A lime colored rainwing with orange stripes and blue horns padded out of its hut. He stretched his neck up to the sun and soaked in the warmth. He liked the sun, yes, but he was not lazy like the other dragons. He loved adventure, so he explored the jungle during his free time, collecting fruit and guarding the rainwings, though, there was nothing to guard from. A shadow passed over the rainwings face momentarily. He snapped open his eyes.

"hey Liriodendron," mumbled a voice. It was his mate, Lily.

"yes?"

"why are you awake? Sun time is not over yet." She cocked her head, a concerned yellow rippling through her scales. She was the only one who actually cared about him, and the others. She too was different, though she was still pretty lazy.

"um, i couldn't sleep." he replied. Another shadow passed overhead. Liriodendron squinted up at the sky. Liriodendron is the scientific name for the tulip tree, so he thought it was very fitting for his mate to be named Lily. He liked that it wasn't froo froo like flowershine, glimmer, or something like that. This time when the third shadow darted overhead, he saw what it was. The silhouette of a dragon. Liriodendron shivered, though the rain forest was humid and warm. It was sun time, Why would Rainwings be flying?

"unless they aren't rainwings," he muttered.

"wazzat?" mumbled Lily, who had fallen asleep. Her aqua scales practically glowed.

"nothing!" Liliodendron plastered a fake smile unto his face. His mate muttered something indistinct and flopped her head back down, snoring loudly. Lilodendron turned back around and looked up. The next dragon that passed by was lower, and Lilio caught a glimpse of sand colored scales, and a black tipped tail. More Sandwings flooded out from behind it. The rainwings were under attack!

"SANDWINGS!!!!!" Liliodendron cried, just as the canopy erupted into flames, and sandwings rained down.

Liliodendron knew that the rainwings were doomed. They were sluggish, and groggily waking up, looking around, just confused. They also, Lilio knew, would not use their venom on the attackers. He looked over and saw leaf, waking up, his scales turning form confused light blue, to terrorized white as a sandwing stuck its poisonous barb into his back. His scales faded to gray before his eyes closed. Liliodendron ran over to lily, forcing his white scales back to lime. A sand wing thudded between them, it's back to Liliodendron. Lily screamed, and without thinking, Liliodendron spat acid on the sand wings back. The dragon screamed as its scales sizzled.

"Master said you would not use venom!" He wailed, wobbling and pitching over the side of the branch, his wings disentigrating. Lily looked at Liliodendron, eyes wild and scales white.

"He...  Almost... Killed... Me..." She panted, "but you killed him!"

"I had to!" Protested Liliodendron. Lily smiled weakly.

"I know." She replied. Lilodendron gasped as a sandwing dropped out of the sky onto his back. Lily screamed, melting into the shadows, invisible. Liliodendron screeched as the sandwings claw raked down his side. Liliodendron threw him off, biting its shoulder. He spat venom between its eyes, and the attacker blindly tethered off the side, pitching down to join his friend. 

"RAINWINGS, USE YOUR VENOM, CAMOFLAUGE, ESCAPE!!!" He screamed in panic, staring at the blood flowing down his side, sticking out among the white scales. He looked around in relief as he saw the rainwings melting away beneath the sandwing a claws, and retreating into the shadows. He scowled though, when he saw nobody was using venom. He pinpointed the queen, and flapped at her, looking back at how he always pretended a bush was an attacking dragon. He instantly regretted wishing for action. Liliodendron slid in front of the queen, hibiscus, just as the sandwing attackers tail came down. He roared in agony, knowing that the poison was fatal, but the dragon had missed his heart. He could survive for a while to protect his tribe.

Hibiscus stared down at him, lying on the ground, and then around at the gray bodies of her tribe. She shook her head, as if waking from a trance.

"You saved my life," she whispered to Liliodendron, whose scales were a grim gray.

"We have," he gasped, "we have to get to the sky. The sandwings won't be able to follow us, for the sun gives us energy, and darting around the trees gives us great flying skills." He was breathing heavily. "We must.. Must take to the skies." He repeated, face a grimace of pain. Hibiscus looked up and around at the sandwings, killing off her people one by one.

"Ok..." She said in a hushed voice. "RAINWINGS, TAKE TO THE SKIES, ITS OUR ONLY HOPE!!!! AS YOUR QUEEN, I COMMAND YOU TO FLY!!!!" She roared. Liliodendron weakly looked up to see patches of air blurring. The rainwings were following the order. Hibiscus looked down at Liliodendron. "You have to get up," she nosed his side. Liliodendron weakly staggered to his feet. "We have to join our tribe." Liliodendron nodded weakly, jumping into the sky with his queen. His flight was jagged and slow, but he managed to keep up with his queen. The sandwings were roaring in fury, flying after them, but they were slower.

"COME ON YOU USELESS WORMS!!!!" Screeched a female sandwing that looked to be the commander,  "THE QUEEN SAID TO ELIMINATE THEM!!!!! ALL OF THEM!!!!" Liliodendron beat his wings faster, despite the growing pain. He and hibiscis made it to the cloud layer, where the were surprised to see they could walk on the clouds. Patches of air shimmered around them, turning into 32 pale faced rainwings, what was left of the tribe. Lily ran to Liliodendrons side, who was lying on the cloud, his blood turning it red. The rest of the rainwings had minor injuries. A scratch to the foreleg here, a torn wing there, but nothing serious.

"Cactus." Mumbled an elder rainwing, who surprisingly made it that high. "I think it was cactus juice or something that cured the poison. But the cactus lies in sandwings territory."

"Then we shall get it," boomed Hibiscus in her regal voice, "Liliodendron has saved this tribe from exctintion. We are in his debt. The tribe of the rainwings has changed. We are no longer fruit eating sloths. We are survivors."