Wings of Fire Legends: Darklight

== Prologue: Autumn ==
Autumn ducked her head to avoid getting smacked in the face with overhanging vines. She and her husband, Sunrise, had to be extra careful now. 
If anyone knew they had eggs (well, just one egg), it wouldn't turn out peachy. 
See, Autumn's mother was the leader of the continent, making the biggest decisions. Unfortunately, her mother had some, well, not-very-nice-thoughts about Sunrise's family. 
"We have to keep moving," Sunrise said determinedly. "We're almost there!"
Autumn hesitated and fiddled with her talons. "Sunrise, are you sure we'll be safe in the 'camp' you set up?" She asked nervously. 
Sunrise rolled his bright brown eyes at her. "Stop worrying. You, me and our egg will be fine." He practically bounced on his gold and black talons enthusiastically. 
Autumn wasn't quite sure he should be so optimistic. What if they decide to search for us? Who knew what they would do to them. Autumn cast a nervous look at her egg. At once she let out a startled yelp. Sunrise didn't seem to hear. 
Her egg, once coal black was now a bright, shining silver. Rings of dark orange and warm yellow circled the side. She shivered. I wonder what that mea-
Her thoughts were interrupted by Sunrise's voice echoing into a stone cave entrance. "This is it!" He roared happily. "This is the camp." As he stepped inside the stone hole, Autumn watched as her husband's tail disappeared skeptically. It didn't look very impressive. It just looked like giant jungle leaves piled on top of each other. 
But when she stepped inside, Autumn couldn't suppress a gasp of surprise. Sunlight filtered in through giant leaves and leaf windows, reflected on polished light-brown wood. A thin river snaked in and out of the camp, and all different sorts of fruit were piled up in a corner. There was a small, grass-woven nest with a dip in the center for an egg. 
Autumn carefully slipped the egg onto the nest. "We did it, Sunrise" Autumn breathed, leaning into his warm, red, gold, and black scales. "We found a safe home." 
Almost immediately, the egg cracked and two tiny wings popped out, soon followed by a small black dragonet. She was incredible. She had deep brown eyes like her father and a strange sideways white teardrop scale behind each eye. And her most distinguishing feature, gold and orange rings on her wings, forming a circle. Just like her egg. 
The two dragons stepped forward and embraced their new dragonet. Autumn thought that the perfect moment would last forever. 
At last, Sunrise pulled back, breaking the spell far too soon. "What should we call her?" 
Autumn knew the answer already. "Darklight." 
She shines in the dark like a ray of light. 
"Darklight," Sunrise said, testing it out. "Sure. I like it." His eyes suddenly flashed teasingly. "A good suggestion from someone who has a name that doesn't fit them!" 
Autumn's tail lashed indignantly. "I-you-I don't even-" she sputtered. 
She leaped onto Sunrise and, surprisingly, so did the dragonet. The three dragons wrestled playfully, hoping their family dream never ended.
== CHAPTER ONE: Darklight ==
Five Years Later
Darklight warily stepped out of her parents' camp. 
It had been at least four years since the extinction of all the dragons on the continent. All of them. 
Including her mother and her father. She had just barely survived, thanks to her power, and, of course the little Sunrise had taught her about herbs. 
Ah, yes. My "glorious power". 
Apparently, the gold and orange symbol on her wings granted her a power to grant herself (maybe hopefully other dragons soon) invulnerability to anything. Including gigantic meteors smashing your continent. 
At the time, little one-year-old Darklight couldn't make shields for other dragons yet, so Autumn and Sunrise were crushed by the meteors that ruthlessly struck the ground, right before her eyes. Darklight still blamed herself for their deaths. 
Because, well, it kind of was her fault. 
She could have traded her life for theirs. They were two dragons, and she was just one. 
Darklight let out a sigh. Moping about it wasn't going to change it. Darklight thought of her mother's words when she asked questions about Darklight's parents' past: Don't live in the past. Keep living in the present. 
Well, that was incredibly difficult now. 
Especially when her surroundings reminded her of it every day. Each day, the life on the bruised continent got more and tough. Prey was extremely hard to find, and it had started getting impossibly cold. 
"If I don't find food," She had moaned to herself weeks earlier, "I'll have to start eating grass". 
...Darklight had actually once resorted to eating grass. It tasted... grassy. 
But as months passed by, it got colder and times got harder. Soon enough, even the grass had shriveled up, covered with frost from the cold. Darklight was starting to lose hope. But when she finally realized she had to leave, was when for the first time in history, it snowed. 
"I have to get off this continent," Darklight muttered to herself.
As the three moons were beginning to rise, Darklight gathered all the maps she could find and laid them out in the polished wooden floor of the camp. 
"There," Darklight said to no one. 
She pointed to the map of the islands leading to a next continent, titled Another Continent in scribbed writing. 
She reached into the bookshelf and her talons hit an empty space. Darklight looked at the shelf in confusion. 
"Huh. That's weird."
Last she had checked, before the meteors, there were two maps of the next continent. 
She hesitated... Then shrugged and went back to looking at the maps. 
Anything can happen in four years.
Later, Darklight grabbed her favorite scroll, How to Train Your Scavenger, a canteen of water, and an emergency supply of fruit, (probably the last bit of fruit on the continent), which, unbelievably, hadn't rotted yet, and put it in a small pouch that fit on her neck. 
She walked out of her camp and slowly approached the edge of the continent, snow gently falling on her back and wings. 
Darklight had a long, long way to go. 
Twenty islands, Darklight thought, suddenly feeling flickers of doubt in the back of her head. And that was just and estimate. There could be... So, so much more. She shook out her wings decisively. 
"Well, do I want to stay on this continent much longer? NO I DO NOT." A seagull flying inland stopped and flapped in midair to give her a (incredibly dragon-like) skeptical look. 
Uncertain again (THANKS A LOT, SEAGULL), Darklight dug her talons into the cold, dry earth. She looked up, and saw a scene that would probably be a winning masterpiece in the art competitions Autumn had always loved to talk about. 
Perfect white, thin clouds drifted across the sunset while the three moons hung in the sky, making the horizon glow with color. Feeling tranquil at the calm waves that were reflecting the moons, Darklight made her final decision. 
Lifting up into the sky, Darklight cast one last look at the continent that used to be the only place she ever called home, and soared away.
== CHAPTER TWO: DARKLIGHT ==
Darklight automatically collapsed into the lukewarm sand of the last island on the map. It had been several weeks since she had set off to find the new continent, and it was a lot more exhausting than she thought it would be. A diet of slimy fish didn't do me too much good, either. The first time she actually caught one of those wriggly things, she was so hungry she ate it raw. Of course, it tasted horrible, like a muddy frog sliding down her throat. But she had food, and that was what mattered. Letting out a sigh, she remembered the fruit she had brought with her. It had only lasted a day. In Darklight's opinion, that was the saddest part of her journey. "Come on, Darklight! Pull yourself together," She muttered to herself. Still exhausted, she dragged her heavy wings to the other side of the island and squinted. Was that...? YES! A small green-ish speck waited for her at the end of the horizon. All her tiredness forgotten, she launched into the air, her wings pumping faster and faster into a drum-like rhythm. More land started appearing in her vision, spreading out below her. She plummeted into a dive, swerving with her wings at the last second so she didn't land head-first into the wet sand. Looking up, Darklight saw exactly what she was hoping for. GRASS! TREES! SO. MUCH. TREES! She saw a fat pig trotting peacefully out of the forest, just a tail-length away from her. Darklight thwacked it with her tail, sending it loudly squealing and flying away. It landed on its back, next to a startled-looking crab. Almost at once she saw a bush rustle with too much force to be another pig. Darklight looked around for a hiding place, then hesitated. Is hiding such a good idea right now? Too late to find out by now. Two dragons came out of the bushes, each holding scarily sharp wooden spears. Darklight held up her front talons, frozen in fear. "Uh, s-sorry?" Darklight said, shaking. Unexpectedly, the two dragons, (now out of the shadows of trees, one was gray-ish with circles of darker gray along his sides and the other was pure white with blackish blue specks all along her. She looked young, maybe around Darklight's age.) exchanged an uncertain glance and put down their spears. The gray dragon advanced towards Darklight, and was suddenly on top of her with one swift movement. "Don't move a scale." He said in a deep voice. Despite his warning, Darklight tilted her head the best she could under the weight of the gray dragon and looked at him. He was shooting a puzzled look at the white dragon, who was returning from across the shore with a thin strip of seaweed. "It's to blindfold her. We don't know if she's safe to see the village," The speckled dragon whispered anxiously. Darklight growled in defiance. The white dragon basically jumped a mile, which was almost funny enough to make her stop resisting. The two dragons grabbed Darklight's wings and secured her between the two of them. Darklight thought about lashing out, tearing into the gray dragon's arm. But they hadn't hurt her, and they (at least she hoped they were) were taking her to their village. On the other talon, she might become a prisoner. She let out a frustrated sigh. I just got here and I already have a new problem to deal with, she grumbled inwardly.
== CHAPTER THREE: Star ==
Most of the time, everything was fine. In Star's life, there were kind of no emergencies. Do your homework? Finished. Clean up your winglet's bed? Why not? But sometimes emergencies did come, and she was not at all prepared for them. Her father died of a strange disease before she hatched. Well, of course, she couldn't do anything about that. But Star's older sister, Leaf, had died of, reported by doctors, the same disease. "It's quite alright, Star," one of the doctors had said comfortingly. "We figured out the cure from your father." But she died, too, and Star knew there was something she could have done. Autumn had sat down quietly next to her later. She looked into Star's eyes and put her wing over Star's. "It'll be alright. I know what it's like to lose someone." Autumn whispered. Then it was all back to no emergencies, everything's fine. Especially with their new leader, Sunrise. Sunrise had also suffered a great loss. One year later, Autumn had been found washed up on the shore. The rumor was she had been trying to find her dragonet, Darklight, that she left behind on another continent. By sympathy, Star had thought, Sunrise had become a leader. Now she had a younger sister named Frost, who was the direct opposite of Star. Pure white with dark blue specks and smudges all across her body and extremely nervous. All the time. It was kind of hilarious, actually, when she jumped every time heard a squirrel scamper around in the trees. She's getting better though, Star thought as Frost and Boulder walked into the village holding grumpy-looking black dragonet (probably just a little older than Star, maybe seven,) in place. Several dragons walked out of their homes to watch the odd sight into Sunrise's leaf-tent. I have to make sure Frost is okay. Star curiously crept closer to the leader's tent, where no one coming out or coming in could see her and put her ear up to the walls. She heard muffled sobs and Sunrise's overjoyed voice. Star strained her ears, trying to listen closer. "You're alive!" Sunrise cried. Huh? Was he talking to the dragonet? Wait. WAIT A SECOND. Star had a strange sense of nostalgia and plunged into a memory with Autumn's voice. If you ever see this dragon, tell me immediately. Autumn had said. She has brown eyes and black scales. You see those patterns on my wings? She has the same pattern with the colors of the sun. And her name is Darklight. Star snapped back into reality. Was that.. Darklight? "Okay, I'll look at it, Sunrise," Darklight (at least Star suspected that was Darklight) called to the leaf tent. Star flew out of her listening spot and landed in front of her. The black dragon jumped, startled, then gave Star a puzzled look. "Hello," Star said, a little nervously. "Hi," Darklight said cautiously. "I'm Darklight." Star's mind exploded. It IS her. Star realized she was probably making a really weird face, at least by the way Darklight was looking at her. "So, Darklight, I'm Star. Nice to meet you." Star winked, trying to look nonthreatening. "What were you and Sunrise talking about in there?" Darklight let out a little sigh. "He just said 'You have no idea how glad I am to have you here' and told me to try to find a guide to show me around the village." Star brushed her wing with her own. "Consider yourself guided," Star said brightly. Star walked towards the academy, Darklight in tow. Once they were inside the large light-brown wooden halls, Darklight broke the silence. "So, is this... A school? It just looks like the camp my parents made but a lot bigger." Star slowed her pace so she was walking beside Darklight. "The term is academy, dragonet. Get it right," Star said with a mockingly deep voice. Darklight burst out laughing, which was something only a few dragons did. Raven and Frost only gave her skeptical looks when she used her "big" voice, Frost had called it. I hope Sunrise lets her in our winglet. Darklight gave her a curious look. "Winglet?" Darklight echoed. Star stopped walking and widened her eyes at Darklight. A heartbeat passed by, and Darklight seemed to realize her mistake. She coughed, embarrassed, trying to break the awkwardness. "Well, I guess we'll just have two mind-readers in the winglet," Star shrugged. Well, Darklight, I have a few tricks on me. Mind-reading-blocking-tricks. Wow, I should really find a better name for that. It's way too long. Star shook out her wings and started to walk again. "So, you asked a question," Star said, making a heroic face. "It's my duty as your guide to answer it." Darklight gave her a crooked smile. "Winglets are like... Learning groups. They each have four dragonets in them. There are only three so far." Star let out a sigh. "My sister, Leaf, died awhile ago. She was the fourth dragonet in our winglet." Star tried to smile. "But now, I guess there's room for you." Star felt Darklight's tail twine with hers. "Hey, Star. Do the winglets have names? So we can tell them apart?" Darklight asked, changing the subject. "Yup. There's Birch Winglet, Redwood Winglet, and ours, Sequoia Winglet." Star guided Darklight into their winglet room, where they all studied.The stone tablet on the door had SEQUOIA WINGLET' engraved on it. As the two of them stepped inside the sunlit classroom, Star walked over to Raven, followed by a hesitant Darklight. "Raven," Star said. "This is Darklight." The two black dragons gave each other some odd looks. "Uh. You guys okay?" Star asked tentatively. "She can read minds?" Raven yelped. Raven fixed his gaze on Darklight. "Do you have any tricks for how to stop myself from reading other dragons' minds? I just can't shut it off." Raven poked his forehead as if it might crack open so he could examine what was inside. Darklight let out an enormous yawn. "Y'know, maybe tomorrow." Raven shot her an offended look and Darklight held up her talons nervously. "First thing in the morning. I promise." Raven seemed satisfied with that answer. He shrugged. "Star, did you show her the sleeping cave yet?" "Not yet," Star answered. "But I'll-" Star was cut off by a shriek coming from the middle of the village. The sound of a dying dragon.
== CHAPTER FOUR: Darklight ==
Darklight jumped at the sound. Memories started flooding back. A continent collapsing. Dragons dying and in pain. Seeing her parents crushed. The fear. The danger. Raven looked at her and winced. Star practically leaped on Raven, pinning him down. "Raven, you know the academy better than anyone. What is the quickest way to the center of the Village?!" Raven wriggled out of her grip and stepped back, looking alarmed. "The windows, but the teachers said-" Star shot him a no-nonsense "shut your snout" look. "Would it speed up the process if I told you it sounded like Frost?" It seemed to take Raven a few seconds to process the information she just gave him, but when he did, his cool, calm mask slipped off, revealing a terrified Raven as he jumped out of the window, scattering shards of glass everywhere. Star followed suit. Darklight hesitated. What am I getting into? Then her helpful brain showed her Star's kind, friendly face and a sharp wave of guilt swamped her. She flew out the window and flew after her new friends as fast as she could. Darklight heard Raven wail, a long sound of grief, and pumped her wings harder, flying as fast as she could. As she landed, she almost toppled Star, who had waves of shock coming off of her and stood statue-still. Darklight followed Star's gaze. Oh no... In the middle of the clearing, wings splayed out and covered with blood, was Frost. It was hard to tell from the wounds and claw-marks that had ravaged her body, but the white scales and the dark blue flecks were more obvious. Frost's eyes were clouded with death. Sunrise rose from the crowd. Darklight (and she heard many others) let out a sigh of relief. Sunrise was a good leader. He would know what to do. But Sunrise stayed silent, watching Raven bury himself in Frost's bloodstained wings, crying. Suddenly Sunrise spoke, and everyone, even Raven, went quiet. "How did this happen?" Sunrise said with authority, grief and fury lingering in his voice. The gray dragon that had brought Darklight into the village along with Frost stood up and began speaking. "I took Frost with me to hunt. She said she wanted to catch a boar that had escaped her clutches every day." Star let out a sob. Darklight twined her tail with Star's. It'll be okay, Darklight tried to say with her eyes. The gray dragon went on. "I left her to hunt so I wouldn't spook off her boar. Moments later, I heard her scream and found her like this." Sunrise opened his mouth as if he was about to speak, then shook his head and walked to his leaf hut. Darklight shot Sunrise a curious look. What was that? As the fearful crowd broke up into several muttering groups, Star nudged her. "I think Raven wants to talk to you." Raven was glaring at her, indicating the forest behind him with his tail. What does he want? I've not yet seen him like this. Darklight was about to follow him when Star grabbed her talons. "Be careful," Star whispered in a low voice. "That's where-" Her voice cracked. "That's where Frost died. Don't you die too. Please don't die." The star-speckled dragon was shaking uncontrollably. Darklight brushed Star's wing comfortingly. "I'll be careful. I'll come back. I promise, Star." And with that, she let go of Star's talons and followed Raven out of sight, into the forest. "Raven? Are you-" She broke off as something rustled in the darkness in front of her. With an unsettling jolt of fear, she remembered Star's warning, and tried to blend into the darkness of the night just as she saw glint of shimmering black scales and felt sharp talons rake her snout.
== CHAPTER FIVE: Raven ==
In this case, you might think Raven's the "bad guy". But really, it couldn't be a coincidence that the moment he had seen Darklight, that she had arrived on this continent, Frost died. Frost. Her life was worth more than the excitement of a mystery dragon becoming a part of your winglet. Frost was supposed to be with him, just for a while, if not forever. And now she was dead, and he didn't know what he was supposed to be anymore. His theory? All Darklight. So. The Plan. Lure Darklight into the forest, trap that backstabber under his talons, and get her to answer his questions, one way or another. Of course, there were some holes in the plan, but he had defense training from the academy, and he was pretty sure Darklight didn't. Perfect. Don't worry, Frost. I'll find out who did this. Leaves shook in front of him and he tried to blend into the shadows around him, keeping his glimmering scales out of the moonlight. But I think I already knew who did it. "Raven?" He heard Darklight call. Forcing down a snarl building up in his throat, he saw a coal-black snout poke out of the bushes. He hesitated, then felt rage burn through him and slashed Darklight's curious snout. Raven heard a shriek of pain and the sound of Darklight staggering and collapsing onto the soft grass of the forest floor. Triumphant, he lunged forward and pinned Darklight's wings down, digging his talons in. He heard the echo of Darklight's thoughts bumping into his. Raven? Darklight thought, and a surprising amount of hurt and sadness radiated off her. He felt a strange guilt shift under his scales. Raven shook himself. She was a killer. "Why did you kill Frost?" Raven shook Darklight fiercely, determined to get an answer out of her. Her eyes flashed in surprise. She tried to say something, but all she could manage was a squeak, which was a little strange coming from a dragon twice his size. Darklight looked up at him, then down at her neck rapidly, several times before he realized he had his talons on her neck. Raven released his grip, putting his talons back on her wings and she took in a huge gasp of air. Once she had recovered, she seemed to remember what he had said. Her eyes widened once more. "I didn't kill her!" Darklight yelped. "I was with you and Star the whole time." Raven couldn't repress his gasp. Why, why, why, didn't he think of that first? So stupid. He slapped his face and released Darklight. Almost at once she bit his tail ferociously. "Yowch!" Raven squawked, yanking his tail away from her. "What the moons was that-" He started. Darklight was indicating the slash on her snout with a "seriously?" look. The spikes on her back suddenly lifted and she made a shushing noise. "Someone's coming," she whispered. Raven quizzically watched her slap her talons on her wound, trying to stop the bleeding. "How is that a bad thing, exactly?" He said, genuinely curious. Darklight lifted her talons off her snout, which, to her credit, had stopped bleeding. "Wouldn't it be a little suspicious if you had bloody talons right after the death of Frost?" Darklight said. He frowned, offended. He was about to snap at her when she shoved him into a overgrown bush, toppling him over. At the same time Raven heard her mutter "Stupid branches" loud enough for a dragon a mile away to hear and he heard talonsteps thundering towards Darklight. Still hidden, he stuck his head out of the bushes. Sunrise was standing over Darklight, who was looking a little nervous, probably from the grim look in Sunrise's eyes. "What are you doing out here, Darklight?" His friendly voice didn't really match his expression. Clearly Darklight thought so too. "I, uh, just wanted to take a walk and clear my head. I... Wasn't expecting a death today," She said, sounding a little disturbed. Sunrise brushed her wings comfortingly. "No one did. Sorry your first day here turned out like that." That wasn't the best timing, Sunrise's brain whispered mysteriously. If Darklight heard it too, she certainly didn't say anything. "Uh, Darklight?" Sunrise tilted his head questioningly. "How'd you get that cut on your snout." Raven flinched. Would she give him away? Surprisingly, Darklight laughed. "You should know how from the last time." Sunrise let out a shout of laughter that sent several birds exploding into the sky. "You still remember that?" Darklight smiled a little awkwardly. "I wouldn't forget it for a while." Sunrise chuckled again, looked up to the sky and suddenly said, "I'd better go. A few dragons are expecting me for a super boring meeting about council stuff." He waved his tail and launched into the air. A few moments passed by before Darklight finally let out a breath and said, "Raven, you can come out now." He crawled out of the bushes, feeling uncomfortably stiff. He stretched, relishing his space. An empty space. Darklight was disappearing into the trees. Raven warily stumbled after her. "Wait," he called. Darklight didn't stop. "Where are you even going?" Raven asked. Darklight stopped just as they had reached the clearing. "I'm going to bed," she sighed. There were deep grooves under her eyes and her wings sagged. "I'm tired." Then she started walking again. Raven followed her, impressed as she found the academy and their winglet's classroom. Inside, loud snoring was coming from the sleeping cave. Darklight snorted. "I can guess who that is," she whispered. Me too. Their sleeping cave had a kind of platform with a spongy material as soft as the moss in the forest. Star was stretched out on it, taking up most of the space and snoring as loud as ocean waves in a storm. Darklight's tense expression softened as she saw her and curled up on the platform beside her, asleep within moments. As Raven settled down beside them, he let out a sigh. So. Today was... interesting. I guess I should think more before I do things. I still have to find out who killed Frost. Now sinking into sleep, he thought of Sunrise's grim face and his mysterious thoughts. Well, I do have another suspect. ...But I'm not quite sure Darklight's going to like it.
== CHAPTER SIX: Star ==
Star woke to the sound of the wind ravaging the village outside. Well, that and her friends arguing even louder than the coming hurricane. To Star, it seemed just a little strange to call Darklight her friend when she had only met her yesterday. She had known Raven for... Almost her whole life, actually. "How can you suspect Sunrise???" Darklight roared, jolting Star from her drowsy thoughts. She sat up, rubbing her temples warily. Darklight flicked her tail onto Star's talons, which apparently was Darklight's way of saying "Good morning, disastrous weather we're having" without taking her glare off Raven, who still seemed unaware of Star's presence. "Strange thoughts, strange expression, he's the perfect suspect, isn't he?" Raven snarled back. Darklight's talons scraped the stone floor, which made a horrible screeching noise. Star sucked in a sharp breath. Raven finally seemed to notice her and did something with his face that might have been a wink, or a wince. "My father is not a murderer," Darklight said icily, venom in her voice. Raven let out a sigh, and collapsed back into their platform-bed. "What suspects do we have then?" Raven asked miserably, muffled by a leaf-woven pillow. "We have to find out who killed Frost." Darklight's defensive expression changed into sympathy. "I know, I know. But why does it have to be him?" Darklight gingerly poked a scar on her snout, which Star had just discovered. "Don't tell me you two had a fight," Star scolded. Raven and Darklight exchanged a wary glance. "It's... Uh. Complicated?" Darklight tried. Star glared at her skeptically. "Un-complicate it, please." Raven let out another sigh. "I suspected Darklight killed Frost. So... I investigated," Raven said, sounding almost proud of himself. "I used that hunting-crawling thingy Leaf taught us, snuck up on her and investigated," Raven said, sounding a little indignant. "I'll wrap it up," Darklight commented dryly. "He clawed my face, I told him it wasn't me, and he was all ' why didn't I think of that'. Then Sunrise came and investigated me." She paused, nudging Raven's wing as if to tell him the conflict was over. Then she made a strange expression. "Would you say I have a generally suspicious face?" Darklight asked with what seemed like genuine curiosity. Star and Raven both squinted at Darklight's face and made "hrmm" noises. Darklight looked like she was trying not to laugh. "Nope, all clear," Star said in a deep voice. "Your face is not at all a suspicious face." Darklight burst out laughing while Raven gave her a studying look, as if he was trying to figure out what was wrong with her. "Fear not, Sequoia Winglet! I have resolved your argument." This time Darklight's expression perfectly matched Raven's. "You want to know if Sunrise is a murderer, right? So let's just spy on him."
== CHAPTER SEVEN: Darklight ==
"This is a terrible plan," Darklight commented. "And we already know Sunrise isn't a murderer! He'd never!" Raven let out his three-millionth sigh. They'd been arguing for quite a while now. But, unfortunately, the plan was in action. Darklight knew Sunrise didn't kill; he wouldn't kill. Yet Star was already at his tent, blending into the shadows of the night, ear up to the leafy window. "Darklight. We already agreed on this. Why are you being so stubborn?" Raven replied, exasperated. "Who's being stubborn?" Asked an unfamiliar greenish-gray head poking through their winglet's entrance, startling Darklight half-to-death. Adder, four years old, Raven's thoughts rang. "Hey, you're the new one, right?" Adder asked curiously. "Sunrise's daughter." Help me out here Raven, THIS FEELS AWKWARD, Darklight thought as hard as she could. He glanced at her apologetically and shrugged. "Is... that a yes?" Adder said. Darklight nodded, and his eyes brightened. "Good, great. I couldn't find Sunrise, so I thought you might be the closest thing." Adder said hopefully. "Follow me!" Darklight exchanged an uneasy glance with Raven, and followed the smaller dragonet out of the room.
They'd been traveling for hours, and Darklight wondered if Star and Raven were alright. (Raven and herself were just supposed to cover for her in case any of the other Winglets asked about her.) Adder knew his home well, she suspected. (She couldn't read his mind, which was probably something he got from Star). He wove through the trees like they were nothing, while Darklight tripped over roots and over-sized branches. "I was going hunting for one of those monkey-squirrel thingies, and then I heard this creepy voice coming from this hole, but I couldn't make out the words." Adder shivered and shrunk, pressing his silvery-green wings to his chest. I know the feeling, Adder, Darklight thought, feeling the eerie creepiness of the strange hole. A hole big enough for a large dragon to fit in was just... there. Vines overlapped each other, making it almost impossible to notice next to the mossy ground of the forest. What if- A fierce blast of wind from the morning's storm sent trees whipping in the snarling breeze and interrupted her thoughts as Darklight stumbled. And tripped. And fell, down into the shadowy darkness of the creepy abyss beneath her. She heard Adder shriek, and cry, "I'll get help!" And then he was gone. Darklight was still falling, probably towards her death. Her wings snagged on neon green vines, which oozed out reddish-pink slime and made her wings feel numb, and spread towards her body. Fear suddenly surged through Darklight. I'm going to die. Star flickered through her mind, which was a bit absurd for the fact that they'd only known each other for two days. As she closed her eyes, she felt a strange tingling sensation and her fear melted away. Darklight dared to crack open one of her eyes. They flew open at once. A strange bluish-white material seemed to wrap around her, and the air seemed to stop moving. As she understood, triumph surged through her. Her shield. The power that had saved her life at the meteor strike. Relief trickled through her scales, like the vine sap, which had moved up to her neck. I'm not going to die after all. She finally hit the floor, and, fortunately, felt no pain. The sap reached her head. Darklight slowly sank into the stone floor, drifting off. The last thing she heard was slow talon-steps getting closer and closer.
== CHAPTER EIGHT: Raven ==
Raven shifted his wings uncomfortably under Star's questioning gaze. "What do you mean she's gone?" Star asked again. "I just told you to cover me, and now Darklight's missing?" Darklight had been gone overnight, and he fervently hoped she was just taking her time. "I told you, Adder said he needed help, and he asked Darklight to come with him," Raven said, for the third time. Star's mind radiated confusion, anger, irritation, and a bright, sparking fear for Darklight. She seemed to be getting more anxious by the minute. Star snorted disbelievingly. "Adder needs help with everything," she sighed irritably. "And they shouldn't take this long either." Raven suppressed the snap that was building in the back of his throat. He let out an inward sigh. "What did Sunrise say, anyway?" Star let out a growl, frustrated. "He didn't say anything!" she moaned. Raven opened his mouth to reply and she barreled on. "He was either sleeping, eating for an extremely long time, or being the quietest dragon on the continent." She sighed again. "And now Darklight's gone and we don't even know where."  Raven’s frustration melted and he brushed his friend’s wing sympathetically. “She can’t stay gone forever,” he reassured her. Reassuring Star was always weird because she was older, and usually the one doing all the comforting. Seeing her like this filled him with trepidation. “Darklight’ll turn up eventua-” Raven’s last words were interrupted by a panicked yell from outside their cave. Adder poked his head into the room, looking utterly terrified. “I need help!” When Star rolled her eyes, he fluffed out his wings, indignant for a split second. “I know where Darklight is!” Adder said impatiently, lashing his tail urgently.
Raven began to doubt Adder's knowledge about Darklight's whereabouts the moment he led them into the outskirts of the continent. "It's really this far?!" Star yelped, gasping for breath. Star seemed to be back to her wily old self, even if for a while. She just needed something to take her mind off things. Like flying HALFWAY ACROSS THE CONTINENT, three MOONS, Adder! Raven moaned inwardly. Eventually Adder came to a stop, thank the moons, and Star and Raven bumped into each other at the sudden halt. He suddenly felt cold claws slash along his heart, and he took a wary step back. Something's wrong with this place. Adder shuddered and flicked his tail towards a strange sight. A hole big enough for an adult dragon to easily slip through was just... There. Star shivered. "Please don't tell me she's in there." Adder nodded, unable to speak. "Darklight!" Star called, seemingly fearless. "Are you down there?" Raven felt dread surge through him unpleasantly as he waited for a response.
== Characters ==
Autumn - A white dragon with jade green eyes and blue and green rings on her wings, forming a circle.
Sunrise - A black dragon with brown eyes and splotches of gold scales and flecks of orange and red scales all along his body.
Darklight - A black dragon with dark amber eyes and a sideways teardrop scale behind each eye. She has gold and orange rings on her wings, forming a circle. Sequoia Winglet.
Frost - A white dragon with unusual brown eyes and specks of black-ish-blue scattered all along her body.
Boulder - A gray dragon with pale yellow eyes and darker gray circles along his sides.
Star - A jet-black dragon with warm yellow eyes and patterns of white stars and specks all across her body. Sequoia Winglet.
Raven - A small black dragon with a pattern of scales that look like feathers. Cold colors like purple, green, and blue show up under the sun, shimmering. Green eyes and a sideways teardrop behind each one. Sequoia Winglet.
Echo - A blind, stone-gray dragon with glowing bluish-green circles, big and small, all across her body. She also has a second pair of horns with grooves that glow blue in the dark. She's older than Sunrise and from Darklight's continent, if that's not too much of a hint.
Adder - A greenish-black dragon with pale yellow underscales and dark green eyes. His scale pattern is somewhat like the LeafWing's, with pale yellow scales scattered here and there, lining his underscales. Redwood Winglet.
Moonstone - A pale yellow the color of the three moons. Black spots freckled along her snout. Birch Winglet.
Magma - A vivid, bright brown dragon with ripples of sunrise-orange and yellow along her back like molten lava. Birch Winglet.
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Fanon)
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Mature Content
Category:Content (Darklight's Cavern)