To the clouds

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But.. it felt so REAL.

I turned in a lumbering circle, trying to figure it out. The trees behind me swayed in the breeze, and a large leaf slapped me in the snout.

The sound of a dragon tripping over tree roots interrupted my thoughts. I bared my teeth and reached into my inner rain cloud to drag water out. One final crack of the tree leaf, and I unleashed my inner storm.

Marsh flung up his wings to shield himself from the strong blast of water. "Hostile." He muttered, lowering his wings and beckoning me towards the dark mass. I caught sight of the amber, yellow, red and gold undertones in his wings.

Huh. Always thought he was murky brown, he never used advanced earthbound powers before.

I didn't want to think about what he could do. Firestorms, hurricanes, thunderstorms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions... all he could do. I shuddered. The feeling was horrid, creeping under my scales, snaking through my veins and for some reason, draining all my hope dry, like the water spilt by Winter, Hurricane, Windstorm and I, like the blood stained on my wings were drying, crusting and falling away into the dark ground, lost into the earth. I stretched out my wings once we reached a small clearing, wincing at the dark slash on one of them.

The clearing was more peaceful and quiet, you would never had known that there had been a fight of the powers fire against water with light in another part of the forest. The small purple flowers blossomed from a small hollow in a oak tree. It's branches curled into the air, leaves hung from them, like a curtain of nature's creations.

On the other side of the clearing, Marsh was pressing a large leaf against Winter's side, muttering under his breath. Windstorm was crouched next to Ash, giving him the appearance of a wavering flame. My third fight.

One where my parents went.

Second when we helped Waterblasts and a Shadowground.

Third where we lost Leo and Hurricane.

Sky was missing.

If this continued... would I lose all my friends?

At that moment Marsh beckoned me over.

"I think they're" -Marsh's voice shook slightly- "Using those two as hostages or something."

Also, what will they do if they figure out I'm a hybrid? Will they trust me?

Will they think that I lied to them about my species?

I was barely paying attention as Marsh went on and on about healing leaves, herbs, and stalks. Winter was stirring sleepily, the spikes on his tail rattling softly, though it sounded loud and sharp through the cool air. Birds twittered and chriped, welcoming another warm day, and a few crickets began desperately announcing the end of the world in a high pitched shrill. Mist draped the canopy, hanging low over us as we waited... and waited... and waited.

Then Sky crashed right through the tranquil peace of the forest and tucked in her bat-like wings with a soft hiss, crouching into the earth with a wince. She then straightened and said triumphantly, "I know where the Solarflares are going!"

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"Here, my... old home." Sky muttered, pointing to the large scatter of clouds at the top right corner of the map.

"We are THERE." Grumbled Marsh loudly. "That's of the OTHER side of the map/continent."

"Hush. We are called 'Skyclouds' for a reason." Said Sky in a very haughty voice. Returning back to her normal voice, she added, "If we fly fast, we can reach there in 1-" she caught my glance. "Right. Half of us are injured." Winter stretched his wings and looked at his bandaged wings.

"I can still fly." He promised. "But really really really really slow."

I could do without the last really, Winter, I muttered inwardly.

We were all squashed together in the smallest cave. Ash, Windstorm and Blackberry were dumping some books for 'Healing', 'Hunting', and 'Surviving' into a big bag.

We were vacating the hideout as the Solarflares already knew where we were.

"Okay. Maybe like ten weeks or something." Muttered Sky.

I glared at my half healed wings. Honestly, if it wasn't for Leo and Hurricane, I would be staying here like a terrified hermit crab for the rest of my life.

Ash had absolutely flipped when he woke up to see a Shadowground staring at him.

*one hour ago*

"AAAAH! IM GONNA GET MURDERED HELP MEEEE!"

Winter and Marsh ran back towards the clearing with me close behind. Ash was literally running in circles and setting the trees on fire.

"Gosh, panicked dragon, I'm Blackberry!"

"YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID THAT EARLIER THEN! I FEEL SO BAD RIGHT NOW. SORRY TREES!"

*present day*

I still haven't told my friends about the wolf cub I found. I mean, I did tell Blackberry, and she blanched and told me not to talk about it.

What happened if I saw the wolf? A omen or a blessing? It mostly felt like a bright spot on my dark horizon, but I never knew.

I had hit off a familiar path, trudging through the uncertain marshes of the future.

Like I always said, life was ironic.

And I was about to take the longest trip in my life. Maybe the last.

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