Wings Of Fire: Closing Eyes (Prequel To The Last Day Series)

Exo - 16

Exo heard Epiphyte let out a muffled snort to her right, and she listened to his talons scrabble against the tablet as he pulled it from his chest satchel. It was hard to hear anything against the wingbeats all around her, so she only knew to stop when the strand of silk tied between her and Crab fell a little slack.

"Message from Atomsplitter," the RainWing announced grandly. "There's been... a new type of mushrooms and new mosses that are growing rapidly all over. Huh. They said they didn't really think much of it, so they're letting them stay around. Also, Atomsplitter said that there aren't any other teams on Pantala and that she doesn't have a way of reaching Crevasse's dad. Sorry Crevasse,"

"Ah," she said behind Exo. She could hear another pair of wings close by Crevasse, probably Bloom. "Oh well. He'll just have to wait until I get back, then."

"How much farther to this jungle?" Landslide whined. She didn't know how to feel about the strange MudWing, since sometimes he looked out for her but was mean to her friends occasionally. In Exo's opinion, he was quite odd, which should be pretty odd.

"Not that far, I believe." Crab sighed. "You see that blackened jungle on the horizon? Epiphyte said it was that."

"Can we stop for a bit?" Landslide asked. Before Crab opened his mouth, Beige added.

"Yes, my wings hurt SO BAD," he said, flinging them outwards and lashing his tail. Exo nodded. It hurt to fly for so long since her wings buzzed quickly compared to her teammates.

"You guys suck at flying," Agate grumbled as they all began to spiral to the ground.

"You're just good at flying," Crab said. The silk tied between them tugged Exo towards where Agate's voice was coming from. Exo growled softly and cut the strand. She hooked it off and felt around.

"Whoa! Watch out!" Epiphyte warned. His talons pressed into her chest and pushed her backward.

"What?" Exo asked, a little annoyed with everything.

"Huge cliff, very long drop," he reported, his tail sweeping on the rocky ledge they stood on.

"Oh, fun, a great place for a blind dragon," Exo grumped. She tried to lay down and get comfortable, but everything was poking her underbelly at once. "Can't even get comfortable. Couldn't we have stopped a little later?"

"Exo, stop complaining," Agate sighed. "Let's just try to make the best of it? See the silver lining?"

"I can't see any silver lining, SkyWing," she harrumphed, giving up on trying to lay down on the rocks.

"Exo, stop," Crab said. She heard him turn towards her.

"Stop what? I'm only stating the obvious," she hissed. It wasn't fair that Agate got Crab's support, and she didn't!

"Whatever," Crab huffed, his claws scraping the rocks.

"What do you think Splinter is doing in the Poison Jungle?" Epiphyte asked. He was near Exo, somewhere.

"I don't know," Beige replied. He sighed. "Probably dancing with flowers or something," he joked.

"Wouldn't that be a sight to see," Epiphyte laughed. "The big, edgy, lone wolf dragon playing with a dandelion. I'd make fun of him forever for that."

"You think he's doing all right? I thought he said this was the last place his parents were before they got sick," Bloom asked.

"I wouldn't be," Crevasse said. "Well, if I had normal parents. My dad is super strict and crazy rule follower and- and he's weird."