Wings Of Fire: Trust Fall

Chapter Five

The sun clambered slowly up the pale sky, casting its soft golden light over Landslide's wings as she cut through the air. Clouds hung lazily around her in the bitter air, restricting her view with their cotton figures. Her eyes darted from side to side, scanning the tussling, dark ocean below for any signs of the Summer Palace. She could hear Blister's wingbeats above her, fanning warn air down onto Landslide's back, sending chills down her spine. Landslide blinked away the sudden warmth and turned her eyes back towards the sea, where she could only see a few islands dotted throughout. Moons above, where IS this place?

Suddenly, Landslide noticed a slight tug of her talon, and looked to her side to see Blister's claw in hers. The SandWing gave her an amused look. "Down this way."

The two veered off course together, gliding swiftly down towards the largest of the islands. Landslide squinted, studying the foliage on tip for any signs of movement, or a palace, or any sign of dragon life, but came up short. There's no way... Or is the Summer Palace actually a chain of caverns? That may be why the SeaWings have never been found; most tribes have a standing palace, so they'd be looking for a standing palace. They'd never guess their royalty actually lived in caves. She studied the island closely, but also couldn't find any cave openings. Odd...

Then they suddenly fell into a sharp dive...

Towards the ocean.

"Blister! We're going to miss the island!" Landslide called, trying to struggle from her grip.

"We're not aiming for the island." Blister responded, her pitch dark eyes locked on the ocean below, specifically between two jutting pillars of stone.

"Are you crazy?" Landslide wasn't even bothering to be respectful. The MudWing was, at this point, completely frozen. "I can't swim!" Her mind was racing. I shouldn't have said that... But what if I drown?

"Just hold your breath!" Blister instructed, unusually calm for the situation at hand. Landslide just nodded and took a deep gasp of air, but before she could orient herself, she and Blister slammed into the water. The MudWing kept her eyes squeezed shut, but that didn't stop the salty seawater from leaking into her eyes and stinging them. Landlady didn't dare open them. Instead, she blindly clung to Blister's talon and let her guide her through the sea.

Her eyelids darkened, as if the light in front of her had been diminished suddenly. Stone walls curved and pressed around her, and the water became noticeably warmer as Blister pressed closer to her side. This must be a tunnel... Maybe I was RIGHT. Maybe this is the home of the SeaWings...

After a puzzling labyrinth of twists and turns, the two suddenly jerked upward, and Landslide's head rose above the surface. She gasped for air and coughed, adjusting to the air around her, and as she opened her eyes, she caught sight of Blister giving her an amused sideways glance.

"I thought MudWings could hold their breath for an hour." Blister teased.

"Yeah." Landslide chuckled. "Except it's harder for me to. I'm still not sure why..."

"You'll probably figure it out eventually." Blister reassured passively, hauling herself up onto a pavilion.

"So you know why?..." Landslide tilted her head, heaving her massive bulk onto the pavilion beside her. She plopped into a sit, studying the intricate sand dollar pattern on the floor below. She traced a claw over the lines, then glanced back up at Blister. "...why I'm like this?"

"I never said that." Blister calmly responded, an air of mystery laced into the words she'd spoken. The SandWing examined her claws, then draped her scorpion-like tail over her front claws like a veil.