Disclaimer: I don't own Flight Rising and the world of Sornieth. All of the characters are my OCs.
Dear Readers: I'm trying something new with this one. Also, a big thanks to triss2800 and two more of my friends without accounts on this website, who helped me a lot and were awesome beta readers (even if you went on and on about shipping the protagonists).
Weird Update On The Author's Personal Life: I'm doing the Long Drop Coliseum Challenge, and my sanity is slowly declining. To Ember Mice everywhere: just drop the stupid Firestarters already!
Chapter One:
I snatched my brown satchel, double-checking to make sure the egg was still there. Casting one last glance back at the clan that had taken me in, I took flight, twisting through the air.
Trotting behind me, far enough back to look like she wasn't traveling with him, was Monsoon. Feather-like markings covered the wings and body of the indigo Mirror dragon, and she had large fins on her head.
The two of us were on a mission of sorts for our home clan. As the clan grew, the leaders, a pair of Mirrors, had decided to send a small group of dragons out into the world to claim new territory. We were both open to the idea, and also were bringing along a mysterious egg that I had found while scavenging. Jade, a gentle green Fae dragon, told me I could keep it. In her words, 'maybe it could find a new life far from here.' But the only thing Monsoon and I were opposed to? Journeying together.
The two of us had one thing in common. We were not born in the clan, but had been adopted into it at a young age. Monsoon had always been evasive about her past, but I remembered the day she first arrived. I was still a hatchling at the time, fresh from my escape. She had arrived in the night, on the brink of death, though refused tell anyone where she came from. As she healed, she helped the clan to hunt, while continuing to deny my existence.
I had spent my life running from rules and confinement, looking for adventures. Away from overbearing parents and 'No, Jetstream, you were meant to stay here'. My dream had been to see the vast world, beyond the moor I had known, since I was little more than a hatchling. I had a purpose, and I knew it was more than my birth clan. I had slipped away, learning to rely on my own wits, and to trust no one but myself. But that wouldn't do me any good now.
"You could at least pretend to be friendly," I called over my shoulder to Monsoon.
She rolled her eyes- all four of them. "I never agreed to any of this," she grumbled.
"Well, you know what? I didn't want to be stuck in a patrol with you for the next six moons either. But at least I'm trying."
Her silence led me to believe that I had won. We continued like this, me gliding above and her walking behind, as we traversed the seemingly never-ending plains and bamboo fields.
"Oh, look, a rock!" Out of nowhere, Monsoon suddenly pointed out a rock formation in the distance, seemingly very excited.
I snickered. "What's so good about a rock?"
"That's the first rock we've seen today, in case you haven't noticed. We can rest there. It's getting dark."
Biting back a remark of my own, I realized that she was right. On the plateau, a rock formation as large as this was fairly rare, and the sun hung low over the horizon. "We can stop there," I decided.
I had an idea. "Race you there!" I shouted, shooting out ahead. Monsoon didn't miss a beat. She broke out into a sprint, tearing ahead of me in mere seconds.
I sped up until we were neck and neck, clutching the bag with the egg. In the final stretch, I put on a last burst of speed, concentrating only on my destination. Suddenly Monsoon was beside me in the air, flapping her purple wings furiously. She was a completely different dragon in the air; cutting through the sky like an arrow. I think I even caught her smiling. She landed a wingbeat before I did, hitting the ground running as she slammed her talon onto the rock triumphantly.
She didn't acknowledge me further, and instead Monsoon took some food from our stores and flew to the top of the formation. She began to tear into some kind of bird carcass, her back to me.
After I caught my breath, I first set down my bag and checked on the egg. It was still there, light green with dark swirls, and unmoving as always. Thankfully, the temperatures in the Zephyr Steppes were fairly mild, and we would be able to sleep outdoors.
"You're fast," I commented finally.
Monsoon looked up from the carcass and shrugged. "I've always wanted to be a messenger."
"Cool."
"How about you?" she asks.
"Me?"
"Yeah, do you have any dreams? Hopes, career choices, a bucket list?"
It took me only a moment to think. "I want to explore and see the world. I ran away from my old clan," I blurted.
She seemed genuinely interested by this, turning around to peer at me from atop her perch. "Really? Why?"
I gave her the short answer. "Too many dragons telling me what to do. That's how I ended up at our clan."
"That's actually pretty cool."
"I've always wanted to go somewhere where dragons would be free to do whatever we wanted to, where no old geezers would be yelling at us."
It seemed like a stupid idea to me, but Monsoon nodded. "We could do that, if you want," she said quietly. "We already are a clan of our own, and we could just explore. We could be nomads."
I stop to think. The two of us- three once the egg hatched, travelling and adventuring, living off the land. "You know, I think I would like that."
This is a bit of a new style and genre of writing for me, so I'd love feedback. I have also posted it on the Flight Rising forums. My username is Timberfox42, and you can also see the real Jetstream and Monsoon there at the back of my lair.
