All day long, Razortail walked around and said hello to his fellow assassins, fidgeting and feeling bored. Most of these dragons he already knew quite well, and so he didn’t bother saying hello.

He decided to waste more time talking to Lotus in hushed whispers. They tried to make casual conversation, asking questions like “what’s your favorite food?” or “what’s your favorite color?” and things like that.

Razortail learned that Lotus’s favorite color was white. Her favorite food was chicken, which Razortail had never eaten before. When asked, Lotus told him that ForestDragons were carnivores, which surprised him.

“What? Did you expect us to be fluffy, plant eating leaf pickers?” Lous snorted. “We train in combat a lot, build our own houses using our own amber, and hunt with our own claws. Plus, why would we destroy the things we grow by eating them? It’s just a waste of time!”

“O…kay,” Razortail said, a bit put off. “What’s amber?”

“It’s this stuff we shoot out of our fangs,” Lotus explained. “It’s really hot at first, and then it cools down and becomes hard. It makes for a good building material if you can shape it while it’s hot.”

“That’s a cool ability.”

“Only if you’re a good shot,” Lotus said. “Usually, the older dragons are the ones that build houses. The younger dragons just practice their aim.”

“That’s cool,” Razortail replied.

Then, he heard a small sound coming from off to one side. Lotus must’ve heard it too, because she went quiet. There was a tense silence. Razortail was glad that they were away from the assassin gathering, or they wouldn’t have been able to hear anything.

Right as Razortail was about to dismiss the sound as one of those weird, smug lizards, he heard the snapping of a twig.

“….dumb spider…take that! Melt your nerves off…ha!...Where…wish my claws…sharp…wonder when…”

Razortail turned towards the sound, as did Lotus. Was there a BloodDragon that was really late to the Wings of Warfare for some reason?

A dragon stumbled into the clearing. However, it wasn’t a red dragon. It wasn’t black. It wasn’t white.

It was green.

Another ForestDragon?! Razortail thought. I either have the best luck in the world or the worst!

“Ack!” The green dragon said. It was a female, like Lotus, and around the same size. She bared her teeth and raised her tail above her head in the way Razortail has seen BloodDragons with tail barbs do.

“Wait!” Lotus appeared out of thin air, glancing over her shoulder. She tugged Razortail closer to the new ForestDragon. “Shhhh! We’re right next to a BloodDragon camp!”

The ForestDragon tilted her head at her. “Lotus?” She asked in bewilderment. “What on Terrarestria are you doing with a BloodDragon?”

“Do—do I know you?” Lotus said.

“No.” the ForestDragon sighed and stabbed the ground with her tail, which made the grass wither wherever it touched. “I was sent to look for you. The entire village is in a panic.”

“Oh.” Lotus fidgeted with her pouches. “I was kind of abducted.”

“By me.” Razortail stepped into the conversation. “She’s mine now, so back off.”

“Yikes!” The ForestDragon leapt back. “What—is that—excuse me, I don’t mean to be rude, but—er—what happened to you?”

“I was born this way,” Razortail said. “And that’s none of your business. Like I said, back off.”

The ForestDragon laughed. “You have no idea how easily both me and Lotus could kill you. I’m surprised she hasn’t escaped before now, but I will gladly do it for her. It will be my pleasure.” She raised her tail again.

The way she talked freaked Razortail out, and he took a step back. Did she like killing? Could Lotus really cut him down with a flick of her tail? Who was this dragon?

“No!” Lotus hissed. “Don’t hurt him, he’s a good BloodDragon! He’s not like the others!”

The ForestDragon seemed frozen in indecision. Razortail was tempted to strike her down there and then, but he didn’t think Lotus would appreciate it.

Who am I kidding? Razortail thought angrily at himself. I don’t care what Lotus thinks. She’s just a minor ForestDragon. I don’t care about her, I don’t care about her, shut up me!

“What’s your name?” Lotus broke the silence, stepping closer to the ForestDragon.

“Holly,” she answered. Razortail felt his body slightly relax. Holly. It sounded like such a loving, kind name that it put him off-guard.

“Holly, this is Razortail,” Lotus said, gesturing to him. He tilted his head, knowing that he was grinning. He tried to look nonthreatening.

Holly gave him a scrutinizing look. Then she turned her attention to Lotus.

“You have to come back,” Holly pestered. “The village is about ready to go to war with the BloodDragons.”

“I can’t,” Lotus said. “I have to stay with Razortail.”

“Why?” Holly asked. “Does he need you? Why have you not even tried to escape?”

Razortail stared at Lotus. That was what he was wondering. Why was Lotus so submissive to him? What was she hiding under that bright expression? Why, why had she smiled at Razortail when he took her captive?

“Look, Holly,” Lotus said gently. “Look inside yourself, deep inside, and ask yourself whether you really want to go back to the village yourself.”

Holly looked down at her claws, poking the ground again with her tail. “I—” she started. Lotus had struck a nerve.

“I—I, well, was thinking that if I found you and brought you back, things wouldn’t be—they wouldn’t be—” she cut off, wrapping her wings around herself. “They wouldn’t be so lonely anymore.”

Lotus seemed surprised at Holly’s reaction. “Hey, it’s okay,” she reassured, gently touching Holly’s claws. “You can join us. You’ll never have to go back to the village, I promise.”

“But what if the Chief does declare war on the BloodDragons?” Holly asked, wringing her tail. “What will we do?”

Lotus now grew a mischievous smile on her snout. “Leave that up to me,” she said.

“Lotus,” Razortail grunted, “are you—sure—this is going to—work?”

“Trust me,” Lotus said.

“I honestly find this gross but necessary,” Holly remarked dryly, wrinkling her snout.

They were hauling a dead body through the Jungleswamp. It was the body of a dead BloodDragon, one that they had found entangled in the Thornwrangler plant, already dead. After all, they weren’t murderers.

Well, Lotus and Holly weren’t…

Lotus was ripping vines and leaves off of plants as they walked, while Razortail and Holly carried the BloodDragon. Holly was surprisingly strong, for as small as she was. Closer up, she was probably a little bit bigger than Lotus, but only slightly.

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The BloodDragon smelled good to Razortail, although he would never, ever eat it. BloodDragons had a strict code: they never ate one of their own kind. Usually, they just ate PixiDragons or DeerDragons, but in a pinch they would eat what they could get.

“Why are you ripping leaves off of those poor plants?” Holly cried at Lotus. She didn’t seem burdened at all, though she was carrying more than Razortail. He made a mental note to sound less exhausted next time he said something.

He would not be outmatched by a ForestDragon. Especially a female.

Even though it was totally not a competition.

“We are going to paint the body with them!” Lotus announced. “Why on Terrarestria did you think we nabbed a dead body?”

“Um…target practice?” Holly guessed. “Perfume? Actually, I don’t know.”

“We’re going to make this dragon look like you,” Razortail realized. “You’re faking your own death!”

“Yep,” Lotus responded breezily. “It’s great, right? I know, I’m a genius.”

“Of course,” Holly said loyally. “Smarter than I am, anyway,” she added under her breath.

“You’re not as dumb as some of the BloodDragons I know,” Razortail said.

Holly grinned at him. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Razortail said. “The ones I’m talking about can’t spell, count, or read. I don’t even know how they can fly straight. Sheer luck, perhaps?”

Holly and Lotus giggled. “What do they do to live?”

“They exist to do Clawrender’s bidding,” Razortail replied. “Clawrender is the leader of the Wings of Warfare, the BloodDragon assassin creed.”

“Are you part of it?” Holly asked, raising an eyebrow.

Razortail hesitated. Should he lie? How would she react if she knew he was a trained murderer? He was starting to hate his profession already.

Aaaarrrgghh, Lotus! Was she working some sort of witchcraft on Razortail to make him want to do her bidding?

Being an assassin was good. Lotus was just wrong. It was fun, and free, and there was nothing wrong with it.

Right?

Or was Lotus correct, and it corrupted dragons, slowly turning them insane with the love of killing?

Is that what other tribes saw BloodDragons as?

Holy was still waiting for an answer.

“Yes,” Razortail said.

“Cool!” Holly cried, which startled Razortail so much, he dropped the portion of the body he was holding. He picked it back up, trying to make it look like he’d planned the whole thing.

“Cool?” Razortail spluttered.

“Yeah!” Holly said. “You get to sneak around palaces—maybe steal some snacks while you’re in there—and change the course of history with absolutely no consequences! OOOOHH, and you get to have a cool name too!” She paused, scrunching up her snout. “Mine would be Poisontail.”

“Oh! Oh!” Lotus said. “Mine would be: Deathflower.”

“What’s your actual code name?” Holly asked Razortail.

“Agent Facemask,” Razortail muttered.

“Is it because you’re always smiling?” Holly said. “I can never tell what you’re thinking, It’s kind of creepy but cool in a shivery way, you know?”

“Uh, thanks, I guess,” Razortail said.

“You’re welcome!” Holly cried. Then she started whistling, glancing up at the trees. Lotus joined in, still picking the occasional leaf as they walked past.

Apparently, all ForestWings were boisterous and not very sophisticated in dragon etiquette. Maybe they were unsocialized.

“Are we close?” Razortail asked. Lotus looked up from the plant and squinted at the sky.

“Um, yeah, this will work,” she decided. Holly and Razortail set the body down.

Lotus opened her mouth and spit a fiery colored liquid out of her fangs and onto her talon. She molded it into a bowl shape, occasionally adding more of the substance and chipping off some. When she finished, she had a good-sized bowl sitting in her talons.

Razortail raised one eyebrow skeptically, and Lotus rapped the bowl on the nearest tree. It made a thud noise, as if it were rock solid.

“How is that possible?” Razortail asked. “We just watched you mold a liquid, and now it’s solid?”

“I told you: it’s amber,” Lotus responded. “It comes out really hot and as a liquid, then hardens into a solid. Just like lava cools into obsidian.”

“Hmph,” Razortail said. He had learned about obsidian a long time ago, but only its uses for weapons and armor, since it was one of the strongest materials on Terrarestria. The dragon tribes never used it, though, since it was all on Volcano Ridge. Hardly anyone ever came back from that place alive, and if they did, they told creepy tales of a land of Mist that went on forever, filled with strange noises and sights—like groaning noises, and the shadows of dragons when there are none there. The BloodDragons believed that if you flew through the Mist, you would reach the end of the world—a nothingness, or a void, that no dragon could escape. It definitely deterred the rest of the tribes.

“I’d help you, but my amber goes everywhere,” Holly said sadly. “I might end up hitting one of you guys.”

“Just try,” Lotus said. Razortail nodded.

Holly looked nervous. “Okay,” she said tentatively. She opened her mouth and shot amber out of her fangs.

Razortail had to admit, it was a lot of amber.

More than a whole bucketful, to be exact.

It all landed on the grass, bubbling and steaming. They all jumped back. There was more than enough to coat a full-grown dragon’s scales three times.

“I’m sorry!” Holly cried, putting a talon to her fangs. “This is even more than usual!”

“It usually comes out like this?” Razortail said loudly.

“I tried to warn you,” Holly pointed out, also with a raised voice. “Sorry.”

“Oh my,” Lotus said. “Erm…”

“You just made a new home for the lizards,” Razortail joked.

Holly made a face. “It already hardened. Now we can’t do anything to it.”

“I guess I’ll make the mashing stick for the leaves,” Lotus said. She began to use the same process she did for the bowl, only with less amber.

Razortail examined the large amber lump in front of him. It was full of tiny bubbles, like air captured in time. He tried to move it, but Holly was right—it was as hard as a rock. There was this thin green substance on it that burned like crazy when Razortail touched it.

“So, what else can you do?” he asked Holly curiously while Lotus was working.

“Well,” Holly began, “most of my abilities are uncontrollable and a danger to the rest of the world, but I have really sharp claws, lots of venom in my teeth as well as amber, lots of venom in my tail, and I can turn invisible. The venom from my teeth is what you saw on the amber,” she added, pointing to the lump with her wing. “My venom is really potent, like acid. Oh, and I can grow plants, although I don’t do it very well.”

Razortail nodded respectfully. Holly studied him with a scrutinizing eye.

“What abilities to you have?” she asked.

Oh, boy, Razortail thought. It was The Question, the one he never wanted to answer. He hadn’t told Lotus yet, although she might’ve figured it out. He could tell that she was listening to their conversation.

What will she think, when she finds out I’m deformed and stunted?

“I don’t—really—have any BloodDragon abilities,” Razortail said. “I have sharp claws and wings, but that’s it. I don’t have diamond hard scales, or venom in my teeth and claws, or a tail barb, or freezefire.”

“What’s freezefire?” Holly asked.

“It’s blue fire that burns and then freezes a victim,” Razortail explained. “StealthDragons have it too. It almost instantly kills you, because of the switch from extreme high temperatures to extreme low temperatures. We still don’t know exactly what makes it do that, but it’s useful in battle.”

“So you don’t have any BloodDragon abilities, except for those few,” Holly mused. Razortail looked nervously at Lotus, but she was smiling at him.

“Are you sure you don’t have any powers?” Holly asked abruptly.

Razortail stared at her. “Um, what?”

“Are you sure you don’t have any powers?” Holly repeated.

“Yes,” Razortail said slowly. “Why?”

“Well, I’ve heard stories of dragons who think they don’t have any powers, then turn out to have them. Like StarDragons, for instance.”

“StarDragons?” Razortail asked blankly.

“Oh, right—you other tribes don’t know about StarDragons, WaveDragons, or LavaDragons, along with not knowing about us ForestDragons! You guys really have no idea, do you, how much is out there!” Holly waved a green wing at the trees randomly.

Razortail’s head was buzzing. He could hear Lotus and Holly talking, but as if they were calling from across the Jungleswamp. StarDragons? LavaDragons? WaveDragons? Are there really so many other tribes that we didn’t know about? What would happen if they joined the war? Where are they all hiding?

“Holly, I think you overwhelmed him,” Lotus said in a concerned tone of voice, touching her talon to Razortail’s shoulder. He shook her off.

“Ok. Well, I’ll just tell him about StarDragons.”

Razortail looked up as Holly began her monologue.

“When a StarDragon is born, it is always born in the night, under all of the constellations. The stars are where they get their powers. There’s a different power for each star constellation, and if a StarDragon is born right under multiple constellations, it might get a more powerful ability. There are so many, the number of abilities is endless. So far, no two StarDragons have the same power.

“Anyways, young StarDragons don’t always get their powers immediately. It is a rare case, but some might take years before they get their ability. I was saying that could be happening to you, Razortail. Maybe you’re not normal.”

“So, what—am I just going to magically grow a tail barb or something?” Razortail snorted sarcastically. “Look, I appreciate the encouragement, but I’m stunted—a freak who will never change. BloodDragons are different from StarDragons; that’s the way it is and always will be.”

Holly held up her talons in submission. “Just saying. Lotus, are you finished?”

Lotus nodded, and presented her creation out of the amber. It was a large, skinny cylinder. She had used it to mash the leaves into a green paste, and now she was painting the BloodDragon with it. She occasionally looked at herself to get the details right.

It took a while, but finally the body was finished. It looked so similar to Lotus, Razortail has to do a double take. How did she do stuff like that? She’d even got the gold hints on her scales correctly.

Lotus then looked at the BloodDragon, and said, in a panicked voice, “Oh no! She still has a tail barb, and sharp wings and talons!”

The ForestDragons looked at Razortail.

“What?” he asked, disgusted. “You want me to—”

“No, no.” Lotus said. “I’ll do it. Nobody watch.”

Holly turned away, but Razortail didn’t. He didn’t have to follow Lotus’s orders. He wasn’t afraid of a little violence. She was his pet, anyways!

Lotus looked at him. “Please, Razortail?”

Her look was too adorable.

Razortail turned away.

After a long semi silence, Lotus said, “Done.”

They all looked at the newly prepared body. It looked exactly like a ForestDragon now.

“They’re totally going to fall for it,” Holly said with relish.