Timber

Silvery leaves whirled up into the air as her paws hit the ground. She landed between the sharp thorns of the brambles and looked around, making sure nobody had followed her. Timber was an assassin, blood was still sticking to her pristine sword. The engraved words on the thin blade were mostly hidden by the dark red liquid.

She sighed, lowering the sword into the cool stream next to her and began cleaning it. When she lifted it out of the now tinted water, the engravings became more visible and she smiled at the memories the words held. 'We will not bow' it read. The four words that Timber's mother had always told her and her siblings if they were uncertain or afraid.

She put the blade back to her side and stood up, looking around once more before starting to walk through the dark bushes. Timber could feel the thorns ripping on her coat and sides, but she didn't care. It was better than being hunted down because of flying too high. She looked around surprised, when she noticed the ground had turned softer and the brambles got scarcer. The Wildclaw hadn't noticed that she wandered all the way to the Wandering Contagion, but continued on when she saw the entrance to a small cave.

Upon entering she stopped to listen for any sounds coming from the large tunnels, but when she heard nothing, Timber quietly followed the narrow paths until she suddenly lost the ground underneath her paws. She slid down a ravine, gracefully landing at the bottom. When Timber looked around she saw a large cavern, illuminated by thousands of small blue shrooms.

"Who are you?" a male voice asked beside her. She quickly took her sword and swung it. The strike missed the Imperial, and her sword got stuck inside the wall. While she tried to dislodge it, pulling on the sword with all her might, the Imperial stared at the engravings on the white blade. "We will not bow? That's what my mother used to tell me when my brother or I were scared... Where did you get this?" he asked, a small dove landing on his head as he spoke.

Timber took a moment to look at him properly. He looked similar to her, but his wings were a soft greenish blue instead of the bright blue she had. "Who is your mother?" Timber asked the tall dragon. "Her name is Corydalis... Why do you ask?" he told her. The Wildclaw's eyes widened as she realised.

"Corydalis is my half-sister! That would explain why she told you about the family's watchwords... My name is Timber, and yours?" she said, turning back to her sword that was still stuck in the wall. "I'm Moor! Do... Do you need help woth your sword there?" he asked, gesturing to the stuck blade Timber was tugging on. The Wildclaw nodded and stepped away. Moor dislodged the sword with ease and gave it to the smaller dragon.

"Moor! Who is this young lady?" an old voice echoed through the cave and Timber whirled around with her sword back in her paws. "Oh, do not be afraid... I am just a guardian of Sornieth, protecting dragonkind from the Shade." the voice chuckled.

"She is my aunt! Could she stay with us?" Moor asked, looking at a wall. Timber looked at the wall confused, but as she looked closer she could see the outline of an Imperial standing next to the wall. He stepped forward and she realised that he wasn't exactly a dragon, more a living statue riddled with cracks and overgrown with bright blue fungi.

"If she wants to stay she is allowed to, of course." he said and stepped in front of her to look at her properly. "You are a killer, aren't you. An experienced fighter, but you used your abilities for the wrong purpose... You can choose, either you leave and live on as you did before, using your skills for evil or you can stay here and use your abilities to protect Sornieth." the old dragon continued with a low voice. Timber shivered and lowered her sword. "I'll stay and protect the dragons I love!" she said. "Then it is nice to welcome you to the family, Timber. My name is Norva." he chuckled.

"Come with me, I'll show you where you can sleep!" Moor said excitedly and led Timber through a small tunnel.