Creative Corner

[center][b]Entry 5: Nightwing[/b] [i]Day 5[/i] [item=ambush] Result: Heads Sentence: DEATH STREAK[/center] ----- We sat there silently for the next few minutes, trying to digest what Willow had just told us. [i]An exiled heir?[/i] As unbelievable as it sounded, my senses told me her story was true. The Nocturne turned to me. "Well? Is that enough for you?" Willow glanced at me as well, her emotions giving away her nervousness. I shrugged. "Well, she's not lying. I guess she can stay." Willow's relief was palpable. "Thank you. You won't regret it," she promised. The smile had returned to Nettle's face. "Never doubted you for a moment," she said to Willow, beaming. "So, are we ready to go?" I turned to the road ahead of us. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess so." ***** "When did you manage to buy a tome?" I asked Nettle in bewilderment as we walked, Willow fluttering by me. "I was with you the entire time!" She grinned mischievously. "That's for me to know. Anyways, I thought it might be useful for you." I watched in horror as she opened the book and flipped through the pages carelessly. "Stop, you'll tear it!" I cried out, snatching the book from her. She rolled her eyes, but reached over to flip to a certain page. "I just wanted to show you some of the spells." I stare in wonder at the page before me. It contained the instructions to casting a water bolt, down to the tiniest details and precautions. "Nettle, this… this is amazing." I grinned at her. "Thanks." She smirked, before turning to Willow. "Don't worry, I got something for you too." She handed her a similar tome, except this one had the Nature instead of the Water symbol embossed on the cover. Willow accepted it with the same awe that I had, handling the book with reverence. "Thank you," she told Nettle gratefully. "I'm still figuring out my healing abilities, but I'm sure I'll be able to pick up a simple spell or two. "Shouldn't you know some Nature magic already?" I asked her. "I forgot most of it during my hibernation," she answered sheepishly. "Plus, my magic has been dormant so long, it's been difficult getting back into shape." "Huh," I said thoughtfully as we turned into an alley. I never knew that magic could become dormant, but I suppose it could've been a side-effect of her hibernation sleep. "Well — " [i]HSSSSSSSSS….[/i] My blood ran cold. The sound was coming from the other end of the alley we'd just entered that was shrouded in shadow. "Do you hear that?" I asked. "Hear what?" Nettle and Willow seemed genuinely confused. The sound, it was familiar to me. I'd heard it before, right before we rescued Willow… "Run," I ordered. "Run!" Figures were emerging from every shadow of the alley; dark, twisted beasts with black eyes and grinning teeth. [i][b]"Why, hello, Nightwing…"[/b][/i] they hissed, a chorus of voices echoing through the alley. [i][b]"We've missssssed youuu…"[/b][/i] "Night?" Nettle's voice trembled. "There's too many…" I glanced around wildly, searching for an escape route. There weren't any. One of the cockatrice lunged towards Willow. "Oh no you don't!" Nettle snarled, leaping forward and sinking her teeth into its neck. It gave a loud screech, before sinking to the ground. As I stunned one of the dryads, another one jumped over me to send a blast of magic at Willow, knocking the Fae out of the air. I ran forward to help her, but a sharp pain brought me down. "Ah!" I cried out, reaching around to find a basilisk clamped onto my hind leg. I hit it with some magic, but it didn't budge, instead tightening its hold. "Get off me, you little — !" Some colourful language left my mouth as I continued to pummel at it with both magic and physical force. It was only after the fifth blow that the bird let go. As I prepared to finish it off, a powerful force slammed into the basilisk and did it for me. A small green form landed in front of me. I nearly swatted it away, before realising it was Willow. "Hey, don't hit the healer!" She scolded. Her hands were surrounded by a green aura, and as she held them over my leg I could feel the damaged tissue heal. In the end, it was Willow who carried us through the fight. She dashed between me and Nettle, healing us and administering health potions whenever her magical reserves got too low. I had to admire the Fae's dedication to her job; if not for her, we'd probably be dead. Finally, the monsters stopped coming. The three of us stood in the middle of the street, surrounded by blood and carnage. Tendrils of dark matter escaped from their former hosts, congealing into a dragon-like form before me. [i][b]"Nightwing…"[/b][/i] It hissed. The darkness parted to reveal a wide, horrendous grin. [i][b]"How wonderful to see you again… If only we had more timeeeee…"[/b][/i] The darkness sighed, a guttural exhale. [i][b]"What a shame… Until our next meeting, then…"[/b][/i] The ghastly figure turned away. I blinked, and it was gone. "Night!" I became aware of someone tugging at my arm. "Stop staring into space! Something's wrong with Willow!" I snapped out of my trance. The healer had collapsed to the ground in a small heap. I swore and ran over. Fearing the worst, I placed a claw on her head, before sighing in relief as I felt her magic pulsing beneath the skin. "She's alive," I told Nettle. "What do you think happened?" Nettle asked me as she knelt next to the Fae. I frowned, concentrating. Her magic was a lot weaker than usual. "She probably exhausted her magic reserves and just needs some rest." I settled her on my back, and gestured for Nettle to strap her in as I glanced around nervously. "We need to keep moving." Nettle secured the Fae on my back. "Take the lead then," she told me. As we continued on our way, my thoughts returned to the Shade. Why had the dark apparition chosen to focus on me, instead of my teammates? Why had it acted like we'd met before? But most importantly, why did it feel so familiar to me?

[center][b]Entry 6: Nettle[/b] [i]Day 6-10[/i] [item=scary storybook][item=marsh choker][item=magnetite][item=crop cutter][item=damaged battlehorn] Sentence: Coli + Writing[/center] ----- We spend the next few days on the run, fending off subsequent attacks from the Shade. Willow had woken up a couple of days after the first ambush. Physically, she'd recovered, but her magic reserves were still very low. "Being away from my home territory means it takes me longer to recharge, because I can't draw magic from my surroundings," she'd explained. She made up for it by dashing around during battle and administering health potions. It kept us alive, at least. Nightwing, on the other hand, had managed to learn one of the spells from his tome over the timespan. While it wasn't the most powerful, it helped significantly in our fights. As we took down the latest wave of Shade-touched monsters — a pair of dryads — he hurtled a huge bolt of water at one of them, effectively knocking her out. It took a few more blows from me, but I managed to take down the remaining dryad. "Right," I panted, straightening. "I really hope that was the last of them." This pair had been roughly the tenth wave of monsters the Shade had thrown at us that day, and it was starting to annoy me, badly. At this point our skills had improved to the point where taking down these monsters had become more of a hindrance than a life-or-death situation. A movement in the corner of my eye interrupted my thoughts. I turned to look, and sure enough, one of the dryads was twitching. It was the one Nightwing had blasted with water. I lunged forward without hesitation to pin the creature down, but recoiled when I saw its eyes. It was no longer solid black, but the most beautiful shade of green imaginable. Having come from the Southern Icefield, I'd never seen such a colour before. "P-Please," it choked out. I turned to Nightwing, feeling uncertain. "This one doesn't host the Shade anymore," I told him. He frowned. "Even so… we can't trust her. Might be safer to just kill her off." "N-no! I-I…" I loosened my grip slightly on the dryad. She gasped for air, before continuing. "Please… please don't kill me. I can be useful!" Nightwing looked skeptical. "How so?" "I could be a lookout," she suggested. "I'm good at finding shelter." Willow's expression was hard to read, as it usually was with Fae, but I'd learned to deduce her emotions from her fin movement. Right now, she seemed dubious. "Even in here? You're a Nature spirit." "An Earth spirit, actually. The original dryads are my cousins." She gestured at the buildings around her. "I can sense the stability of the earth and the foundations of the buildings. I can even strengthen it." Nightwing still didn't look convinced. "And why would a dryad want to ally herself with dragons?" The dryad's ears drooped. "The Shade has taken over most of the wildlife in these parts… all but the dragons. I can't honestly say that I like your kind, but it's safer to be with you than with my own people." "So you're just going to leave your friends behind?" I asked. Her gaze dropped to the ground. "They're not my friends anymore," she murmured sadly. The three of us dragons exchanged glances. Nightwing turned to the dryad. "Stay here," he ordered, before pulling us a small distance away from the dryad. I was the first to speak up. "I vote she stays." "I vote no," Nightwing argued. I rolled my eyes at him. "Of course you would. You're you." I turned to Willow. "Looks like you're the tiebreaker." Willow glanced over at the dryad, who was patiently waiting for us while sitting cross-legged on the ground. She considered it, before finally declaring, "I think she should stay." "Yes!" I cheered. Nightwing groaned, but seemed to have expected it. I walked up to the dryad and grinned broadly. "Looks like you'll be joining us. In that case, I think some introductions are in order. I'm Nettle, that's Nightwing — " I ignored the dirty look he shot me "— and that's Willow." The Fae waved at her. I turned back to the dryad. "So what's your name?" "Maple. It's a pleasure to meet you." [center][img]https://s8.postimg.org/pyhdu8p85/Screen_Shot_2017-11-27_at_6.11.50_PM.png[/img][/center]

[center][b]Entry 7: Nettle[/b] [i]Day 11[/i] [item=pretty purple neck bow] Sentence: [s]Breed two dragons[/s] New dragon![/center] ----- We were walking along the alleys, when out of the blue Maple came to a stop. "Lost," she said. Nightwing frowned. "What?" "Lost," Maple repeated, her head swivelling from side to side. "Something lost…" Without warning, she took off down the alley. "Wait!" I shouted, running after her with Nightwing on my tail and Willow right behind us. She dodged from alley to alley, winding further and further into the maze of ruins. We tried to follow her, but the dryad was too fast. Soon enough, she disappeared. I came to a stop, panting. Nightwing cursed from behind me. "We should've made a leash for her." I frowned. "She's a [i]person[/i], Night, not a pet." "A person who happens to be a former enemy who could lead an army of monsters straight to us," he pointed out. Well, I couldn't argue with him there. "Maybe she'll come back?" I suggested. He snorted. "Yeah, well, the chances of that happening are — " He was cut off by a shout. "Over here!" We turned to find Maple walking towards us, with something — no, someone, in tow. I gasped, poking Nightwing in the shoulder. "Night, it's a hatchling!" I'd met Imperials before, but only adults. Despite being bigger than Maple and nearly the size of Nightwing and I, it cowered behind the dryad, looking terrified. Maple gently coaxed it out. "Come on now, these people are alright. You'll be safe with them." It took a little more persuading, from both Maple and I, but finally the hatchling crawled towards us hesitantly. I gently patted it, and it gave a little squeak of happiness. I nearly melted. "Night, look, it's so cute!" I squealed, jumping up and down. The Skydancer groaned. "Nettle, don't even think about it. Don't — " "Can we keep it?" He slumped over. "Why do you even ask when you know you're going to keep it anyways?" [center] [img]https://s2.postimg.org/mke3r9xex/Screen_Shot_2017-11-28_at_10.52.54_PM.png[/img] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=37605057] [img]https://s2.postimg.org/hyhzitgzt/Bluebell.png[/img] [/url] [/center]

[center][b]Entry 8: Nightwing[/b] [i]Day 12[/i] [item=fiendcat] Sentence: New dragon![/center] ----- Willow and I were sitting by the fire, the Imperial hatchling curled up and asleep next to us. Nettle had named her Bluebell, despite my arguments that her wings were more purple than blue. The hatchling seemed to like the name, though, so Nettle won out in the end. As usual. Speaking of the devil, she still wasn't back from her patrol with "Hey, Night?" It took a moment to register that she was calling me; usually only Nettle used that name. I found that I didn't mind, though, so I turned to face her. "Skydancers can sense others' emotions, right?" She asked. I frowned, suspicious. "Yeah, why?" "When we first met Maple, did you sense any sort of… [i]hostility[/i] from her?" "No," I admitted. "So why didn't you want her to join us?" I looked at her in confusion. I thought it had been obvious enough. "Because it wasn't safe?" "But she hadn't given any reason for you to distrust her." I was starting to get annoyed. "This conversation isn't going anywhere," I muttered irritably, but replied anyways. "I didn't — I don't — trust her because I don't know her. More than just a stranger, she's the enemy. Dryads don't like dragons, and the feeling is mutual. Thought you would know that." I didn't like the way she was looking at me, like she was analysing me from head to toe. "Oh, I know. I just wanted to hear your opinion." I narrowed my eyes, but before I could say anything Nettle entered, with Maple and some strange cat behind her. "Look what we found!" She said excitedly, tossing something into my arms. The object was warm, fluffy, and… alive? "Oh, you have [i]got[/i] to be [i]kidding[/i] me." [center] [img]https://s2.postimg.org/gkqcndk9l/Screen_Shot_2017-11-29_at_4.33.40_PM.png[/img] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=37657895] [img]https://s2.postimg.org/aiipxggk9/Unnamed.png[/img] [/url][/center]

[center][b]Entry 9: Nightwing[/b] [i]Day 13, 14[/i] [item=Chalcedony Craylet][item=Depin Hide] Sentence: Coli + Writing[/center] ----- We christened the Tundra hatchling Lemon. The name was originally just a joke from Nettle, but the hatchling liked it so much she wouldn't respond to any other name. It seemed that we were stuck with it. The fiendcat that had arrived with her, a loner that Maple had picked up along the way, couldn't speak our language, so the dryad had spoken on his behalf. "There's no direct translation to his name, but he likes to be called Azar," she told us. No one dared argue. As to our other hatchling, Bluebell had shot up in size over the span of a night's sleep. She was now larger than both Nightwing and Nettle, and although they never said much about it I could sense that they were slightly intimidated by the Imperial's size, especially considering that she could only grow more from this point on. Not that I could blame them for being alarmed. Bluebell mostly stayed with Lemon and her fiendcat. When they'd first met, Bluebell had been hesitant to play with the Tundra, being three times the size of her. The other hatchling had been just as afraid as the Imperial had been hesitant. Over the next few days, they'd slowly relaxed around one another. Bluebell was still very careful with Lemon, but they could now frolic around without worrying too much. Of the two hatchlings, Bluebell had picked up speech swiftly and could now form complete sentences. Lemon, on the other hand, was struggling even with Maple's help. She made up for her lack of proficiency in speech in her prowess in healing, however. The Tundra was a born healer. Just by watching me heal Nightwing and Nettle, she'd figured out some of the basics. With a little help from me, she was soon able to heal some of Nightwing and Nettle's smaller wounds. Onto the dryad, Maple had been a huge help to our small party; scouting out campsites, taking care of the hatchlings… Even Nightwing admitted that she'd proven herself useful. Our party was growing, and in spite of Nightwing's grumbling, I felt happy about it.

Just updating to say that I am rewriting the later entries. I might not update a new entry for a while because I want to figure out the story a little more before continuing.

EDIT: I've finished rewriting! Time to move on to new entries.

[center][b]Entry 10: Willow (Part 1)[/b] [i]Day 15-17[/i] [item=Seeker Brooch][item=stubby squid][item=bronze steampunk scarf] Sentence: Writing + Coli + New dragon (moved from main lair)[/center] ----- As we were walking, Maple came to a sudden stop. Nightwing opened his mouth, but the dryad shushed him. "There's something coming!" She hissed. Beside Lemon, Azar bared his teeth in a snarl. I strained my ears, and then I heard it; the familiar hissing that preceded the Shade's attacks. "Other way," Nettle suggested. Maple shook her head. "There's something coming up that way too." I took a deep breath, gathering the magical energy within me. "Looks like it'll be a fight, then." Out of the shadows crawled a trio of stranglers, gnashing their teeth savagely. From behind, a pair of wildwood owls emerged, snapping their beaks and screeching. "We need to even it out," Nightwing stated. "Willow, take care of the owls with Bluebell and Maple. Lemon, Azar, you're with me and Nettle." We had no time to argue before the creatures descended upon us. If I'd been in a team with Nettle and Nightwing, a pair of owls would've been easy. But Bluebell had never been in battle before, and I needed Maple to protect her. It looked like I would have to single-handedly battle the owls. I recalled a spell I'd read in the Nature tome Nettle had gotten me; the leaf bolt. I'd only managed to produce it once before, but I figured now was a good time to try. I gathered my energy, shaping it into what I wanted. It lashed out, fighting against me, but I forced it to comply. With a grunt, I thrust it outwards and it took the shape of a huge blast of leaves and vines which knocked the owls off their feet. Behind me, Bluebell and Maple cheered, but the battle was not over. As I hit one of the owls with another blast, the other dug its claws into my shoulder, tearing through the scales and the tissue beneath it. I felt the warm liquid trickle down my arm. Blocking the pain out, I gathered my energy once more, dodging the owl's next blow which landed on my tail instead and left three deep gashes. With a cry, I sent the last of the magic spiralling towards it. The vines punctured straight through the owl's body, and it gave a pain-filled shriek as it crumpled to the ground. "Willow!" As I turned wildly, Bluebell gestured from behind a crumbled wall towards my other friends. A third owl was sneaking up behind the others. Maple had hidden Bluebell away safely behind the crumbled ruin, but in the process she'd left the others open to attacks from behind. Nettle was the nearest, and she was oblivious to the owl creeping towards her. "Nettle!" I shouted. I flew towards them, ready to fire a burst of magic their way, when a bright flash blinded me. "Ah!" I cried out, trying to blink the black spots away from my vision. When it finally cleared, it revealed a carrot-coloured Pearlcatcher dressed in furious red robes. Atop his head was a black cavalier hat with a extravagant red feather jutting out from it. Nettle, Nightwing and Lemon were staring at him in a mixture of surprise and confusion. He grinned at us as he sheathed his cutlass. "Hello, there. I'm Arc." [center][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=31180078] [img]https://s17.postimg.org/gqm4jxzfz/Arc.png[/img] [/url][/center]

[center][b]Entry 11: Willow (Part 2)[/b][/center] ----- Arc, as it turned out, was one of the traders from the trading post. He had been on his way out of the City when he'd heard the battle and came over to help. "Leaving?" I'd repeated thoughtfully. "So you know the way out of the City?" "Yeah, of course. I've been trading here for months." He raised his chin proudly. "I'm probably your best bet out, to be honest. Maps aren't always accurate. The city is… well, I don't want to say [i]alive,[/i] as some others would, but it's unpredictable. Sometimes roads you've used for ages are suddenly blocked off by ruins, or a turn you used doesn't exist anymore. But us traders learn to make our way around, figure out new paths." He shrugged. "Since we're both finding an exit, I could join your little party? It's always safer to stick in a group, after all." Even Nightwing couldn't argue with that. It seemed that the vote was unanimous; Arc was staying with us. Nettle was immediately taken with the dragon. She walked with him and his wagon of clothing in the front, enraptured by his tales of the distant lands and the foreign clans he'd met. The trader seemed to like the attention; I noticed the way his chest seemed to puff out a little as he spoke. Nightwing, of course, hated it. For the rest of the day, he continued to glare and grit his teeth at the pair laughing and chatting in the front. I had my suspicions on why he was so annoyed by the new dragon's presence, but decided it was probably better if I kept my mouth shut. I attempted at striking up conversations with him, but he seemed fixated on being moody, so I left him alone. Night fell, and we set up camp in one of the abandoned buildings. I noticed the way Bluebell kept shivering, and how she was the first to settle down next to the fire. Lemon didn't seem to mind the cold, probably because she was an Ice dragon and a Tundra at that, but we didn't have anything for Bluebell to keep warm with. Thankfully, the solution was quite literally in front of me. "Hey, Arc?" The Pearlcatcher turned his attention from Nettle to me. "Would you happen to have some winter clothing for Bluebell over there?" He flashed me his brightest grin. "What kind of clothes trader would I be if I didn't?" He soon procured a pair of thick, heavy cloaks for us; dark blue for Bluebell, and brown for Lemon. "Free of charge," he declared. Nettle opened her mouth to argue, but Nightwing gave her a look that said, [i]it's free, just shut up and take it.[/i] He turned to Arc and grudgingly thanked him. "It's no problem," the Pearlcatcher assured us, but I noticed the way his eyes darted towards Nettle, as if seeking her approval. I wasn't the only one; Nightwing's eyes narrowed at the smile exchanged between the two of them. I smirked. [i]Well, this should be interesting.[/i] ***** In the morning, we were woken by Nightwing's shouting. "STOP PECKING AT ME, YOU DUMB BIRD!" He roared, swatting at a little green ball of feathers. The baby owl flew out of his reach and hooted happily at him. "Looks like you've made a new friend, Night," I told him, struggling to hide my laughter. He glowered at me. "I don't want a new friend!" He snapped. "How did this even happen? Who was supposed to be on patrol?" My smile disappeared. Nettle had taken the last shift, but she was nowhere in sight… along with Arc. Just as my worried gaze met Nightwing's, however, the sound of laughter rang through the room. Nettle and Arc emerged from the doorway, their smiles faltering when they saw everyone awake and staring at them. "Where were you?" Nightwing snarled, leaping to his feet. "We were just patrolling outside!" She answered defensively. "Why, what happened?" He pointed accusingly at the little bird next to him. "[i]That. That[/i] happened." Nettle stared at the bird for a moment, before bursting out into laughter. "Awww, looks like Night's made a new friend!" She cooed. "It's not — " He sighed, exasperated. "That's not the point! The point is that you let this thing slip past you! What if it had been one of the Shade's minions." Nettle rolled her eyes. "Calm down, [i]dad[/i]. It won't happen again, alright?" Nightwing didn't reply; he seemed to have been stunned by her calling him 'dad'. Nettle took it as him conceding, and stepped past him towards her bags. The morning went on as usual, but the air was tense. Even Bluebell and Lemon could sense it; the two of them were a lot less chatty than usual, and they were constantly looking between Nightwing and Nettle. Arc was smart enough to keep his mouth shut and eat his breakfast. As for me, I was deep in thought. I was happy that Nettle had finally found a companion for herself, but I couldn't help but worry too. Nightwing did have a point; what if having Arc around distracted Nettle? It could cost her her life, or even the life of the others in the group. I just hoped it wouldn't come to that. [center][img]https://s17.postimg.org/40a31a1rj/Screen_Shot_2017-12-05_at_9.55.09_AM.png[/img] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=37605057] [img]https://s17.postimg.org/8kw9gfye7/Bluebell_winter.png[/img] [/url] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=37657895] [img]https://s17.postimg.org/jkhgs8z5r/Lemon_winter.png[/img] [/url] [/center]

[center][b]Entry 12: Bluebell[/b] [i]Day 18[/i] [item=bluegill] Sentence: Coli[/center] ----- Today, Lemon, Arc and I went out to hunt for the first time. We went out in a trio because apparently it's an unspoken rule amongst dragons, according to Maple. Lemon wrinkled her nose when she first heard this. "That's a stupid rule," she told Maple. "The more people, the safer it is, isn't it?" "That's right," Maple agreed, "but more people also means more likelihood of drawing attention. When you're travelling, that's fine, because you only need to worry about fighting off monsters that attack you. When you're hunting, you're catching them, so you need to be sneaky. Three's the best." Arc backed her up, so we took their word for it. The three of us made a good team. Arc and I were better at melee fighting, while Lemon stayed behind and blasted them from afar. Whenever one of us was wounded, she would swoop in and heal us. It made me feel better knowing she had my back. We returned in good spirits, each carrying a bag of fresh food, only to find Nettle and Nightwing yelling at each other with Willow in between, struggling to keep them apart. When she saw us, panic flashed across her face, before it settled into anger. "That is [i]enough![/i]" She yelled, her eyes glowing green. I'd never seen her show so much emotion, or magic, before. The two dragons on either side of her were blasted backwards in a flurry of leaves. They sat up and stared at the furious Fae between them, stunned. Willow was breathing heavily, but she gradually calmed down, releasing her rage in one long exhale. "[i]We,[/i]" she told the both of them, "will settle this [i]later.[/i]" The two of them nodded, still in shock. Willow turned away from them and towards us, her usual calm expression on her face, but it was more forced this time. I was quiet throughout dinner, even more so than usual. As Lemon and Arc chatted beside me, I observed the founders of our party; Nettle, Nightwing and Willow, all sitting at least a tail's length away from on another. The three of them were the parents I'd never had, no matter how much they denied it. So to see them so divided, to the point of [i]physically[/i] fighting each other… it scared me.

[center][b]Entry 13: Nettle[/b] [i]Day 19[/i] [item=river wiggler] Sentence: Coli[/center] ----- Willow and I took the first watch. Originally it had just been me, but Willow claimed she couldn't sleep so she stayed up with me. We both sat around the fire, deep in thought, surrounded by the other sleeping members. I couldn't believe Nightwing. My friendship with Arc was [i]none[/i] of his business. And to claim that I was being careless and neglecting my duties, just because I decided to patrol the outside a bit with Arc. I was still watching out, wasn't I? I just didn't understand why he suddenly had such a grudge against me. As fun as it had been opposing him in everything, his pessimism and paranoia was starting to get on my nerves. And Willow… I wondered why she'd suddenly burst out like that. It was almost as if she didn't want us to be arguing in front of the younger ones, which I guess made sense. But for her to have such a strong reaction to it… "Hey, Nettle?" I was startled by the sudden interruption of my thoughts. "Sorry, yeah?" "How did you end up here, in the Hewn City?" I cracked a smile, the first time in hours. "It's nothing as elaborate as your tale, trust me. I was commissioned by one of the clans here in the Sunbeam Ruins to train with them, and they sent one of their members to bring me here. On the way, the guide thought we could shave off some time by travelling through the City instead of going around it, and I agreed." I snorted. "Dumb move, looking back on it. We got separated during a fight with some of the Shade's minions, and I ended up wandering around the City for quite a while." "And that's when you met Nightwing?" I stiffened. The last person I wanted to talk about was that infuriating Skydancer, but Willow deserved to hear the full tale. "Yeah. I was looking for a place to sleep, when I literally stumbled across him in one of the buildings." I grinned ruefully. "He was really deep in sleep; he didn't even wake up after I fell over him and kicked him in the ribs." I frowned, recalling the first time I saw Nightwing. "It was really weird, actually. I didn't think about it much at that time, but he was practically comatose. It took a building falling on him to wake him up." "I'm sorry, [i]what?[/i]" I shrugged. "The building we were in wasn't very stable. At one point, while I was fighting one of the monsters, I got body-slammed into a wall. Whole building just collapsed, with Nightwing in it. I dug him up, half-dead. Luckily I had healing potions with me. He woke up a couple of hours later, and I guess he felt indebted enough to agree to travel with me." Willow appeared to be thinking hard; her fins were tenser than usual. "Did he say how he ended up in that coma?" I shrugged. "He told me he didn't remember. I figured that he was probably just lying and didn't want to talk about it. Pestered him for a long time, but he kept insisting that he didn't know." "Or maybe he [i]really[/i] couldn't remember…" Willow murmured. Abruptly, she shifted topic. "Nettle, can you promise me that you won't fight with Nightwing again? I glared at the sleeping form of the dragon in question, resisting the urge to reach over and kick him. "[i]I[/i] will, if [i]he[/i] doesn't — " "Nettle. Promise me." I stopped short. Willow sounded even more serious than normal, almost grave. "Uh, sure. Willow, is there something wrong?" Instead of answering, she stood up and gathered her things. "I need to go back to the trading post. Take care of — " "Wait, hold up!" I jumped to my feet. "You can't just [i]leave[/i] us. You're our healer!" "Lemon will take care of things in my place; she's almost as good as me." She hauled her bags over her shoulder. I struggled to find some other way to convince her to stay. "How are you going to even find the trading post again?" "I'll figure it out." "But how will you find your way back to us?" She patted the tome by her side. "Locator spell. I've nearly got it down. Just keep moving, I'll figure it out. Take care of the hatchlings, and don't fight while I'm away, alright?" Before I could even process what happened, she was already gone, the cloth over the doorway fluttering behind her.