Chapter Three

A Chapter by Storm Lawson

Lannie lazily put a hand behind her, resting on the soft, mossy pillow. She lay under the blanket, uncovered from the waist up, eyes closed and a dazed smile flickering on her lips. Devlin lay silently beside her, softly dragging a finger along her stomach and up between her breasts. The house creaked quietly as Lannie turned her head to look out the window. She could see the sun cutting through the leaves as it rose. She had only arrived that night, and though she had spent the last of her energy reaching Forest Tops, when she fell into Devlin’s chest she had fought off sleep if only to spend a few waking hours with him.
Devlin moved towards her, pressing his lips against the skin on her shoulder.
“When are you leaving?” he looked up at her.
Lannie exhaled deeply, her thoughts churning. She was a Dragon, shown by the leathery wings folded into her back and the neatly filed horns poking through the hair on the top of her head.
“Soon.”
Devlin nodded and hugged her into his chest, the scales on his arms glinting.
“I miss you, Lannie.”
“And you the same.” she wrapped her arms around his waist. There was no greater comfort than this.
Lannie was the first to let go, sliding out of bed and stretching her limbs in the sun. Wordlessly, she began pulling clothes over her body, twitching her wings until they were comfortable. Nearly all Dragons were born with wings that could not lift them from the ground and it seemed that Lannie was the same when she was born. But as she aged into her teenage years, her wings had not ceased growing. When her adult years had come, her wings could fly her for hours. Even now, on some days, she believed her wings were still growing. She would often wonder to herself whether they would ever stop.
“Zel has invited us to eat this evening.” Devlin spoke, still under the blanket. Lannie turned, flicking her dark hair over her shoulder.
“Your sister?”
“She’s told me Mischief bares news from The City.”
“Oh? What do they need from Forest Tops?”
Devlin shook his head.
“The message was marked with black. We haven’t had dire news from The City for… twenty years?”
“When the Queen required Zel.” Lannie nodded.
Devlin pushed his body up, leaning against the wall behind his bed. The house creaked, balanced on top of the tree it was built on. One thick branch hung through the window, his clothes draped over it. Chameleons rarely settled in the trees, preferring to live on the safe, sturdy ground. But Devlin had chosen the trees instead, living with the Hummingbirds. He enjoyed the groan of his wooden home just as he enjoyed the smell of the leaves after a rainy night. He was familiar with sleeping alone, but even as the only objects belonging to Lannie in the room were spare clothing and an unused chest, he believed this room belonged to the both of them. It was emptier when she was absent, his footsteps appeared to echo slightly louder, the silence was faintly more apparent. He pulled gently at the scales on his arm, contentedly watching Lannie as she moved around the room.
“Do you suppose you‘re leaving today?” he asked.
“I shouldn‘t think so. I would rather know what this message says.”
Devlin nodded slowly, a knowing grin curved into his lips.
“Perhaps before this evening,” he pulled back the blanket from his bed. “You should remove those clothes and join me.”
Lannie gave a joyful laugh, walking over to the bed and tugging off the top she had put on moments ago. She slipped in beside him and immediately felt his arms around her. Lannie

ran a long finger down his jaw.
“I have missed you, Devlin.“ she murmured and tilted her head up to brush her lips against his. They were like silk, the softest lips she‘d known. Soft lips for soft words.
He drew her in until there were no spaces between their bodies and all she could feel was the warmth of his skin. She was tired, as was he from using the night to patiently wait for her return, but neither wanted to sleep. Not just yet.

Mischief sat next to Zel, her food laying on the plate in front of her. She had read the message she bore from The City and knew the effect it would have upon Forest Tops. She chose to eat quietly as fables spoke around her.
Mischief had the unique ability to understand any language that was being spoken, despite never knowing of it before. When the Chameleons and Hummingbirds first noticed this, she became ambassador for their region. There was no official ranking in Forest Tops, each town regulated themselves, but wherever Mischief went, she was greeted with gifts and praise, fables would open their homes to her. It had been seventeen years since she had become ambassador and still she had not decided how she should feel about it. She quietly put down her fork, the food left uneaten.
“Many thanks for the meal, Zel.” Devlin lay back in his chair, his face filled with satisfaction. He was sat on the other side of Zel, opposite Mischief. He pushed his plate away, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Zel smiled, turning to the rest of the table.
They were twins, Zel and Devlin. Both possessed the large green eyes and blonde hair - even for someone who did not know them, the resemblance between them was clear.
“As I’ve told you, Mischief has brought a black-marked message to us from The City.” she spoke evenly, but Devlin and Mischief could see the masked fear in her face from their seats.
“Let’s hear it.” Lannie sat forward, her arms crossed on the table. “We’ve have enough pleasantries.”
Mischief pushed her chair back and rose slowly. She cleared her throat slightly, pulling the crisp paper from her sleeve and opening it. The torches set upon the walls were flickering. They were sitting in a room carved into a large tree, there were no windows and the natural light pushing through the door was limited. Mischief felt as though the dark room were closing in on her, the shadows blotting everyone out. She took a deep breath and shut her eyes.
She did not want to do this. She knew only disaster could come from this message. The fables around her leant forward, not one of them was looking away. Her eyes opened and flickered over their faces before she read.

My dear Forest Tops,

I apologise for the black mark - I do not use it lightly nor do I enjoy using it. But The City has reached an important decision and, at the very least, I believe you should be informed.

For decades we have been plagued by Spawning, by the horrors it creates, by the death it brings. More recently, we have noticed changes amongst them. We believe they are mobilising, so we have formed an army and, as of next week, we are going to war.

I am writing to you to ask for your assistance. Your army is larger than ours and your fables have abilities unique to your region. We urgently require your help. We know you are not affected by Darks to the same extent as The City, but unless Spawning is controlled or destroyed, there will always be unnecessary death in Forest Tops.

We hope you will aid us in this battle.

Kindest Regards,

Queen Jas

No one spoke. Mischief lowered herself down again, silently folding the message and sliding it into her sleeve. She sat, watching the fables. They slowly began to erupt as if they were dormant volcanoes, words spurting and clashing across the table. Even as she watched, she saw them begin to split. A crack was forming.
“QUIET!” Zel shrieked, standing on her chair. Silence fell on the room as they looked to her. Lannie swung back in her seat, amused. “We are a civilised and respectful community, I will not tolerate your damn bickering, as if you are mindless Darks!”
The silence remained. Zel took a moment to bring back her breath before stepping off the chair.
“This is ridiculous, we are not going to war! Are you really considering this?” a fable from the back of the room shouted.
Devlin, who had been sitting back, now shot forward.
“You are not considering this? They require our help, we have healing fables that could tip the very outcome.” he reasoned.
“It is of no concern of ours, our death count is as low as it will ever be without storming into this suicide.”
“It does not come down to our death count!” Devlin bellowed, slamming his fists into the table, making the plates and cutlery shake. The fables blinked, Zel furrowed her eyebrows at him.
“If you believe you can allow our neighbouring region to die with the knowledge that you could have prevented it, you are a cold, heartless b*****d and so cowardly it disgusts me to have my f*****g eyes upon you.” Devlin turned and walked out of the room, the door shutting loudly behind him. Lannie nodded to Zel before following him.
“We cannot risk destroying our population, Zel.” one fable spoke quietly. “What will you decide?”

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