The next morning was not a pleasant one for Cedar.

His eyes opened groggily, and he sleepily tried to get his bearings. He felt itchy, terribly itchy. His skin was plastered with dried sweat and mud, and he was covered in leaves and ferns. The rainforest air was clean, but humid and oppressive, and even from the shade of the hollow he found himself, he could still feel the heat beating down from the early summer sky.

The next thing he felt was the gentle rise and fall of a weight on his lap, and a soft breathing below him. He looked down and nearly jumped out his own skin, seeing a dragon sleeping on top of him. What was it doing here? Why hadn't it killed him yet? Why was it-

Last night's events came rushing back to him, all at once. Right. He came to her comfort after her mother left her, and she came to his comfort after his... his...

He let out a quiet, choked sob, as the tears began to rush down his face again. His family, his friends, his home, everyone he'd ever known.

Gone in an instant.

His crying wasn't quiet enough to go unnoticed, as the Nightwing's breaths began to change pace, and her eyes peacefully fluttered open as she lifted her head to look up at his tearful face. Her piercing green eyes stared deep into his. He tried to wipe his eyes and nose in a vain attempt to recompose himself. She didn't need to see him like this. How could she possibly understand-

She rose from her resting place in his lap and nuzzled her head into his chest, wrapping her wings around him, as though she were giving a hug.

This simple act shook Cedar from his half-asleep stupor like a splash of cold water. Stars above, since when could dragons read minds? The Nightwing gave a gentle purr from his chest, as he slowly moved a hand to stroke the back of her neck. He gradually moved both arms around her and wrapped her into a hug of his own, sobbing quietly into the crook of her neck.

Cedar's cries eventually came to a slow. He pulled away and wiped his face again, only smearing his tears with the dirt coating him. "Th… thank you," he choked out, a small smile on his face.

"Mmmrk," said the Nightwing, seemingly content. Stars, she was so pure.

Suddenly, the sound of flapping wings could be heard in the distance. They both perked up. Was the Nightwing's mother back for her newborn? Maybe she wasn't abandoned; maybe she wouldn't have to live alone after all. The thought brought a small smile to his face, and he could have sworn it brought one to hers, too.

Unfortunately, it occurred too late to him that maybe the giant mother dragon wouldn't be so partial to having her newborn so close to a human.

A loud thud resounded from outside the hollow, and the protective ferns were pushed aside to reveal the face of the mother he saw last night. For only the briefest of moments, she seemed immensely relieved to see her newborn safe where she left her, but that was before her daughter, with a happy chirp, retracted her wings to show her mother the new friend she made.

Secretkeeper was not a happy dragon.

She flung the filthy scavenger into the dirt in the middle of the clearing, and pinned him down with her talons before he could scramble up. She leaned down and growled menacingly at him.

"And who do you think you are, going near my daughter?!"

The scavenger pressed his back further into the terrain, his breaths short and fast, desperate to get away from her. Fat chance. She wouldn't let him go until he got the message to stay away embedded in his skull. He'd never forget the day he dared to threaten her Moonwatcher's life.

She could hear the sound of talons stumbling across the jungle floor, and wings flapping, wild and distressed behind her. "Mommy! Nah… N-No! Stuh-Stop!" With an unexpected burst of speed, Moonwatcher staggered her way over to where she had the scavenger pinned, and began to paw at her talons angrily. Even if she couldn't hope to actually hurt her, she was still very clearly upset about the whole situation. "No! Stop!" she cried up to her mother's face.

What? She could maybe understand her approaching a scavenger; she was young, didn't know the dangers present. But why was she going out of her way to protect this… vermin? Moonwatcher's agitation only seemed to grow at this thought, as did the volume of her cries. The scavenger, meanwhile, seemed as stupefied as Secretkeeper felt.

She couldn't possibly see this scavenger as a friend, could she?

"Yuh… Yeh, yes! Furrrr, friend! Friend!"

What the-

In her moment of shock, she accidentally lifted her talons from the scavenger, who took the opportunity to crawl out and, still on the ground, scramble away from her. Before she could grab him again, Moon rushed over to him and wrapped her wings around the pitiful creature protectively. "Friend! friend!" she insisted.

Secretkeeper had never used the word 'friend' in front of Moon before, and there was no way she could have learned it from that… scavenger there. She had only just thought of the word. The Nightwings, even if they wouldn't admit it, haven't had a psychic in centuries. It just wasn't possible that she was a-

"Psuh… sci-kick? Psy-kikuh? Mommy?"

...Oh, stars.

She took a few fearful steps backward, much to the confusion of both Moon and the scavenger. She had mentally prepared herself to raise a dragonet hidden in the rainforest, she knew she wouldn't be able to be with her daughter all the time, she was ready for all that. But this…

She began to breathe faster, her heart starting to pound in her ears. She couldn't raise the first mind-reader since Darkstalker. She didn't know what to do, she wasn't ready for this, she had no way of controlling her powers or helping her use them, or-

Moon let go of the scavenger and ran to her, still stumbling into the dirt a few times, the innocent child, and wrapped her talons and wings around her mother in comfort. "Stuh… Stop." she stated simply. Secretkeeper's panicked mind seemed to relax a bit just at this simple action.

She looked up to see the scavenger, now on his feet, slowly shuffling, step by step, in her direction. Pressured by her gaze, he took his time to reach her. When he stood before her, he slowly rose an arm to trace his fingers across her hide, before wrapping his small arms around her like Moon was, as though trying to provide comfort the same way.

Her hardened glare softened immediately as their embraces soothed her mind even further. She sat down in a sphinx posture and gently wrapped her arms around both of them. Yes, she wouldn't worry. It would be difficult, but she promised herself she would love her child no matter what. So what if she had an arcane power or two? She would always be her Moonwatcher.

Secretkeeper turned her attention to the strange scavenger hugging her. He was an odd one, for sure. The fur on the top of his head was covered in leaves, and he smelled awful. The cloth he had covering his body was torn and dirty. He looked utterly pathetic.

But Moon had to have taken a liking to this… leafy scavenger for a reason. Leaf. Leaf was a funny name.

She thought all scavengers were terrified of dragons? This one seemed more scared of Secretkeeper as a person rather than a beast. She supposed that was meant to be flattering. Hm. He seemed brave enough, certainly braver than most of what she'd heard of scavengers. Maybe… having him stay around Moon wouldn't be so bad after all?

Moon certainly agreed, giving a small chirp of approval. That was it, then.

A week later…

A splash resonated through the rainforest as Cedar dove into the lake he had found two days ago while looking for fruit with the Nightwing that he'd began to call Moon. He'd finally managed to find a way to deal with the horribly unhygienic mud and sweat that once caked his entire skin, and it was a blessing that was not overlooked.

The lake was actually a part of a larger river, with a small-ish waterfall cascading into the pool near the edge. Cedar was standing under it, washing his hair and body to clean it of dirt, sweat, and most recently, blood. The rainforest wasn't exactly made of pillows and silk, and sometimes he had to suffer to make sure he and Moon would be alright for another day or two.

He'd recently found a certain flower in the rainforest that he remembered hearing about in school. When the pedals were crushed up and left out to dry in the sun for a day, the resulting powder worked as a fantastic solution that worked similarly to soap. He rubbed a handful of it across his body and let the water wash it away, leaving nothing but clean skin behind.

The water was surprisingly warm, as it flowed down over Cedar's sore shoulders. He closed his eyes and let the sound of rushing water fill his mind. The pounding water was heavy on his neck, yet it almost somehow made him feel lighter as he began to relax…

He heard the sound of something moving into the water, and opened his eyes to see Moon there, gazing at him with her ever-vibrant green eyes. She had a single arm in the water, as though checking how warm it was. She seemed satisfied with it, and promptly launched the rest of her body into the lake, creating a massive splash.

Cedar laughed as he shielded his eyes from the explosion of water. There was another splash as Moon resurfaced, and turned her head to face him again, a silly smile plastered on her face. She ran over to him, causing more splashes all the way. Cedar turned his body to protect himself from the water, and made a small, feeble splash in retaliation.

When she got close enough, she closed her eyes and moved her head under the waterfall, letting the water roll down her neck and over her ebony scales. She unfurled her wings and shook them, shooting droplets of water everywhere, causing Cedar to cover his eyes yet again.

When everything has settled, Moon opened her eyes again, greener than the forest that surrounded them, and looked over at Cedar. Sitting down, she was about his height, but she's been growing quickly. On the night of her hatching, she was only about up to his shoulders, after all. Dragons apparently matured a lot quicker than most thought.

He looked down into his hand to see he still had some of the soap powder. He quickly rinsed it under the waterfall, cupping his hands to ensure he didn't lose any, and began to wash Moon's scales with the soap. She seemed to enjoy the sensation, a soft purr coming from her throat.

He took his time to make sure she was thoroughly cleaned, and Moon seemed to appreciate every second. After he'd covered as much as he could with the soap, he made sure to rinse all of it off beneath the waterfall, careful not to get anything in her eyes.

When she was all clean, she turned to admire her scales, glistening under the sun. With yet another small splash, she wrapped her arms around Cedar and brought him into her embrace.

Cedar didn't hesitate to hug back.

A month later…

With the Mother's visits becoming fewer and further between, Cedar has had to find more ways to make ends meet.

He'd long since shed his tattered burlap clothing, and instead donned some kind of a mix between the massive jungle leaves and the feathers of fallen birds. It came with a pair of shorts, but instead of a shirt, he merely wore long bands across his chest, crafted from some of the smaller vines he'd found. The materials he found in the jungle were always very sturdy, but it was still a miracle that his sub-par tailoring could hold together at all.

He didn't need to wear much, anyway; summer was in full swing, and each day only grew hotter than the last. Moon was in the lake, trying to beat the heat. Cedar would have joined her, but someone needed to fetch dinner for them.

He reached to his waist to grab a makeshift tool he'd made in his spare time, a long, durable vine with a wooden hook at the end. They've eaten much of the low-hanging fruits in the area, and with Moon still learning how to fly, he had to find a way to reach the harder targets.

He spotted a fair bunch of bananas up above, high in a tree. Swinging his new grapple in an arc, he tossed the hook high into the air, before it got caught on a nearby branch. Taking a deep breath, Cedar tightened his grip on the vine as he began to scale the massive tree. It was certainly scary, but he'd done this before; he had faith in his trusty grapple.

He eventually managed to reach the bananas, and after securing himself onto a branch, tugged at the bunch until it came loose. He tightened the hook securely in the branches, placed the bunch under his arm and began his descent.

Halfway down, however, he heard a crack. His blood ran cold as his head snapped up, and he could spy the hook of his grapple beginning to come loose. His mind raced, but he had to force himself to tear his eyes away and move faster downwards. Unfortunately, his rush only seemed to destabilize the hook even further, as it snapped in two, and Cedar began to plummet.

He screamed as he fell, his mind going blank. He couldn't die now, Moon needed him, he was doing so well, what would happen with him gone, what-

Suddenly, something massive and dark slammed into his side, and tumbled with him to the ground. He and the mass rolled when they hit the dirt, and when the slowed he found himself underneath it. His eyes were slammed shut, his fists still clenched around the vine for dear life, his breaths short and panicked.

"Rrraak!" came an angry, familiar voice from above him. Cedar's eyes opened, and he saw none other than Moon standing above him, her expression making her displeasure clear.

"M-Moon, I..." Cedar stammered, his earlier terror still shaking through him. "I… I-I was getting food, and the hook just snapped, and – It's worked fine before, I don't know why – I'll be sure to stop it from happening again -"

Moon let out another snort and hit the ground in frustration. "Mmrrk!"

Cedar stared at her for a long moment, before sighing. "I… ah, damn, you're right. I shouldn't have risked my life like that. I'm sorry."

Even if she couldn't understand his language, she still seemed to get the message as her glare softened and she leaned closer to embrace him. Over a month of this, and he was still as mystified as ever by it. The same effect didn't seem to be with Mother; in fact, he was pretty sure at this point she could read minds.

Read minds. Hm. How did she know he was in danger?

As a sniffle came from her, he set the growing thought aside for later. He remembered to wrap her into his own embrace for comfort, whispering sweet nothings into her ear as she did so. Out of some bizarre curiosity, he made sure to think joyful, cozy thoughts as he did. She almost seemed to calm down faster.

He rolled out from under her as they both dried the last of their tears. Stars, they were both so emotional. He walked a brief distance to find the bunch of bananas on the ground, still intact. He picked them up, tore one off the bunch, and handed it to Moon.

"Want one?"

She stared at the banana in his hands for a long moment, before she reached out and took it, wearing a bittersweet smile.

A year later…

This wasn't going to work.

It was late, the sky pitch-black aside from the explosion of stars and one full moon out. Moon and Cedar had retired to their usual resting place underneath the hollow tree hidden behind the ferns in the corner of the moon-lit section of the jungle. From the shade of his new home, Cedar looked out upon the clearing, and couldn't help but be reminded of his first time being here, witnessing Moon hatch under two moons. If only he'd known then how much that night would change his life.

Speaking of which, he was pretty sure he almost broke a bone or two when Moon tried to lay down in his lap like normal.

Moon had grown over the last year, a lot. Whereas she had once been only about his height while sitting down, she was now about twice as large as she was when she hatched. Evidently, the speed at which a dragon matured was nothing to scoff at.

Cedar, however, didn't grow nearly as fast, and couldn't keep up. As a result, it had grown increasingly harder for Moon to sleep on his lap as she always had.

"Unf! Ow, ow, Moon, get up, ow," Cedar groaned as Moon lifted herself up. If he tried to sleep with Moon's full weight on him, he certainly wouldn't live to see the morning. "I, uh… I-I'm not sure this is gonna work anymore. I mean… you've grown a ton, and I… haven't."

Moon, somehow, seemed to understand. Her brow furrowed as she brainstormed for a solution to their dilemma. For a moment, there was no sound but the sounds of crickets and bugs. Cedar could've sworn he heard a panther roar in the distance.

Then, her eyes snapped open, as she apparently thought of something. She moved to a pile of leaves and laid down in it, Her wing closest to Cedar was extended, as she beckoned him to come closer. With a few hesitant steps, Cedar slowly approached her, and when he was close enough, Moon pulled him in with her wing, knocking him down next to her.

"Ow! Moon, what're you-" His words were cut off when he felt Moon's arms embrace him protectively. She held him close, like some kind of human teddy bear. She curled inwards, surrounding him. Her head nuzzled him from over his shoulder with a cozy purr, and her wings wrapped over both of them like some kind of massive scale-coated blanket.

Any words Cedar was about to say died in his throat, but despite that he immediately felt a sensation of warmth and comfort overtake him. But it was a sensation he took with hesitation. This wasn't how it was supposed to be! He was always the one to protect her, wasn't he?

A grunt and a scolding nudge from Moon told him otherwise. By the starry skies, she could actually read minds. Not that he wasn't aware of it; he'd had plenty of proof over the last year. But it was still so bizarre when she actually did it.

...Gah, maybe she was right. He couldn't keep this up forever, even if he wanted to. She was getting older, and bigger; she needed to be able to take care of herself. Except at that thought, Moon seemed to pull him just a little closer, and somehow, realization struck him. They were in this together; they both had to rely on each other.

Like brother and sister.

With that thought, Cedar peacefully faded into sleep within Moon's arms.

Four years since Moon's hatching…

Cedar's legs ached, and his lungs burnt, but he didn't stop running, weaving between trees and watching not to trip on vines and roots. His grappling hook, reinforced and nearly indestructible now, caught on a tree branch as Cedar pulled himself in the air and launched forward through the air.

He was floating.

He was flying.

He was a dragon soaring through the clouds.

He reached his arm forward and caught onto a natural vine, which he swung from to another vine, and another and another. The wind rushed past his face. He felt lighter than air. His arms were on fire, but he kept going.

He spotted a gap in the treeline in the distance, and pushed himself even harder to pick of the pace. He kicked off of a tree to grab another vine, before throwing his grapple while in mid-air to swing on another branch.

He was burning.

He was boiling.

He was a bonfire, the scorching heat flooding each of his veins.

But full of life and light.

He grabbed on two vines with both hands and, with a tremendous tug, made the final swing, crashing through branches into the clearing above a massive lake. The crystal-blue water twinkled back at him from below under the scorching sun, as he freely fell through the air down into the lake, his grapple trailing behind him.

A roar sounded off somewhere nearby, and moments before he crashed into the water, Moon flew up from behind him and caught him on her back.

He grabbed onto her shoulders with all his might, fighting against the sensation of dropping in his stomach being multiplied tenfold by the sudden stop. He managed to pull himself up and wrap his arms around her neck entirely. Moon turned her head back to smile at him, her emerald eyes filled with adrenaline and mirth.

She made a wide arc in the air above the clearing, Cedar needing to secure his grip even further to stop from falling. She turned back towards the massive sapphire lake below. Cedar took a deep breath as Moon folded her wings in and dive-bombed into the water with a colossal splash.

Cedar finally released his vice grip from Moon and let himself drift under the cool water. Stars, he needed this. A smile grew across his features as his rapid heartbeat began to relax a little, and he surrounded himself in the muffled noise of the water. Soon, however, his lungs caught up with him, feeling like they were about to explode. He rose his arms and began is ascension.

When he broke the surface, he took a deep, much-needed breath, and opened his eyes to the glare of the sun. When he leveled his vision, he could see Moon nearby, twirling around in ecstasy as she swam in a circle around the lake like an ebony dolphin.

She perked her head out of the water when she saw him, and stared back with that silly smile of hers. With a brief jump in the air, she dove towards him, before splashing out of the water and wrapping her arms around him. Cedar laughed as he hugged back, and for a moment, it almost sounded like she was laughing, too.

Later, Moon and Leaf were relaxing in the sun at the side of the lake, catching their breath. Moon's scales absorbed the early summer heat, and she purred in pleasure from the warmth. Leaf laid back against her side, his eyes closed, half-asleep, his thoughts calm and serene.

She smiled at him. She couldn't read any specific thoughts from Leaf's mind, but she could still sense emotions and ideas from him. She knew that he saw her as a sister, and it was a title she couldn't be prouder of. He'd been there for her since she hatched; she couldn't help but think of Leaf as a brother, too.

Leaf. She knew that wasn't his real name, and she doubted she'd ever know what it was. Some days, she couldn't stop her mind from wandering, though. What did he think her name was?

Moon's ears twitched as she heard wingbeats from nearby. She turned her head to see who it could have been, but her vision was limited with the tall, dense, trees. Suddenly, the bright sun was blotted out by the dark silhouette of a familiar dragon, who then arced downward to meet them.

"Mother!" Moon cried, her face lit up. Leaf looked up at her in confusion and, when he realized that the warmth of the sun had suddenly vanished, looked up and smiled in recognition the same as she did.

"Moon! I've been looking for you, what are you doing out here?" Secretkeeper asked. She was trying to scold them, but for some reason, she couldn't keep joy out of her voice today. She was always happy when she got the chance to see her daughter(and foster son), but something about it was different this time.

"Me and Leaf were having fun, don't worry about it! How've things been?" Moon asked. Even if her mother's stories from the volcano were always grim, she still always asked how things were, in hope that one day things may take a turn for the better.

If only she knew what today had in store for her.

"Moon," Secretkeeper said breathily. She had a lot to say, and everything was about to explode from her. "It's a long story, but we got a new queen, and I think she'd like to meet you."

This took way longer than I thought it would. IRL circumstances haven't made it easy for me to finish this, but it's here, and I don't think it's that bad, all things considered.

Regardless of time, I've been blown away with positive feedback so far with this story! I know ten favorites may not seem like a lot, but that's monumental compared to my older works. I hope this new chapter can do the previous one justice!

1. If you think this chapter has too much hugging, I'm sorry, but this story honestly isn't for you.

2. This is not a romance fic. Or at least, it's not a scavenger/dragon romance fic. Because that'd be really weird. I had to clarify that to some of my, ahem, "proofreaders". (You know who you are.) All things considered, it's a miracle that there's no scavenger/dragon fics on this archive, but I do NOT intend on making the first.

3. I initially wanted to spend more time in the rainforest before moving on to the events of JMA, but with how long this chapter took me to finish, I've decided that it would be better to up the production value and hurry things along just a little bit. The next chapter will be Moon and Cedar settling into the new Nightwing village, and after that, it's off to JMA for them.

4. To make things more clear, Cedar is the scavenger's real name, but Moon and the other dragons don't know that, so they'll always call him Leaf.

Again, I'm extremely sorry about the delay with this one. I can't promise that I'll be able to get the next chapter out any faster, but I'll see what I can do.
Thank you all so much for reading, and for your continued support!