Wings of Fire - Eclipse Burning (1)

Chapter 16

~Part 3~

The Darkness of Dragons

Eclipse groaned, sitting up from her laid position. Confusion struck her like lightning as her eyes adjusted to her surroundings. She wasn't in the underground lake, nor was she in her sleeping cave. This cave was unfamiliar to her. 

This cave was big, with pictures of dragon anatomy hung on the walls around her, along with shelves filled with bandages and medicinal herbs and plants. 

She was laying in a bed of mosses and leaves that sat next to 3 other beds. One, she noticed, held Tamarin. The RainWing didn't look ok in the slightest. Her scales were pale white and she was grimacing in her sleep. 

Another surprisingly held Sora. The nervous little MudWing who was like Moon. 

She half expected to turn and see Kinkajou standing somewhere but the only dragons in the infirmary with her were Sora and Tamarin.  

Eclipse finally noticed the feeling of being restricted and twisted her neck to look down her body. Her midsection was wrapped in delicate bandages and she noticed a few blood spots that had seeped through the wrappings. Her neck was also wrapped, but these bandages were thin and light while the coverings around her midsection were thick and heavy. 

Three gongs suddenly echoed through the halls. 

That's strange, Eclipse thought. I wouldn't think they would continue classes this soon, especially when some of us are healing. 

Eclipse poked her head out of the healing cave and watched as dragons began to silently crawl out of caves and trot down the tunnel, all in the same direction.  

Eclipse watched the dragons walk by, learning from their minds that there was a meeting in the Great Hall.

She popped into an opening and began walking with the crowd, wincing slightly as her injuries flared in protest.

As Eclipse entered the Great Hall she noticed the teachers all present, along with Fatespeaker, atop a ledge facing them. Eclipse could feel their surging emotions clearly, but she thought she could have read them just as well by the looks on their faces.

Sunny: devastated. Tsunami: furious. Clay: grieving. Starflight: anxious, and trying desperately to puzzle out what had happened. Fatespeaker: scared for Starflight, and a little unsure about whether this school was worth it. And Webs, who was mostly relieved that he'd been late to class and had therefore survived. 

The students, on the other talon, were a mess of jumbled mental energy. Eclipse winced again; it was like stepping into a hurricane. It was worse than the fear set off by Peril's arrival. This was an avalanche of terror, she'd been scared before sure; but this made her feel as if she needed to run for her life or she would die. right. now. 

The gong sounded one last time, and Eclipse sensed her sisters arrival. She turned and began slipping through the crowd to get behind it, hissing when bodies made contact with hers. 

Her eyes met Moon's and she relaxed. Surprisingly, Qibli was with her, close enough to brush their wings together. 

"Moon," Eclipse muttered. Moon was already looking at her and beckoning her over. 

"You should be resting," Moon whispered once Eclipse sat on her other side. 

"I couldn't miss this," Eclipse smiled. She glanced at Qibli, who was feeling rather anxious about being next to two mind readers, and nodded. He nodded back stiffly. 

"Hi, everyone," Sunny said somberly. "I know you're all worried about the awful fire that happened yesterday. The first thing we want you to know is that the school is not closing, at least, not right now, but we understand if you want to leave. There are dragons on their way here now who can escort you safely home." Her mind flashed quickly past Queen Glory, Deathbringer, a six-clawed SandWing, and a big MudWing who looked like Clay.