Octave flew over the forest, going nowhere in particular. He was trying not to think much, but at the same time his location relative to the group was at the back of his mind. He banked around, went into a steep dive, then pulled up just before he hit the trees, zooming across the canopy at high speed. He saw a flash of light below him. Before he could react, he was blown into a spin by a sudden rush of air. He fell below the canopy and instinctively latched onto a branch before falling too far.
Curious, Octave started treehopping like a flying squirrel until he could see... a clearing? There had only been trees before, he knew it. And a lot of dragons moved around the space as if nothing was out of the ordinary. This was their clan, he realized. But... how?
Remembering what Marla and the others had said about staying hidden, he flew back through the trees as quickly as he dared.
----
Shimmershale looked out toward the direction the spontaneous gust of wind had come from. "Was that...?"
At that moment Octave rocketed out of the trees. Hooking one of Shimmer's antlers with his hind feet, he swung around to face everyone, upside-down. "Guys!" he said breathlessly. "I was flying and I saw a light and I got spun around and then there were a bunch of
other dragons all over the place and - "
Shimmer cut him off. "Calm down, little guy. We know, we felt the gust of wind all the way over here. How close?"
Octave shut his mouth in surprise. "You know about them?"
"They've appeared near us before," Leftrin interjected. "Sometimes it almost seems like they're following us."
"Well..." Octave dithered. "They aren't THAT close, really. Like, the same distance it'd take to cross that burned area."
"We shouldn't have to worry then," Leftrin reassured him. "But we should probably tell Marla when she gets back from hunting."
"Don't worry, I heard." Marla trotted toward them carrying some fish and prey animals. "You think this is enough food for the four of us? I would have gotten more but It was trying to catch me off guard the whole time. Probably thought I'd be more vulnerable alone. It almost got me at one point but all It accomplished was throwing half the prey I caught in the river. Ooooo, scary."
YOU DON'T YET KNOW MY FULL PLAN.
Do YOU even know your full plan?
"Anyway, here's what I could salvage, plus the stuff that didn't get thrown in the river in the first place." She dropped the food for everyone to choose from. Octave immediately grabbed two snakes and a slightly waterlogged rabbit.
"It looks like plenty," Shimmer noted. "Anyway, Leftrin and I can both eat some of the plants around here too, though I'd rather not myself."
Octave fluttered down to the ground to eat, an uncommon action for a Nocturne. Marla sat down next to him, mostly just to annoy the Dark One in her head. She smirked as she felt Its frustration.
Well,
I don't know the Dark One's plan yet either.
