Wings of Fire: Strike's Quest: Chapter 7

The whole room gasped, excluding Silverdark and Strike. "Ooooohhhh..." Typhoon said to Strike. Strike cuffed him lightly. This is awkward. Strike thought. But then, another voice in his head said, C'mon, idiot! You know you love her! Just do it! Silverdark looked to Strike, and suddenly kissed him, and hugged him. Silverdark giggled. "See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" She looked at him and fluttered her eyebrows. Then, Frosty grabbed the bottle and spun it. It landed on Typhoon, and he looked flabbergasted.

Wow! I can't believe it! Typhoon mouthed to Strike. Frosty gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Can we play Truth or Dare now?" Vines and Jungle said impatiently. "Yea, sure!" Silverdark said. She put the bottle on her nightstand and looked back at the dragonets. "Okay, I'll start!" Silverdark said. She looked at Jungle. "Truth or Dare?" she asked Jungle. "Truth!" Jungle replied. "Okay," continued the NightWing. "Ummm... What's your favorite color?" "Orange or pink. Can't decide!" The RainWing replied happily. "Now you ask the next question!" Silverdark said, pointing to Jungle. "Let's see.." Jungle said thoughtfully. "Cobra. Truth or Dare?" "Ddddare..." Cobra stuttered. "I dare you to... Get five mangoes from the kitchen and balance them on your snout for a minute!" "Oooookay." Cobra said. He got the mangoes and put them on his snout. I hope they don't fall over! That would end up bad! Strike thought. Almost on cue, clumsy Cobra dropped the mangoes accidentally and an orange goo exploded across the room. All of the dragonets were covered in mango goop. "Silverdark!" a dragon yelled from the doorway. Strike looked up and saw Aunt Fatespeaker. Fatespeaker grabbed the bottle off the table and looked at Silverdark accusingly. "Silverdark! Did you make this mess?" Silverdark knew she couldn't blame Cobra, so she looked at her talons and said, "Yes, Mother. I did. I'm very sorry." "You should be disappointed in yourself, Silverdark!" Fatespeaker said. "Your punishment is you, and your friends have to go to bed now!" Rrrrgh... Strike thought ruefully. I'm not even tired! Strike looked out the window at the moons. It's only 9:00! Strike thought. Then, Strike let out a yawn. Maybe I am tired. Strike thought. Fatespeaker and Starflight set up the dragonets' beds for the night. Strike got on his leaf mattress. He felt his eyes get droopy, and Strike heard all the dragonets around him, snoring. Then, Silverdark tapped on his shoulder. So I'm not the only one awake! Strike thought. "Hey, Strike. I'm not tired. Are you?" Strike replied with, "Yeah, a little bit. But I'll stay up with you if you want." "Sure. That would be nice." Silverdark replied. Maybe she likes me back! Strike thought. But he wrote this off. She probably thinks of me just as a friend. Strike thought sadly. But then Silverdark said, "Strike. You wanna go explore the rainforest?" It's super-cool at night when everybody is sleeping. It's such a special feeling. I'm so glad I have another dragon to share it with."

Strike smiled. Maybe he was right. "Silverdark, I thought we all get in trouble if we're caught by your parents. I don't think we should risk it." Silverdark looked at Strike slyly. "Do you seriously think I don't have a way out? I do this almost every night! Come on, you dumb dragon!" She moved the nightstand and there was a hole in the wall. "Stop thinking and just do it!" She pulled Strike through the hole. Strike was the biggest of all the dragonets. He always guessed he got it from his father. He barely fit through the hole. Silverdark had to tug on his horns to get him through. Silverdark lifted up into the sky. For Strike, it was hard to keep up, but eventually, he caught up to the purple NightWing. Silverdark landed on a tree, and Strike landed beside her. She turned to him. "Beautiful, isn't it?" She gestured to the scenery around them. Even at night, the RainWings and NightWings home was a scenic mess of greens, purples, blues, and every other color you could imagine. "Yeah. Definitely." Strike replied. "Hey, Silverdark. Can I tell you something? Please keep it secret." Silverdark gave Strike a trusting gaze. "Of course."

"Well," Strike started. "About two weeks ago, back in the Sky Kingdom, I was visiting my brother, Granite, and his mate, Celeste." Strike couldn't continue. It was too sad. "What's wrong? Silverdark asked with a hint of urgency in her voice. "What happened after that? Strike? Strike?" "They... they... they were stolen by the MudWings!" Strike blurted. He then burst into sobs. Silverdark suddenly looked mad. She picked Strike's head up. "Strike! Time to go." "To where?" Strike asked. "Isn't it obvious? We're going to the Mud Kingdom! Let's go!"