Midnight came.
And went.
The sky was even clearer than the night before. Despite this, most of the stars were significantly dimmed. Their crystalline light muted by the silver glow that flowed from Imperial's surface, flooding the entire island. The other two moons--Oracle and Perception-- were hovering over the horizon. One barely more than a crescent, the other nearly a quarter. The white stony cliff face looked as if it was covered in ice and the little tufts of grass that sprouted between the crags had turned frosty silver.
Whitestar lay curled on a small patch of grass further from the ledge, closer to the forest, staring at the eastern horizon, his head rested on his talons. Behind him, the largest moon hung lazily in the black sky, casting dappled shadows over his pale teal scales from the trees. In the clear moonlight, it would be easy to see anything moving through the air for miles.
Especially, say, a bright silver dragon.
Whitestar let out a long breath and shifted stiffly, sleep tugging at the edges of his mind. But even if he wanted to, he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep if he tried. Worry seeped through his scales, making him feel restless and anxious, and the tip of his tail shuddered and twitched as his mind dipped in and out of possible reasons as to why she still hadn't come.
The Lunarwing had never been late to the island before. In fact, she was usually early. Whitestar knew how much it meant to her--he felt the same way. He kept telling himself that he was overreacting, but still, his thoughts drifted off, spiraling down an endless corridor of "what's if"s before he had to pull himself back to the present.
He stood up and stretched, unfurling his wings and stirring them in the air to try and get his blood flowing again, before he sat down on the grass, curling his tail over his front talons. For the first time in hours, he tore his gaze away from the horizon and stared down at the narrow strip of sand below the cliff. The tide was coming in, dragged by the pull of Imperial's gravity, and every now and then, a large wave hissed up the beach, curling over the stones that jutted out of the sand. Closer to the base of the cliff, several large tidepools dotted the rocks like a shattered mirror of the sky.
Whitestar cocked his head and squinted at one of the large pools. One of the stars in the water seemed... different. Bluer. Sharper. Without looking too close, it would blend in well with the portrait of the stars that the tidepool shone back. But staring at it long enough, it seemed out of place. Whitestar looked back at the eastern horizon for a long moment and then, convinced nothing stirred, opened his wings again and dove over the edge of the cliff face.
He flared his wings as he approached the bottom, slowing to land on one of the larger rocks, and peered at the tidepool. Now that he was closer, it was clear that the star wasn't a reflection in the sky, but instead, a large sapphire star half embedded in the sand. Whitestar carefully reached down to brace his front talons against some of the rocks, opening his wings halfway for balance. He reached into the pool, cold sea water sliding smoothly over his scales as he startled a few rock crabs and tiny fish. His talons closed over the stone, catching some of the sand with it and he pulled it back. Tiny star colored drops of water flowed down his forearm from his talon as he brought it closer to his face.
The sapphire looked as if it had once been jagged and sharp like someone had frozen and taken a bright star straight from the sky. But now, its surface and points had been smoothed down slightly, either from years of handling, the merciless grinding of the sea, or possibly both. He dipped it back into the pool and moved his talon back and forth through the water, washing the sand out of his claws and off the stone before he pulled it out again. He shook it lightly, flicking some of the access water off of it, before sliding it into a small pouch beneath his wing with a few other special finds. He stood there on the rocks for a long moment, staring unmoving into the tidepool, his mind drifting once again. After what seemed like an eternity, he reached down again and gently drug a claw over the surface of the water.
We agreed only for emergencies, he thought watching the water ripple and stir as he skimmed the top. What if now is an emergency? What if I am risking more by not using it, than by taking a chance? He hesitated for another long moment.
I shouldn't think that way. Isn't that how it usually goes south? They think it's "no problem" and "it's just once". "Oh, one more won't hurt".
He hesitated a moment longer, his expression darkening the longer he stared at the now blurry outline of a dragon in the water.
But she could be in trouble. You've weighed the risks already. You have more to lose by hiding from it.
Whitestar took a deep breath and straightened, holding one claw still in the water.
Enchant this pool to show me, in present, Eclipse the Lunarwing.
The water rippled and darkened unnaturally, and Whitestar pulled back his talon quickly. Then lights began to appear in the pool. White, but unusually bright and directed. Next, buildings. Hard and jagged. Perfection down to their cracks. Large doors that looked like they were made from slats of iron were embedded in their sides. In the center was a hard solid concrete courtyard with tall thin metal posts where the bright lights were mounted, surrounding the perimeter. Scattered across the stone clearing were several large iron-barred cages. In the one closest to the view the pool showed, a small silver shape was curled unmoving in the center.
Whitestar's mind reeled as he stared at the pool. Hardly anything stirred in the scene, aside from a few colored shapes in several of the other cages. He raked his gaze over the scene, trying to find something that might tell him where it was taken from. He couldn't see any stars in the background. The lights from the courtyard and beyond it drowned their familiar light, and from his angle, he couldn't see any of the moons. Panic rippled through his scales and he backed away from the tidepool, pulling himself back to the reality of the island. He lept off the rocks and glided a few wing lengths away toward the sand. He landed and rested his talon gently against the cold beach.
Enchant this patch of sand to write and tell me the location of Eclipse the Lunarwing.
The sand smoothed beneath his talon and he backed away staring at the grains. He tried to ignore the pang of guilt he felt and focus on what the writing said. As it shifted and the writing began to appear, he felt a chill slowly creep down his spine. He glanced up at the eastern horizon again and stared lost in thought. His expression darkened again. He stood there for a long time, his mind running circles around his options. Stay on the island where it was safe and lose the thing that mattered most to him. Or leave to try and help her, and risk losing his own freedom.
He paused for a moment longer, another wave sliding up the beach and tumbling over his claws. Then he spread his wings and lept into the sky, showering grit and water droplets behind him, climbing higher and higher until he could see the entire island and beyond it. The air was magnificently cold and as he stilled his wings to glide, he took a deep reassuring breath of the crisp air. It felt wonderful to fly with a destination again. A purpose. He knew he could make it to the mainland before dawn.
Maybe this time, he might even stay a while...
The world came back slowly.
A soft buzzing sounded from somewhere nearby, almost too quiet to hear. While it wasn't exactly silent, the only noises were far off or faint. Sometimes, it was a soft clatter. Other times, a steady humming noise that came and went quickly. All of it faded in and out of existence in waves of half sleep.
Eclipse was aware first only of the white light trying to pierce her eyelids. It was followed shortly by a ringing in her ears, gradually growing louder. This eventually brought with it a throbbing headache, which worsened as the ringing increased. The combination of things began pulling her closer and closer to full consciousness and soon, she could feel the horribly uncomfortable vibrating reverberating slightly through her skull. All of it tugged at her still groggy mind and at the same time, left a terrible brain fog in its wake.
What really brought her back to the present though, was the resurfacing of the awful pain that engulfed nearly her entire body. She wondered, only half awake, what had happened that had resulted so unpleasantly, and as she forced her dragging mind closer to full consciousness, she tried unsuccessfully to remember. She remembered the Rainforest and the cave. The buzzing seemed more to her like the countless insects that dwelled there, and the hard floor beneath her could have been the stone ground of the rock cleft. As her brain slowly recollected itself, a somewhat conscious replay of the days before flowed through her mind.
Sunspot and the Nightwings came first, followed by her mostly uneventful trip through the strange tunnel. Going back to the desert and keeping watch while the Solarwing slept. She remembered flying through the stars and her mission to attack the Scorpion Den, only to be attacked by Neoma.
The more of the recount came, the faster it progressed, and Eclipse heaved a deep breath and shifted with a groan. The movement brought with it another wave of pain, and the buzzing in her head became more apparent. She lay there for a long moment before she opened her eyes.
Part of her still expected to see the pitch dark walls of the rainforest cave. Another part thought she would be on the cliff face, on the island in the middle of an indigo sea. But instead, sharp unnatural white light sliced her vision, making the pain in her head increase more. She groaned again and then opened her eyes more slowly this time. Her vision blurred as she fought to keep it focused. In front of her, iron bars ran parallel to each other, welded at the bottom to an iron floor and then to the metal roof above her. Beyond that, bland symmetrical buildings encircled the area. accompanied by large posts which held the blinding lights.
Three moons... what-
And then it all came back to her.
The human. The Nightwings. The battle.
She scrambled upright, panic bursting through her veins, bringing a surge of adrenaline with it. The movement made her head hurt even more and she fell sideways, landing against more iron bars. She looked up, her head swaying as she tried to find her bearings. Across the stone clearing, several other cages were set, most of them with dragons in them. In the one closest to her, she could make out the light reflecting off silver scales. She let her gaze travel across all the enclosures, still leaning against the bars of her own somewhat awkwardly. Further away, she could see the little shimmering golden shape of Sunspot, and on the complete other side of the area, a mass of blood red scales that she assumed was Helios. She didn't recognize any of the other dragons there. Most of them were shades of red, orange, and gold. There was one Seawing that she could see and another dragon that had solid white feathers, as well as two or more Nightwings and maybe even one Icewing. Although the last one could very well be a Rainwing, Cloudwing, or Seawing. It was hard to tell.
Eclipse slowly pushed herself off of the side of the cage, swaying slightly on her talons before sliding toward the edge of the small space. She was much more aware now of the buzzing in her skull and she reached up to feel her head. Her talon brushed against something hard and cold over her snout, and she immediately tried to grab ahold of it and tug it off. She felt the buzzing penetrate through her claws and down into her arm, taking some of the vibration off her head for a moment. She felt around the obnoxious clasp, trying to get her talons beneath it to pry it off, but it stayed put. Trying desperately to ignore the painful vibrating emanating from the band, she focused intently on the scales beneath her eyes and around her horns, urging her warping to appear, and soon, she could see the light reflecting off the silver liquid. But... was it just her, or was the buzzing getting worse? She closed her eyes and focused harder, imagining the liquid silver turning into two needle-thin blades. Maybe to pick the lock on the band, or break it all together. Then maybe the door.
Three moons that HURTS
Eclipse let out a muffled yelp of pain as the vibrating intensified to an almost electrical buzzing, making her headache throb harder. It was definitely getting worse. She clutched her head, ignoring the pain the best she could, and opened her eyes again, intently staring at the warping.
Two needles, she thought fiercely.
Two needles... two needles... come ON. The pain was unbearable now. The warping fizzed and trembled almost in sync with the vibrating. Eclipse watched dejectedly as the two globs of metal slowly sunk to the ground and dissolved into a fizzing mess.
She stood like that unmoving for a long moment. The vibrating slowly eased, but her headache remained--a stark reminder of what apparently happened when she tried to use her warping here. Eclipse felt for her weapons, unsurprised to find all of the pouches and sheaths missing. She let out a long discouraged breath and settled down onto the floor of the cage, staring up at the sky.
Sickly orange and white light spewed into the sky from the civilization beyond the ring of buildings. Most of the stars were gone, suffocated beneath the greedy, unnatural light that blurred the sky. Only a few brave lights showed timidly from behind the haze. But above it all, undaunted and immovable as ever, Imperial hung low in the sky. The moon's silver light was drowned by the humming white posts that circled the courtyard, and it seemed somewhat smaller now, further away.
And it was completely full.
Eclipse reached up out of habit to touch her silver neckband and froze. Her claws landed against empty scales.
Of course. She should have guessed. The band was priceless--pure silver embedded with perfectly shaped diamonds, and an onyx nearly the size of a small human's head. The greedy little creatures would have to be blind or flat-out stupid not to take and steal such a valuable piece.
And they call dragons treasure hoarders, she thought with a small growl. But despite her rage and hatred, she couldn't suppress a tear from running down the side of her face. She rested her chin on her talons with a long shuddery breath, staring at the starless sky, and the lonely moon that watched above it all. The sounds of the Scorpion Den echoed in the small courtyard and Eclipse lay there for a long moment before closing her eyes. Maybe, if she pretended hard enough, the sounds of the vehicles roaring by could be the crashing of waves. And the loud bright lights could be the sounds of mid-spring buds waking up to such a warm night. The iron floor beneath her could be the cool surface of a cliff stone, and her aches and pains were just a reminiscence of a battle she fought and won.
She folded her wings over her head, her mind curling inward into this safe little world. She wished it was real. She wished she had never turned back for Sunspot when the Nightwings came. Never confronted Helios. Never been attacked by Neoma. Never saved Sunspot. Never found the tunnel. As if somehow by wishing hard enough, it would all go away. But no wishing or pretending could let her ignore the absence of the cold soft scales that she could be feeling. The strong wings folding over her, protecting her, even when she didn't need it. A feeling she might never feel again.
And in the silent courtyard, certain no one else could hear, Eclipse tucked her head beneath her wings and cried.
What if they were bros? Ooooh
