[h1][center]Chapter 14[/center][/h1]
        Tidal had been flying for the better part of the day. Her wings started aching, it seemed like the DarkStalker’s Teeth were moving away just as fast as she flew towards them.
        “[i]That wouldn’t even surprise me from him if he made this kind of spell against non-NightWings...[/i]” she thought.
        She could have make a stop at Jade Mountain Academy but that wasn’t the most direct route and Tidal felt like she had already lost too much time plus Coral’s army may already be waiting for her there and she wasn’t really in the mood for conflict after having spent so much time with Queen Glory.
        The RainWing Queen had been nothing less than very courteous and polite. Even promising her that nothing would happen to her while she stayed in the RainForest, including protecting her if she ever asked for asylum. Although Tidal wasn’t sure if Glory had really meant it or if it was just a strategy to make her talk.
        In the end, it didn’t matter much; she had no wish to hide anything from her and so she went on and explained everything that happened, the fight on the island, how she blocked the way between Moonlight and Queen Coral and how she had been imprisoned for it.
        “...[i]And then you escaped.[/i]” Glory had then finished the explanation for her.
        “[i]Yes, I did because she had me there for such a long time that I don’t even know how long has passed since I was put in jail and my patience has run out so I decided to take the matters into my own talons...[/i]”
        “[i]Even as an animus dragon, you are, first, quite young for this adventure,[/i]” Tidal had frowned at Glory for this remark, she was, after all, one year older than Anemone when she went [i]with[/i] DarkStalker, and she certainly wouldn’t do those same mistakes... “[i]and second, you still owe allegiance to your Queen.[/i]”
        Tidal wanted to say something but Glory interrupted her with her talon.
        “Especially [i]as her advisor and dedicated animus dragon.[/i]”
        “[i]Well, she threw her advisor in jail...[/i]” Tidal pouted.
        “[i]And you escaped.[/i]”
        It seemed like Glory always had the perfect reply no matter what Tidal said as if the Queen had practiced it for years. Tidal had had to hold herself a few times to avoid showing her frustration in front of the RainWing Queen but she could tell it was still noticeable.
        Eventually, Queen Glory promised her not to send a message to Coral but that she would not withhold any information if she ever asked for it or come by the RainForest.
        The conversation then had moved about Moonlight. Glory explained all she knew and what happened before she had left in a hurry for the Sea Kingdom and then straight to Jade Mountain Academy for counsel before heading right toward the Night City where she had been since.
        “[i]How do you know all that and are you not worried?[/i]” Tidal asked abruptly.
        Glory and DeathBringer had exchanged a quick look and chuckled softly.
        “[i]Sorry about that, I can see that you care deeply about her and so do I, and if she had been in any danger, I would have already been there helping, of course. And as to answer your first question, I owed his parents a great deal and it turned out that he is actually quite good at what he is doing even if he seems clumsy at first.[/i]”
        Tidal didn’t understand what the Queen had meant by that and despite trying to push it further, Glory had refused to say more.
        The Queen had offered Tidal to spend the night with them in the RainForest before she left to go to the NightWing peninsula and she happily accepted it. She then was shown how RainWings lived, ate and more than anything slept, on top of the canopy right under the sun, or in that case, the moons, for it was already night time.
        As Tidal had stepped out of the royal cabin, Glory suddenly said: “[i]two months[/i]”. The Queen walked besides her as she had turned around to inquire further. DeathBringer trailing closely behind them.
        “[i]Two months is how long you’ve been in jail.[/i]” Finished Queen Glory.
        Tidal felt a bit relieved that she was finally getting closer to the mountains bordering Night City. She had heard a lot of rumors about it in class, some more believable than others but as an animus dragon she knew far too well to not dismiss any of them no matter how silly they sounded. 
        She shuddered again at the idea that the mountains were named [i]DarkStalker’s Teeth[/i] after his spell preventing any IceWing from crossing them without protection. Even now, as an animus and despite the infinity of spells she could cast, there was always the possibility for her powers to be defeated or that she had not anticipated one or another attack that some dragon could perform. After all, that’s how DarkStalker had been beaten.
        Animus power went extinct shortly after and no such big threat was known to exist anymore. That is until Moonlight’s parents event.
        Was it even an animus thing? Apart from Moonlight telling her so, she had seen no proof of it so far.
        Tidal and her tribe, and probably all the other tribes, were convinced she was the only known animus to exist. But truly, how many other animus dragons were there? Maybe she could cast a spell to know... if the others didn’t protect themselves against detection, that is. Really a pretty basic spell if are doing reprehensible actions, but it was worth a try. She would try and cast it when she would arrive in Night City.
        For now, she was mainly trying to focus on flying as her wings really started to ache badly. A few more minutes and she would reach the mountain top.
        She almost tumbled off of it as she landed and tried to brace herself as loose rocks rolled under her talons, twisting one of her wings in an attempt to grab on firm ground.
        “Ow!” she cried out loud. “There goes my flying for now...”
        She unconsciously clutched a smooth rock in her foretalon to sooth the pain until she realized what she was doing and stared at it.
        That’s when something lit in her brain.
        “Turtle, you’re a genius!” she exclaimed as she recalled how Prince Turtle, during his lessons, explained to her how he would calm his painfully aching muscles after long flights with a smooth stone he found in a river bed and that he had enchanted to heal outer wounds, sores and cramps.
        Tidal looked at the stone in her claws and pondered for a moment.
        “[i]Let’s improve on his spell a bit...[/i]” she reflected.
        “Stone, I enchant thee to soothe my body whenever I feel pain and prevent my muscles from feeling any cramp, soreness and their inherited effects and heal any superficial wound I may receive. You shall now wrap yourself around my left fore-ankle and remain there comfortably and unnoticeable until I decide to take you off.”
        Tidal exhaled and looked at her new bracelet for a moment then frowned, putting a claw on the stone 
        “Stone, I want you to reshape yourself into a bracelet which fashion shall be appropriate to a SeaWing.”
        The stone melted again and reshaped slowly until it settled for a design that Tidal immediately recognized.
        “Well... I guess Turtle has some taste in fashion.” She concluded.
        She looked down the mountain towards the city.
        “[i]Let’s go, it’s about to get dark and I would like to arrive there before the night.[/i]”
        The stone in front of her pointed steadily towards the center of the city. Tidal spread her wings gently expecting some pain to arise but to her delight, the spell worked as expected. She did feel quite tired though and as she reached for the bracelet to change the spell, she figured out it wasn’t so bad to feel tired anyway. She may not be a RainWing but sleeping after a long day was quite enjoyable and she didn’t want to get rid of that.
        Tidal glided all the way to the center of the City and settled on a spot that wasn’t as much in ruins as the rest. The place looked like a small bush garden that had been somewhat preserved from destruction, notwithstanding its obvious lack of plants. Tidal slowly stepped out of it and onto what she gathered was the remains of a paved street. Around her, most of the buildings seemed to have disappeared saved for a few big ones that still withstood the passage of time, including an impressive central place that she first mistook for the NightWing palace, but as she walked closer to it, she peeked through the gigantic ajar door and saw a bunch of books laying on the ground. As she came closer to it, she got a better look of its insides and made a mental note to visit the place some times later.
        She turned her gaze around at the rest of the City, a good part of it visibly dove into the sea a few hundred yards from her and she felt a sudden pang of sadness at the loss of history and knowledge that this part of the City could have revealed even if most of the important scrolls has already been scavenged by the Academy scholars, she had the feeling that there was so much more to tell. Maybe her tribe could help with that if there was still something worth studying down there...
        She was about to follow her stone again when she felt a strong wing above her and the sound of claws clattering on the pavement. Three NightWings were surrounding her in a defensive position. She half-spread her wings before a fourth one landed right in front of her. It was a rather slender dragoness, her dark pupils shining in the burning sunset, as if she could pierce through Tidal’s mental defense and read her utmost secrets. She had a regal but disgruntled attitude to herself as if she wanted to impose on others but the weight of power had worn her down over the years. As she moved closer to her, the three other took a step backwards.
        “It’s not often we get other tribes to visit the City, are you lost, SeaWing?” asked the NightWing in a genuinely curious but wary tone.
        Tidal looked around at the other dragons, they all seemed to be waiting for orders.
        “My name is Tidal and whether I am lost or not is for me to decide. Has the Night City been reclaimed by NightWings?”
        Tidal wasn’t too sure how to feel about the reception committee surrounding her but if they wanted to take her prisoner, she would certainly not go without a fight even if she was much smaller than the fourth of them.
        The dragoness snorted and looked down her nose at Tidal.
        “It is still our territory and I don’t like other tribes coming here unexpectedly. But I can see you are young and maybe not informed that you shouldn’t be there.”
        Tidal raised her head in defiance.
        “Who are you anyway?” she demanded in an assertive tone.
        The dragoness looked perplexed for a while before bursting in a semi-evil laugh.
        “I am Fierceteeth, [i]true[/i] Queen of the NightWings!”
        Tidal thought for a while, but she couldn’t remember learning about another Queen of the NightWings other than Glory.
        “Why [i]true[/i] Queen? Is there a fake one?” she asked tentatively and now genuinely curious.
        “Of course, there is ! [i]Glory[/i] is no Queen of the NightWings!” Fierceteeth scoffed.
        “I am afraid I have not heard of you before.” Tidal replied calmly.
        “Well, it’s time Coral updates her courses then. It’s not like she doesn’t know my brother. Or better yet, send her tribe to learn with him.”
        “Your brother?”
        “StarFlight.”
        Tidal’s eyes brightened a bit at the name as if it suddenly all made sense to her. At least she would know whom to ask for more history when she got back to Jade Mountain.
        “Well, I am sorry to intrude your place in this manner, [i]Your Majesty[/i], I should probably have sent a missive prior to my visit.” Mocked Tidal.
        Fierceteeth didn’t seem to have picked on the sarcasm so Tidal continued.
        “I came forth to find someone dear to me who arrived here quite some times ago and I was hoping to meet her...”
        Fierceteeth looked at Tidal and then at the three dragons still in that same defensive posture.
        “It’s OK, boys, you can go.” She said as she dismissed them with a movement from her left wing.
        “Yes mother!” they all replied at once and took off.
        Fierceteeth looked again at Tidal for a brief moment.
        “I [i]am[/i] very protective of my tribe and they are very protective of me. I have no reason to chase you out of the Night City yet. Just know that parts of it are inhospitable and Renewal is mostly the only safe place around here. So feel free to visit as much as you want Tidal.”
        Tidal looked around, the sun was setting down over the horizon making the sea look like a live fire constantly dancing with tiny flames. 
        She yawned and stretched her wings without realizing. She had flown all day long and she was now feeling the exhaustion, almost regretting to not have changed her spell.
        “You look exhausted, let me invite you for dinner and bed.” Said Fierceteeth with a softness that didn’t fit what Tidal had gathered of her personality so far.
        “Thank you, Your Majesty... but I’m in search of...”
        “Moonlight, your girlfriend, I know.” Interrupted Fierceteeth.
        Tidal blinked, surprised that Fierceteeth had gathered that much about her already.
        “My... [i]what[/i]? No, that’s not... we’re not...”
        Fierceteeth looked over her shoulder and smirked.
        “She spoke of you Tidal, quite often I must say, even if she refuses to admit it.”
        Fierceteeth brought Tidal to a large gathering of dragons where a bonfire was burning and some game sizzled and dripped over it.
        “I will show you a quiet corner after the meal as we do not sleep at night anymore. And I will inform Moonlight of your presence when she comes back. She tends to enjoy spending time in the old library and school, not sure what she can find there that hasn’t already been found.”
        “She... doesn’t tell you?”
        “Not really, she is quite secretive. Not that I don’t understand her... I guess I used to be like that too. But I certainly never talked to myself like that!”