Counting Stars (colab)

Category:Collaborations
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Warning: this fanfic may contain violence, mature content, and dark thoughts, you have been warned...
This fanfic is writen by F and Angel of Madness please don't edit this without permission. Counting Stars takes place in a slightly different timeline than the canon series, and no canon characters are present. However, canon events are present, and this series would take place about the same time as Arc 1, with some major changes.
== Prologue ==
The volcano rumbled, choking out the time of day with more ash in the sky. It must have been sometime around night…right? Almost everybody was asleep, twitching and twisting with pain, hunger, and anger. Except for one. 
Nightfoe was up, sneaking out into the rainforest. The tunnel was usually guarded, but at the same time, those guards were usually sound asleep, snoring like giant hulking idiots. Anyone on the other side of that tunnel could hear them, but-only weak RainWings lived on the other side. Her tail coiled in and she gritted her teeth-The RainWings had life so good, plenty of food, no cares about a war, spacious and roomy territory-It made her sick to her stomach to know that the tribe right next to them had such an easy time instead of the NightWings who had to fight and struggle for anything.
For once, the guards were awake-Two of them Nightfoe knew-It was a small tribe, after all. They were Skyvoice and Longclaw, who were guards that Nightfoe had never paid great attention to. Everyone in the tribe had a place, and they only talked to the dragons in the same place as them. She wasn't a guard, so she hadn't talked to them much. The third NightWing didn't seem like anyone she knew, and it was confusing and scary at the same time. Everything seemed to be working in Nightfoe's favor, however, as the three seemed more busy arguing and trying to catch a great heron that had made the mistake of living on the island than guarding the tunnel.
She slipped out into the damp, cold rainforest. It smelled like citrus fruits and fresh rain, and it seemed like a perfect place to live. The dragoness silently promised herself that someday she and her dragonet would live here. But for now, she wasn't to her destination yet. She was headed all the way out for the Sea Kingdom, to find her egg and make sure it was safe. Gliding among the stars and the sun that was beginning to rise, she pondered whether or not it was a good choice to do this. She could have been punished if someone woke up and found her gone. But she carried on, all the way to the other end of the rainforest. She flew to a little patch of grass and mud where her egg had been half-buried for the past year after she had laid it. She checked on it daily, and was exhausted and windblown every day and night. But this time, what sat before her was a small, dark gray dragonet, looking up at her. A female, to be certain. She picked up the little dragon and cradled her, glad the child survived. 
She wanted to stay with her dragonet forever, and never leave. The island was horrible, but here was perfect. Who would even find her and her dragonet out here? It was too impossible, too outlandish of a desire. 
She had to sneak her child into the fortress with her, that was for certain, and there were so many ways that could go wrong. A dragonet, unknown to the tribe, which could easily get her killed. But, clutching the newborn, she flew back to the end of the rainforest, through the tunnel, and back onto the volcano that held them all prisoner.
A part of Nightfoe was hurt that she’d missed the hatching of her dragonet, and she wondered if it was important. That hatching held more information than Nightfoe could ever dream of-if she’d seen the silver eggshell or watched as her dragonet seemed in awe of herself with an immense power. Nightfoe didn’t know the secrets that her very own dragonet had. 
As she crept back through the winding tunnels of the fortress, Nightfoe found the hatchery-mostly empty, of course. She nudged the door open and caught it with her tail, allowing it to gently slide shut instead of slamming closed. There were two eggs in here-a rare sight for sure, and Nightfoe shuddered. 
This was it. The moment she wasn’t sure if she was going to have the heart for. Her egg hadn’t been laid on the island, but she planned to raise her dragonet on the island. Every day had been spent planning carefully until Nightfoe found the perfect target: The larger, closer-to-hatching egg’s mother had been killed in a fight a few weeks ago. Nightfoe had but one option.
Smash the egg, kill the dragonets inside, and act like this was the dragonet that crawled out. Pray and hope she was allowed to raise them, since as far as the tribe knew-she hadn’t even been carrying an egg before. Nightfoe was excellent at keeping secrets. 
The dragonet in her arms wriggled, and Nightfoe sighed. “Forgive me, precious one,” she whispered, setting the dragonet down and walking over to the egg. Swiftly, she brought a heavy talon on top of it, the shell giving way and exposing the unborn dragonet inside. For a moment, Nightfoe had compassion-she couldn’t kill this dragonet. The tribe needed more members. 
But if it meant keeping her own baby safe…then so be it. Nightfoe reached out and grabbed the dragonet, flinging it out the window of the palace so that it would be dead and undiscovered. The eggshell lay shattered, like a perfect crime…or a hatchling’s wake. She gently placed the dragonet inside the hollowed out rock, among the shells, and hugged them one more time. 
“I finally have the perfect name for you,” Nightfoe whispered. “Because you were a gift from the stars, but have caused such dismay before your life has begun…I’ll name you Stardust.”
== Part One: Ashen Clouds ==
=== Chapter One ===
Stardust always woke up when her alarm clock rang. Her alarm clock was the volcano, and it ringing was any vision or sight that told of it erupting. She had been bombarded with them every day and night for the past couple of years. Climbing off the rock ledge that was her bed, she came outside to the black, barren wastelands and choking smoke and ash of the volcano. Stardust wanted to take a deep breath and admire her home, but in reality, she didn't want to inhale any more of the air than she needed to survive, and was so ashamed of her home. We are supposed to be brilliant and glorious, not some pitiful, dying tribe living on a dead rock, She often told herself. A vision struck her, flashing as bright and vicious as a strike of lighting. The golden glow of the volcano was much brighter, and lava flowed everywhere. Dragons were screaming, crying, dying, and one of them was her mother. One of the bodies she had seen left by the volcano all too much. It was the same one she had been having all this time, so familiar it was like a play rehearsed daily in her mind, so well that she knew what to say and when to say. When to scream in agony at being burned alive, and when to weep until your eyes gave out.
She closed her eyes and tried to forget the vision. Or at least pushi it to the back of her head for now. She stepped outside her room and was greeted by a quick hug from Nightfoe. "Did you sleep, my shining Stardust?" she said in her peculiar raspy voice. No matter how badly the tribe treated Stardust, she knew she could count on her mother to be comforting and help her. "I know this life isn't the best, but we have to put up with it. I promise you, hon, one day we'll live somewhere bright and airy, where we can see the sun and moon rise." 
"I know you will, mom," Stardust said back, gently removing herself from the hug. She wanted to tell Nightfoe what she saw, that through a haze of death at the fiery talons of molten rock and a river of betrayal that flowed forever, she did see herself and her mother together in a bright and cheerful place. But it was so distant and so far away...it felt like she might never reach that point. There was no reason to get her mother's hopes up.
"Oh, darling," she whispered, pulling Stardust closer. "I don't know where I'd be if not for you. If your egg had been cracked, or...or you'd died in the shell like so many others here." Nightfoe whimpered and sounded a little bit close to crying. Stardust gently patted her mother's talons and backed away a little bit. While Nightfoe was distracted, Stardust tried to sneak out and go see her friend. 
“Starry? Where are you going? Stay with me a little more today…please?” she asked, tenting a wing protectively around Stardust. 
Stardust shuffled uncomfortably. She wanted-no, she needed to sort her visions today. Get her priorities straight and figure out how to stop it. Seeing her friends wasn’t a good reason for going out. Neither was claiming her visions, since her mother hoped they would pass with age. There was one lie that Nightfoe may believe, and Stardust tried it.
“I-I agreed to meet with Strength today,” she blurted. “We were going to-study the idea of more fireproof materials?” Stardust closed her eyes, waiting for Nightfoe to say ‘no’ and drag Stardust along to wherever she didn’t want to go. To her relief and surprise, Nightfoe quickly released Stardust.
“Oh! Oh, of course my darling! I’m so sorry-I don’t want to be in your way of helping the tribe. By all means, go on.” Nightfoe gave a quick bow and backed out of the way, leaving Stardust free to go.
Well, now how was she supposed to go study visions when her mother had so much faith and trust in her? Guess I really do have to go see Strength today….sigh. 
She stepped out of their rocky home and spread her wings wide, taking in the ash-filled breeze and wondering where the sweet, salty tidal winds went. Is Strength even in the library? He hates it there. Maybe I’m in luck. Stardust brushed against the landing platform for the library-full of information beyond Stardust’s wildest dreams. Outside of her visions, of course. A long time ago, the old library on the island had apparently been destroyed in an eruption, but the scrolls were replicated and stored here now. Several of them were filed away neatly in racks labeled things such as 'Mainland', 'For NightWing Eyes Only', or even 'For Royal Eyes Only', but Stardust was heading for the section titled 'Prophecies and Mind-Reading'. 
As she passed by one of the racks, a scroll fell off of it and brushed against her tail. She jumped, turning to pick to up the scroll, but it felt wrong. It felt like some kind of setup. Scrolls don't just fall when I walk by them, she thought, reaching down and picking at the very edge of the parchment. Curiously, she unrolled the bottom section of it and looked at the writing on it. It was one of the texts about invading the rainforest, but this one was two NightWings arguing about enslaving or killing the RainWings. She sighed as she thought about it herself, but something in her visions told her the plan would never work. 
As she began slipping the scroll back into place, someone tackled her from behind and grabbed her by the shoulders, digging their claws in. Stardust yelled, turning and clawing at them, trying to run. They chuckled and grabbed her tail, amused. She shrieked, terrified before closing her eyes and bracing for impact. 
===Chapter Two===
After a few minutes of nothing happening, Stardust cracked her eye open to see the large NightWing chuckling. She quickly realized it was Strength, the very dragon she'd been trying to avoid for this exact reason-she hated him. It wasn't saying much, since most of the tribe hated each other, but it felt like Stardust hated Strength down to her very core being.
=== Chapter Three ===
=== Chapter Four ===
Stardust awoke in a purely white landscape. It was such an aggressive color that she had to close her eyes to not be blinded by it, and her mind was not at ease. Where am I? What is this place? And why? 'Why' plagued her life worse than her visions. Why had she been hatched with powers, why was her home a smoking rock that would kill them all someday, and why had she been cursed into this time of the universe. Just as she adjusted herself to the empty and blank place, the volcano came flooding back to her. But it swelled with magma like molten gold and lava erupting from every crack of rock that it could. Dragons rushed left and right of her, crashing into her and each other, but they were too slow. One by one, they were swallowed up by the fiery vortex or dropped into the endless sea. 
No, it's just a vision, wake up! Snap out of it! Everybody is okay! 
She watched her mother's burning body dive into the sea, bubbling furiously as Nightfoe tried to claw out of the water again.
Wake up, wake up, WAKE UP!! Mother is fine! Everybody is okay! Just wake up Stardust!
She jolted awake with such force that she bumped her head harshly on the rock ledge above her. But hadn't she been about to fall into the volcano? Blinking her eyes open, Stardust turned to see an anxious purple NightWing next to her. It was Moonseer, her best friend. The young dragonet, only a year younger than Stardust, was always worried about, well, everything. She had anxiety, which often made her jumpy and, in Stardust's opinion, overreactive. "Are-Oh, you're awake! I was worried that...that..." she trailed off.
"That I wouldn't wake up? It'll take more than a sudden vi-er-cramp to take me out," Stardust said, instantly tripping over her own gray talons and landing on Moonseer. She squeaked as Stardust rolled off of her. The two laid there for a long time, listening to the rumbling of the volcano and each others' ragged breathing, Stardust's dark gray scales moving up and down in perfect sync with Moonseer's purple scales until a large male NightWing stepped into the room. Moonseer shot up and ran to greet them. 
"Darkness! How...nice to see you..." she tried, but silenced under his withering glare. Darkness was not a dragon to be trifled with. He had been in charge of the prophecy, which Stardust had never bothered to remember, but poor Moonseer was scared to death of him. She never wanted to be around him for long, but he always wanted to criticize and yell at her. Ooh, what about an object to direct at least some of his anger away from her? Moonseer wouldn't notice much, and neither would Darkness. But Stardust sat quietly on the floor, hoping she hadn't been noticed.
"Both of you need to quit playing with each other and get your lazy tails out there! Moonseer, go the the tunnel. Nightfoe and Elegance are waiting for you to go hunting. Stardust, you're with Silence to tend to whatever Queen Ashfall wishes. Now get out of here!" he stamped his talon on Moonseer's foot and she winced. So much for not being noticed. 
"Right away, sir," Stardust said. Moonseer kept silent as they trudged out and went on to do their jobs that day.
=== Chapter Five ===
Stardust thought about Moonseer the entire day. Since Queen Ashfall never wanted much before, whoever tended to her mostly had to clean cobwebs off the tribe treasures. But lately, she'd been sickly and ill, and Stardust and Silence just tried to not get in the way of the tribe scientist, Whitewing.
Silence had also been a lucky break with the tribe workings, seeing as he really lived up to his name. He was once out on the mainland, but something had happened and he returned weak, scared, and unable to talk or make any sound at all. But he was like Stardust in other ways, shy, nervous, and liking scrolls.
"Have you read this one?" She held up a scroll near Silence. "I've read it over and over at this point, maybe we could trade?" 
Silence tilted his head in thought, before nodding and sliding over his scroll, titled Prey on the Mainland: Written by Silence the NightWing. Stardust smiled as she unrolled it. The scroll was unfinished, but had various edible animals and plants, in great detail. What it was called, where you found them, how hard they were to catch, how rare they were, and whether they were worth it. Interesting...cow...boar...starfruit...scavengers...wait, Quail. Found in the desert of the Sand Kingdom, hard to catch, rare, and not worth it, except for a young dragonet. 
Stardust asked Silence about the quail, who did a lot of gestures with his talons and pointing. Stardust didn't understand, and every moment of Silence trying to explain it only made everything more confusing. For a moment, she nearly opened her mouth and let it spill of her vision, seeing a pathetic Quail in her head and it's cries being burned into her brain, but held onto her secret for now. The memory replayed in her mind and she lost focus on whatever Silence was trying to say.
A SandWing chasing a quail while it frantically shrieked. The SandWing was small, well-fed, and looked even a bit wealthy. They were giggling, clearly a young, innocent dragonet, and having quite a lot of fun. Eventually, they pounced on the quail and bit into it, but a larger dragon landed nearby and looked down upon them. "Seems like you're having fun there, junior," he said, smiling with crooked teeth. The dragonet whimpered and tried to back away with the quail, but another dragon blocked their path. "See, we know who you are. And we know it'll get under Queen Dustbowl's scales if we..."borrow" you for a moment..." The larger dragons took away the young dragonet in a sack-and then the vision ended. 
Silence blew a large amount of air through his nose, which Stardust could only assume was his way of sighing. "Sorry! Maybe, I...I should go. Moonseer is probably waiting for me already outside my room." Silence turned away, waved goodbye, and she left. But as she flew, Stardust once more had a splitting headache that showed her more pictures. Her and Nightfoe living in the rainforest canopy, laughing. Queen Ashfall ordering Stardust be locked away for treason and Nightfoe be executed. And once again, Stardust and an unknown dragon together with two dragonets, one teaching the other how to knit. She could just barely make out the glasses on the dragon.
That was more confusing than any vision before, though. Nobody in the tribe wore glasses, but the vision clearly showed her a NightWing. Had it been wrong? Was it implying Stardust's love would be in only her head? This was the problem; she could never make sense of some of her visions. But, life moved on when the SandWing princess died, so it had to move on when a vision confused Stardust. She flew away form the palace, away from everybody, all the way to the eastern front of the island, where foul water lapped at the black sand.
=== Chapter Six ===
This part of the island, the eastern coast, had always been Stardust's favorite spot. She couldn't tell why, exactly, but the sand between her talons gave her a comforting feeling that words couldn't describe. Like everything was okay, and she could almost feel the power of the moons beckoning to her, even when they were hidden. The feeling of nostalgia for something, but Stardust couldn't ever pin why. She laid down, spread her wings, and began to make little etches in the sand. The black grains pushing against each other, carving out swirls and lines like sudden rivers. As she lay there, Stardust could even catch a faint whiff of salty air from somewhere far beyond. She hadn't even realized she'd carved out a picture in the sand, a picture of a large, regal dragon wearing a diamond necklace, lying in front of an equally sized dragon, dying in a pool of something. Or was it an ice statue she was encased in? Perhaps just artistic liberties? Stardust looked up at the choppy waves, which seemed to be dragging something to her. Driftwood? Stardust wanted to try wood carvings sometime. But the thing bobbing in the waves was a shade of purple, not brown, and clearly had wings. 
It was a SeaWing, Stardust realized. The sea suddenly spit them out onto the beach like it had been revolting to carry them. They didn't move. Stardust crept forwards; yes, they were alive. Just unconscious. Now Stardust really didn't know what to do. On one talon, a cool SeaWing from the mainland! But also, probably hurting, and scared, and, wait a second, how did they end up here on the secret island of the NightWings? They must have been drifting for days or weeks without an end in sight. I should tell the queen, Stardust thought. But what if this SeaWing brings more visions to me? What if they're the missing piece of my confusing vision puzzle? 
She decided to leave the SeaWing there and study them more. They had metallic, amethyst colored scales with a lavender underbelly, and large dark violet wings. The webbing on their back and chest was a dark indigo, and the faintly glowing patterns on their body were a pale white, illuminating part of the gloomy beach in light. Stardust felt bad for the poor dragon, and patiently waited for them to wake up.
After an hour or so, Stardust realized somebody would come to look for her soon. She might have to force the SeaWing to wake up if they wanted to live. She grabbed a gray palm leaf, and dipped it into the murky water. It held about two talonfuls of seawater, and then she dumped it on the SeaWing's snout quickly, and they shot up, snorting and coughing. "Who," they managed between coughs. The voice was unmistakably male, even through the dead-sounding quality of it. Stardust spread her talons, trying to seem non-threatening.
"Stardust, and you?"
He looked at her for a moment in disbelief. "You're a...NightWing," he said finally, and threw himself into a wobbly bow. Stardust had never been so flattered, but knew what the right thing to do was. She held her talon out to help him get up from the bow with what she hoped was a friendly smile. With hesitation, he took her talon and got upright again. "I'm Seashell," he said. Stardust was about to add on to his statement when she heard faint wingbeats. 
"We have to hide you," she said, pushing him towards what was left of the trees. His protests were quiet, weak, and ineffective, likely since he had only just woken from a nasty shock. Stardust grabbed palm leaves covered in ash and began to cover Seashell, who seemed to understand and half-buried himself in the sand. "It's not perfect, but it should work. I'll be right back, so don't. Move," she said, walking away just in time to see Elegance land with a group of soldiers behind her.
=== Chapter Seven ===
"Stardust," Elegance said, frowning. "I believe you were assigned to taking care of Queen Ashfall, were you not?" She spoke with such disgust in her words, Stardust wondered who had put her in such a bad mood. "Yet here you are, dawdling on the beach. Pathetic."
Stardust was taken aback by the last sentence. She wasn't pathetic, she just didn't have anything to do. "I-I thought-"
"You don't think about these things. You do what you are told to do to save our queen. To save our tribe," Elegance snorted and turned her head. "Smells...salty. Tide must be coming in." She launched into a coughing fit.
Stardust held her breath, hoping that Seashell was hidden well enough from Elegance's wrath. Some of the dragons behind Elegance she recognized as Shadowstealer and Longclaw, but the hunting party she was supposed to be with was nowhere to be seen. She couldn't dwell on where her mother and friend might be, because as Elegance got closer, Stardust's mild headache grew worse. A new picture was painted in her eyes, as all she saw as Elegance approached her was a diamond necklaced dragon with bloodstained jaws and claws. Elegance was danger-that was the clearest message.
"Spend all you want at the beach, dragonet. Once you're done splashing, your mother is waiting on the highest peak." 
"What's she waiting for? Me?" Stardust said, regretting it right away. Elegance drew to her full height, towering over Stardust, and in response Stardust shrank back into a small ball. 
"Have you not learned? Don't question your superiors! I'll see Nightfoe learns from her mistakes in your upbringing. 2nd Battalion, away," she commanded. Stardust watched as Elegance and the other dragons next to her winged away, scanning the beach as they went. Scanning for what? She wondered, but didn't even have a spare moment to breathe. Now was the time to help Seashell and (hopefully) get him off the island before he was captured.
The sand over there wasn't good for leaping quickly, as it tended to sink quickly and suck dragons in like quicksand. Don't think about that. But as she got closer to Seashell, she got faster and faster, almost flying across the sand. The metallic purple of his scales was like a well-hidden amethyst in a cave. "Who were they?" he asked. "You looked...scared? NightWings don't get scared," he said, still semi out of breath. Stardust hid her face, hoping that he wouldn't see the shame and pain reflecting in her eyes.
"They're just...older NightWings. Like my mother. But-That's besides the point! Seashell, we have to get you out of here or my tribe will find you and kill you!" And I don't want that! Some part of Starudst's brain echoed. Why? He's just a SeaWing, after all. She shook those thoughts away and reached out to help him to his feet. Almost immediately after contact was made, Stardust felt weak and light-headed again. Not now! She thought, trying to stall the vision before it came. Mother will worry! Elegance will come looking to punish me for punctuality! Seashell will think I'm weird...
That was her last thought before the real world slipped away, like a dragon tongue flicking back in.
=== Chapter Eight ===
Everything was white again. Still blindingly aggressive, and this time Stardust kept her eyes open for as long as she could. It was like staring at snow in the crisp hours of the morning-painfully bright. But as her pain ebbed away, new colors ebbed into the white landscape. Colors that exploded, not with red and gold, but instead with blue and green. Was this...the ocean? It was incredibly sunny compared to the ocean that she had just been on. The sand was such a pale color, and was smooth beneath her talons, not jutting with strange rocks here and there. And the ocean was so blue. The sky loomed ahead, endlessly clear and blue, and from afar, Stardust thought she could hear a far away seabird. 
But why was she here? Just as she thought it, a pale blue SeaWing crawled from the water. Shaken and searching the beach. Searching like Elegance and her group had. But what was it all for? She thought the SeaWing was alone, but four more dragons came from various places-the trees, the sand, the sky, and the far distance. These dragons weren't from the same tribe, not by a long shot. There was a pale, almost white SandWing with black patterns, a SkyWing whose vibrant scarlet scales seemed to glow in the light, an amber-colored MudWing with a needlessly thick build, and strangest of all, a NightWing she didn't recognize. She'd never heard of a NightWing not raised on the island. Maybe I can ask- 
Thump.
Her vision was cut short. Everything harshly dispersed, and Stardust's head hurt something fierce. Had she been hit on the head with something? She tried to open her eyes, but they refused. It felt like her brain had distanced itself from her body, and refused to relay any actions of motion. She could still breathe, however, and could taste the smoky volcanic air. Not in my little dreamworld anymore. Stardust could feel herself longing again for the place she had seen. The sweet, salty air, and the clear blue ocean, and the sun. It had been so long since a vision had taken her to such a nice place. Through the haze of pain, Stardust thought she could hear voices. Something rumbled deeply, far, far away, and she felt her brain trying to take her back to another vision. Before it could, something sharp jabbed Stardust in the stomach, and her eyes shot open. "OW!" she yelped, trying to catch what had done that. Metallic purple and dark black scales came into view, but didn't make sense. 
"She's alive! Stardust? Stardust, I was so-"
"You pack it, SeaWing. What have you done to her? I should call the guards on you!" more quietly, the dragon added, "If only Elegance wasn't mad at me already."
She knew these voices. She knew she knew these voices. Her memory hit her like a train at full speed, and Stardust staggered upright. Seashell! And-And mother... thorns tugged at Stardust's heart. On one end, siding with her mother would surely mean Seashell would be killed. Maybe even start a new war with the SeaWings, since they were on Princess Diamondback's side of the war already. Diamondback would certainly be a much better queen than Sidewinder, if what I've heard is true. Siding with Seashell, however...it would break Nightfoe's heart. It would break Stardust's heart too, telling her own mother that she was wrong. So side with neither.
"Mother! Seashell! Stop fighting! Please!" She gasped.
"My shining Stardust!" Nightfoe yelled, wrapping her in a fierce hug. Not even the familiar rasp to her voice would make Stardust go back on her plan. "Stardust, what did this SeaWing do to you? I was about to kill him...but then he pointed me to you and I realized that I forgot what was important."
"Weren't you waiting on the highest peak for me?" Stardust asked. "Elegance had told me that."
"I was," she said bitterly. "But I wasn't about to wait two hours and not come looking for you!"
Two hours?! I was out for TWO HOURS?! Stardust couldn't believe that it had been that long. Her vision had barely felt like two minutes! "He didn't do anything to me, I promise!" Stardust said. Her mother didn't know that a vision could strike even when she wasn't asleep. Now, to protect Seashell from the tribe, she would have to put her entire secret in jeopardy. "Mother, the-my visions-they happen whenever. It just...happened now..." She closed her eyes tightly, waiting for Seashell to gasp or freak out. But he made no sounds.
Nightfoe's anger melted. "So this SeaWing was protecting you? You were aside, hidden in a divot in the sand under the trees-I thought you were hiding from him." Seashell hid me? I guess he did sound really concerned when I just woke up...Stardust turned to check with Seashell what was true.
But Seashell wasn't there anymore. There wasn't any sign of him in the waves. My second honest friend...and he's abandoned me.
=== Chapter Nine ===
Stardust's eyes desperately scanned the waves for her friend. But in the gloom, there wasn't a single purple scale to be found. No pale glowing stripes to break the darkness pressing around around her. It's probably for the better...but why does it hurt so much to see him gone? She feared she may never know the answer to these questions.
"What's wrong-" Nightfoe started, but she looked up and saw what Stardust saw. "That cowardly overgrown fish! We can't let the SeaWings find out that you have visions...how many dragons does it take to find a SeaWing in an ocean? It...Stardust?"
"Mother?"
"I need Skyvoice. Go find her, or go find anyone in the guard. We have to catch him!" Nightfoe's eyes were full of panic, but still just as tired as ever. Looking up into them reminded Stardust of old silver wool. Her face was pale, and she seemed thinner than usual today. Compared to the well rounded, colorful Stardust, Nightfoe might as well not have been there. But through their different looks, Stardust found comfort in her mother. They cared for each other, and they only had each other.
"My sweet, shining star, I know you'll do it. Our tribe is at stake..." her voice trailed into a hoarse whisper. I wish that vision would be true. Me and mother happily living in lush greenery, where she wasn't so sad or thin. 
I shouldn't. I can't use my magic to help mother. But she needs it so badly...maybe just a small rock that helps ease her mind off of things. Focus on the bright future! Stardust nodded towards her mom. "Skyvoice was outside the throne room earlier. I was assigned taking care of Queen Ashfall with Silence."
"That dragon certainly is friendly, isn't he?" Nightfoe said, quietly and sadly. She gently ran her talon over Stardust's snout. "I don't know what I'd do on this island without you, Stardust." She closed her eyes, and Stardust could see a small tear trail from Nightfoe's eye. 
"We'll never have to think about that, mother," Stardust said quietly. For a moment, neither of them spoke, and the only sound was the waves of the ocean. Stardust broke the silence.
"I'll...go get Skyvoice now," she said, slowly letting go of her mother and taking off into the cloud-filled sky.