Chapter Eleven

Chiara shook her head. In front of the Leothra, she argued, “But I came here with a patrol. Where are they? We *have* to find them before leaving here.” *And where is Cephas?* That is who she was most worried about, although she wouldn’t admit that to them all. *I came all this way to find him and I at least have to look for him. I owe that to Cephas.*

          Chiara hoped the leap would agree. They debated amongst themselves, some louder than others. She saw them take sides before her eyes of who wanted to ditch any missing Leothra and head off immediately versus the opposite crowd

          Viorel let out a growl and shouted, “Enough bickering! Chiara’s patrol risked everything to come here to save us, the least we can do is risk one more day here to make sure they are all safe.”

          The Leothra seemed to believe that it was a fair compromise. The argued grumbles began to hush, turning into excited whispers. Chiara flicked her tail. *One day? What if we don’t find everyone in time? And what about Cephas?*

          “But-,” she protested.

          Viorel glanced at her. “No buts. Do you realize how long we have been living here in terror, not knowing if each day was going to be our last? We can’t risk everyone’s lives here by staying here longer. Trust me-trust us-we have searched everywhere and have found every living Leothra left in the jungle. One more day is already pushing it.”

          Chiara glared at him. She thought about reprimanding him but stopped herself. *He’s probably right. No leader should risk everything and everyone just for one Leothra. But I am no leader,* a tiny voice chimed into her thoughts. *I could just sneak out tomorrow and search for Cephas. No dragons would see me-I’ll hide and be careful.* “Fine,” she muttered. She felt as if Viorel and the rest of the Leothra didn’t care at all about her patrol or her chances of finding Cephas. *I know how unreasonable it is to stay here but it’s hard not to get mad. I’ll just have to make the most of my time to search for Cephas.*

          Chiara trotted off. She leaped from the entrance to the cave so she could be among the Leothra and not in front of them. She searched through the crowd and eventually found not only Wrisn, but also Triyah, Tal, Aeroo, Eniro, Fani, Unako and Bisman. She counted in her head the amount who had made it to the cave. That left Aeolus and Delwyn, who as far as Chiara could tell, weren’t there. Worry struck her as if she had touched a fishtail palm. *Aeolus-he veered off to distract the dragon! What if-?* She didn’t want to think about it.

          Chiara shoved her way between two Leothra and knealt down to sleep. Chiara could hear the frogs croaking, signalling nightfall. She was exhausted from the day’s events and it didn’t take Chiara long before she fell asleep.

**. . .**

          Chiara’s head jerked up. She looked to and fro, her heart pounding. It took her a second of dazed crouching to realize that she had been dreaming. She remembered vivid claws reaching out to grab her, dragon’s breath gusting over her. Chiara shook herself and stood up as quietly as she could manage.

          One of the Leothra beside her twitched in his sleep and Chiara flinched. She held her breath, staying as still as she could. She willed him to not wake up as she padded through the crowded space towards the entrance. Shafts of moonlight illuminated the entrance, providing just enough light for Chiara to pick her way through without accidentally stepping on anyone.

          Chiara let out a soft sigh of relief when she was out of the cavern. She walked out and spread her wings. She decided that it would be safe enough for her to fly above the tree line, since it was early enough in the morning that the sun hadn’t risen yet. She breathed in the cool, fresh air. Chiara was relieved to get out of the dank and musty cave that was littered in dust from the feathers of all the Leothra that stayed in there. Not only that, but the smell of the trees and the humid breeze reminded her of being a small fledgling, playing with Cephas.

          *How will I be able to see him or Delwyn or Aeolus from flying up here?* She wondered, realizing that they would probably be hiding from the threat of dragons on the forest floor. *Maybe I should land. But then I wouldn’t be able to travel as fast, even if I were to fly below the tree line. I can’t call out their names as that would alert the dragons. How will I search for them?*

          Chiara glided on a current of cool air as she descended. She wouldn’t be able to look for them thoroughly from her height. She sighed as she knew that would mean it would take longer for her on the time sensitive mission.

          She landed and took a look around her surroundings. There was no sign of life except for the birds nested in the charred trees and the new green seedlings sprouting from the earth.

          Chiara padded around for a bit, not seeing any Leothra. She wasn’t moving nearly as fast as she needed to. Chiara decided to fly below the canopy. She lifted into the air, her wings making loud swishing noises compared to the eerie dead silence of the jungle. *I hope the dragons don’t hear me. I’ll just have to risk it.*

          Chiara dodged a couple of trees, searching the ground. Nothing.

          She flew on for a while. The sky began to lighten and Chiara anticipated the sun to rise above the canopy any moment. Something caught her gaze and so she swerved around a small clearing to go back. Chiara landed and inspected it closer. *I was right! It is something, well not just something-tracks!*

          Chiara followed them with increasing excitement. After what was probably a couple hours, she had finally found a clue that could help her find Cephas, Delwyn or Aeolus. *Hah, I never noticed before that the Leothra missing that I’m searching for all start their names with the letter ‘r’. Maybe nature has a grudge against that letter,* she mused as her spirits rose.

          Chiara traced the tracks to a grove. The ground was muddy and covered with bogs. The area smelled. Chiara scrunched her nose as a waft of rotting stench hit her nostrils. The entire swamp reeked of it and she wished the tracks had led her to somewhere else. A wall of rock was off to one side, which Chiara assumed was a cliff face. Perhaps a nice clearing full of beutiful flowers or even a deeply forested and dark part of the undergrowth.

          A flash of bright glowing light made Chiara turn. She cocked her head as a small plume of fire came up from the ground. *What in Aeroterra was that?* she wondered. Chiara took a pace towards it and stopped. *What if it’s a dragon? But why would a dragon use their fire for no reason? And coming from the mud? Maybe a phoenix? I heard they can set themselves on fire anytime they want.*

          Chiara figured it couldn’t be anything dangerous and walked towards where see had seen the mini explosion.

          A cracking sound traveled to her ears. Chiara flicked them and turned her head with excitement. *Cephas, is that you?*