Wings of Fire; The Scarlet Sunrise

Chapter 19

The gentle breeze that helped to lift the young NightWing up into the air felt weird underneath her wings, making them feel like they were underwater with each small gust that would lift her higher up into the air. Lydia's only flown a talon full of times since being outside of the mountains. Going to and back from the school by Quickstrike's village, and fleeing from the forest after Landslide's attack. The wind was cold against her underside, making her shiver at times when the gust was strong. It didn't seem like any of the others were all that bothered by it, or at least not Lychee. The green HiveWing was easily flying a little ways up ahead of Lydia, his buzzing wings keeping him in the air while they moved fast enough to become a blur. Almost like real bug wings, she blinked, wondering what it was like for SilkWings to fly.

Do they wobble from side to side like real butterflies do? She hadn't seen many butterflies, but from the few she had, they flew all clumsily.

"How are you holding up?" Briar's voice pulled Lydia out of her head, the dragonet nearly flinching as her wings wobbled, having to flap rapidly before she stabilized herself again. "Sorry," The dark teal green LeafWing winced with a flap of his wings, soaring by Lydia's side as trees and hills were all but a moving green blur below them. "How's your shoulder?"

Briar had been the one in charge so far, taking the lead in taking Lydia back home to her parents and the rest of her hidden kingdom in the mountains, which were still far off in the distance, blending in with the blue sky. They were closer than when she had attempted to find her way back herself, which ended in her passing out by the small creek and being found by Pachira and her son Briar before taking her to the small settlement along the northern edges of the rainforest.

"It's still sore," she admitted. It stung, but not nearly as much as it had from her few days alone off in the forest, slowly making her way to the mountains in a trance. "But it does feel better."

"Just let one of us know if you need to stop, okay? We can always stop for a little if you need to."

But I don't want to stop and rest. No matter how much her body wanted to stop and let her sore wings drag behind her like they were dead to the world, she couldn't, she wanted to get home back to her parents and the rest of her tribe. But...what about the prophecies? The two prophecies seemed to pull on her wing from wing, calling her to one place than another. As Briar flapped his wings, pushing himself to fly faster in order to catch up with Lychee up ahead, Lydia began to look around. Moonglobe? Fatefinder? She called through her mind, as though they'd be able to hear her and suddenly appear. Fatefinder seemed to have a knack for figuring things out, like with the scrambled and coded notes she'd gotten, the ones about finding Robin. Rattlesnake told her that she didn't need any prophecies to tell her where to go, and that they don't predict the future, but what if they did? Lydia wanted to get Moonglobe and Fatefinder's opinions, and maybe Fatefinder knows what the prophecy about the Night Kingdom is.

Lydia turned to look over her shoulder, seeing Daffodil and Thorn flying a little ways behind her, the younger of the two leafWings looking to be in a trance, a far away and thoughtful look in his bright green eyes that had the tired look of someone who's lost their spark. Though, she did notice the way his ears perked up, a small glimmer of desperate hope flashing through his eyes, whenever she spoke. But it would always falter and disappear when he looked up at her, as if he was hoping her voice belonged to someone else.

"You sound so much like her." Pachira's voice rang through her head. "They were close, he brought him out of his shell." Did Thorn think that whenever Lydia spoke, it was Robin talking? That the SkyWing-NightWing hybrid was back from the dead? A feeling of pity and guilt wormed its way into her heart, making her jaws lock tightly, pressing her lips into a thin line. The NightWing dragonet felt guilty for her own voice. It must be painful to hear, her round ears pressed back against her skull, her earring bumping against the scales along her neck as if reassuring her with its gentle and cool touch. If I sound like her. How would Lydia feel if she had lost someone close to hear, and another dragon she'd never met before had their voice? I kind of already do know that feeling...