Whisper

Lightweaver, please...don't let it catch me...I have to make it...she has to make it...

She stumbled as her wing caught on yet another thorny bit of growth, adding to the collection of tears in her already tattered membranes. Flight had long since been out of the question, and so she ran as fast as she could, claws tearing at the dark mosses that covered the ground.

She was slowing down, she could feel it. The muscles in her limbs were screaming, and every inhaled breath felt like fire. There was nowhere to stop, nowhere to try and hide; her shimmering white and gold hide practically glowed in this dark place.

They should never have landed. She could not fault him for his curiosity, for it was one of the reasons she'd loved him so, but she inwardly cursed herself for humoring him this time. She knew better, all the dragons of their clan knew better than to land in the twisted ruins that lay shrouded in the shadows of the Tangled Wood, no matter what they thought they saw.

Behind her, the desperate roars had faded. She had nothing left except the pearl in its sling at her side, and the precious egg in the carrier around her neck.

She could feel it getting closer, whatever it was. No dragon or beastclan, but something darker and more terrible...something intent on pain and death. It's predatory focus was almost palpable in the still air...it was coming for her, and there would be no escape.

With a monumental act of will she gathered enough strength to bound over a high stand of brambles, but there was no ground on the other side to meet her questing claws. Her wings flailed uselessly as she tumbled into darkness.

It seemed like an eternity passed before she gathered her wits. She was crumpled at the bottom of a steep hill, amidst a decaying ruin of dark stone. She lifted her head in a daze, vaguely aware that her pearl was on the ground nearby. The egg, where was her egg? Her claws scrambled weakly against the basket, but found it intact and its cargo miraculously none the worse for wear.

A not-so-distant shriek snapped her out of her daze. It was still coming, she had to keep going! She willed her battered body to move, to stand, but only excruciating pain from her back legs answered her. Broken.

Despite the pain, she curled her body as best she could around the softly glowing egg. She could feel the pulse of the tiny life inside, feel the warmth and love that echoed from within as it sensed her closeness. She closed her eyes and hugged it tightly to her chest as the horrible shrieking drew closer.

Lightweaver...please...anyone...save her...

A heart-wrenching cracking sound split the air, and with a blinding flash of light, her pearl shattered...

---

Castor was pretty sure she was going to wind up in some sort of trap.

She'd been perfectly happy to visit her old home at the request of her matriarch, but the vague direction of 'You'll know why" left her a bit lost...until a shadow sprite had conveniently popped out of -where else?- the shadows and made motions for her to follow. It was probably a bad idea...but really, what else was there?

The sprite let out an annoyed trill, and the tundra snapped out of her thoughts just in time to avoid colliding with the small creature. It made a face at her and quite literally melted into the nearest shadow, leaving her alone once more.

Well...not quite alone.

At the base of an ancient column was an egg, an odd point of golden light in the gloom. Castor glanced around warily, but there was no sign of any other dragon nearby. She approached with caution nonetheless, as a lingering smell of something foreboding permeated the area.

Something crunched under her foot as she drew nearer to the egg, and she paused to inspect it. A shard of something...maybe a very large gemstone? Whatever it was, it had clearly shattered into a great deal of tiny shards and very fine dust, much of which appeared to be coating the egg. Other than that, it seemed unharmed...was this what the matriarch had sent her for?

A shadow seemed to pass over the surface of the egg. She blinked and looked closer. It moved again...no, it was inside the egg, and as she watched, it formed a vaguely crescent moon shape before disappearing. Softly echoing laughter filled the air, making the fur on the back of her neck rise.

This had to be it, she decided. She gently lifted the egg, the shimmering dust falling from the shell, and stowed it in her bag. The laughter followed her out of the clearing, and didn't stop until she flew beyond the borders of the Shadow domain.

---

Whisper idly poked another tile on the gameboard, turning another cluster of glowing light in to shadow. Glimmer and Gloom was far too simple to really occupy her, but she needed something to pass the time while she kept half an eye on the entrance to Valkyrie's lair. The skydancer had yet to leave for the day, but Whisper was patient.

"Don't you ever play the other side?"

She sighed inwardly. She'd heard Reneha's soft footfalls approaching, but had hoped the clan's newest skydancer resident would have business elsewhere. Choosing not to answer, Whisper chose another tile, enveloping more of the board in darkness. Reneha craned her neck over the pearlcatcher's shoulder.

"So strange...for a Light dragon to be so drawn to Shadow." She peered at the golden eyes barely visible under Whisper's hood. "Even your pearl is dark."

Whisper shifted ever so slightly, and the shimmering surface of her black pearl disappeared underneath her cloak. Reneha did not seem to pick up on the hint, however.

"You didn't answer my question yet," the skydancer reminded her. Whisper paused, claw hovering over another tile, and spared the other dragon a glance.

"You're a Water dragon...look into the future and tell me what the answer is." Her whispered reply drew a chuckle in response.

"Fair enough. But I'm curious...don't you feel any connection to the Light?"

Whisper hesitated again, then shook her head. She searched the skydancer's features for signs of disbelief, but found none, as usual. They could never tell when she was lying. Something about her seemed to throw off their senses, even the more unusual ones.

Truthfully, she did feel something, but it was only in dreams. She would be surrounded by golden light, warm and loving and safe, and hear the echoes of a voice singing from far away. There was nothing more to it than that, though, before she would awake to the familiar silence of shadows.

Valkyrie strode with purpose from her lair, giving Reneha a curious look. "What are you doing here?"

The other skydancer gave a friendly wave. "Oh, I was just getting to know...uh..." She paused as she realized the young pearlcatcher had vanished while her attention was elsewhere. "Ah. Nothing, really."

Valkyrie shook her head and continued on, muttering under her breath. From the shadows around the corner, Whisper watched as Reneha picked up the abandoned game board, a single point of light left in the center.