A Matter of Trust

Written by Zelda

 

                Duke was tweaked. This just wasn't his day and THEN some. As he sat on a chair in the Ready Room listening to some of Nosedive's horrible headbanging music, he thought. First he had no sleep the night before, and then he woke up early and couldn't go back to get the sleep he never had. When he woke up, his cereal was stale and the coffee was burnt. He had bruised the side of his knee during practice with a puck that afternoon, but the blow didn't hurt as acutely as the headache he had now. No aspirin could relieve the absolute migraine that was wreaking havoc in his head. Duke just felt like shooting it off with his launcher, it couldn't hurt any more than it did now. Listening to this AWFUL music wasn't helping either. Nosedive suddenly came flying up and landed on the couch nearby, jamming on some imaginary air guitar. Duke couldn't stand it. He got up and left VERY quickly. Maybe the night air would help. Duke went up through the elevator and to the main floor of the rink. Good, he was almost outside, and hadn't bumped into---

                "Hey Duke!" Duke sighed inaudibly as Wildwing came walking up to him from the locker room door.

                "Yea Wing?"

                "What's with you today? That hit getting to you?"

                "Of course not!" Duke snorted. He was as tough as nails when it came to being hit during a game, Wing knew that.

                "Whoa, okay okay Duke. Just rest up for tomorrow's practice okay?" Wing said, and departed. Duke continued on towards the doors, seething. What on earth did Wildwing mean by 'rest up'? Duke growled as he opened the doors....

 

                Only to be met with the unpleasantness of cold water. Rain. Pitch black outside and raining. The air was cold and wet. Duke leapt back inside, but it was too late. He was soaked. Duke pounded his fist on the wall, shivering, and went back down the elevator. He would try to get to put some dry clothes on without having to deal with anyone else. As he stomped down the hall towards his bunk, something lighted on his shoulder. Curse his luck, Zelda had caught onto him.

                "Yow Duke, decide to take a walk in the rain?" she grinned good-naturedly.

                "Yeah I guess I did." he bit. Zelda jumped off of him, landing on the floor and keeping a steady clip beside his angry walk.

                "Something wrong Duke?" she asked.

                "Try and figure it out." Duke snapped at her angrily, swatting the wet hair out of his eye.

                "Come on Duke, you can tell me about it." she pressed.

                "I said figure it out Zel. You think I look like I wanna spill something right now?" he raised his voice slightly. Zelda appeared unphazed.

                "Duke, calm down kiddo! I was just asking if you wanted to talk, no need to be bitter about it!" she laughed. "Now come on, whatever it is---" That was it, Duke wanted that lizard out of his feathers.

                "I said BACK OFF!" He unsheathed his saber and made a weak swipe behind him. He walked off, hearing Zelda yelp and leap away from the poor strike, and then scuttle off down the hall. She deserved it, annoying little thing. He finally got into his room, shutting the door and locking it behind him. He went into his bathroom to get some aspirin, not calming from his anger until he looked in the bathroom mirror, and saw the blood on his sword.

 

                Northstar trotted into the Ready Room, followed by Diamond and Silver. Duke came in behind them slowly. The rest of the team, who was sitting watching TV, looked up and greeted the three.

                "Hey guys!" Wildwing waved, turning the volume to mute. "Nice of you to visit, I thought you were up in Washington."

                "Well we were, until we started getting whistled like crazy." Silver said. "We knew it was Duke, we thought it was for Zelda, but we got curious and came down just in case." Tanya frowned at Duke.

                "But you must have been whistling like that hours ago..." Tanya started.

                "Why did you call them down here anyways?" Nosedive asked. "There's no emergency..."

                "Well I don't know, Duke said he wouldn't tell us until all of you could hear." Northstar said. The team looked at Duke, who hung his wet head.

                "Wait a sec, if you were whistling all this time..." Grin started.

                "Zelda hasn't answered." Duke muttered.

                "Then she must be in trouble!" said Mallory, shooting up from the couch. Duke waved her down.

                "She is." he said lowly. "And I know why." he slowly pulled his sword from behind his back. The three leaders drew back, horrified. The team stood up immediately and started to come towards him.

                "Duke, what is all this?" Wildwing demanded. Duke put his head in his hand and sighed.

                "I dunno what happened... I was really mad and Zelda just wouldn't back off... I made this really weak swipe at her... I didn't know I hit her..." he started. Northstar stared the duck down with a hateful glare. Diamond went up and sniffed the blade, withdrawing.

                "That wound is deep..." she started.

                "Of course, look at the blood just from one quick swipe..." Northstar said bitterly in his deep tone. "Where did she go?"

                "I don't know...." Duke said. "I never thought she would get hit... I thought she would have had the instinct to jump back..."

                "She had the instinct to jump back alright Duke." Wildwing said angrily. "Just no to jump back from a blow from you."

                "Zelda trusted you too much Duck." Northstar hissed. "Thanks to you she could be dead by now! Come." he commanded, and started off for the door with his comrades.

                "Where are you going?" Tanya asked.

                "To search for her." Northstar said, turning once again on Duke. "Which is something you should have started doing hours ago! We'll leave disciplinary matters to YOUR leader." he snapped, and exited. Duke sat down Indian-style on the floor, and put his head in his hands. The team couldn't believe what had just transpired before them. Finally Wing snapped to order.

                "All of you, let's go. I want the Pond searched from top to bottom. Let's move!" he yelled. Immediately the team broke. Duke stumbled up and followed Wildwing hesitantly. He looked behind him, and Duke shied away in shame. "Well come on." he said sternly. Duke walked behind him, and out.

 

                The three leaders came back into the Ready Room at about 2:30 in the morning, soaked and worried. The Ducks sat with hot cups of coffee on the Room's couch, trying to scan for Zelda with Drake One, but not having any luck.

                "I knew I should have thought more of her..." Silver sighed.

                "Yes. If she had the power to move herself, she'd never for her life stay in the city." Diamond said shortly.

                "So you didn't find her." Tanya sighed nasally.

                "No blood, no scent." Northstar said. "It's all been washed away. We'll have no hope of finding her until daylight." The three sat down near the team.

                "Of course... maybe we should get some sleep for tomorrow." Wildwing started. The team got up and moved off rather mechanically. It was late, or early as you might put it, and they were all exhausted. Duke shuffled off with his head hung, still unable to believe what he had done. Had he really killed his teammate in an underestimated fit of rage? He couldn't stand it. He was haggard and frustrated, finally falling asleep.

 

                "I suppose I've been hard on the Duck." Northstar admitted.

                "Now if I'm right, you weren't all too thrilled about Zelda coming to live here in the first place." Wildwing asked him. All three of the leaders had split to stay in different bunks, and Northstar was with Wildwing for the night.

                "Aye. We are all for all that justice and freedom fighting... but a leader should be in her place to serve her kind. And fighting so hard like this.. well I have to admit I was afraid for her. I was rather judgmental of her coming to stay with you, but then of course I met you, and knew that this was something Zelda had to do. She has millennia still to stay stuck up in the Territory." he smiled. "But I am worried about her. I guess we're all a little overprotective of each other. Just the thought of her lying in a ditch somewhere, with that gash..." he shook his head.

                "We all have to have faith." Wildwing said, shaking his head.

                "I really don't mean to place so much blame on Duke. I understand that everyone gets angry..." Northstar said.

 

                "It's just so frustrating." Diamond spoke. Mallory listened sadly, trying to get herself to sleep. "We've always believed somebody's to fault. I guess I'm just too ready to place blame."

                "I'm sure Duke's being heavy enough on himself as it is." Mallory said. The young mountain lion lying on the floor before her nodded.

 

                Duke tossed in his sleep. He was dreaming and he knew it. He was outside, in the pitch black and cold. The rain slashed at the long grass that was in the dark field around him, but he couldn't feel the cold against him. The night was thick and black around him, the clouds blotting out the moon. But up high in the air, he could see something. It was Zelda, but she seemed distant. Still, he could make out every line, every bone and scale. She flew regularly, even placidly, out of the field he was standing in and over thick forest trees. As she flew, he could see her quite plainly despite the darkness, except he saw her shaded in a deep gray, instead of purple. The only thing he couldn't see were her eyes. There simply were none, just a gray, hollow socket. Then, the words he remembered her say up in conversation ripped through his head like an arrow.

                "The eyes are windows to the soul...." Suddenly, she wheeled and crashed violently through the foliage, and Duke lost sight of her.

 

                He started up violently, panting. A nightmare. He wiped the cold sweat off of his forehead and got up immediately. It was 5:30. Would the others be up? It was certainly light enough out to go looking. He got up and walked out to the Galley. Sure enough, Wildwing sat hunched over the table, slurping a quick cup of coffee down, while the leaders watched.

                "Everybody up?" Duke asked.

                "Not yet... we'll be ready soon." Wildwing rubbed his eyes.

                "What's the matter Duke?" Silver asked.

                "I had this really weird dream... I saw Zelda flying but she had no eyes... and she crashed into this forest."

                "No eyes?" Diamond was taken slightly aback.

                "Would you know this forest if you saw it in real life?" Northstar questioned. Duke frowned.

                "Yeah, I guess so, but I don't see--"

                "Then that place must be found. Dreams don't just occur Duke. They all have a meaning. Zelda may have been trying to tell you something." Silver said.

                "Whoa, heavy man." Nosedive came into the group, yawning. "The others have manned the vehicles. We've gotten Aerowing, Cycle, and 'Grator covered already."

                "Excellent, then Duke and I can go out on the gliders." Wildwing stood up.

                "And Tanya's staying here to watch the Pond." Nosedive added.

                "Great. I assume that you leaders are going to search on your own?" Wildwing asked.

                "We'll do whatever we can to help." Diamond said.

                "Good, you may want to team up with those on the cycles or gliders then." Wing advised. The leaders nodded and started to leave.

                "Follow your instincts Duke. Zelda's telling you something..." Diamond advised, exiting with her two friends. Duke shook his head and stood up.

 

                Wildwing shot over the hills and scrub brush outside of Anaheim. The city was just a bit more than a dot on the horizon now, he searched the ground. Despite the speed he kept, Silver flew easily beside him.

                "Anything yet?" the duck yelled.

                "Well if we're looking for a forest, there's one about five miles east of here!" Silver replied.

                "Good, let's head off there!" The eagle swooped upwards to catch a draft of wind, and zipped off. Wildwing hit the glider throttle and followed him. They saw the green forest slowly spread out ahead of them.

                "Okay, we'll circle the perimeters and head inwards. I don't know how well you can fly through trees..." the eagle started.

                "Through trees?" Wildwing asked.

                "Sure, you think you'll be able to see anything on the ground through the treetops?" Wing saw his point.

                "I'll land." And with that, the two parted. Wildwing zipped quickly around the edge of the forest, swooping low to look among the rough grass and brush. But there was nothing. He reached the edge of his search area and slowly landed. Tilting and removing the light glider frame from his shoulders, he looked up at the dense green trees. He pressed his hands to the sides of his Mask, hoping to find her. But there was still nothing. The clumps of trees created too much interference. He left the glider out in the sun, and proceeded in.

 

                Silver maneuvered agilely around the trunks and branches, still on the wing. He had been training himself at forest flight ever since he learned the art of flying. And it was difficult. The faster you went, the more concentration and care it took, so that you didn't smack right into a tree. Keeping one eye on the trees ahead, Silver watched the ground, running quickly over the brown leaves on the forest floor, the rocks, the young trees and ferns, bushes and logs. If Zelda had been hatched in spring or summer, she would be colored green or brown, and it would be nearly impossible for Silver to spot her at the speed he was going. But she was purple, a little odd color in a green forest setting. Suddenly Silver jerked to a halt in mid air, and looked behind him.

 

                Wildwing jumped over a log, landing awkwardly on the ground and stepping quickly forwards. The cry came again. High and crisp. It was Silver, he knew it. Maybe, just maybe... He jogged sharply over the leaves, around the brush and ferns. He reached a small outcropping of scattered rocks, thick trees growing among them. He parted through low-growing foliage, and found them.

 

                Silver stood above her, frowning. The dragon lay curled on her side, completely cocooned in her two wings. Nothing of her body was visible except for her tail.

                "She's alive." he said, relieved. Wildwing came into the clearing with them. Zelda shivered and slid her tail weakly across the leaves, but didn't move her wings. Wildwing knelt down as Silver gently tried to calm her. "Don't worry, it's me and Wing, Zel..." he started. Slipping his feathers gently under her exposed wing, he lifted it back. Zelda didn't resist. She lay crimped beneath her shell, a deep wound running from the lower side of her neck. Wildwing sucked the air in through his teeth.

                "Ow...." he said.

                "Look at this.... looks infected too." Silver sighed. The scales around the wound were tender and discolored, almost bluish. The wound itself had made no attempt at healing. "Hang on Zelda.. we're gonna get you back." Silver slid his feet under Zelda's front limbs.

                "You're gonna carry her like that?" Wildwing asked, alarmed. This was hardly the way to transport injured.

                "What, and do you have cargo space in that glider of yours? Can you carry her? Don't worry, she's used to it." Silver assured. Wildwing nodded.

                "Go ahead now, I'll catch up to you." he said, and made off quickly through the forest. Silver gently propped the dragon up off of the ground, and flapped his wings hard. Slowly, he rose up into the air and through the trees. The horizon was clear as far as the setting sun would let him see. He let out a cry, and headed back.

 

                Northstar gazed slowly at the now unconscious dragon over the infirmary bed, a look of great relief in his eyes. Silver and Wildwing stood together, answering to a rough cross examination of questions as to how Zelda was found. As Tanya started up the Medicom, the three looked up.

                "Well now what good will that do you?" Diamond asked.

                "It's good for providing data... We've used it to treat Zel a few times.." Tanya said.

                "Well I think we have all we need right here... I can reconstruct the whole scene." the lion said, stepping up beside her wounded comrade, who had lost consciousness on her flight back.

                "Then do so." Grin said.

                "Compiling the information as to how Zelda was lying when she was found, and the disruption of the leaf matter on the forest floor, Zelda fell though the trees at almost a vertical angle and hit the ground, bounced and rolled and then slowly wrapped herself up in her wings for protection." the lion said. "She's bruised herself a bit in the fall, mostly on the left hip. The wound itself is deep and infected, the blade sliced clean enough to partially sever a minor artery and vein. They've healed slightly and are in full use, but the wound has bled out, she probably lost between a fourth and a third of her total blood." Duke hung his head.... he still couldn't bring himself to see what he had done.

                "Wow, you're good." Nosedive said. Diamond flashed a proud grin.

                "I am chief medical officer to a good part of the clan." she explained. Diamond thought for a moment. "Where does Zelda keep that wooden chest of hers?" she asked.

                "In my bunk." Wildwing said.

                "Thanks. 'Star, do me a favor and go get a bunch of wild strawberries, will you?" Northstar nodded and ran off.

                "What, you hungry?" Mallory asked. Diamond smiled.

                "Regular forest plants they may be to you, but our kind has used common plants for centuries to treat their ailments." Northstar came back with a few plump berries hanging from their stems. "Excellent." Diamond said, and took them. She leapt up beside Zelda.

                "You see these wild strawberries are very acidic. If there's a wound that needs to be cleaned out, this will do the trick." Silver said.

                "It's not exactly painless, but it works." Northstar agreed. Diamond took the berries off of their stems, and squashed them in her furry paw, holding her fist over Zelda's neck. Slowly, the juice ran out, and dripped into the wound itself. The dragon came to life, curling up and whining in resistant pain. Grin and Tanya stepped forth, worried, but the other leaders held them back.

                "It's alright... the infection will die off quickly now, you'll see." Diamond assured. Zelda slowly recoiled, blinking slowly back into consciousness.

                "Well, there you are..." Silver grinned, peering up at her and smiling. The team crowded loosely around to see her. Duke parted his way though, he had an apology to make.

                "Zel... look, I'm really sorry about what I did..." he started. The dragon, still lost from speech and too weak to stand, looked up at him. Suddenly she let out a loud cry, reeling up and rolling over violently. Using her wrists to hide her head, she squirmed and whined loudly. "Whoa, easy Zel..." Duke started. The dragon somehow managed to shove herself off of the bed, and landed with a loud thud on the floor.

                "Stay back from her!" Tanya warned. "Let it run it's course!" Zelda staggered to her front paws, and tried to stand. Her left hind leg protested intensely with pain. The dragon screamed out and dragged herself across the floor, having lost all sense of direction. The hobbling, exhausted figure scrabbled onward until she bumped full into the wall, 20 feet from the door. Defeated and leaking strength, Zelda collapsed and continued to struggle, pushing against the wall and clawing at the floor, desperate to find some way out. The team slowly came closer as she drew her wrists up in front of her head, cowering and moaning bleakly. Her energy spent, her spasm of action closed, and her muscles started to relax. Silver quickly came up to her side.

                "Zelda relax... easy girl, it's okay..." he said, easing her head out of hiding, forcing her to look into his eyes. The dragon calmed slowly, still reeling from her effort, panting because of her expenditure. Her tongue hung slackly out of her mouth and her eyes were dulled a tint of light grey. Slowly, she closed her eyes, and fell away into unconsciousness again. Silver lay her head down quietly on the floor. He turned with the other two leaders, who were already facing Duke, the fur and feathers along their backs distinctively bristled.

                "What was that all about?" Wildwing asked, worried and confused.

                "She was terrified of me...." Duke started. He paced backwards as Wildwing stooped over and picked the dragon up.

                "But why..?" Diamond reasoned.

                "I agree, I know Zelda and she'd be the first to forgive anyone of a fault like that...." Silver said. Duke snorted. They were just trying to reconcile him, weren't they? He could take a hint. Duke left in a huff.

                "Was it something I said?" Silver hesitated.

                "Forget it for now." Mallory advised. Silver shook his head sadly as Wildwing placed Zelda back down on the table.

                "If she wakes up again we can't be sure she'll stay..." he started. He picked up a leather strap that hung from one side of the table.

                "You're right." Northstar sighed. Wildwing and Tanya proceeded to use two of the straps to secure Zelda to the table. Another strap was looped around her jaws, so she couldn't chew the others off. She looked a pitiful sight, but she was secure.

                "The Medicom'll watch her, we can get some sleep." Tanya said.

                "Yeah, come on." Nosedive yawned. The team and the leaders slowly filtered out, leaving the Medicom to run.

 

To be continued......