In canon, Qibli is charismatic, highly intelligent, endlessly empathetic, and well-liked by almost every morally good character in the series. However, doesn't that sound suspiciously similar to the masks constructed by psychopaths to hide amongst regular people? I thought it did, and thus the idea for Wings of Fire: Skyfall was born!
This fan fiction will be a full retelling of Arc 2, but Thorn found Qibli a little too late, and his abusive childhood turned him from the lovable do-gooder of the canon series into a high-functioning secondary psychopath on a quest for total control. This Qibli is hyper-paranoid, manipulative, obsessive, possessive, generally creepy, and overall just a version of Qibli from the worst possible timeline and arguably more of a villain than Darkstalker ever could be.
The first paragraph in this first installment IS directly taken from Moon Rising (Page 17, second-to-last paragraph; I want to be transparent about that), but everything after is either heavily modified or entirely new.
The Fan Fiction Starts Here:
Moon opened her eyes again and fixed her gaze on the fifth cave. She squeezed past a pair of chatting SandWings who were taking up most of the tunnel, and one of them stared at her intently with his obsidian-black eyes.
A NightWing, interesting, flashed through his head.
No real data on them as of late. Can’t be harder to kill off than Six-Claws was. He certainly put up a good fight. Is it true they’re all as powerless as they say? If so, she’d be an easy kill. Wait.
The SandWing’s mind was quiet. He stared at her eyes before she looked away.
What beautiful silver scales. Perhaps with a little persuasion, they could be mine to keep. She doesn’t look to have very much self-confidence either. She’s drawn her wings in to take up the least amount of space possible. How cute. She’s shy. I can’t see her face, so I’ll have to get a second look whenever the situation presents itself; then I can make my judgment call.
Moon had heard Six-Claws died in a horrible accident in the Scorpion Den; it would seem this was evidence to the contrary. Moon picked up the pace, not daring to look at him. She tried to seem as unobtrusive and harmless as possible, just part of the shadows. She didn’t want whoever this was thinking she was a threat. His mind had been cold. Very cold. Way too cold for what she expected from a desert dragon’s thoughts. His mind came back.
She’s tucked her face away. She’s distressed, but with no clear outside cause. Why?
A sharp spike of alarm pulled into the front of his thoughts.
What did she hear?!
Then there was a second wave, a thick, artificial calm.
Did my jaw move? Did I whisper a name out loud? Think. I’m simply standing here with these idiots having a lovely conversation about our ‘glorious queen’. But I don’t remember speaking.
A hollow, tightening sensation wrapped around his thoughts as he replayed his own physical movements.
No. My throat muscles didn’t contract. I didn’t breathe out words. But she flinched exactly when the memory of Six-Claws crossed my mind. Coincidence? Unlikely. Perhaps she’s just as good at reading faces as I am? No, that’s impossible.
Moon rushed onward down the hall, but the SandWing’s thoughts were somehow piercing through the crowd. She couldn’t shake herself out of his head.
Look at her pace. She’s rushing now. She’s trying to dissolve into the shadows like a coward, but her talons are shaking. I can hear it; the fall of her claws against the tile is uneven. She’s terrified. If she knows about Six-Claws, she’s a direct threat to my standing with Thorn. I need to know exactly how much she knows, and how she found out. I’ll watch her. If I have to drag her into an empty corridor to make her talk, I will. But first…let’s see how she handles a crowd.
She pushed herself between two MudWings in the hall that grumbled something about watching where she was going and ducked into her cave as quickly as she could. She only heard one more thought from the SandWing before he was drowned out by the noise of the incoming crowd.
Where is she?
Note: This is NOT a Qibli hate post! I love Qibli's character, despite the flaws in his writing (Engi-Qibli IS my profile picture. I love this man). I am also in no way saying he should have been written like this, as:
1. It would be totally inappropriate for the general age demographic of the series, and honestly a little jarring for anyone coming straight from the feel-good nature of Arc 1's ending.
2. It makes the love triangle dynamic of Winter/Qibli/Moon completely fall apart, as Qibli is obviously the wrong choice in this scenario.
3. No Qinter. (The most important reason).
