The depressing story

everything out the window. now it's about a mom unintentionally indirectly killing her daughter and herself at the same time. good vibes B)

BRAIN VOMIT:

 * main character: Nabkha, female, SandWing
 * daughter: Iceberg, SandWing/IceWing hybrid (is more of an IceWing than anything)
 * the father: North, male, IceWing
 * So basically Iceberg is potentially fatally ill and Nabkha, a trained healer, knows that the cure is up in the Ice Kingdom. Nabkha wants to go get it from a healer up there, but North tells her the Great Ice Cliff will just go and shoot her down before she reaches the Ice Kingdom since she's not an IceWing, and Iceberg can't go because they don't wanna risk her getting shot down since she's a hybrid. He takes the herbs that Nabkha says would be a good trade and flies off to go get the cure.
 * North doesn't return for a while and Iceberg is getting really really sick, so she thinks maaaaybe she should just go up and go herb-hunting around the tundra for the cure herself but not get too close to the Great Ice Cliff. She packs up some travel herbs + meds for wounds and takes Iceberg and sets off.
 * Along the way, Nabkha is hurt for some reason and uses all her healing herbs to get better then later they accidentally get too close to the Ice Cliff during a blizzard and Iceberg is shot and Nabkha can save her but also CAN'T because she used all the herbs on herself and then North finds Nabkha as she's dying from the cold (which had been slowly getting to her, because she's, y'know, used to desert temperatures / i'll make up some kind of hypothermia reason), and North is like "why didn't you just wait therrreee i have the healer right here now iceberg is dead and you're dying waa waa" and Nabkha dies realizing she killed her daughter pretty much.
 * The end. Good vibes.

RANDOM UNSEQUENCED BRAIN VOMITS OF WRITING
"Iceberg?" you yell, wincing and struggling to trudge through the snow. Snow bite like fangs against your scales and crunches under your talons. Every muscle in your body is frozen solid and aching. "Iceberg? Iceberg! Where are you?"

There's a thin noise, distinctly separate from the howling of the blizzard winds. Immediately, you spin around and strain your ears to hear. "M-M-Mo-om?" it calls. "Mo-oo-om?"

And then you're at it. Claws tearing at the snow as you dash forward, stumbling and falling and tripping left and right, but always getting up. Iceberg needs you. Your daughter, your love, your light- she needs you.

You spot her and, as if by a miracle, your legs pound even harder to reach her. She stands with bewildered eyes, squinting to see you, and all of a sudden you have your wings flare open and then close tightly around her. Here she is, soft and whole and wonderful beneath you. You can't tell if she's the one trembling or if it's you- or at least, who's shaking more.

"Iceberg," you whisper, voice faint and weak. "I'm here now."

You two curl together for a moment, regaining your strength. Your SandWing scales radiate small bits of heat, and you can feel Iceberg shiver as she savors warmth.

"We need to move," you say finally. "Find a cave- somewhere to take shelter."

"Maybe we can find some kindling," Iceberg mumbles, but you shake your head.

"We'll just wait out the storm," you say, teeth chattering.

"Gotcha." Iceberg gets up and disentangles herself from you. She takes a step forward as you rise to your paws-

The sound that follows seems to ricochet through your mind.

THUNK.

Red. An explosion of it, flying into the air and glistening in what little light there is.

THUNK.

The world stops. Everything is quiet, and suddenly you forget that you're in a blizzard, the snow whirling down almost gently. White. ''White on red. White on red.''

THUNK.

Now you react. Eyes wide, wide, wide with horror, jaw big enough to fit a melon, chest heaving up and down in shock. You're frozen. There are no words. You just take in the sight, focused on both the body in front of you and the blurry cliff to her back that you hadn't noticed in this weather until now. The Ice Cliff.

With a pop, time snaps back.

Immediately, your paws are lurching forward, a yell rocketing from your lungs. No. No no no no no no.

"ICEBERG!" you screech. "ICEBERG! ICEBERG, ICEBERG, ICEBERG!"

The shaft of a spear protrudes from her chest, staining the snow scarlet. Her eyes are glassy and lifeless, expression nothing but stunned.

Just like that, she's dead.

She was alive only two seconds ago.

Just.

Like.

That.

More screams, all tearing out of your throat. The icy wasteland is filled with them now. Cries of pure anguish and loss, nearly drowned out and stolen by the gusts.

This is shock. This is horror. This is a nightmare.

You don't know how you ended up snapping out of it. Or maybe you never did, because all you know is you're in a cave, Iceberg limp next to you, still marring the world with her blood, that damned spear in her back.

- - -

eh not sure how happy i am with this