Talons and Feathers || Chapter 1

Instructions

14 years later..... Fern lived a fairly normal life, in her opinion. Both she and her brothers were together, not dead, and happily lived with her father, again, not dead. Of course, having the kingdom being in the middle of a war wasn’t all that normal. She and her brothers were short distanced flyers, so they were naturally placed on the front lines. Except for her brother Cattail. Cattail, in the council’s eyes, “was too scrawny and fragile for war”. She wished she could bite off their toes for the first part, but she had to agree with them that he was too fragile. Luckily, he was assigned as healer in her squadron. In fact, Fern led the squadron. Her squadron consisted of her two brothers, Cattail and Oak, and another griffin named Brindle. She was leading them around the border, on a daily patrol, when the glint of green and pale brown scales in the distance caught her eye. As the shapes grew closer, she could tell what they were. Dragon Traps. Angry Dragon Traps. Venus Dragon Traps were like a subspecies of the legendary creatures that once dominated the land. There’s a whole history behind it, but Fern never payed attention in class. “Brindle! Sound the alarm!” She’d shout. Brindle nodded and broke away from the formation, swooping off. ‘Please get to the others in time..’ she thought as she led her two brothers into battle. Luckily, there was another two squadrons near by, including one General Albatross herself was leading. The tall, wiry shape of the griffin was easy to spot. Albatross was a long distance flyer, but she packed deadly weapons that she had masterful skill over. Fern saw the general fly past her and throw two disks, both catching a Dragon Trap square in the throat. Griffins collided with dragon traps, roars and shrieks echoing. Fern and Oak would watch as Dragon Traps fell from their paws, dead. ‘They all deserve it, after what they did to our mother.’ Fern knew the story, of what they did. They killed her, and took her other egg. She never got to know her other siblings like she should have. It’s all their fault her family was torn. And they all deserved to pay. A scream. It came from Cattail. Fern twisted, sinking her back talons into the chest of the Dragon Trap before it spat it’s venom on her brother’s face. “Thanks Fern!” Cattail gasped, clutching a poultice that he was applying to an injured Griffin. Fern nodded, and resumed battling. After a long, grueling battle, someone shouted “RETREAT!” Fern knew who had. General Albatross NEVER retreated. She heard cheers and whoops coming from the griffins, even the general. They won. Fern laughed, colliding into Cattail and Oak, wrapping her paws around them in a giant hug. Brindle flew over, wearing a frown. “What’s with the face Mr. Seriousclaws?” Fern teased. Her brothers laughed, and went off to go celebrate the victory with the others. “Your father was in the General’s squadron..” Brindle said. Fern’s heart sunk. “He...” Brindle didn’t finish, but his eyes flicked down, Fern followed his gaze. Dead bodies lined the grassy ground, both Dragon Traps and Griffins. She finally knew what Brindle had been trying to say. Mint was one of the many bodies on the ground, his pale green eyes staring out blankly. Fern broke into sobs. Her brothers flew over to her, asking what was wrong, and then they followed her own gaze. She wrapped her paws around them, holding them tight to her. The siblings all silently cried for a long moment. “Cmon soldiers.” Said a smooth voice. Fern and her brothers stared up at General Albatross, who had sympathy in her eyes. “Grief is hard, but power through it.” She said, patting Fern on the shoulder. The General swooped away, towards the spires that loomed in the distance. The other squadrons followed, what was left of them. She and her brothers lagged behind, only slightly. As they were flying away, Fern could have sworn she saw the glint of eyes and green scales in the nearby forest.