Creative Corner

Day: mystery... Drop: [img]http://flightrising.com/images/cms/trinket/1056.png[/img] ------- Icarys tried not to think too much, these days. The silence had been easier at first, as he got used to not thinking. Then Torr had hauled him down off the rocks - everything had been a bit dizzy and funny around the edges by then - and brought him indoors with the others. But by and by even though they were around him, he could forget that they were talking to him, most of the time. He had a still, empty place inside his mind that he could go to - come in and out if he needed to, but most of the time curl up in it as if in a nest. Emberlin wasn't there, but the feeling of her was there, like a dark scarlet flash of scales just out of sight. When he stayed in the little empty place, he could pretend that she was just about to return, and everything else would have been a dream: everything that had happened since they'd gone with Metals to the woodland paths. The others were worried about him. He realized that, sometimes, when he came out of the empty place enough to talk to them and notice what they said back. One way he could tell was that Torr didn't argue with him anymore. Torr was being nice to him, really. Torr had lost Emhrian, Icarys would remember sometimes. Did Torr also have the little empty place in his mind to hide in? But Emhrian had died in her nest at home, with Torr huddled up beside her, licking at her torn crest and peeping softly to her till the end. Somehow that would have been easier. He knew dimly that Emberlin would have been alive if she hadn't told Metals to heal him instead. They had both been in danger; Metals had had to choose, and Emberlin had told her whom to choose... He wished that he had been next to Metals then - been the one who could whisper to her to save the other. In the little empty place in his mind, though, he could forget that the decision had ever come to be made at all. They were both equally alive, equally saved, and in a moment - definitely - without a doubt - Emberlin would come back. That was why he preferred to stay there. --- Kyuna couldn't sleep. Her mind was moving too much, like a Spiral in a barrel. [i]Torr says that the curse dooms us. I don't know if the curse dooms us. There is a curse, isn't there? No, that's certain enough. But what kind of curse? What sort of dark magic could have brought it about? And what can we do about it? We have to be able to do something about it. We must be. We have to be. We have to be...[/i] She re-settled herself in a soft ruffle of feathered wings and narrowed her eyes at Metals, sleeping in a tidy curl on the other side of the lair. [i]I need to learn more,[/i] she thought. [i]But she doesn't know. Does anyone know?[/i] [i]How can I learn?[/i] She remembered the first day she'd met Metals - the day she'd come home to the lair for the first time. [i]We taught Metals not to touch anyone because anyone who touched her would have terrible visions and fears,[/i] Torr had said. [i]Visions and fears.[/i] If she hesitated, Kyuna thought, she would never make her mind up. Fear curled around her spine and made her dark back-fur bristle, but she eased her way across the floor of the lair anyway, towards where Metals lay. Cautiously, carefully, she stretched out one clawed forefoot and laid it on the tip of Metals's wing. At first, Kyuna thought that nothing had happened. She'd expected sudden fire and doom, so she was surprised a moment. But then she realized that she no longer heard the breaths and soft rustling sleep-sounds of her clanmates; she was alone in the darkness and utter silence, with cool stone beneath her feet. She was no longer wearing her gloves and bracers, and chill air stirred around her legs. There was something heavy on her head, weighing it down. [i]This isn't so bad yet,[/i] she thought. Then she became aware of scratchings, rustlings, movement on all sides of her, coming closer. She huddled in on herself, oddly frightened, though she knew it was a dream - only a dream. The sounds did not seem like dragons. Something smaller, or else vastly large, and she was inside it, engulfed in it - No sooner had that idea come to her than she realized it had to be true. She was within a monster, and the monster was coming towards her, somehow, at the same time - She began to run. Her wings dragged on the floor, and the floor was wet. She could smell dank water and rotting leaves on the wind that now rose, now fell, like the breath of a huge beast. It was all around her - it was behind her - it was following her - she was beside it - below it - above - - and she was falling like a stone, her wings no longer obeying her, into the darkness and the cold that waited for her below, and she knew that when she hit the ground she would die - And she woke on the floor of the lair, her body spasming with fear and her breath catching in her throat, with Metals pressed back against the wall and watching her with a world of confusion and shock in her eyes. "I had a nightmare," Kyuna gasped. "I'm going to go out for a flight. I'll be back soon." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- @luckgandor @skylinecity

2 days at once: Drops: [img]http://flightrising.com/images/cms/food/102.png[/img] [img]http://flightrising.com/images/cms/battle_items/674.png[/img] ------ "That wasn't just a nightmare," said Torr. "What happened the night before last." Kyuna bristled a little and looked away. "Metals said you were right by her when she woke up," Torr said. He tightened his comfortable curl on the ledge and watched the sun setting, as if he had no notion where else he might look at the moment. "You were acting strange yesterday, anyway." "Well, we spent most of the morning fighting the beastclans," said Kyuna. "I was tired. And sore." Torr chittered softly. "You know that I don't believe you," he said. Then, a moment later: "You were trying to learn something about the curse, weren't you?" A day or so ago, Kyuna would have snipped back with a [i]well, if I was, then?[/i] but now, the choking terror of the dream pressed down on her in her memory and she remained silent. "I can't keep you from doing what you like," Torr said. "But you should be careful because others might get hurt, if you - dream things, and get frightened." He scratched behind one wing with a hindfoot. "I've seen it," he said. "Be careful." She shivered. "I'll be careful," she said and then realized that she had as good as admitted to Torr's accusation. But the patient blue and gray Fae didn't seem about to point that out. Whatever may have been said next had to go unsaid, though, since Metals came bounding out of the lair just then. "Have you seen Icarys?" she said. "Isn't he in the lair?" said Torr. "No," said Metals. "He's not." They pieced together the story as far as they could figure it out. No one remembered having seen the small blue Fae since noon, and it was almost full dark. "I should have noticed sooner," Metals kept saying. "He hides in the nest most of the time - it's not your fault - it's not hard to miss him - " Kyuna would falter in response. No one really wanted to go out on a search at nightfall, but they all knew it was necessary and began to prepare, almost without a word being spoken. Metals dove back into the lair's scanty hoard and picked up a few healing potions, the latest gift from the other lair's messenger. "It's best to be safe," she said. "And we don't know - " She left it at that. There were so many things they didn't know. "You think he might have gone to the old lair?" Kyuna suggested. "I doubt it," said Torr. "Or if he did, that they would let him stay there." His crest was slicked back against his neck scales, and his movements were quick and jerky. "We need to hurry. Anything could have happened to him." Kyuna packed some insects and other provisions, not sure how long they would be away from the lair. She hoped desperately that all this would prove for nothing, that they would find Icarys nearby and safe. But all over again, the fear was coming over her in waves: [i]"Death has followed us all the way from the old lair..."[/i] They set out into the dark, the three of them together: Metals running, searching for signs, and Kyuna and Torr flying above. The beastclans found them before they found anything else. A long, grim string of battles ensued - the half-healed gash across Torr's ribs opened again, leaving him reeling in the air for a while - Kyuna's breath was coming quickly, even though she was comparatively safe. Then in one dreadful moment, a Janustrap's bolt struck Metals in a wild welter of green and deathly magic, sending the Pearlcatcher stumbling backwards to collapse on the ground. Kyuna shrieked and dove in front of Metals without thinking. The other dragon staggered to her feet, dazed and swaying, and cast a quick healing spell - Kyuna could see the faint dazzle of it and slipped Metals one of the potions as well, before the next attack came. Metals was safe, but the fear was slow to fade. Then the gathering clouds above them finally broke, and a sudden crash of thunder heralded a stinging, sweeping wash of rain. The beastclans fled. The three dragons stumbled away to find a safe hiding place out of the way of enemies and downpour both, too tired to speak. At last, as they huddled in a dripping glade with Torr perched on watch, Metals murmured, "I hope Icarys isn't outside in this - he's still not well." Kyuna didn't say anything. She looked down at Metals's forefoot, a short distance away from her, and wondered if she dared try anything now. She could pretend it was an accident... [i]I have to do something about the curse. Fear can't kill me. But[/i] anything [i]can kill[/i] us. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- @Luckgandor @skylinecity

Day: 37! I counted! :)
Drop: Fish. I forgot what fish. Shellfish?

---

"Well, we're a sorry sight," said Torr. "Three dragons left out of - how many?"
"Stop talking about it - please, Torr." Metals was licking blood off her flank and not meeting his eyes. "We're doing the best we can." She felt awful for speaking that way to Torr, wonderful Torr - but she felt fairly awful to begin with.

The acrid wind of the Scorched Forest stung her eyes and made her cough as she breathed in. Some small sliver of her mind was singing with proud delight that they were even still alive, after their battles earlier. You thought you'd die on the woodland paths, and now look at you... But the rest of her mind was sick with exhaustion and fear.

They'd strayed too far in search of Icarys and found themselves in a place that only Metals knew, from her excursions with her brother and sister. But it had felt totally different this time. This time, she was there not as the younger tag-along whom everyone was looking after, but as the leader and the highest-level fighter.

Keeping Kyuna alive had been almost a full-time occupation, though. Metals glanced worriedly down at the huddled Skydancer, now darker and dirtier than ever, her bright wings dull with ash and blood. The wind that irritated Metals was making Kyuna wheeze and gasp for breath - at least, Metals hoped that it was only the ash-laden wind that caused her so much distress.

"We need to find better cover for the night," Torr was saying. "Kyuna, get up. We have to go a little further. I'm sorry."
Metals didn't think that Kyuna could stand, but the Skydancer staggered to her feet a moment later, wings dragging.
"A little further to where?" she rasped.
"We'll know when we get there," said Metals, trying to sound comforting.

Maybe she should have just gone looking for Icarys herself. That way she would have been the only one in danger.

---

@Luckgandor @skylinecity

Day: 39 Drop: [img]http://flightrising.com/images/cms/battle_items/676.png[/img] ------ They had found a place for the night and spent most of the next day there, looking after Kyuna and trying to pass unnoticed. Metals slept uneasily, dozing on and off, curled up in the mouth of the shallow cave they'd found - the roots of a fallen tree as its ceiling, and a well-scraped dirt floor beneath. It had not seemed quite natural, as if someone else - beastclan or dragon - had used it for shelter once upon a time. A foray out the following day led to a sharp scuffle with the beastclans. Kyuna held up valiantly, but Metals led a few retreats out of overcautiousness, not wanting to risk losing another of her lair. They returned back to their hollow by a roundabout route. Metals was hoping to rest before trying the homeward journey. She hated to give up on Icarys. But this wasn't giving up - only recognizing that they'd tried one thing and it hadn't worked. Perhaps he'd wandered home by that time, she thought. Perhaps he was dead, another part of her mind suggested; she quashed that idea quickly. If he were dead, she felt that she would know it somehow - as unlikely as that seemed. But some part of her [i]had [/i]known, almost, when the others died. Like a shadow in a clear sky, almost too dim for seeing but coming between her and the sunlight. Most of the time she thought she'd imagined it - but now, with Icarys missing, she clutched onto it in absurd hope. [i]I would know. If he weren't - there somewhere.[/i] It was coming on towards evening when they heard scuffling outside the hollow. Metals's heart almost stopped from fright, as she jerked out of her drowsing. Torr's crest flared, and Kyuna snuffled from her corner. But beastclans wouldn't land in a flurry and a beating of the wind like these newcomers did. Metals peered out, cautiously, magic at the ready if needed. "Say!" came a dragon's voice. "There's someone in our summer house. Lucent! Come look!" "I [i]am[/i] looking," chirped a Fae. And then Metals saw them in the gathering dusk: a long sinous green-and-gold Spiral, with the Fae dropping to the ground next to him, white and silver as a ghost in the dark. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=22597923] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/225980/22597923_350.png[/img] [/url] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=18249096] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/182491/18249096_350.png[/img] [/url] Their names were Arev and Lucent, it came out. They had been on their own for a while, after going traveling from their first lair. "You three are travelers, too?" gabbled Arev cheerily as he slipped down into the hollow. "It's been a while since we came across anyone else. Say, you're rather ragged, aren't you? Been fighting, I suppose?" Lucent didn't answer; he was watching Kyuna, as she untucked herself weakly from her place and coughed into her wing. "She's ill," he said. "You should get her away from here; the ash affects some dragons like this." "We're hoping to leave soon," said Metals. Torr gave her a look. "We're not travelers by our own wishes," she said. "We're looking for a friend of ours - he left the lair, and he's - not very well right now either. In his mind, I mean." Perhaps not quite the best way to put it, but certainly not wrong. "We live back in the Shifting Expanse," said Torr. Arev whistled. "You're a far way from home. Well, I guess so would we be, if we'd got one still. It's easier not having a home; then you can go where you like." "That's one way of looking at it," Lucent said. "Which I don't take, myself." He landed by Kyuna and nosed her softly. "Hullo, Smudges. How's all?" "My name's Kyuna," the Skydancer murmured, her yellow eyes slitted. "Kyuna, then." She coughed again. "Like I'm breathing sand, not air," she said. "Has it gotten better or worse since you came here?" Kyuna blinked at the worried faces around her. "I'm getting better - truly. Aren't I?" "Worse," said Torr. "Metals and I don't mind the ash anymore, but Kyuna's taking it badly." "You'd better get going as soon as you can," said Lucent, "if you want her to live. We'll show you the best way out of here, after you've had a little while to rest. Nighttime's safest to travel in, around here, and the wind's less." "Sure we can go with you," said Arev. "It's been ages since we've traveled with anyone. Company's fun." He tried to nudge Metals playfully, and she twitched back, alarmed. "I'm sorry," she said, at the surprise in Arev's expression. "I - don't like being touched." "Oh - sorry! I didn't mean to bother you." The Spiral took it in stride and lolloped away across the floor of the hollow. "I like friends," he said. "We know," said Lucent. "Everybody knows." He winked at Kyuna nearby. "It'll be good to get him someone else to talk to, before my ears fall quite off my head," he said. "Here, I'll be back soon - just out to find something to help you breathe better, Smudges." So suddenly they were five instead of three, and the hollow seemed both more crowded and more fun - though Metals had to curl up more tightly than before, so as not to touch anyone. The herbs and berries Lucent brought back seemed to ease Kyuna's cough a little, and Arev was practically rebounding off the walls trying to get Metals's attention. She finally found herself laughing and was surprised by how good it felt. [i]If only Icarys were here.[/i] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- @Luckgandor @skylinecity [i]I cheated. I wanted more dragons. Anyhow, this lot needed something to work out for them for once.[/i]

Day: 41 Drops: [img]http://flightrising.com/images/cms/equipment/9223.png[/img] [img]http://flightrising.com/images/cms/trinket/9660.png[/img] -------------------------------------- Home again, and safe. Metals had never realized before how sentimental she felt about their lair. But then, the trip back had been a nervewracking experience and no mistake: moving slowly to let Kyuna keep up, dodging enemies, trying always to hide instead of fighting. And despite a few close calls, they made it without any battles. Lucent knew safe paths, and to make the matter more certain he would roll in mud to dull his color and then fly ahead as a scout. He must have been exhausted by the end of the journey, but he didn't show it. Arev, in typical Spiral fashion, had chittered away until he had to save his breath for flying. He'd gotten it back by now, though, and was helping Torr with gathering for the day. Kyuna seemed better, despite the long journey home, or perhaps partly because of it. Her breath was coming more easily, and the desperate look had left her eyes. She lay near the doorway of the lair now, letting the sunlight warm her, and Metals watched her from a safe distance away. "She's recovering well," said Lucent, landing in a soft flutter of pale wings. Then, putting his head to one side: "I have to say I'm curious about your lair. A young Skydancer and a grim battle-scarred Fae led by a Pearlcatcher, all living in the middle of nowhere." Metals looked down at her forepaws. "We used to be part of another lair," she said, "but I don't remember it, really. I was very small when we left. We used to have others - but they're dead now." How small her voice sounded, against tragedies like this. "Torr lost his mate Emhrian, and Icarys lost his mate Emberlin. Icarys - it's been awful for him, and he hasn't been himself since. He went missing a little while ago. We went to look for him - that's how we met you..." "You've had a hard time of it," Lucent said. "Yes. We have. But... we've survived." Metals raised her head. "I've kept them safe as much as I can. I was sure I wouldn't lose another..." "You came close to it with Smudges there," said Lucent. He glanced at the sleeping Kyuna. "I've seen it before, with other dragons who've come to the Scorched Forest. I - " His voice broke off. "Kyuna chose to stay with us when she could have tried her luck elsewhere," said Metals. "I couldn't bear to have anything happen to her, after that." Lucent settled onto the floor, rearranging his wings comfortably. "Would your lair have room for two more?" he asked. Metals's heart beat faster for a moment. "You - want to - join our lair?" she stammered. Why would anyone make a choice like that? "It's been too long since we've had anywhere to belong," Lucent said. "Even with Arev talking up a windstorm it gets a little lonely in the wild. And you three could use our help, too. We can't fight much, but I fancy we could learn." She wanted to say something appropriate and somber and lair-leader-ish, Metals thought, but she couldn't think of anything. So she only said, "Glad to have you." Arev came out of the sky just then like an uncoordinated lightning bolt and skittered across the ledge into the lair, a dented metal helmet full of insects clutched in his mouth by its rim. "Dinner!" he squealed. "Torr and I found dinner and things." "So we did," said Torr, landing more sedately after him. "No, don't eat it yourself. Save it for later. Manners, you outrageous green squiggle." Arev chirped in mock aggravation and obeyed. --- It was sunset when Kyuna woke up, and the others were asleep early, tired out from their long day. She was tired, too, in every limb, but the rasp of her breathing had eased and the pain was fading. She made her shaky way to the ledge and lay down, stretching out on the cooling rock, watching the dull crimson bands of cloud fade to purple and then to black as the sun sank behind the rock spires. "I never spent very long in the Shifting Expanse before," said Lucent behind her. She twitched, then settled again as the Fae perched by her. "We're indebted to you for bringing us here," she said. "Maybe you could come back sometime." Lucent's crest fluttered. "I hate to break it to you, Smudges, but we're going to be staying, I think," he said. "As long as Metals doesn't change her mind." "That's so wonderful!" Kyuna chirped, without thinking. Some part of her had been dreading when the two travelers would set off again, taking their cheer and chatter and brightness with them. But then, like a dark cloud, memory and reality reinstituted itself. "I mean," she said, gently, "of course we want you to stay. But - it's not safe here." "Metals said that they tried to tell [i]you[/i] that," said Lucent. "Yes. They did." She remembered how afraid she'd been of leaving, when Torr had offered it to her. "But it's true, you know." Lucent chittered softly. "You're still here." "But - " She made a split-second decision, then, and swallowed hard. "There's more that you should know about us. Things that Metals doesn't know." Kyuna watched Lucent's crest fall, his golden eyes narrowing a touch, as she told him about the curse. About leaving the old lair. About the deaths that had dogged them ever since. And - with a shiver - about her own attempt to discover something about the curse. He was silent when she finished, and she waited, afraid of what he might say. At last he stretched one slim silver forepaw out and spoke again. "So that's how it flies," he murmured. "The tatters of a lair, sorrow's remnants, following a cursed leader into the dark, eh?" "Not into the dark," said Kyuna fiercely. "Metals is good; she fights for us, and we fight for her. We choose not to be afraid of the curse - whatever it is. Every [i]day [/i]we choose. We choose each other." Lucent looked up. "I could do that, I think," he said. "But you might die, if you stay with us," said Kyuna. "You might die too, but you're staying." "It's not the same. I - I grew up here." Why was she trying to convince him to go? She coughed again, but that didn't help the odd fluttery feeling inside her. "And you saved me - I don't want anything to happen to you. I like you. You're good - you helped us for no reason at all, and you're staying here even if it might get you killed - you deserve to be safe somewhere, and happy. Nobody's happy here for long." Her words ran out and Lucent only watched her, unblinking and quiet. "Well," he said, finally, "you deserve to be safe and happy, too, you know that?" Kyuna bowed her head, and their noses touched. Golden eyes met golden eyes, with the last of the sunset between them. "Oh - maybe I do," she said. "I don't know. I used to be happy - a long time ago." "We could choose to be happy," said Lucent. "Just like we choose to stay. I think it might be worth a try. What about you, Smudges?" Kyuna couldn't answer at first. She found she was trembling a little. "I think so, too," she managed at last. ---- Metals woke up in the middle of the night, half-remembered dreams clinging to her mind like cobwebs. Torr was asleep in the Fae nest, tail hanging from the doorway; Arev snored and twitched on the ground, tangled up like a strand of cord, head and feet and wings all sticking out at improbable angles. She saw the other two asleep by the entrance, though, with the moonlight falling onto them: one dark dragon and one bright as the moon, curled up next to each other. Nestled in between them was one blue-gleaming egg. Some obscure feeling between happiness and longing tugged at Metals then, but before it could gain any traction, she left the lair and sprang up into the night sky above.

@windward
Ping me for updates? Read it all in one, and its good!

@Moonlitmage
Happy to put you on the pinglist! I'm glad you like it. It's been fun to have a writing exercise to do.

@Windward
Same for my Pinkerlocke. ♥

Day: 43 Drop: [img]http://flightrising.com/images/cms/trinket/672.png[/img] ----- Torr had been trying for the last few days to get a chance to talk with Lucent, but one thing or another continually thwarted him. The usual thing was Kyuna: she and Lucent had become quietly inseparable, to Torr's decided unease. It wasn't that he mistrusted the newcomers, Torr thought, or that he was jealous, either: only that it made him nervous, somehow. He realized what it was at last, watching the two of them sprawled out on the ledge, sharing a pawful of beetles. Icarys and Emberlin had been like this, too, once: silently and completely wrapped up in each other. As if their minds and hearts had mixed a little bit and flowed into each other. He'd loved Emhrian, of course, and she'd loved him. But the two of them had always been separate dragons, for crying out loud. Emhrian had had friends in the lair long before he'd come around, and she spent at least as much time with Emberlin as she had with him. That hadn't prevented the fierce, bitter sorrow that came at her death, but afterwards there had still been so much to do - so much to go on with. And he couldn't bear to think of Kyuna someday becoming a vague, ghostly shell of herself the way Icarys had - didn't want to imagine her lying outside in the rain, heedless of the storm, eyes dim with watching for someone who would never return. Not, of course, that talking with the new Fae would help any of this. But Torr still wanted to, and finally he got the chance. --- "So how are you liking being settled down again?" Torr asked, as the other Fae flew next to him. Their shadows crossed the bare ground far below. "Very well, thanks," said Lucent. "How are you liking Arev?" Torr did not want to fabricate a polite response, but Lucent's crest waggled in sudden amusement as he dithered. "He's a pawful, isn't he, or an earful rather." Lucent did a neat dive and rise in his flight, twisting in the air to meet Torr again. "We've flown together for a while. He's far happier than he'll admit to, though, getting others to be with." "He brought me a jar of green slime this morning," Torr said. "I said [i]in what way could you possibly consider this useful, you phosphorescent noodle[/i] and he started making up a list of ways." Lucent's hilarity increased. "That's our Arev." Then, serious again suddenly, "You're not so happy about Smudges and me, are you?" The other Fae's keen powers of observation left Torr dumbfounded for a moment. "It's not that I'm not happy," Torr said. "Just - I expect you to be good to her, and don't let her go believing things that aren't true." He eyed Lucent sharply. "I practically raised her. We found her when she was a tiny hatchling - right after Emhri died. She doesn't remember any other lair. We're her family. If you're going to be part of her family too - " "I'm staying, if that's what you're going after," said Lucent. "Do I look like the flying-off sort?" "Not only that." Torr wheeled in his flight to meet Lucent's eyes. "Take care of yourself. Don't make her think you'll be around forever anyway. None of us know what the next day's going to bring. There are secrets about this lair you don't understand - " "If you mean about the curse, she's told me about it already." Lucent dove to catch a flying insect and frilled his crest, almost haughtily to Torr's eyes. "So what are you trying to tell me? That I'm going to die soon and I should tell Smudges not to wail for me? That sounds a bit like a threat, though I fancy you didn't mean it that way." Torr hadn't realized at the start of this conversation how much he was beginning to dislike Lucent. "It's not a threat," he said. "It's only - you're not one of us, and you don't live like one of us." "Smudges and I," said Lucent quietly, "made up our minds we weren't [i]going [/i]to live like you. She's had enough of death and sorrow and waiting for the next one to fall. We're going to live while we can, and you lot had better get used to it. I know you've lost friends, but that doesn't mean [i]she's[/i] got to be sad all the time." Torr snapped at the silver-gleaming wing ahead of him without thinking. Lucent banked and swerved clear, eyes bright. "And just because I don't know how to fight yet doesn't mean I can't keep myself alive as well as any of you, either!" he said. "You wait and see - Smudges and I are going to live to see our hatchlings grow up, and it's not your place to tell us otherwise, either! She's right, you know. The only way we'll ever break the curse is by not being afraid of it." They did not finish the flight together. Lucent decided to go digging somewhere, and Torr angrily gathered insects until dusk fell. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- @luckgandor @skylinecity @moonlitmage

@windward
Poor Torr, trying to protect his adopted daughter. Poor Lucent, trying to be the best part of his new Clan. I feel bad for both of them, on opposite sides of the same problem, both trying to solve it in their own way.