For Our Future, We Write

~This story and all the characters in it unless otherwise stated belong to Puppy. Please do not use any of my hard work without permission, as I’ve worked hard and long on this and will be upset (to say the least) if it is used without permission by another. Any naming/plot similarities are completely coincidental. With that, I hope you enjoy the story.~
* subject to name change. 
==Intro==
This is a story about Otter, Seal, and a bit of Storm. The POV is Otter, and I do not promise how much Storm and Seal will really be there once the journeying begins. 
 It tells the tale of young SeaWing (animus) Otter, two years after the battle between SeaWings and IceWings that took his caretaker/aunt, Conch, away. He finds the journal once belonging to his father, Angler, that tells of their past lives before having dragonets. Intrigued, Otter and his sister, Seal, (with the tag-along Storm, of course) travel around Pyrrhia to the places their parents once visited. 
 But not all secrets are meant to be spoken aloud. The group of SeaWings will learn many new things about their heritage, and the secrets their parents held dear to keep them safe...
 Supporting/side characters include: Angler, Vaquita, Ray, Conch, possibly more. Maybe a little Illusion, mentionings to Kori, That kind of thing. If you’d like a character in here for any reason at all, contact me on my wall and let me think about it. 
==Prologue==
(Taken from my short stories.)
The waves lapped upon her talons, and the pale moon gave her purple scales a otherworldly glow. One wing was wrapped around their son, holding him close in the dark and cold night. Her tail brushed against an egg, silvery blue with little cracks around it.
“I don’t want to do this, Angler,” she said softly. “What’s truly going to happen to our dragonets once we leave? There’s no certainty they’ll except them…”
Angler sat beside his wife; he could only hope they’d be doing the right thing. “Conch will take care of them. My sister isn’t one for leaving young dragonets alone.” 
She rested her head on Angler’s shoulder, sighing lightly. “She has a dragonet of her own to look after. Our children could just die at a shark’s will, and no one would bother a glance.”
“Vaquita, don’t think that way.” Angler whispered to her. “Our dragonets are safe here.” He could see the glassy reflection on her eyes as tears threatened to flow. Vaquita pulled their dragonet closer, and the little SeaWing squeaked in loving reply.
“They’re going to hate them,” Vaquita reminded him, “They’re going to want them dead. There’s nothing we can do to stop that. Not leaving. Not staying… They only care that we’re dead. Because we ‘betrayed’ them, the queen, and all those other dragons.”
“Let them hate them, if it’s the way they want to be.” Angler replied. “One day they might find their error and correct it.  At least we can hope.” He looked over to see a tear make its way down Vaquita’s face. “Don’t cry, my dear. Soon my brother will come and keep watch until Conch comes.”
“What if they don’t come?” Vaquita asked simply. The little dragonet tucked between them looked up at his sad mother and leaned on her, in an effort to make her happy. She only choked on the tears.
“Wow, you are so trusting in my dragonet-sitting abilities.” A new voice said, accompanied by the flapping of wings and a heavy body landing on the ground. His tone was shady and deep, exactly what Angler expected from his brother.
Vaquita turned around quickly and glared at him. She glared pointedly at the SeaWing almost too dark to be seen. “Nice to see you too, Ray.” She returned  plainly.
Angler got up to address his brother. He got close enough so then Vaquita couldn’t hear him. “Tell none of this to anyone, you hear me? I’m not one to claw out throats—but for you I’ll make an exception.”
Ray looked straight into the ocean, avoiding Angler’s and Vaquita’s gazes. “I told Midnight I was leaving and tucked Illusion in. Prophetseeker can go suck a snail, for all I care.”
“Good,” Angler stepped away from his brother, gesturing the little dragonet by Vaquita to come over. Vaquita guided him over, sending her own warnings in her glare. She pushed the egg closer with her tail. 
Ray dipped down to examine the dragonet. “Huh. You two make some pretty handsome dragonets, if I must say so myself.” He smiled down at the dragonet nearly the same colors as him, reversing more green than blue to more blue than green.
“He’s Otter,” Vaquita said calmly. “This one”—she waved her wing over the egg—“is Seal. Remember that, you big trout, and get them right!”
“Easy,” Ray replied. He flicked the dragonet with one of his wings. “This handsome little Ray Junior is Otter.” He glanced over at the egg. “That’s either Vaquita, Conch, or Angler Junior. Or maybe Ray Junior the Second.” 
“And her name is..?”  Vaquita asked, raising an eyebrow as she awaited an answer.
“Seal.” Ray answered with a shrug. “Don’t worry you’re pretty little head, Vaq. I can handle them.” He reached out to pick up Otter. “I’ve dealt with animu—“ He stopped once he picked up the dragonet.
“Is something wrong?” Angler asked, curious. He hoped there wasn’t. They needed to leave, now, before Vaquita changed her mind or the villagers came after them. 
Ray sat Otter back down and gave Vaquita a sideways glance. “Would  you, by any chance, be related to the royal family? Coral? Shark? …Fathom? Any of them?”
Vaquita’s expression turned to confusion. “No..? Why do you ask?” 
“Nothing special,” Ray said. “I thought that maybe if you were, you could get a servant or something to raise these kids.” Then he gave her that smile. The “I’m totally lying and I’m trying to win you over with my charming-ness” smile, something only Angler and Conch new what it was.
“Vaquita, get your things.” Angler said, half glancing to his wife. “Start swimming. I’ll catch up.” Vaquita nodded and ran off to the cave. He watched her grab their bag of things, whisper a few words to Otter and the egg, then hesitate right at the edge of the water.
“You better be right beside me.” She told Angler. “You’re not sending me away again.”
Then she slipped into the water. Angler brought his attention back to his brother. 
“What?” He asked coldly. Ray looked at him, surprised. 
“No need to be rude.” Ray replied. “But…you’re not gonna like it…” 
“Tell me.” Angler insisted. “Nothing is more important than my dragonets. There’s something I and Vaquita don’t know that you do, and I want to know. So tell me. Now.” 
Ray looked over at the dragonet. “They—at least him—are…special.” 
“Special, how?” 
“Moons, I thought you were on a time limit. What to you think, O Mighty Savengerbrain? The same thing Orca was! What Fathom was! Oh, and let me give you another— what Albatross was!” Ray paused. “You’re lucky Bayside is so forgotten that they don’t do the dragonet animus testing, is all I’m saying.” 
Angler was silent. “W-what?” He looked unbelievably at the dragonet. 
“Yeah, I’m starting to re-think who we’re related to, too.” Ray said. He flicked his wing at Angler. “Now go, before Vaq starts thinking you’ve ditched her. I’ll tell Conch to keep a lookout for any signs, just in case.”
Angler nodded and started towards the water. He could barely here his brother’s final words to him. 
“And moons, don’t tell the lady! She’s got enough to worry about!”
== Chapter 1 ==
Otter never liked Storm. Not after the shark attack that almost killed his sister, and definitely not now. He could only glare at the mail carrier as Seal cried into his shoulder.
“What do you mean, she’s dead?!?” Otter wasn’t planning on hiding his anger. He should’ve known himself Conch was dead when she hadn’t returned in years. And he should’ve expected it to be just like Storm to hide it from them.
Storm just looked at the ground. “…sorry? I didn’t mean to start anything, I swear!”
“Tell that to everyone else, then!” Otter shot back. “Moons! You can’t even be honest and nice to tell us when it happened, now can you?” 
The other SeaWing looked torn between giving up and defending himself. “I just thought…” 
“Well maybe you need to think a little bit more!” He gently nudged his sister off his shoulder, setting a wing around her to calm her. “And consider both sides of the problem, first. ‘Sure, they’ll be sad if I tell them now, but they’re gonna hate me if I wait two and a half moon-forsaking years to tell them!’ See, how hard is that?” 
Storm glanced over at Seal, who had calmed down to shaky breaths and less tears. 
“Stop,” Otter denied his thought even before he thought it. Storm looked up at him. “Seriously, just stop. I think you’ve done enough damage for one day. Now go.”
His gaze never left the Storm as he walked out of the room and out of their cave, tail and wings drooped and head hung low. “Good,” he muttered, turning his attention to Seal.
“I can’t believe s-she’s dead…” Seal whispered, barely audible. Otter wrapped his wings around his sister. 
“I know.” He said, giving them one more moment to grieve. What we should’ve done two years ago when it happened, but hey, it’s whatever. Otter was reminded of the dragonet Conch had introduced him to one day, and wondered what she was doing now that Conch was gone. Maybe she didn’t know; maybe she didn’t care.
Otter wasn’t even sure what they were going to do now. He’d been experiencing the other dragons of Bayside’s hate for him and Seal without Conch as their shield, he could only imagine what it would be like when the rest of them realized she was gone for good. If they hadn’t already.
He needed to find some proof that they weren’t a danger to them—or both of them are as good as sitting ducks in a world of dragons who wanted them dead. 
“I’ll be in our parents’ room.” Otter told Seal as he got up. She looked up at him, confused. 
“Why?” She asked. “We’ve never been allowed in there.” 
Otter didn’t look back at her, just continued walking. “Exactly. Maybe I can find something in there that proves we’re worth keeping around.”
“Otter, you’re not making sense again…” Seal half-wined, half-pointed out. 
“I know.” He replied simply. It’s better that I don’t. For your sake, whatever the truth is…. 
Thankfully she didn’t ask any more questions and just rolled with it. Otter wished he could tell her everything; but he wasn’t sure. He didn’t want to be responsible for breaking Seal’s peppy and personal-space-intruding personality, however annoying it was.
Otter parted the curtains separating his parents’ old room from the rest of the house. He remembered, once before he started worrying about what the other SeaWings thought of them, when he and Seal snuck into the room and stole an old photo of their parents. He still had that photo in his room, the tattered and worn paper that dulled the colors of their parents’ scales—and the glistening dark blue egg tucked between them. 
Stepping into the room, those same memories flooded back to him. Seal whispering excitedly (and quite loudly) to him, and at the end Otter barely being able to snatch the photo before Conch came in and scolded him. 
The whole room gave off an aura of forgotten words and long-lost secrets. Or maybe Otter was just imagining it. And it was exactly the same as it was the night they snuck into it, not even the lighting changed. They were in a cave, after all.
He looked to his side and grabbed a candle and a match, then lit it. He was pretty confident no one would be able to see the light through the thick seaweed curtain, still damp as if it never dried from the days wet SeaWings would walk through it. 
The light flickered for a moment, then gave in to Otter’s control. It was dim, but would suffice for his needs.
Overall the room looked as expected; dusty from years of neglect, almost everything losing its color. Otter could only imagine how beautiful the room would’ve looked back when his parents were here, living in this room.
A bed of sheets and blankets sat against the wall on the right side of Otter, unmade and messy. The sheets had to have been a grey-ish blue or purple, though few colors showed now. The sheets appeared stained with something, and he was sure he didn’t want to know what. On each side of the bed was a bedside table, both suited with candles before Otter took one. 
On the other side of the room was a simple chest. Something pearly hung out of a corner, suggesting to be a jewelry box. That’s where he’d start first. 
But as he was walking over, something caught the light of the candle, reflecting it back to him. Otter glanced over at where the reflection came from. 
A little book sat on the bed. Tattered and torn. The unfinished binding suggested that it was still a work in progress when it was abruptly put to an end. Several pages stuck out, while other pieces of paper seemed to be attached to the insides of the book, giving it a sloppy look. 
Curios, Otter got a bit closer to read the text.
For Our Future, We Write it said. 
Otter stepped closer and gently lifted the front page. An introductory. He always liked those; along with table of contents. It just made it look a bit more organized.
I write for our future, of our past. We’ve been searching for some place to stay for a while, finally finding a home here in Bayside Village. Vaquita is with an egg now; and in the town of my own birth, no less. I wish I’d only known where Ray and Conch are now—maybe one day I’ll see them again here. If they’ve left at all.
Angler
== Chapter 2 ==
Otter stared at the book a bit longer, making sure he wasn’t imagining things. This was a book, signed by their father, which had been kept away from them their entire life. Conch never let them in this room; just told them saddened stories of their father—Angler. Their mother was barely present in any of them.
He looked down at the date marked in ink on the corner of the page. It was a year before his hatching year, but no doubt the egg that was mentioned was his. Unless there were more things they were never told about. 
The book looked like it was about to fall apart when he carefully picked it up, praying that the only key to his parents won’t break.
“Otter! Come on, it’s time to go!” Seal called from the other room, startling him. 
He sat the candle back on the bedside, secured the book in one talon, then snuffed the candle out before coming back through the seaweed curtain. 
Well, it was certainly bright on the other side of the curtain. Otter stood there a moment to get used to the light, before looking around the room for his sister. And there Seal was, her pink and light blue scales shimmering with water, yet eyes dulled from the discovery of earlier. She gave him a smile nonetheless, playfully whacking him with her wing when he got close enough. 
“What’s that?” She asked, poking the old book. 
Otter moved it away from her. “I’ll be honest, I don’t know.” Still, Seal peaked over to read its title. 
“Says ‘For Our Future, We Write’. Sounds boring.” Seal thought for a moment. “Or maybe romantic. Otter, you didn’t tell me you were reading romance books now!” 
“That’s because I’m not, Seal!” At least, Otter hoped it wasn’t a romance. He knew there might be some “my love”s thrown in there, but there was no way it would be an all-out romance story. This was their father’s journal, after all. “It’s an old book I found in our parents’ room, so keep your talons off of it.” 
Seal nodded, stepping away obediently before starting for the exit. Otter tucked the book with some others in his “To Read” pile, then followed his sister to the door. 
                                                       …
Otter noticed every glance, look, and glare the other villagers gave him and Seal as they walked down the sandy streets. Cold and hard, making him wish he could just disappear and avoid their gazes by keeping his head low and be seemingly unnoticeable. His sister walked beside him head held high and a smile on her face, though, like everyone was cheering them on as an adoring crowd. He could only wish to have her seeming confidence that the whole village wouldn’t just step out of their shadows and murder them both. 
Giving curt nods and greetings to the stall owners lined up on either side of the street, Otter got what he knew they needed while Seal dealt with the things they could definitely live without. 
His only thought was his father’s journal. Finally, something had come with real written words from their parents. Maybe he could learn what they did to gain everyone’s distrust—or even where they were right now. 
Don’t get your hopes up, Otter scolded himself. They’re probably dead. Like everyone else we know. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from imagining their faces, nestling beside them, feeling their warmth around him that just took all his fears and worries away. Maybe if he clung onto that thought long enough…he’d be able to feel those feelings. Hear their voices. I can already hear them… He thought, before he realized dragons were talking around him.
“Otter, do you think this is enough?” Seal presented Otter with three giant clams, and two oysters. 
“I think it’s too much.” Otter replied honestly, shaking any bit of his fantasy away. “We only need two of each, and maybe some more candles.”
But Seal was doing that “I want to do something you’re not gonna like” face. “I was actually thinking we could give one to Storm..? So then he doesn’t think we hate him for not telling us?” 
“What, by feeding him?” Otter couldn’t stop the bitterness in his remark. “He better know I hate him, or else he’s dumber than I thought. I can’t speak for you, but I’d rather not see his face for at least a week.” 
Seal shrunk at his tone, but he couldn’t quite figure out if he was sorry for it or not. “That’s kinda impossible, you know…we have to see him at school tomorrow.” 
“Doesn’t mean I have to look at him.” Otter replied, flicking his tail. “Just do whatever. As long as I don’t see him close to you.” Seal’s expression lit up, and she went back over to the stall to pay for the items before following Otter back to their house. 
“Thank you!” She cried, though he moved out of the way quickly when she all but threw herself at him in a hug. “You’re the best big brother ever!” 
Maybe, Otter thought darkly. There was many things he was keeping secret from her. He could only hope that she wouldn’t mind when he finally told her.
== Chapter 3 ==
If Otter had thought ahead to what dinner would actually be, he would have insisted Seal put the extras back on the stall and drag her back home. He wanted to read more of their father’s journal; not sit around awkwardly at their table while Seal droned on about something neither of the boys were listening to. 
She sat the raw seafood on their makeshift table. Storm poked it uneasily. 
“It’s not poison,” Otter retorted, “so stop acting like it’ll kill you.” 
Storm nervously laughed. “Kill me. Bet that’s something you want to do right now.” He glanced over at Otter, who only growled back at him. 
“Oh, I’ve got worse in mind.” He said honestly, not even giving the other SeaWing a sideways glance. 
Seal frowned as she sat between them. “Boys! I thought I told you this is a no fighting zone!”
You didn’t, actually, Otter thought. Conch did. Years ago. When we were two.
 Storm lowered his head and started eating, visibly pleasing Seal. She looked back at Otter, blue eyes gleaming. He started eating as well. She looked pleased and began eating hers.
Otter heard the laughter of the dragonets outside their cave as they ate in silence. The sun was setting but still they played; happy and fulfilled without a care in the world. He heard their parents calling them in for dinner, and the high squeaks they made in protest. Their parents telling them something; then the dragonets tripping over each other to get inside first. He wished he remembered his own dragonethood being like that, but he could only remember Conch and her care, someone muttering his name, and the faint thought that someone had called him “Ray Jr.”
“Otter. OTTER.”
Otter looked over at Seal. “What?” 
“Did you like it?” Seal asked brightly. “I promised the shopkeeper I’d tell them how good it was.”
He nodded absently. “Yeah. Tasted like seafood, which is better than the somehow horribly butchered seafood.” Seal smiled and took the plates back to the kitchen. 
Storm glanced over and Otter. “So…wondering what the best way to torture me was?”  
“I’ve already gotten that planned out,” he said honestly, looking back at the SeaWing like they were having a casual conversation. “I was going to lock you up in a bright, secluded place, where there’s no one to talk to, and you’d be forgotten forever. Until your bones are found by my great-grandchildren; then they’ll spit on them and otherwise disgrace you.” Otter gave him his own fake smile, returned by a sheepish grin and an expression that told him he’d successfully upset Storm. 
“Wow…” Storm gulped, “You…won’t really do that to me, right..?” 
Otter shrugged. “Time will tell, but I plan on it if you even think about doing anything like that again. You’re lucky Seal gets over things quickly, or else I would’ve just killed you.”
Seal walked back into the room with a smile, completely oblivious to the dark conversation her brother and her friend just had. “Who wants seaweed rolls?!?!” 
She pulled out a giant tray of mushes of green. They looked slimy and sticky, and anyone could see the insides showing through the cover of seaweed. Storm and Otter groaned at the same time, then looked at each other with “what the moons, dude?” expressions. 
“Yay! You’re looking at each other again!” Seal said happily, having to resort to lightly smacking her tail against the side of the entranceway with her talons full. She walked over to the table again and put a seaweed roll in front of each of them. 
It was Otter that poked his this time. It was way too squishy than it should be; and the filling/glaze oozed everywhere near and on his talon. Conch should’ve never taught Seal how to cook; though that still didn’t do much,  saying she was a horrible cook to start with. 
Otter quickly ate the horribly done seaweed roll, nodded when Seal asked him if he liked it, then got up from the table. 
“Where are you going?” Seal asked curiously. 
He walked over to his “To Read” pile and grabbed his father’s journal from the stack. “I’m going to read.” 
“Oh, alright then,” Seal said. 
Otter gave one last look back at the table, though. Particularly in Storm’s direction. “Also: I’m still going to pretend you don’t exist. You don’t deserve to be noticed.” Storm gave him a shrug, as if he knew that was coming, and Otter started walking to his room. 
== Chapter 4 ==
Otter took a breath has he opened the old book again. He flipped over the introduction page, on to the first entry. 
Notes covered the edges, and one page was almost completely torn out. One of them read ‘Bayside Village Schoolhouse holds records. Get them, and learn more.’ with a check at the corner. The hand writing on the note even changed; it was much neater and more stream-like, giving it a wispy look.  He traced over the words lightly with a shaky talon. Is…is this… Mom’s handwriting..? Otter glanced over to the picture on the other side of the room. He wished he remembered what they were like—that first, happy year of his life turned into dull memories contorted from time. 
He propped the journal on some piled up sheets, and started reading. 
So yes. ‘For our future, we write’. I guess I should begin with how I met Vaquita. 
It was a stormy night. Ray had started going missing every once in a while. I had caught him sneaking back in with blood on his talons, but he wouldn’t tell me— nor Conch— why. I didn’t push for his response; only assuming that he’d tell us when he was ready to. 
Conch had gone out to search for something to eat, which left me as the only one at the cave. For a while, I sat outside and let the rain pelt against my scales. I let my scales give off a dim light, letting anyone know where I was. Then I saw a replying flash.  
‘Where are you?’ I didn’t know who is was. All I knew was that they needed direction. 
I flashed back as bright as I could ‘Here’ over and over again. Squinting against the rain, I finally saw them. 
The light blue main scales of my sister were clear;  but there was another dragon with her. Heavily leaning against her, was another SeaWing. Conch landed back on the ground with a heavy thump, followed by the other SeaWing. 
She was beautiful. Purple scales dominated all else, though a cut ran down the length of her forearm, still bleeding. 
Conch sat her aside and asked her some questions. Who are you? Why were those dragons after you? What do they want from you? I was just trying to piece it all together as she explained.  
“Vaquita,” she’d said in a weak tone, wincing as Conch placed a wet towel over her wound. “My name is Vaquita.” I remember her staring right past me and out the cave entrance, fear clear in her pale sea green eyes. “And… I don’t know what they want with me, truly. They just…came. Shouting thinks like ‘animus’ and ‘unworthy’. I kept on trying to tell them they had the wrong dragon, but…they didn’t believe me.” 
I questioned her. I asked why they thought she was an animus, I asked if she was related to the royal family. She shook her head as her response to each one. I asked her if they said who they were. 
“‘The Sharks,’” was her chilling reply. I remember Ray talking about them before; they were ‘honorable’ when it came to their killing; only killing those who ‘deserves’ it, mainly animi and other dragons who are different from the masses. But to be on their list of enemies…suffice to say it was not good. They would find a way to kill you, no matter how long it took. 
Heh, and I married that dragon. I make the oddest decisions. Marry the dragon that one of the top assassin groups in the Kingdom of Sea, and have an egg with her. Moons.
 Otter smiled as he read the final words. 
Do I regret some of my decisions? Yes. But meeting Vaquita and marrying her? No, especially not now as we’re going to have a child of our own. 
Angler
Otter closed the book once more, setting it by the photo of his parents on top of the dresser. The one note’s message came into his mind again. 
Bayside Village Schoolhouse, he repeated. He could go there after school; or sneak out before. What would I ask the librarian? ‘May I see everything you have on The Sharks’? What about ‘the false accusing of Vaquita’? He didn’t know, but be knew he shouldn’t worry about it right now. 
Giving one last glance at the picture of his parents, Otter told Seal he was going to bed and curled up in his sheets. For a moment, again he could feel the warm embrace of his parents…silent whisperings around him, like they didn’t want him to know…the sad, heart wrenching gaze of his mother…the peace in the turmoil of the storm as he cuddled between his parents…and another egg, just close enough to him that he could hear the tiny dragonet inside’s light scraping against the shell. 
== Chapter 5 ==
Otter heard voices, even before he opened his eyes again. But they weren’t the voices of Seal or Storm. They were two new ones—kind of.
One of them sounded like Conch, gentle like the summer breeze. The other one was…harsher. Making the dragon sound like someone that should be feared. It was hushed to a whisper, but the shadiness stayed. 
Otter opened his eyes. He felt tiny. Really, really tiny. He looked around. Not only were the voices different, but so was is surroundings. Yes, it was still in the cave, but it was closer to the entrance. A storm raged outside. 
“What’s that face for?” Otter realized that it was Conch,  looking at the other dragon in a curious fear.  
The other dragon brought his gaze to Otter. He didn’t know what to think about it; it was cold, absent, yet concerned. He didn’t know what to think about the dragon in general, with scales close in colors but in different places to his. 
“Ray! What is that look for! Seriously! Just tell me, you scavengerbrain!” Conch cried, turning the other dragon’s attention back to her. 
Ray, Otter thought. I could’ve sworn I’ve heard that name before… But he couldn’t remember, only the blur of his first year of life. And then Otter stared a bit longer. He may not have heard it, but he’d read it. Ray was his uncle. 
He was listening to a conversation between his father’s two siblings. Which meant this was probably a dream. Or a memory. Finally, my memory does something useful for me, part of his mind whispered. 
“Fine, but don’t freak out.” The dragon, Ray, said. He still didn’t look like he was paying attention. His voice dropped, Otter’s heart thumping. 
Maybe that wasn’t his heart, after he started looking around again. The wisp of the dream was fading, all around him. And, quite frankly, it felt like someone was jumping on him. Otter wasn’t ready to go back to the real world, though. He wanted to know why Ray had looked at him like that. He wanted to know why Conch was so worried. 
A faint whisper of another voice rung out. “That doesn’t look like the best idea…” Now, that, was Storm. 
Otter knew he had to wake up. Closing his eyes to then he could re-open them in the real world, he heard the final words of Ray. 
“…he’s an animus.” Clear as ever, yet muddled and heard to understand. 
A moment later, Otter was squinting underneath of Seal. He didn’t look at Storm, as he’d promise, though he knew he was there. 
“Told ya it would work,” Seal glanced over her shoulder to the other SeaWing, getting off of Otter.
“Maybe…” Storm muttered, walking across the room. “See you at school.”
Seal nudged Otter playfully, forcing him to leave the warmth of his sheets behind. He then pushed her out of his own room. “Let me guess, we’re late for school?” 
Seal nodded.
“Then go get ready yourself,” Otter said, trying to justify sweeping her out of his room that was full of things he didn’t want her knowing quite yet. She nodded and ran off to her own room. 
Otter grabbed what things he knew he needed and stuck them in his school bag. Even though he suggested to himself to bring it with him, he slipped his father’s journey in one of his chests and went to the doorway.
== Chapter 6 ==
The walk to school was silent. Otter did not drill multiplication into Seal’s mind while they walked; Seal bounced quietly as she walked. There was only a dim silence, like there should be more. Like more things that needed to be said. More secrets yet to be revealed. Otter hoped he could find some part of that today. As soon as he could, he’d go over to the library and start searching himself. 
One of the teachers nodded to them as they submerged themselves in the watery entranceway to the school. They did not look happy; then again, they never did. Any of them. It was frown, frown, look even more disappointed, frown. Maybe Otter could figure out why sometime soon. He hoped he would. 
Seal separated to go to her own classes, Storm coming out from a classroom and following her to his. 
Even if I don’t want to admit it, Otter thought. Storm’ll keep Seal safe. He sulked off to the second classroom, ignoring the other SeaWings flashing curses at him as the teachers sat and laughed. 
                                                        …
The rest of the day was…a bit interesting. Someone had gone off and said that their teacher had gotten his tail ripped by a shark, so the class was cancelled. Not really believing them, Otter stayed in the classroom and thought. And, in short, after a few hours of waiting, the teacher showed up to only Otter being in the classroom doing useful things; the rest of them either being jerkfaces, idiots, or a combination of both. 
And, most weird yet, the teacher complimented Otter for being “in the mindset of a learner” and even nodded to him. He thought it was odd and creepy, possibly like he wanted something of him that he wouldn’t be able to receive in a threat.
But now, he flashed his scales to Seal to tell her to go home; or stay with Storm for the night. Otter planned to do as much research as he possibly could. Which meant he couldn’t have Seal there, almost annoying him to the moons. But he needed to know she was safe. Sadly, entrusting Storm with that responsibility was most likely the best thing to do.
Okay! See you as soon as you get home, then? Seal asked in Aquatic. 
Yeah, sure. But that might be a little late. Correction: most likely really late. Otter responded. 
Seal nodded and turned around, and went out the door. Her smile somehow rubbed off on him, as he started to grin as her tail disappeared through the exit. Then he went back to the library, stepping into the room moments later as he emerged from the water.
The library itself was in a cave above the water; and as such was often a evacuation spot during shark attacks, that being hinted to newcomers once they see the small medical kit tucked away in the corner. Otter knew that each one of these scrolls were waterproof, just as any scroll should be if it wanted to last long in the Kingdom of Sea. 
Shelves of scrolls covered every edge, even a few smaller ones sat in the middle of the room, although the library was by no means very big. Still, to Otter, it always seemed to give him the answers he was looking for.
Well, every answer but the ones he had about his parents. Now, though, he might be able to find some of those answers, hidden away and kept secret. 
Otter didn’t know where to begin. The Possible Assassination of Vaquita? The Meeting of Angler and Vaquita? ...The Sharks.
 First he dove to the librarian’s desk, where the cards where that told him where everything was. Luckily, the librarian was never really there. Otherwise he’d be questioned on why he was making a mess of her unimportant papers laying on the desk (a hatching day party? Really?). He kept the cards in their places, carefully swiping all of them until the T’s.
“T-4, ARL.” Otter muttered to himself, shoving the drawer back in and poking his head above the desk to see the letters hanging in front of different sections of books.
T, he thought, getting up and going over to the section. 
(Yes, “ARL” can either be Pearl for the Fathom’s sister, or a misspelling of “RAL” for Queen Coral.)
== Chapter 7 ==
(Oof, first chapter I’ve written in a while. Let’s hope that I can write it more frequently.)
Scrolls. Nothing but useless scrolls. The Scorching, The Story of Albatross, Turtles: How Many Really Live? So many scrolls that Otter was almost confident he had read them all before. “Nothing,” He said. “There’s nothing.” He would be surprised if someone had checked it out. He wouldn’t have been surprised, though, if this hadn’t been updated in years. 
Otter looked through the scrolls once more. There, he thought, after finally finding the scroll he was looking for. He took it off the shelf, and opened it up.
The Sharks have been considered an organization since a few years after the Great Massacre, where Prince Albatross killed his sister and family after losing his soul to his animus magic. This time sparked many new ideas to the minds of dragons all across Pyrrhia—but to this group, it was how deadly the world around them was. 
They were organized to “help” limit those special dragons. Those of animus blood were the only ones killed at first, against the will of the royal family as they murdered the queen’s children. And as times changed, they began hunting more. Corrupt politicians, hybrids, anyone that they saw unfit. There’s a list of all the assassinations and false accusations we could collect about them.
And the rest was too hard to read. Almost all of it was scribbled out, but not by the librarian. No, the librarian wouldn’t even care if dragonets were reading violent things—Otter wasn’t even sure if anyone in Bayside cared about what their dragonets heard and read. This had to have been done by someone else. Some dragon that wanted their names cleared, perhaps; or someone trying to make sure no one else got a hold of the information. 
This is when a tiny scribble caught his gaze. He squinted to see what it wrote. Head two villages north of Summer Palace. And it wasn’t a moment sooner he recognized the handwriting. Vaquita’s handwriting. Otter looked around cautiously before ripping that part of the scroll off, flinching as if it cried in pain. He got up and started towards the door again.
Otter walked out of the school without getting noticed, then started back towards his home. He thought of the note, and how it was phrased. It sounds like instructions…but for who? Did someone else before us but after them need to find our parents? He thought, thinking of all the possibilities. Could it have been Ray, or Conch? No; a trip north of the Summer Palace would take far too long than Conch has ever left us alone. But Ray… I know nothing about my uncle. Maybe he has something to do with this. Maybe he can help us. It didn’t sound like the dragon Conch had kind of avoided talking about. The Ray they were told about was a deadly assassin; although she didn’t know who always hired him. Otter remembered being told that if he was to ever see the older SeaWing, to walk away again. 
A bouncy Seal came out to greet him. “Hey, Otter! Whatcha got in your talon?”
Otter nodded to his sister, walking into the cave only to see Storm chilling in the corner. He looked down at the ground instead of at the other SeaWing, as he had promised him the night before. “It’s a location.” 
“A location to where?” Storm asked.
“Yeah, where where where?” Seal asked, bouncing all around Otter with excitement.
“Two villages north of the Summer Palace,” Otter replied.
Storm muttered names under his breath. “That’s…a completely land village. No water around it that counts as the village. And it’s…” He seemed to be counting, now. “Five days away from now. Flying, that is. Swimming, assuming you get the fastest currents, is more like four and a half.” He paused, looking up at Otter with confusion. “Why do you want to go there?”
Otter didn’t exactly know how to respond to that. ‘Because this told me to’? ‘Because I want to learn about my parents, obviously, you squid brain’? He just decided to avoid the question all together. “Well, Seal? Guess what. We’re going on a field trip of our own. Destination: wherever under the moons this leads us to!”
“Yay!” Seal said enthusiastically. “I’ll go get some sleep!” Then the pink-and-blue SeaWing bounded off towards her room. 
“Can… I come?” Storm asked hesitantly. 
“No.” Otter replied in a blunt tone. He walked past Storm and got to the doorway to his room before he added, “It’s getting late, maybe you should head home.” He heard the SeaWing get up and walk out the door. Good, I’m not letting you ruin this for me— for us. Otter thought bitterly, walking into his room and plopping down on his sheets.
== Chapter 8 ==
Otter was reminded what conflicting wants were the next morning. One part of him wanted to go to school and learn about the place they might be going to. The other part of him wanted to start this journey and finish it. So he got up, and called for Seal. 
He didn’t realize his little sister was already up, though. The bouncy dragon was bounding from one side of the cave to the other, smiling as she prepared several different things for them. 
“Oh, hey Otter!” She said, rushing over to her brother. 
“How long have you been up?” Otter asked, generally curious as he saw the pile of fruits, books, and a map shoved in the corner of the main cave.
“Not long,” Seal replied. “I was just so excited that I wanted to make sure everything was ready for when you woke up!”
Otter nodded. “Just…let me make sure we have everything.” He actually wanted to make sure they only had the necessities. Knowing Seal, she packed every bit of food they had in the cave and every book that had the word “adventure” or “journey” or “map” in it once. He was most surprised when he realized that it was only half true. 
He put everything aside that wasn’t needed, and separated everything that was left in two different bags. Otter took hold of the heavier one, nodding for Seal to take the other. He had the books, the map, and their parents’ journal. She had…a few pieces of fruit and a few rolled up fish. Definitely the lighter load.  But that was fine. Otter wasn’t even all that sure how he was going to explain the full intention of his actions. He hoped to avoid the subject as long as he possibly could. 
“So, first we’re flying,” Otter said, thinking of all the maps of Pyrrhia he had memorized years ago. “Because this area is basically a shark breeding ground, and I’m pretty sure they don’t like intruders. And then once we reach the general area of the Summer Palace—“
“We stop and visit it?” Seal piped in enthusiastically.
“No.” Otter replied bluntly, shaking his head. “If Queen Coral knows who we are, then we’re most likely not her friends. She won’t like us at her palace, anyway.” He paused before continuing what he was saying before. “Then we’ll start swimming. Following the fastest currents, and given we don’t run into very much dangers or complications, we should get there in about four days. We’ll rest for about an hour on any island we see, and spend most of the time swimming. Understood?”
“Understood!” Seal said, bouncing. “This is exciting!” 
I wish I had your enthusiasm, Otter thought. And I hope I don’t end up taking that away from you… He didn’t know what he’d do if he was responsible for taking his sister’s innocence away from her. It was one of the reasons why he hasn’t explained any of this to her yet. He was afraid to suck all that enthusiasm, all that energy…and turn her into any normal dragon in Bayside. He hoped that she’d never have to realize what life is like for the rest of them, that weren’t born so optimistic and stay that way like Seal has; even if it meant she always stayed oblivious to the bitter truth that awaited on the other side of the door that they may get so close to opening. It was one of the scariest things Otter could ever think of.
“Come on come on come on!!!” Seal squealed, jumping up and down and all but tugging part of Otter’s wing to get him moving. 
He grinned somehow, and nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go.” Then he sat a wing on top of his little sister, and they walked out together. Out of the cave. Out of Bayside. Out of their childhood home… But most importantly, out of the woods of secrets and lies.
== Chapter 9 ==
Otter didn’t keep track of how long they’d been flying; only how far. He seemed to count every wingbeat that lead them further from Bayside, every heartbeat that raced with anticipation of learning something new. He was less worried about the darkening clouds overhead than he was that Seal was behind him, but his sister was flapping along beside him.
Nothing happened; no one spoke, no one shouted their names to put them back in school. No one cared. Or maybe they did, and what they cared about was getting the two SeaWings out of their sight. Probably. That wouldn’t surprise him. The only noise was his and Seal’s wingbeats as they flew over the water, which shimmered faintly in the growing light. 
They passed a few islands, but they didn’t stop. The only thing on them had to be only crabs, shells, and a palm tree or two. They flew for miles; hours passed while Otter was almost drowning in his own thoughts, checking every now and again to make sure Seal was still beside him. 
“Ooo, do you think we’ll find something?” Seal piped in. 
“Yes and no,” Otter replied. “I hope we’ll find something useful. But I’m not sure.” I’m not sure this is the right thing to do…if what we find will help us, he wanted to say. But he kept that to himself, not wanting his sister to know what he truly thought. If he was sure she’d be safe back at Bayside, he would’ve left her there in hopes that if he did find something that was bad…she didn’t have to know about it. She could stay completely oblivious to this whole mission, if it were to get to an unfavorable position. He would be the only one who has to deal with the truth. 
“I hope we find something too!” Seal agreed brightly. “What do you think we’ll find?”
He didn’t know how much to tell her. Otter didn’t even know if he wanted to fully announce why they’re even doing this mission. “Something useful.” He replied as blandly as possible. “Something that can tell me what I want to know.”
                                                           .   .   .
When the sun disappeared below the horizon, Otter led Seal to a small island where they could stop for the night.
After a while, he was able to get a fire going. Seal had already fallen asleep on the other side of him, so he had no one to talk to. Nothing but the gentle sound of the waves crashing on the shore filled in the void of silence. He didn’t really want to go to sleep. But they were safe, and on such a remote island that no other tribe would be able to get to. In this world of war, the most they’d probably get yelled at for was sneaking out of their village—if that. So even though he just got it started, Otter splashed some water on the fire and curled up beside is sister. 
                                                         .   .    . 
And he was back in that memory again. He first realized this by how tiny he felt. Then by how Ray and Conch where standing in the doorway. Otter kind of hope they’d recap what he had heard before, right when he was waking up, those muddled words he heard as Seal jumped on him. But they didn’t. 
“Please tell me one of them knows,” Conch said. Her brother remained silent, but she continued to stare at him like he’d tell her. 
Ray finally shook his head. “Angler knows. I kinda hope Vaq never knows…”
“A mother should now what her child is!” Conch protested. “That’s like if I didn’t think that Hail was Kori’s father! That’s like telling me she’s not a hybrid!” She paused, taking the one moment she had when her brother was looking at her. “It’s almost as bad as telling Midnight you don’t still love her.” 
“Alright, I was fine with the IceWing,” Ray began. “But you are NOT bringing up Midnight. Literally there are so many bad things that might happen if you say her name I can’t even—“ 
Conch snorted. “Tell me. Tell me what kind of risks I’m dealing with by taking care of Otter and Seal. Tell me how in the moons you knew he was an animus.” 
“By taking them in…” Ray glanced over at little Otter and still-in-her-egg Seal. “You risk a lot of stuff. Heck, I’m risking just as much by being here. Look. He kills. And he’ll want to kill you and probably get his bloody talons on Ray Jr. and the egg. All I gotta tell you is please be careful.” 
“The next question.” Conch inquired, raising a brow. “How do you know.” 
Ray sighed, no longer in eye contact with anyone again. “Remember Illusion? And Midnight’s sister, Dreamwatcher? They both host animus magic, too. Call it this awful gift of telling if someone has the ability to go insane and murder everyone. I saw it in Orca, too; from the way she always looked around her mother I knew she was hiding something. Apparently that something was animus magic.” 
“Which one of us has animus genes, though?” Conch wondered aloud. 
“I dunno. I think Vaq is part of the royal family somewhere.” Ray replied with a shrug. “Because otherwise all our other relatives with animus magic are from other tribes. Whether it be NightWing or IceWing.” 
(Quick rundown for those who may not know: Midnight=Ray’s mate and Illusion’s mom. Hail=Conch’s “mate” and Kori’s dad. AND LITERALLY I REALIZED ANGLER IS THE ONLY ONE WHO’S STILL WITH HIS MATE!!!)  
== Chapter 10 ==
Coming....probably not very soon....Category:Fanfictions
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