Eclipse watched as the RainWing stepped out from the cage and Aardwolf picked up a loose chain that was attached to the clamp around her neck. He didn't think she'd be able to do much or be able to get very far with all that metal weighing her down, but she was their best chance of getting the information they needed. As distasteful as it was to have her chained up like some kind of feral beast the glare she shot Aardwolf was enough to make him at least somewhat grateful that they had a guard with them for this.

Eclipse leaned his head down slightly as Dreamseeker whispered to him. "It is. Queen Ember never did anything like this, not for something so petty as theft. She would maybe make them pay a fine or do something valuable to the kingdom, but she never chained anyone up." He did feel bad for this dragon, "I think I'm happier with her being chained up, at least for now, she looks like she wouldn't hesitate to rip all of our scales off to get out of here."

At Drought's impatient clap and words he jumped slightly before hurriedly following after her, back through the narrow tunnel behind her tent and into the main oasis area of The Scorpion Den. He could hear the faint clanking of chains behind them as Aardwolf dragged the RainWing forward with them. He bowed his head towards Drought as she walked back towards her tent, "Thank you for helping us. Giving us a prisoner and one of your own guards to help escort is very kind of you."

He let Aardwolf take the lead with the RainWing as they journeyed back through the streets to the healer's tent. Several other SandWings were giving them odd looks, but thankfully no one tried to stop them and ask any questions, not even the ornery guards that heckled them earlier. As he stuck just his head back into the open flap of the tent he could see most of the other injured dragons had settled down to sleep and Viper was sorting through supplies at the back of the space nearby where Skua laid. He shifted uncomfortably at the thought of having to tell him they'd be saddled with more dragons, at least he knew Aardwolf was somewhat capable and should be a valuable ally.

He turned to face Dreamseeker, "Maybe let me tell him about all this? I think he'll take it better if it comes from me rather than any of the rest of you."

Eclipse frowned slightly at Skua. His friend definitely didn't seem to be well enough for the quick flight that would get them to the rainforest by evening as Drought suggested. He also wasn't sure arriving in the rainforest as night was falling would be safe for them. Even with the RainWing, who he wished he knew the name of, they would be out of their element and still recovering from the injuries they sustained in the fight with the bandits. He sighed quietly as Skua covered his head. He could only guess what kind of stress he was feeling at the prospect of having more dragons to watch out for.

He glanced towards where Aardwolf stood with the RainWing's chain in claw just silently watching their conversation; looking faintly uncomfortable with this whole situation. He settled onto the ground in front of Skua, his muscles thankful for even the short reprieve, he wrapped his wings around his friend before leaning in slightly so that none of the other dragons could hear him. "I know this isn't the ideal situation, and I don't really like it either, but as...odd of a character as Drought is I think she may have a point. We didn't exactly have much of a plan when we left home and insider information could be our best bet. I imagine Aardwolf is a capable fighter in his own regard so we'll at least be adding some extra muscle to the group."

They would likely have to travel somewhat slowly since the RainWing had to be chained up, so that would at least take some of the strain off of them when it came to their journey. Hopefully they could find a place to settle for the night on the edge of the rainforest rather than going directly in while it was dark.

He stood back up, his wounds groaning in protest, and smiled gently at Skua, "I'll always worry about you Skua. Someone clearly has to."

He turned to look at the other three dragons, "I guess we should get moving then."

Aardwolf felt weird being this far away from The Scorpion Den. He'd lived his whole life in the desert and while he was excited to see something new, he felt faintly like he was abandoning his home in the midst of a looming war. He didn't even understand Drought's reasoning for him going. She could've picked any of the guards from the holding cells to escort this RainWing and he could've stayed. If they were lucky they'd be done with this quickly, he could leave RainWing in her home, and go back to the Den. Maybe he'd quit being a guard and do something else more fun. He liked the idea of that.

As they settled down into the clearing he had to pull one of his feet out of the thick mud with a loud sucking sound. He shook his claws and scowled at the ground like it had personally insulted him, which it essentially had. He hated the humidity and constant unfamiliar noises. Moons he missed the soft shifting sands and wide open skies of the desert.

He kept the chain of the RainWing's shackles looped tightly around his leg and held around his wrist with a leather band, just in case she got any ideas in the night. He watched Eclipse and Skua across the fire, the latter seemed twitchy and nervous, looking towards any sound that came from the trees around them. He curled his tail around and watched the fire reflect off the needle sharp point. He didn't think any creature would be stupid enough to attack five dragons, but if it was they'd make short work of it.

As Dreamseeker came back he was struck by the compassion she showed the RainWing. A dragon she didn't even know and had no personal connection to, yet she was going out of her way to find something for their prisoner to eat. He shook his head slightly baffled as she slipped back into the forest, her dark scales well hidden. After finding a boar and whatever else she'd brought back she still wanted to help. It was more than most of the SandWings he knew ever did. He was just as confused as Skua about this unusual dragon.

"She's a strange one," he commented towards the other two, "Never really had much interaction with NightWing's but she doesn't really fit the stories. Aren't they supposed to be super arrogant and condescending?"

Aardwolf chuckled slightly, "Seems like this is a whole group of odd characters." He didn't expect to get sent out on this journey when he woke up that morning, but he couldn't say that all of this wasn't at least a little bit exciting. Going out into the world and potentially stopping a war. What young dragon wasn't interested in doing something like that. He got the impression that Skua didn't particularly like the fact that all of them were there, but at least Eclipse seemed to be more willing to accept all of them coming along.

He saw Eclipse roll his eyes at the jab and flick Skua with the tip of his tail as he sunk his jaws into the boar that Dreamseeker had brought back, "You can't say she hasn't been helpful to have around. She did save your life, more than once actually." He looked up as Dreamseeker stumbled back into their camp with fruit in her arms.

Aardwolf had a similar thought to Skua. He knew literally nothing about the fruits of the forest and the bright yellow of the skin didn't give him any kind of indication if they were poisonous. He frowned at Dreamseeker's request. Drought had told him not to unchain her, but she did need to eat, and it was just the muzzle. "Yeah ok," he looked towards the RainWing, "You aren't going to try anything stupid are you?" he flicked his tail, "It would be really easy for us to stop you."

He reached into the pouch that he had strung around his neck and fished for the key to the muzzle. It took him a second to find it among all of the other random knick-knacks he had thrown in there but eventually he pulled the small iron key free and unlocked the muzzle from around the RainWing's snout.

Aardwolf chuckled slightly as Eclipse stuck out his forked tongue at Skua at the tease before they all turned their attention back to the RainWing. He narrowed his eyes and watched her carefully for any sign at all that she was going to try and pull something. Whether that be attack them or try to get away somehow. His usually jovial demeanor muted by the tenseness of the situation. He would've been much happier just helping to escort these three than drag this prisoner along as well.

At Dreamseeker's gentle question and the immediate vitriolic response from the RainWing he and Eclipse both bristled. He felt his tail curl up in response and a low growl in his throat. He agreed with Skua, "I can put this muzzle back on just as quick as a strike of my tail," he narrowed his eyes further until they were menacing, dark slits, "So I suggest you watch yourself very carefully as I decide what I do next." He pushed himself to his feet with his tail poised up over his back.

He didn't like the high and mighty attitude this RainWing, Jaguar, had. She certainly hadn't done anything to warrant it. The other two clearly agreed with him as Eclipse snapped to his feet at her response to Dreamseeker with his teeth bared at the other dragon, rage simmering in his eyes. "I'd watch your mouth if I were you," his voice low and dangerous, "None of us take kindly to rudeness towards our friends." Eclipse took a step closer to Dreamseeker to brush his wings with hers while keeping his snarl firmly fixed on Jaguar.

Aardwolf help his position, towering over the RainWing, claws in position to snap the chains around his foreleg down and bring the prisoner to her knees if she thought she could get away with anything more than she already had.

Aardwolf huffed slightly but let his tail drop back down. He kept the slight glare as he settled back down, "Well we have to keep some semblence of order," he waved a claw flippantly, "If we just let everyone wander around and steal whatever they want we wouldn't have much of a home now would we." He didn't know what Jaguar had been through or why she was even in the Scorpion Den in the first place, but even if they had a good reason, they couldn't let theft slide. "If we give leeway to someone then everyone is going to expect it." He knew Drought was a bit...odd, but she kept them safe well enough and that was the most important thing.

He nodded in agreement with Skua, "I'd rather we all play nice, but if I happen to have my back turned," he shrugged, "Well then I wouldn't know."

He watched as Eclipse gave another scowl towards Jaguar, still hanging around close to Dreamseeker, "Why won't they help us? All we want to do is as them some questions, not wage war on another kingdom. That isn't an outrageous request."

Aardwolf swiveled his head between the members of their party as they talked, aimlessly plucking feathers from some tropical looking bird that had been caught. He didn't have any knowledge at all about the RainWings beyond what he'd heard through rumor and now here with Jaguar. If they were as lazy as he'd heard or as prickly as their prisoner he wouldn't be surprised if they didn't have any interest in helping. He figured it would probably be best to keep those opinions to himself and let the actual RainWing answer.

Aardwolf was surprised with the venom that laced Jaguar's voice as she talked about her own kingdom. If they only cared about themselves and never came out of the rainforest then what was she doing out? He supposed that was a question for a later time. He wasn't about to divulge his life story so he couldn't expect Jaguar to do it. This was certainly a strange bunch and they all had their own problems. This was just the bigger problem.

He remained silent as Dreamseeker and Jaguar spoke. He was just as curious about all of this as the RainWing was. He only knew the bare minimum that Eclipse and Dreamseeker had told Drought to gain her favor. Even those small details, the assassination of Queen Ember and the confusion that followed, were enough to make his scales prickle with nerves.

"A lead on who assassinated Queen Ember," Eclipse responded quietly, "What was used to kill her came from the rainforest and no one knows it better than the RainWings do." He traced random shapes into the mud with one claw, "There's virtually no information on the kinds of things that live in the forest or what types of poisons are there, so this is our best shot. It melted her scales off, surely they must know about something that dangerous."

Aardwolf frowned slightly. Shouldn't the next in line or the head of the guard be out worrying about this. Instead it's three young dragons who don't even seem to know the way of the world. He looked towards Jaguar, "You wouldn't happen to have any ideas about what this poison could be do you? It could save us a trip." He watched for her reaction intently, trying to see if he could discern anything about her feelings on everything she'd just heard.

Aardwolf blinked in surprise at Jaguar's explanation of what this "poison" was. Not a poison at all but a venom of sorts. Did that mean that it was a RainWing who was responsible for Queen Ember's death? He didn't think that was likely as Jaguar seemed insistent that they didn't care about the goings on outside of the rainforest. He stared at the shriveled mess of a plant and felt faintly sick at the idea of that hitting a dragon. It matched up with what Eclipse had said in regards to what had happened to the queen's scales.

He turned and looked at the other dragons, Skua seemed surprised and Eclipse's dark scales looked like they had paled considerably. "They said it was a dart, so does that mean one of the RainWings gave over their venom willingly to the assassin?" He shifted slightly uncomfortably, "Or is there a way that it could be taken by force?" He didn't like either option.

He had hoped an explanation would save them from having to traverse the forest, but now he felt it was even more important for them to go in. They needed to see what the RainWings knew and if one of them was somehow responsible for the assassination. If they were would they have to keep that information to themselves? He didn't see the SkyWings sitting back and letting them get away with it. At best they'd try to hunt down who was responsible, at worst they'd burn the forest to the ground. There were too many questions about all of this and it was starting to make his head hurt.

Aardwolf's eyes pinging around between each of the dragons as they talked. This was much more than he expected to get roped into. More than just this assassination now the RainWings were complicit in the murder by handing over their venom willingly. Maybe this Lemur was involved with the dragons who were responsible? He had no idea. This was all making his head spin. Jaguar, at least, seemed to be in staunch disagreement with what the rest of her tribe had done. Maybe this meant that she could actually be of some help to them. All of this also explained why she was at the Scorpion Den in the first place rather than with her tribe. He shook his head in exasperation at the absurdity of it all.

He couldn't particularly tell if she was telling the truth or not, but he'd take Dreamseeker's word for it. Jaguar also seemed much too indifferent to it all to be lying. "Do you know if Lemur is still with the tribe? If they were the one doing the collecting then they must've done the delivery as well. They could at least tell us which tribe the dragon who wanted the venom is from."

Eclipse nodded in agreement with his question looking like he had just snapped out of his own thoughts on the subject. "Why were the other RainWings so willing to give their venom over?" He looked both irritated and concerned, "Did they not think about what some other dragon might do with it or did they just not care?" His voice got heated and his tail twitched across the muddy ground behind him as he went on, not at Jaguar, but at the ones who caused all of this.

Aardwolf thought for a moment before looking back towards Jaguar, "You said you were one of the only ones that refused to hand over venom. Do you think that the others who refused might be willing to help in some way?"

He heard Eclipse snort slightly, "I doubt they would. Just because they didn't want to hand it over doesn't mean they'll be willing to put in the effort to help."

"That's true I suppose," Aardwolf sighed, "Couldn't hurt to try though, right?"

The group had exploded into chatter, and Skua flicked his tail in annoyance. Who cared if the RainWings gave in their poison or not? What mattered was to who they gave it to. The RainWings weren't at fault as long as they weren't complicit... which could seriously be the case. Though why would RainWings want to take part in potentially starting a war? He glanced over at Eclipse at his question and nodded in approval. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I already don't like these RainWings. Who would do such a thing?" he pointed his question in the direction of Dreamseeker and Eclipse. "I mean, if a war does break out because of this, do you think the other tribes would punish them?"

"I... don't know," Dreamseeker appeared very overwhelmed. Her head hung low and she looked even more tired than before. "But I agree that this is all pretty disheartening."

"If you're actually intent on going to the RainWing tribe, I could show you where it is. Lemur should still be somewhere in there, but... I don't know if they'll actually be pleased to see me." Jaguar continued. "They don't really like me much, so if you have a plan on getting them to trust you, then maybe it's best if you leave me out of it."

"Hmmm..." Skua glanced between Aardwolf, Eclipse, and Dreamseeker. "I agree with the RainWing-- we actually need a plan before we trudge into the middle of their tribe and ask for their help. Any ideas?"

Aardwolf sighed slightly. He knew this whole situation was complicated, it could be a cause for war after all, but he didn't expect this many tribes to be involved. He'd only ever really dealt with other SandWings so hell if he knew how to get another tribe to trust them. His only job was to look tough and stop Jaguar from running off, not come up with intricate plans.

"I don't know. I can't imagine even the RainWings would willingly help start a war, but they are still involved." Eclipse looked over towards Skua, clear concern written across his face, "The SkyWings wouldn't let them get away with it. I know my parents might call for reason, but that wouldn't stop the more hot headed members of the tribe from going and trying to seek their own form of justice."

Aardwolf raised his head from where it had been resting on his claws as Skua looked over in his direction. "I'm not really one for coming up with smart plans, but I can say for sure that we'll need Jaguar's help navigating the rainforest," his eyes flicked to the RainWing for a moment, "There's no maps or anything of the area and I'd rather not spend days stumbling around trying to find where they've set up." He saw Eclipse nod in agreement and relaxed a bit, "As to your point Jaguar, I don't know if we need full trust since it's just some questions, but if you'd rather stay out of the way then once you get us there you could stay out in the trees."

Eclipse nodded along as Aardwolf talked,"I think our best bet is to have Jaguar lead us to the tribe, she can join us or stay out of the way, and either ask to talk to the queen or to Lemur. It'd be nice if we could talk to both honestly, but we'll have to see if we get that lucky." he turned his full attention to Jaguar, "Is there anything you could tell us that would help get the information we need as quickly as possible?"