Not Yet Found

*Title taken from the Blixemi song 'Way To You'*

Characters: Swiftlet, Polar, Pirate, Salamander, Sawtell, Calypso, Crystal, Ferret, Squirrel

Swift was hiding again, in the one spot Polar didn’t know about yet. She focused on the sound of her breathing, keeping quiet so her mother wouldn't be able to find her. She relaxed a little when Polar’s talonsteps faded away, which meant she was leaving this part of the cave system.

“Swift?” Another voice hissed. She waited a few seconds before emerging from her hiding spot. Pirate must have followed Polar again, since he'd gotten there surprisingly fast.

“What's she mad about this time?” Pirate asked, flicking Swift's tail with his own. “She looks like she wants to kill something.” He laughed at his own joke, which made Swift start laughing. She was grateful to have her best friend, otherwise surviving Polar would have been a lot harder.

“I think she got a report she didn't like.” Swift said. Polar had been fine up until one of her guards had brought her a message, and then she'd gotten angry. Polar being angry usually meant it was time for Swift to disappear for a while.

“So I'm guessing you're going to need to stay over tonight?” Pirate asked, and Swift nodded. His parents were always happy to let her stay at their house, even if it was already a bit crowded.

“Thanks. You're the best.” Swift smiled at him, and they started walking back to the city.

Swift quickly walked through the tunnel that led down to the river, where Salamander had told Pirate to meet him. It was obvious Salamander was mad at Pirate, and she wanted to know why. She’d planned to follow Pirate when he left, but she had been delayed. Salamander had been watching her and Pirate, even though she’d told him it made her uncomfortable. She wasn’t sure why she even spent time with him, but she didn’t really have any other friends when Pirate was gone, which happened a lot. Salamander was kind of weird, but she didn’t want to hurt his feelings. They’d been friends for their entire lives, after all. She didn’t want to hurt him at all, but she did want him to give her more space.

She sped up when she heard the rushing water of the underground river, and then, almost fully drowned out, Pirate saying something to either comfort or reassure Salamander. She had missed the first part of their conversation, and she frowned. The two of them were hiding something from her, and she wanted to know what it was. Swift hated being left out, especially if it was about herself, which she thought it might be.

"I'm telling you, it's not like that. If you just talk to her-" then Salamander cut him off.

"Yeah, right. Like she'd tell the truth. I don't believe you." He hissed, and Swift paused, darting behind a nearby stalagmite to watch and listen. She crouched down, making sure she was hidden from view. She didn’t know why she was hiding, but she felt like she had to.

Who are they talking about? She wondered. Had she been wrong? Was it not about her? She had a better vantage point from where she was now, and she could see both of her friends. Pirate was sitting by the edge of the river, looking slightly nervous. Salamander was all puffed up, his tail lashing. Swift hadn't ever seen him that angry before, and she was concerned.

"Why would Swift lie about that? It's not like you've even asked her about it." Pirate said, slowly moving away from the riverbank, like he was worried Salamander might push him into the water. Swift froze, her eyes wide.

So they were talking about her. Swift narrowed her eyes, and scooted closer, to hear Salamander's response. Now she really regretted missing the start of this. It sounded important, and Salamander sounded angry.

"You're just trying to get to her first, aren't you? You want to steal my girlfriend." Salamander said, taking a menacing step towards Pirate, who just looked confused.

"But… she's not your girlfriend? Unless I missed something." Pirate said, with an awkward chuckle. He was trying to laugh it off, make it a joke, like he usually did, but Salamander was clearly not amused. He was growling, stalking closer to Pirate.

Salamander was being completely serious, Swift realized, her breath catching. He actually believed she was his girlfriend. She made a face, it had never crossed her mind that Salamander liked her that way, but it did make a few things make sense. The way he huffed when she spent time with just Pirate, the way he walked close enough beside her for their tails to brush. Salamander saw himself as her boyfriend, and he thought Pirate was a threat to their non-existent relationship.

Swift realized she had stopped listening to the argument for a few seconds, and she looked back at Pirate and Salamander. She didn't think she could call Salamander her friend anymore, after hearing that. Was that the only reason he was her friend? Because he had a crush on her? She had apparently missed Salamander's reply, but Pirate looked more angry than nervous now, and his blue-gray fur was bristling slightly, so maybe it was better she hadn’t heard it. She’d never seen Pirate that angry before.

“She’s not an object, Salamander. She can make her own choices. Deal with it.” Pirate said, his eyes narrowed. “I can’t believe you would even think something like that.” Swift’s heart was racing now. What had Salamander said to get that much of a reaction out of Pirate? He was usually so calm, and could find humor in anything, no matter how bad the situation was.

“At least I’m not… oh, let’s say… keeping life-changing secrets from her?” Salamander said, taunting Pirate. Pirate recoiled, like he’d been hit. Swift recoiled slightly as well, stunned by the new information. She didn’t know what to think anymore. Were either of them telling the truth? Was Pirate really her friend? What was true, and what wasn’t? How long had her friends been hiding things from her?

“I don’t know what you mean.” Pirate said, but Swift could tell he was lying. He knew exactly what Salamander was talking about, which hurt. He was hiding things, important things, from Swift, his best friend. Maybe Salamander was exaggerating about them being life-changing, but Swift felt like he wasn’t. That just made it worse. Salamander sneered, advancing. Pirate wasn’t backing away this time.

“Oh, you know what I mean. Are you ever going to tell her, Pirate? Tell her about her family?” Salamander said, encouraged by Pirate’s reaction. Swift gasped, forgetting she was trying to stay hidden. Fortunately, neither of them heard her.

Pirate knew about her family? But that was impossible. Polar was the only family Swift had left. Of course, there was always the mystery of who her father was. Polar would only say that he died in an OutCast attack, and that was the only thing Swift had ever learned about him. If Pirate knew something else, why hadn’t he told her? Even if he only had a name, that would be all she needed to know. Swift had asked Pirate a few times if his parents might know anything about her father, but he would always shake his head, and say that nobody in the clan knew who he had been.

“That’s not- you’re changing the topic.” Pirate said, avoiding Salamander's question. “And it’s for her own safety.” Pirate looked like he was about to attack Salamander. Swift was holding her breath, scared for her friends. If Polar found out they’d fought, one of them could get exiled. She was very strict about the rules, especially if she could get the chance to exile someone, and Swift knew how much her mother hated Pirate.

“Her own safety?” Salamander scoffed. “Don’t try to protect her. She can protect herself, can’t she?” Pirate stayed quiet, but he was still fuming. “If you don’t tell her, I’ll have to do it myself. Then she’ll see you aren’t her prince in shining scales.” Salamander said, and then Pirate lunged for him, knocking him off his feet.

Swift scrambled back, even though she wasn’t anywhere near the fight. Pirate dug his claws into Salamander, who had hit the ground hard. Salamander growled, and slashed up at Pirate, hitting him in the face. Pirate shook off the blow, but he was bleeding badly. Salamander had aimed for Pirate’s eye, and hit his target. Swift watched them fight for a few more seconds before she jumped up and fled, back to the city and her home. She had to find Polar before they killed each other.

Swift burst into the small cabin she shared with her mother, and stopped to catch her breath. Polar dropped her quill and glared at her, annoyed about being interrupted.

“Swiftlet.” Polar said, her voice threatening. “If this isn’t an emergency, you better have a good reason for disrupting me.” Swift’s ears folded back, and she stared at the floor.

“Pirate and Salamander are fighting, you have to come quickly.” She said, and Polar slowly got up. Swift tensed, not sure what Polar would do next.

“Show me.” She demanded, and Swift nodded quickly, leading the way back to where her friends were. Polar followed her through the tunnels, muttering to herself the whole time. Swift stopped when she reached the river, and looked up at Polar nervously. The scarred clan leader was furious, and she stalked over to Pirate, hauling him off of Salamander, who looked half-dead. Pirate had been winning, and Swift was pretty sure that if she had been any slower, he would have killed Salamander. She paled. Swift hadn't thought Pirate, who was usually so calm, would hurt anyone that badly.

“Who started this?” Polar said, staring at Swift. She gulped, not sure what to do. If she told the truth, Pirate, who’d always been her best friend, would get exiled, but Salamander would have a chance to heal. If she lied, and said that Salamander started the fight, Pirate would stay in the city, but Salamander would probably die from his injuries. She didn’t know if she could truly call either of them her friend anymore, but she did know one thing. She knew she couldn’t let Salamander think she would ever take his side ever again. She’d stood up for him before, yes, and he’d decided that she was something to be won. She hated that.

“Salamander started it. Pirate was just defending himself.” Swift said, glancing from Pirate to Salamander, who had just struggled to his feet, and who was now giving her a death glare. Pirate just looked relieved.

“If that’s true,” Polar said, giving Swift a sharp look, which she turned on Salamander and then Pirate. “Then you all know the consequences. Salamander and Pirate, you’re exiled. Permanently for the attacker. Pirate, you may return in a year. Until then, if you’re seen in the city…” Polar didn’t need to finish her sentence. They all knew what she meant. If either of them came back, they would be treated as enemies, and killed. Even though Pirate would be allowed to come back, Swift knew it would feel like forever until she saw him again. It would probably be the longest year of her life without her best friend there. It was nice to know she still considered him her friend, at least.

Pirate looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t get a chance before Salamander stormed off, heading for the entrance tunnel. Polar narrowed her eyes at Swift and Pirate, and followed Salamander to make sure he left. Swift didn’t quite hear what Pirate said to her, but she guessed it was about telling his parents he was exiled. She nodded, and then without thinking, hugged Pirate tightly. He looked surprised, and his surprise turned to something closer to stunned when she kissed him. Swift quickly realized what she’d done, and she stammered something, pushed Pirate away, and ran back to the city. She glanced back once, just in time to see Pirate smile softly and start heading for the exit himself.

Swift flushed, embarrassed and annoyed, silently cursing at herself the whole way back to her cabin. That was going to be a very awkward conversation when Pirate came back. Maybe he wouldn’t mention it ever again, although she doubted it. Or maybe Salamander had been right, and there was something there. She might never know now, if he decided to not come back. Or maybe he would come back, and never talk to her again, and she’d just ruined her longest friendship. She had no way of knowing how Pirate felt about her, and she’d acted on pure impulse, like an idiot.

A knock on the door of Hearthstone and Barred’s cabin wasn’t unusual, but Swift was still startled when it happened. Hearthstone wouldn’t bother to knock, so it wasn’t him coming back. Cobra had locked himself in his room again, and the two youngest, Weasel and Refract, were helping Barred. Swift had a brief flash of hope that maybe, if she was lucky enough, it would be the oldest brother, the reason Hearthstone and Barred had taken in her to begin with, her best friend.

But it wouldn’t be Pirate. It had been more than a year since he’d been exiled, and she’d given up waiting for him to come back.

“I got it!” Refract yelled, almost running into the wall as he bolted out of the kitchen. Swift snickered, hiding it behind the scroll she was reading. She didn’t really pay attention to what was going on until she heard Refract’s high-pitched screech, and she jumped up. It sounded like the dragonet had been attacked. She ran to the door, and froze.

“Pirate?” Swift gasped, not sure if he was really there or if she was seeing things. Pirate grinned at her, although he did look a little confused.

“Swift! What are you doing here? Is everything okay with… at home?” He asked, releasing Refract from a tight hug and rushing over to her. He still had the scar over one eye from his fight with Salamander, and he looked different, even though Swift couldn’t tell why.

“I- um. I live here now.” Swift stammered, not sure why Pirate standing this close to her would make her lose the ability to speak properly. It was probably because they hadn’t seen each other in a year, and the last time they’d spoken, he’d been exiled.

“You haven't changed at all, have you?” Salamander sneered. Swift was frozen in place, stunned. She hadn’t seen him in three years, and she'd almost been able to forget about him. But now he was back. And standing outside of her cabin.

Swift had briefly forgotten about Pirate until he pushed past her, keeping himself between her and Salamander. She was a bit surprised, he had always been protective of her, but this was new.

“Stay back, Salamander.” Pirate said, and Salamander scoffed. Pirate had almost killed Salamander the last time they'd seen each other, and it was clear they still had that grudge. Swift wasn't sure what to do.

“Still doing everything for her, huh, Pirate?” Salamander said, stepping closer. “I'm really not surprised.” Swift realized he was trying to deliberately provoke Pirate into fighting him. Again.

“I told you to stay away from her.” Pirate said, getting ready to fight. Salamander looked pleased, and it scared Swift. “She's not your girlfriend, Salamander. She never was.” Pirate lunged forwards, slamming into Salamander and pinning him down. He glanced over at Swift, letting her make the next decision.

“Pirate. We don't even know why he's here. Let him up.” Swift said, her voice wavering more than she'd like. She wanted to look like a strong leader, but she was unsure of herself. Pirate nodded, and let Salamander go, although they were both still glaring at each other.

“If that’s how you want to do this, I suppose I'll play along.” Salamander said, stepping back. He had a strange gloating expression on his face as he looked around and made a quick gesture with his talon.

Which started the attack.

Swift was suddenly overwhelmed by the sounds of combat throughout the city, and she stumbled. Pirate darted to her side, helping her stay upright.

“What did you do?” Pirate asked, furious.

“You think I've spent these years waiting to be let back into the clan? No. I've been planning my revenge.” Salamander said, almost laughing. “It wasn't difficult to gather the OutCasts with a simple promise of power.” He said. Swift paled, noticing the knife Salamander had produced.

“And the last part? Killing you.” Salamander said, pointing it directly at Swift. “I've been looking forward to this.”

Swift quickly glanced at Sawtell again, still feeling a bit of disbelief. Not only did she have a living family member, she had an identical twin sister. It felt like she was dreaming, and she both wanted to wake up, but she also wanted it to be real. Swift wanted to wake up and find out that Refract was still alive and her city was intact, but she didn’t want to lose Sawtell again or discover Salamander wasn’t dead.

“You don't have to keep looking at me. I'm not going anywhere.” Sawtell said, and Swift felt bad. Her sister thought she was worried that she'd take off to rejoin the OutCasts. Swift knew Sawtell wouldn't do that. She'd saved her and Pirate from Salamander.

“It's not that. I'm just… I've been alone for so long, it feels like you might not be real.” Swift said. Sawtell looked surprised, and she turned to look at Swift. It was a weird feeling, having Sawtell back. She was both so familiar and a total stranger to Swift. Swift knew her green eyes and her voice, but the way she spoke, and her expressions, weren't the same as the dragonet Swift barely remembered.

“I'm sorry, but that’s absurd. Your evil ex attacked your clan, basically destroyed your city, and killed Pirate's brother, and you're focusing on the fact that your long-lost sister exists? What about your clan?” Sawtell snapped, and Swift flinched. Sawtell was right, she should have been thinking about how to rebuild, not her personal life. Sawtell huffed, and turned back to where Ferret was lying, unconscious. “Also, you're bleeding again.”

Swift immediately reached up to the injury Salamander had given her, and her talon had blood on it when she looked down. She quickly scanned the room, but it was just the four of them. Pirate wouldn't have been able to help even if he was awake, since he was now missing an arm.

“Sawtell? Can you help?” Swift asked, and Sawtell nodded. “Do you need me to-”

“I know what I'm doing.” Sawtell said, carefully cleaning the blood off of Swift's arm. “I was raised by a medic.” Swift stayed quiet after that, letting Sawtell do her thing. She hadn’t known there were any OutCast medics before.

Technically, the ruins of the old city were off-limits. However, Swift was the clan leader, and she needed to be alone. She slowly walked down to the edge of the river, staring down into the water. She was close to where everything had fallen apart. She still remembered it, Pirate attacking Salamander, both of them getting exiled. Pirate's return a year later.

Thinking about her past started a flood of other memories. Polar’s death, meeting Sawtell again, being reunited with her mother. She started crying, and didn't try to stop her tears.

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed before she heard talonsteps, and turned around, expecting it to be one of her dragons with a message for her.

The dragon who was there, however, was someone she'd never seen before. She was a pale icy blue, which was unusual for a CaveWing. She had a scar over one eye, and a necklace with dark blue stones hanging from it. She felt familiar, even through Swift knew she had never met this dragon in her life.

“Who are you?” Swift asked, ready to fight if she had to. The new dragon nodded to her, stopping a small distance away.

“Someone you know too well.” She responded, which just made Swift confused.

“We've never met. I've never seen you before.” Swift said.

“Are you sure?” The other dragon asked. “Because I know you, Swiftlet.” Swift froze, staring at her.

“How do you know my name?” She asked, trying to keep her fear hidden. “Who are you?”

“Who I am isn't important, although if it makes you feel better, I suppose you can call me Moonstone.” The other dragon said. Swift narrowed her eyes at Moonstone.

“Why are you here?” She asked. Moonstone glanced up at the rock ceiling.

“I was looking for someone.” She said slowly. “Although it looks like they've already left.” The way she was speaking sounded like she was intentionally leaving out details, which made Swift suspicious.

“Leave. I don’t know who you are, so I know you’re not part of this clan. Get out of my caves.” Swift said, and Moonstone just smiled at her.

“If you insist. But remember this. We will meet again.” She said, turning and disappearing towards the exit, and surface. Swift turned and left as well, farther into the caves, back to her city.

Swiftlet sat just inside the mouth of the cave, her dark scales keeping her mostly hidden. She was quiet, her tail curled over her talons, watching. There hadn’t been any IceWing attacks for a while, but it was better to keep an eye out for nothing than to lose her only dragonet. She could see Crystal, Ferret, and Squirrel from where she was sitting, which meant she didn’t have to leave the safety of the caves. She hadn’t wanted to let the dragonets leave at all, but she knew it would be good for them, and she didn’t want to disappoint Crystal.

It had been a year since Pirate died, and Swift was still heartbroken. She hadn’t even recovered from losing Sawtell when he’d died, and now she was alone. She wanted to disappear into her job, to be the collected, strong clan leader they thought she was, but she couldn’t. Crystal needed her, now more than ever, and she had Sawtell’s dragonets to care for as well.

Swift heard Crystal yelp, and then Ferret laughed. She was glad that the three of them got along so well, Ferret and Squirrel could help Crystal more than she could. Although both of her parents were dead, she’d been raised by her aunt. She hadn’t missed Polar when she died.

Crystal suddenly shot out of a nearby snowbank, darting around to hide behind Swift. They were followed by Squirrel, who skidded to halt in front of her. Swift half-turned to look back at Crystal, who blinked up at her.

“Protect me?” Crystal asked quickly. Swift smiled, gently brushing some of the snow out of Crystal’s mane.

“Always.” She promised, and Crystal gently poked her, grinning.

“I knew I could make you smile!” They giggled, darting off again. Swift was stunned for a brief moment, and then smiled again.

*They planned this. For me. To make me feel better.*