It was a bright sunny day. Flowers were in full bloom and wildlife bounded through the bush. The trees swayed in a gentle breeze and as Comet strolled along a small, grassy path, he couldn't help but smile at his surroundings. It was so blissful. So perfect.

Then he blinked and it all vanished. The wildlife had never been there to begin with. There was no wind to move the trees. There was no sunlight, only the dim moonlight. It had been difficult for him to accept, but he had noticed when he had awoken that the moons seemed to be dimmer than they had once been. Those great orbs he looked to every night for guidance no longer quite the same. He wondered briefly if Reed had noticed and made a silent prayer that he hadn't. To… go, knowing that the world wasn't what it had once been, that even the stars themselves were dimmed, would be hard. Horrible even.

And it was all Comet's fault. If he hadn't gone off on his own, even accidentally. If he had paid that little bit more attention. Not gotten into trouble in the first place… Reed would have been there with him.

Heavy with guilt, Comet continued, trying to ignore the bleak landscape around him. He had tried to fool himself all… morning, but now that he knew what was really there, it was impossible to deny. He saw a rock at his feet and took a swing at it, marvelling for a short moment at how mundane the action was. Before the world had gone kaboom, he would have been kicking rocks all the time. Now, such a normal action seemed so strange to him.

After several more steps, he caught up to the rock once more and picked it up. He weighed it in a paw and lobbed it ahead of himself, watching it arc into the bushes in front of him. He smiled to himself.

That's it! Stupid world ending and purple dragons. I could have been doing this for days! What else have I been missing out on?

He turned about on the spot, searching for something else he could do. Maybe he could climb a tree? Before he could take another step though, he heard a yell.

"Stay back!"

Suddenly alert, Comet stopped and looked around. Were they talking to him? When nothing happened, he crept slowly towards the noise. He didn't know what was yelling out, but whatever it was, it might not be friendly. It could also be friendly though. He had to know.

Totally not imagining things. Totally not imagining things…

With a single paw he swept aside a low-hanging branch in front of him. Beyond the leaves, the swamp opened onto a small, stagnant pool. Across the water, a huge beast stood, huffing and pawing at the ground in the moonlight. It looked like a giant brown pig, with two giant curved horns jutting from its head. It looked able to flatten him just by sitting down.

He heard panicked sounds coming from the other side of it, but the beast was blocking his view of what might be making the noise. It sounded weak and pitiful, but at the same time muffled. Almost as if the creature was trying to hide its fright, but was failing miserably. He had to commend them for trying, anyway. It was more than most would be able to manage in their position.

He snuck around the edge of the clearing, trying to get a view around the nearly house-sized monster. He was certain it wasn't quite that big, but it was certainly close. Around the hulk, he caught a glimpse of orange, a splotch of colour in stark contrast to the leafy background.

Then, suddenly, the creature came into view. It was a cheetah, clearly female. She was shorter than Reed had been and covered with bright orange fur. He hadn't seen Reed's fur, so it was hard to compare. He saw her reach out behind her, fumbling for something. He wondered what she was looking for, but when he saw her hand wrap around a stray branch, realised she didn't know herself.

"I said stay back!" She waved the branch at the giant pig. "I have a branch and I'm not afraid to use it!"

The beast froze, no longer pawing the ground and eyeing her carefully. Then, with a quick bob, it ate half of the branch. The feline stared at the twig in her hands for a moment, blinking dazedly. It finally sunk in and, with a squeal, she bolted, darting into the bush. The beast gave chase, trampling shrubs as it went and knocking trees so hard they were partially uprooted. Comet followed after, trying to stay out of sight.

A roar erupted in front of him and he slid to a stop, stumbling on a loose rock beneath his paws. In front of him, the giant pig-like beast was standing, hunched over its prey.

Not again! I won't let it happen!

Without even thinking about what he was about to do, Comet shot a stream of fire at the monster. It cried out, twisting around slowly to face him. Comet felt himself being overrun with fear, shrinking down before the giant animal. His legs quivered and he struggled to stay upright.

Must… Stay… Strong.

Comet forced his legs to straighten. Raising his head and staring straight into the beast's giant eyes.

"You don't scare me, pig!"

It snorted, taking a step towards him.

"I'm going to cook you alive."

And eat you. You look like enough food to last a week.

With a tremendous roar, the monster leaped forward, rumbling towards him faster than he had expected. For such a large animal, it moved with surprising agility. Comet rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding being trampled.

The beast spun on the spot, pawing at the ground, readying itself to charge him once more. Comet grunted as he pulled himself up from the dirt.

The beast charged again and Comet rolled to the side once more. He felt the wind as the monster went by and his heart pounded harder. He had to finish this fight or he would be crushed!

The next time the beast ran at him, he met it head on, rolling under it, between its front legs. He landed on his back, looking up at the monster's underside. Taking a deep breath, he unleashed a blast of flames from his maw. Fire filled his vision, and his ears were filled with a monotonous roar. He couldn't tell if it was from the beast or his flames.

He shut his mouth, cutting off the fire in his throat, just in time to see the monster falling towards him. Somehow, he knew there wasn't enough time for him to escape. He was going to be crushed. As his doom fell towards him, he, strangely, thought of the cheetah he had just saved.

At least I did right by someone.

Shaking. Being rocked about gently. Someone calling to him. He opened his eyes to an indistinct world, everything blurred and smudged like a bad oil painting. He saw green, brown, a smudge of orange. It was dark out. Night must have fallen.

His mind slowly shifted into gear. His vision sharpened. He saw a face above him. He felt something wet on his side, the ground beneath him slick with a dark liquid.

"Are you alright?" The voice was definitely female. It was too gentle, too comforting, to be male. He shook his head vaguely, looking around. Night hadn't fallen. It was always this dark now. It always would be.

"Just sit still. You'll feel better soon."

"What happened?" he croaked, trying to sit up despite her words. She pushed him back down gently, resting a paw on his shoulder. There was a pause before she spoke.

"You were almost crushed…" Comet froze, turning to look at her intently as she continued. "You set the giant swamp pig on fire and then it just… fell. There wasn't enough time for me to get you out." Comet saw her shaking. They didn't even know each other, he was yet to learn her name, and yet she still seemed so affected by his near miss.

Giant swamp pig… So that's what it was. I hope there aren't any more of them anywhere.

"And then. You were here, next to me. I don't know what happened, but you're lucky to be alive right now."

Comet looked away into the trees. He had killed his only friend, even though it was accidentally, and he had almost died. His usual energy was long, long gone. He had doubts it would ever come back. He felt the feline shuffle next to him and turned to look at her once more. She still looked down. Maybe changing the topic would be a good idea?

"So…" He broke the momentary silence. "How did you end up here?"

The cheetah smiled warmly at him. He smiled back.

Good move, me.

"I was always here, I guess. I came here on a trip with…" She trailed off and Comet cringed. Maybe not the right topic. She pressed on. "I came here on a trip with some friends of mine. We got separated on the first day and then, well, the world ended."

The way she put it was so matter of fact, so blunt, that Comet was shocked. How could she put it that plainly?

"You sound so… unfazed by all this." He waved about with a paw to emphasise his point.

She nodded. "I guess it's just sunk in by now."

Comet knew there was more to it than that, but didn't push her. He barely knew her; it wasn't the right time to ask such a personal question. He went with something less private for his next question.

"Where have you been staying?" She opened her mouth to respond, but Comet continued. "And what's your name? And what have you been eating?"

She chuckled to herself. "I'll show you now; follow me." She stood up, offering him a paw. "Just be careful, we'll go slow. I don't want you hurting yourself again."

"I'm sure I'm fine," Comet said. "It's not like I was actually crushed or anything… And you still didn't answer my other questions." Comet noticed the feline's silence and turned to face her. He saw the sympathy in her expression.

"You might not have been crushed, but you were definitely injured. You must have landed on a rock or something; there's a nasty cut on your back. You're lucky to have both your wings, it's right next to one of them.

Comet strained to glance at his back, just able to spot a patch of red against his black scales.

"Dumb rock," he grumbled to himself.

The cheetah didn't seem to hear him. "And my name is Laurel."

"What about my other question?" he asked.

"I'll explain on the way. We'll be walking slowly, what with your injury and all, so we'll have plenty of time to talk."

Comet nodded. She made a good point. Slowly, they began to walk, heading off into the dense swamp. This time as he walked, Comet paid close attention to his surroundings. He didn't want to encounter any other massive, dangerous, bone-crushing beasties. After they had settled into a comfortable pace, Laurel began to talk.

"I've been here for… a while. It's hard to judge time at the moment. There's no one else here, just me. Or, at least, I haven't found anyone else." She ducked under a branch, then held it up for Comet to get past. He nodded gratefully and jumped past her. His back flared with pain and he glared at it. He heard Laurel tut. "Ease up a bit… little dragon."

"Comet."

"Comet? That's a nice name." She smiled at him again and took the lead, continuing on to a destination only she knew where. "Anyway, it's only me here. I've been hunting for food, there are lots of animals around if you look. I was hunting that swamp pig a moment ago, but I missed my shot. Throwing rocks is harder than firing arrows…" She looked away abashedly, then continued. As she resumed, Comet had to wonder why she would be hunting for food. Didn't the female cheetahs usually gather berries and fruits while the males hunted? Maybe she came from a different sort of tribe? He shrugged to himself. He could always ask her later.

While dodging around quagmires of mud and low-hanging branches, Laurel told Comet about where she had been staying – a large hollow in the trunk of a giant tree – and about what she had been doing to pass the time. She had swum in a river, climbed trees, hunted for food, tried weaving baskets – none of which had succeeded; it was something her mother could do, but she never could – and throwing stones at small targets she had made. To Comet, it all sounded rather bland. He would have… what? He most likely would have done the same things she had done in her position.

Suddenly, Laurel came to a stop, gesturing to a tree beside her. Comet looked at the tree, following its trunk upwards. He continued to crane his head back, taking in its enormity when, before he could react, he lost his balance and fell over backwards. Above him, a giant canopy of leaves blotted out the starlit sky. A canopy from one tree; one giant tree.

The feline laughed. "We're here."

Comet lay stunned for a moment, then burst into hysterical laughter. He hated to admit it to himself, but he had just been knocked over by a tree, without the tree even needing to move. How hadn't he noticed such a large tree before he was right next to it? He didn't know. He hoped the inside was as large as the outside. Laurel had said the hollow was big.

A paw entered his vision and Comet allowed himself to be pulled back up again. Part way to his feet though, his back flared again. He groaned and Laurel studied him closely.

"Come inside, I'll make you a bed so you can lie down."

Comet was led to an opening at the base of the tree. A row of vines covered the entry and she swept them aside, revealing an open interior. It was dark inside, but being eternally night outside, Comet's eyes quickly adjusted to the gloom. There was a small pile of leaves in a far corner, a large brown pelt laying neatly over the top. It looked very warm.

The rest of the space was fairly plain. A stack of food along the left wall, some assorted pieces in another corner and, in the centre of the space, a pile of twigs surrounded by a ring of small stones. Lighting a fire in a tree couldn't be the best idea, but the tree was still standing so it couldn't be that bad.

Laurel led him to a spot next to the bed, telling him to sit there for a moment. She made her way to the assorted items corner, picking from the jumble a black pelt. She came back and passed it to him.

"Are you alright to sleep here for the night?"

Comet nodded. "It's more comfortable than sleeping on rocks."

Laurel gave him a questioning look, concern flashing across her face. "You've been sleeping on rocks?"

"Yeah. I just came from Concurrent Skies. Rocks were all I could find."

"Concurrent Skies," Laurel breathed. "You're lucky to be alive right now. That place is dangerous."

Comet's thoughts turned to Reed. He saw the flames rushing after him and held back a sob. Reed had saved him so many times. And what an ironic way to go; killed by the very dragon you were trying to save. "I know I am."

They descended into a comfortable silence and, in that moment, Comet felt completely at peace. He wasn't alone anymore. He had someone else he could spend time with; someone else to brighten the dark void. He hadn't been alone long but in this ruined world… it felt like eternity. With Laurel, everything would be just fine. Here in the Swamp, what could go wrong?