Blue Raptor
Ad Astra Per Aspera
I love this!!

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I love this!!
Cyprus stepped out into the center of the hive and sighed to himself.
What the heck was this even all about?
He wished that Ironwood woulda told him something, ANYTHING concerning the cause of his reaction. But, frustratingly, the old dragon had clammed up, not giving the slightest hint.
All Cyprus knew was that when he'd told him to go to the hives and see if anybody knew anything about this strange amulet (particularly the symbol engraved on the bottom)-
A deep-rooted fear had burned in his eyes.
The young Leafwing clenched and relaxed his fists. He needed to know why. And he was going to find out.
Cyprus approached the same guard he'd spoken to before.
"Hey." He said, catching the guard's attention. "Directions to the jeweler?"
The Hivewing raised a curious eyebrow but said nothing of what he might have been thinking. "Third story, middle shop on the west side." He grunted. "Won't do you any good though, they're closed today."
Somewhat surprised, Cyprus stopped to consider.
*Closed? Seriously?*
Looking up, he nodded to the guard as he stepped away. "Thanks anyhow."
Leaping into the air, the Leafwing flapped up towards the third story, gliding around towards the right. His eyes scanned the stalls and counters. Chancing to spot the jeweler's shop from his airborne position, he flew over towards it and landed.
"Welp, here we are." He mumbled to himself.
Inside the store, the lights were dimmed but there were voices coming from inside, so Cyprus stopped to check it out. Who knew, maybe there'd be somebody actually useful in here.
He rapped on the door, and poked his head in. "Hey, um-"
The shop owner looked up from where she and her assistant were working and quickly interrupted. "No, no, we're closed today for cleaning. Didn't you see the sign? Your shopping can wait till tomorrow, at least here." She huffed, like she'd had to deal with impatient customers enough today.
"Oh- I'm not here to buy anything." Cyprus said, taken aback slightly.
"Well what are you here for?" The Hivewing asked shortly.
"I wanna ask you a question." He said, reaching into his satchel and pulling out the amulet. "What can you tell me about this?" He asked, holding it out to her.
The shop owner took it out of his hand abruptly, her eyes scanning the piece carefully. She turned it every which way, occasionally mumbling some remark to herself or running a talon across it.
After a few seconds, she said, "Well, that's pure, genuine gold, I'll say that. Amber's a bit more questionable, but honestly that doesn't really matter. Wasp's well-preserved. Definitely made with some care to it."
She paused. Her assistant, a young male Hivewing, casually walked over to look over her shoulder at the amulet.
"Hm. Pretty valuable, looks like." She said finally.
"If you'd like me to buy it off ya, you could come back tomo-"
It was Cyprus' turn to interrupt. "No, I'm not trying to sell it. I just wanted to know if you could tell me anything about who made it or where it came from."
The shop owner stared at it a little harder than she had before, eyes running across the talisman.
"Anything about the symbol on the bottom, particularly."
She flipped it over, staring blankly at it. "Never seen it before."
The Hivewing handed the amber wasp back to Cyprus. "We finished here?" She asked, glancing back uneasily at the cleaning job she'd been pulled away from.
The Leafwing sighed, frustrated. "I guess so."
As he turned to leave, the shopkeeper's assistant (who had been staring at him rather curiously for some time now) stopped him.
"Hey wait." He said.
Cyprus turned back around. "What."
The assistant covered up a look of suspicion with a tense, forced smile.
"Where, ah... where did you say you got this... exactly?"
Eyes narrowing slightly, he stated,
"Cause... I'm pretty sure I know who this belongs to.
And it's not you."
"You did what."
"Well y'know, I figured I could take him..." The black-and-yellow Hivewing offered lamely.
"Yeah, well, you DIDN'T, now did y-"
Hornet glared. "Enough, Arnica."
The Leafwing instantly snapped her muzzle shut.
Turning back to the young Hivewing, Hornet growled, irritated. "So Ratel, you're telling me that not only did you attempt to bring in a dragon larger than you, BY YOURSELF (and adding to that the fact that you failed entirely), but also that he SOMEHOW has his talons on a replica of my ROYAL SIGNET?!
Ratel gulped. "Um... yes?" He mumbled.
Hornet took a deep breath, attempting desperately to fend off a volcano of explosive fury that was threatening to express itself.
A few moments of tense silence filled the throne room.
She drug a talon down her forehead. "Get him out of my sight."
"B-but commander, p-please-"
"OUT!!"
Arnica winced as the guards moved to drag Ratel to the Gallery. Again. *Welp, add that to the list of things I'm not planning on doing anytime soon.* She smirked. It was hard to imagine her screwing anything up that badly.
"Clear the room." Hornet snapped.
The guards immediately all stepped out, clanging doors behind them.
The orange Hivewing hissed quietly to herself.
Arnica opened her mouth to say something, but a single glance at Hornet's facial expression was enough to squelch anything she might've said.
After a moment of silence, Hornet turned to Arnica. "My royal signet? In the talons of some unknown Leafwing?" She scowled. "I can't really make sense of this... but I definitely don't like it."
"In any case, we need him secured. NOW. I can't risk my seal being casually tossed around all of Pantala, especially by a random Leafwing, of all dragons."
"Seems like you might have to call in an agent who actually knows how to get the job done... and who also just might be an expert in Leafwing behavior." Arnica hinted, grinning maniacally.
A gleam shone in the Hivewing's eyes. "Well well... wish I knew someone with the level of skill required for such a mission."
The Leafwing dragoness raised her eyebrows.
Hornet flipped her one of her personal, fine-tip daggers. "I'd prefer him alive."
"I won't fail you." Arnica said, grinning and nodding deeply as she turned to leave.
"You'd better not."