Dragonspeaker: A Dragonslayer Sequel (Reupload)

Chapter 15: Brook

BROOK

Brook hauled herself up to another branch, taking a moment to catch her breath. The wind barely grazed against her hair and skin, though it bothered her eyes. She couldn't help but feel a bit cold, however. The apple tree's leaves gently swayed with the breeze. Moons, I hope none of them fall... Glancing back down at the ground, she let herself grin smugly as Lark and Petal watched.

"Brook, I swear to the moons that you'll be the death of me!" Lark groaned, clenching her fists.

Petal nudged Lark's shoulder, laughing. "Brook's still intact though, right?"

"Yeah, Lark!" Brook cut in before Lark could reply. "Though I'm flattered that I'm going to end up being the cause of your death. I mean, me, Brook? Really?"

Lark narrowed her eyes. "That's not something you should be proud of and you know it!" She took another step to the tree trunk. "Get down here before you fall!"

Sticking her tongue out at Lark, Brook instead climbed a bit higher. She worries too much about me. For the moons' sake, I'm a fully fledged Wingwatcher, not an apprentice! Her gaze now locked on a nearby apple, she carefully made her way towards it. And besides, she'll be changing her tune once I manage to collect a few apples on my own. Both of them will be so impressed with me!

Annoyed, Lark crossed her arms. "I think there's a better way to get apples than this."

"Well, this is faster and besides...getting on your nerves is the highlight of my day," Brook replied, smirking at Lark.

Huffing, Lark whipped around to face Petal. "Petal! Convince her to stop before she gets hurt!" She demanded.

Petal shrugged, smiling awkwardly. "Well, everything looks pretty fine right now. I wouldn't worry too much. And besides, Brook's a full Wingwatcher now! She knows what she's doing! ...Or at least, I hope so."

Rolling her eyes, Lark glowered Brook. "If you break anything, I'm not going to pity you one bit."

Brook returned the gesture, grabbing onto another branch. Oh, whatever. She knows I'm not going to break anything if I'm careful, which I am being. Lark's just being a worrywart. Though she was confident nothing bad would happen, she could somewhat see why Lark would have some concerns. Rose was a far better climber than her, and it didn't help that Brook's main reason for climbing the tree in the first place was to impress both Petal and Lark. A ridiculous attempt at that, but...

She reached for a nearby apple, pawing lightly at it. Only her fingertip managed to touch it, but despite that, the apple didn't move one bit. Letting out something of a growl, Brook shifted closer to it on her branch. Ignoring the shaking of the branch, she inched towards it, her heartbeat racing. With a grunt, she swiped at the apple, causing it to hurtle towards the ground. She yelped, now tightly gripping the branch upon seeing the ground. Petal caught the apple, jumping onto her stomach to reach it. Lark gave them both a disapproving sniff.

"Are you both serious? Brook, I hope you know how dangerous that was!"

Petal shrugged. "I think she's well aware, Lark. But do we really need to gather more apples? We did this yesterday..."

Catching her breath, Brook glanced at another branch overhead her, eyeing the apples. "It's mid autumn, Petal. We might as well take these before it ends." Carefully grabbing onto the branch, she smiled to herself. "Besides, we'll have some leftover, so we can keep these for ourselves!"

Lark crossed her arms. "That seems incredibly selfish."

"That's why we'll get enough to have leftovers for us! Commander Sparrow won't mind if we get a few without ordering us to," Brook retorted, leaning slightly against the trunk for balance. "So don't worry about it."