but what purpose does that have to you? Wouldn’t it be better to you to use a prince or princess, or maybe an alpha?”
Silence fell, and Canyon started to smile in relief.
“No! You are my warrior you will change the world. They will write your name in history scrolls and books. And I’ll on to your pups, and they’ll be just like you. A hero, a saviour! Isn’t that what you wanted? To show them how resourceful you are towards the war?”
Canyon shook his head.
“Not like this. I wanted to change the world in a positive way. I wanted to raise the wolflings of promise, and help them save the world. To stop this war and bring back peace to my Clan and all the others. I lost my family because of this war. They mean everything to me; I just want them back again.” Canyon stared down at his paws, and curled his tail around them.
Poor Canyon, he doesn’t deserve this. He never wanted to be trapped in his own body like a prison. He just wants his family. . .like all of us.
A voice sounding like Canary spoke at the back of his head. No, he doesn’t. If he did, he wouldn’t steal wolflings and rip them away from their families. He could have fought for them like a true wolf. But he didn’t. So, he does deserve this and anything else that follows.
Citron, quietly tried to slip back and return to the others. Somehow, he stepped on a sleeping lemur and it yelped loud into the night. The noise made Canyon snap his neck in Citron’s direction. His pupils were now back to the dark black color.
He growled then barked, beginning to run after him. Citron quickly spun around and dashed back to the others. As he stepped onto the platform a blazing ball of fire came swarming through the treetops. It burned through a few canopy floors, when King Acacia let out a high-pitched howl.
An Ocean Dragon flew down and sprayed out the fire, then went back into hiding, giving Citron a sideways glance.
Suddenly a blitz of red wolves came jumping in through the open sky hole, circling Citron in an instant. Three FlamePaws came out from the centre of the swarm. A bigger male had horns, rubies dangling from them and a tail ring. Two females wore earrings and anklets.
“Prince Citron I presume?” said the horned wolf. “I am King Cider of the FlamePaws. This is my wife Queen Spinel, and... quite annoying daughter Princess Incinerate. I’m sure you’ve met her, when she informed you of our meeting tonight.”
Citron flicked his tail back and forth. “Meeting! You mean attack? If you even plan to burn down my uncle’s jungle you’ve got another thing coming to you King Cider!” The king raised an eyebrow and turned to his daughter. “What did you tell, this wolfling Incinerate?! Did you say we were coming to kill them! How stupid can you get! Honestly Princess, your ancestors would be quite disappointed.”
Tapping his paw, he swivelled back to Citron. “Deepest apologies. I understand how you must feel with the war and all. You must believe we’re here to murder your Clan and all the inhabitants in this peaceful kingdom. It’s nothing like that, Prince Citron.”
King Acacia swiftly flipped down beside his nephew. “Then what is it like Cider?” The king stood tall and extended his claws menacingly. “Ah, my old friend Acacia. How are you and the pups doing? I’ve heard word that all your kids were transported to serve in the secret military program. Is that true?”
“Do not change the subject FlamePaw.” Cider scratched his horns. “I’ve come here to help stop the war. Just as the wolflings are promised to do. I want to team up Acacia, but not to fight. To stop the fight, and keep my and every other kingdom safe for the next generations.”
Acacia tapped his claws on the canopy floor. “If you want peace so much, why did you throw two balls of flaming igneous boulders through my beautiful roof!” He pointed to the gaping hole above.
King Cider squinted at it and laughed a bit. “Sorry, about that. It’s a way to announce that we’re coming soon, then when we have officially arrived. It’s like a Flame Clan tradition. But I’ll make sure my workers will fix it straight away, if it bothers you so much.” Acacia held a paw up. “No, it’s fine. It makes a great skylight. Just wanted to know.”
A green dragon came swooping in, diving past the trees and platforms. Canary was in tow of him, with her sapphire brightly shining.
“King Acacia!” General Forest exclaimed. He opened his large wings and shielded the king. “Stay, back FlamePaws! Or I’ll claw your eyes out! I swear.” Acacia pulled down Forest’s wing and sighed. “Don’t waste your breath on him Forest. He just came here to talk.” the GrassPaw king said.
The wolflings chatted amongst themselves as Cider and Acacia made arrangements for their Clans. Something about wanting to stop an attack that some Heat Dragons, that had ed the war, were planning on. Citron quickly lost interest and concentrated more on his wondering thought.
“So, did you get that spell? Or should I show you a different way?” Jinx said. Nightgazer shook her head. “Nope. I think I’ve got. If I want to read someone’s mind all I have to do is concentrate on their thoughts.” she said. “You’re a quick learner Nightgazer. Faster than when my Master taught me.” Jinx complimented her.
Citron was now too entwined in the two king’s conversation to listen to them. “You wouldn’t know where your gemstone is would you Cider?”
“Afraid not. After the first Talon Mark War my father put it into hiding, so our Clan hasn’t recovered it since.”
Acacia stared up at the sky hole. The sun’s rays were starting to pour through, illuminating the red and green fur of the Clan leaders.
Growling came from a place near Citron, he shifted his eyes to see Canyon glaring at him from the shadows of the trees.
The FlamePaw leaped towards Citron. “Aaaaaah!” he screeched.
He put his paws out to block the attack, when vines came sprouting out from his claws. They wrapped around Canyon and strangled him in the air. Thorns burst out of them and stabbed his fur, making him bleed.
“Oh my!” Queen Spinel exclaimed.
“GROWL!” the black-eyed Canyon roared. “You will regret this prince! When my body is fully free, I’ll send every assassin and merciless killer after you! The wolflings of promise will never see a day when this war has ended, and the skies aren’t full of blood and tears! GROWL!” Canyon’s eyes returned back to his normal ruby red.
He carefully rolled his head around and wearily glanced to every wolf.
“What. . .happened? Why am I tangled in these vines? And why is everyone staring at me like I just killed someone?”
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