Early in the morning, Cyclone and the other hunters were already up and ready to go to work. Thunder was late to the meetings and all the other hunters were standing around waiting for him to show up and assign each hunter their task for the morning. Despite the annoyance of having to wait around doing nothing, Cyclone was feeling rather happy today regardless. The night of passion that he spent with his mate the previous night had left him in the most agreeable of moods.

"What's taking so long?" One male hunter, Cloud, said with annoyed tone of voice.

Another dragon, Oak, nodded. "Yeah where is Thunder?" He said as they both began looking to Cyclone.

When Cyclone saw them looking at him he shrugged. "What? Why are you looking at me for?" He asked.

"Well you're his closest friend. I assume you two notify each other of your business?" Oak asked.

Cyclone shook his head. "I haven't seen him since the clan meeting last night. If there is one thing I know for sure about Thunder it's that he takes great pride in his work. He wouldn't be late unless it was for a very good reason." He said.

A female hunter, Rose, spoke up. "Well maybe someone should go look for him?" She said.

"I'll go." Said Oak. "I'll check his cave." He said before turning to take flight.

The rest of them laid down on their bellies with their heads up and legs folded in front of them. Rose looked toward Cyclone and noticed that he seemed distracted, almost as if daydreaming about something.

"What's got you all peppy this morning?" Rose asked as she noticed the smirk on Cyclone's face.

Cyclone chuckled with a smile. "It's nothing." He said nervously as he was recalling his night with Aurora.

Rose smiled back as she was able to guess at what he was thinking. "Ohhhhhh I get it now." She grinned.

"Shhh!" Cyclone said back to her. "Don't make me tackle you." Cyclone jested.

Rose snickered to herself as she couldn't resist the urge to poke fun at her fellow hunters.

"Why waste time pestering me when you could be talking to your crush, Cloud." Cyclone said just loud enough for Cloud to see it. When Cloud did hear it, he perked his head up to look towards the two of them.

Rose's cheeks flushed a bright red as she looked towards Cloud. "He's lying!" She said before looking back to Cyclone and covering her head with her wing so she could whisper to him. "I should be the one tackling you." She said.

Cyclone chuckled and rubbed his chin, amused. He looked back towards Cloud and gave him an affirmative head nod.

As the three of them poked fun at each other, Oak quickly returned from his flight to Thunder's cave. "Uh guys... Thunder isn't in his cave."

"What?" Said Cloud.

"Well we should spread out then." Cyclone said. "Rose, check the infirmary. Oak and Cloud check the other caves in the camp to see if he's in someone elses den. I'll check the forest." He said before nodding to them all.

They all nodded back to him and went their separate ways.

Cyclone ventured out into the forest, using his acquired hunting skills to try and locate his friend. He couldn't find any tracks around the camp's perimeter so he decided to go beyond the camp's boundaries and search the surrounding forests. By mid afternoon, there was still no sign of Thunder's whereabouts. The forest floor was mostly leaves which were constantly being blown away, thus discarding of any footprints. Cyclone instead turned towards broken twigs and crushed plants, a tip that Thunder had taught him earlier.

Luckily he picked up a trail of broken twigs and started to follow it. The forest in this area was mostly silent. Only the occasional chirp of a bird and a slight rustling of leaves as little critters scampered about in Cyclone's wake. Though eventually the normal forest sound was quickly interrupted as Cyclone began hearing vicious growls and snarls as if they were coming from a pack of wolves. Cyclone walked further up ahead to see where the noise was coming from. When he came upon the scene, what he saw caused his jaw to drop and his heart to quickly sink to the bottom of his chest.

Thunder was laying on his back, dead. A pack of wolves had torn into his belly and were now feasting on his organs. As Cyclone watched the horrific scene unfold, he quickly fell to his knees and began to weep for his fallen friend. Thunder had always been Cyclone's best friend and now he was gone. Hearing the sound of crunching and tearing as the wolves continued eating Thunder made Cyclone's blood curdle. He wept out loud, his tears falling to the forest floor as he mourned the tragic lost of his good friend.

Some time later, a couple members of the clan had arrived at the scene after Cyclone went back to tell them the bad news. Aurora, Eclipse, Cloud, Rose, Oak, Tempest, and Glade all arrived on the scene.

When Glade saw the corpse of Thunder, her eyes quickly filled up with tears. "Thunder... No..." She said with a faltering voice as she despaired.

The other clan members looked on in shock and horror, covering their mouths as they watched the wolves devour their once good friend. Out of all of them, Glade seemed the most distraught over Thunder's death.

"I loved him..." Glade said through her sobbing. Oak, Rose, and Cloud gathered around to comfort Glade. By now, Cyclone had composed himself and stopped crying. Now he was just angry and wanted to take out his frustration on something.

"Sweetheart..." Aurora said, trying to comfort her grieving mate. "I'm so sorry." She said softly, gently rubbing his shoulder.

"My god..." Tempest said, lowering his head in respect. "This is awful... long has Thunder overseen the hunters in this clan. His loss is a tragedy that will not soon be forgotten." He said to everyone.

Aurora turned towards Eclipse, who was also lowering her head in respect. "How could something like this happen?" Aurora asked.

Eclipse turned her gaze towards Aurora. "It's not uncommon for wolves to hunt us. Dragons are natural prey for wolves. Even though we may be smarter and stronger with our magical power, there is little one can do when they are ambushed by a whole pack. I've had friends before who were tracked, hunted down, and eaten by wolves. It's a very undignified way to go."

Aurora listened to Eclipse while she looked onward. The gruesome scene unfolding in front of her eyes was enough to make her feel sick. The sound of bones crunching and blood splattering made everyone feel uneasy.

Eclipse also patted Glade on the shoulder as she grieved the loss of her loved one.

"We were supposed to be mates..." Glade said through tears. Amidst her grief, a vengeful rage started to form. She wanted to incinerate the wolves into a pile of ash but everyone kept her restrained.

"Killing them won't bring him back." Eclipse said. "They've claimed him as prey fairly. We will return for his body once they are finished and give him a proper ceremony." She said, respecting the natural cycle of life. Normally Storm Dragons cremated their dead out of respect but they respected the rules of nature. Eclipse and the others turned to leave, keeping their heads down. They left Thunder's body alone as the wolves had hunted and claimed him fair in square.

Some time later, Cyclone and Tempest returned to the forest to retrieve Thunder's body after the wolves finished taking what they needed from his body to survive. When they arrived, his body was hollow as the wolves had eaten all of his organs and muscles. It pained Cyclone to look over the corpse of his dead friend, but as he did so he made a discovery.

"Tempest." Cyclone said. "Look here." He said, pointing to Thunder's throat. There was a large slash mark in his neck that pierced his windpipe.

Highdragon Tempest shrugged. "I don't see anything. It just looks like the spot where they finished him off." He said.

"That's just it." Cyclone said. "Wolves don't slash. Wolves don't claw and slice their prey open. They bite. His throat should have bite marks from where they snapped his neck but his throat is slashed open. He wasn't killed by wolves, he was executed." Cyclone reasoned.

Tempest rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know, Cyclone... it seems like you're grasping at straws here." He said.

"Really?" Cyclone said. "I can understand a normal warrior becoming prey for wolves but Thunder was a hunter. Not just any hunter, a master hunter. He could find tracks so small other hunters couldn't notice them even if they looked for hours. He knew these forests inside out...what creatures lived here and what types of dangers lurked around every corner. He was a survivalist like nobody had ever seen. Do you think it makes sense that one of the greatest hunters of all time was tracked down and killed by a pack of mindless wolves?"

"Even if you are right, where do we go from here? We don't have the slightest clue who killed him or why. Even if he was murdered, we wouldn't even know where to begin to start looking." Tempest reasoned.

"Why was Thunder even out here in the first place?" Cyclone inquired.

Tempest grew silent for a moment and closed his eyes as he sighed.

"Tempest?" Cyclone said. "What is it?"

"He was out here on my orders." Tempest said.

Cyclone perked his head up and widened his eyes. "Why?"

"He found out that Nithogg's clan was still in Stormheim and that they were preparing for war. I sent him to investigate Nithogg's clan further." Tempest admitted.

Cyclone lowered his brows angrily. "It all makes sense... Thunder obviously dug too deep and found something he wasn't supposed to find. They killed him to keep him quiet. Tempest, you have to order a strike against Nithogg's clan. They have to be dealt with for good!" Cyclone said.

Tempest raised a foot, trying to calm Cyclone down. "Just calm down for a moment. This is all guesses and hunches. We have no solid proof of anything. I told Thunder i would consult the council on this matter in one weeks time. I intend to stay true to that promise. We will discuss whether or not we should eliminate Nithogg's clan for good." Tempest said.

"I will say one thing, though." Tempest added. "Your theory does make sense. If somebody did murder him they obviously didn't want him to talk. I will take this information into consideration when the council meets. But for now, I can't have you chasing ghosts based on inconclusive evidence." Tempests said as he lowered his head to hoist Thunder's onto his back.

Cyclone helped Tempest carry Thunder's body. Once it was secure, the two of them looked towards each other. "I am very sorry, Cyclone. Thunder was a good friend of mine too. Rest assured, whoever did this will pay. I promise you that." He said, lowering his eyebrows and nodding to Cyclone respectively.

Back at camp, Tempest had called another clan meeting to inform everybody as to what happened.

"I have some dreadful news to announce to you all." Tempest said with a booming voice. "Thunder, our head hunter, was killed by wolves last night."

When Tempest made the announcement, everyone in the crowd gasped and started muttering to each other.

"We have also learned that Nithogg's clan has not left Stormheim. They are still here on the outermost reaches of the land. As to whether or not these two events are linked is still being investigated. We will do everything we can to find out how this horrible tragedy happened. For now, we will mourn Thunder, and honor his legacy." He said as he gestured for a warrior to bring out Thunder's body.

Once everyone saw Thunder's body they all gasped, with some of them starting to cry. "I will now cremate Thunder and give him the proper respect he deserves. His ashes will be scattered across our camp just as our ancestors were. He was brought into life in this camp, and now he will be laid to rest in this camp." Tempest said as he raised his wings high into the air. "To Thunder." He said, honoring the fallen hunter.

Everyone in the crowd raised their wings into the air with Tempest. "To Thunder." The crowd said all at once. Tempest then lowered his head and breathed intense lightning over Thunder's dead body until he was turned to ash.

After seeing all that he needed to see, Cyclone lowered his head and retreated back to his cave. Aurora noticed her mate leaving the ceremony and decided to follow him back to the cave.

When Aurora arrived at the cave she was holding Daisy. "I can't imagine what you're going through. Is there anything I can do to help?" She said.

Cyclone turned towards her. "Can I hold her?" He asked.

Aurora nodded. "Of course!" She said, handing their daughter over to him.

Cyclone looked down at his daughter and couldn't help but smile. Despite the grief he felt inside, he always felt comfortable and happy when he was around his family. Just holding his little girl made him feel a million times better. A lone tear formed in Cyclone's eye as he smiled and stared at Daisy. Aurora got beside him and wrapped him in her wings, tightly hugging him.

"Papa!" Daisy burted out with a happy smile.

Aurora and Cyclone both gasped and smiled as the same time. "Awww..." Aurora said, her heart melting at hearing her daughter's first words. Deep down, Aurora was just happy that she found something to distract Cyclone from his pain.

Cyclone smiled and wiped the tear from his eye. "Papa!" He said back to her. "Papa loves you very much. No matter how old you get and no matter what happens to us, you'll always be our little baby girl." He said, giving Daisy a kiss on the forehead, which caused her to giggle happily.

"That's so sweet." Aurora said, looking up to him. "Hey. I'm really sorry about what happened. Are you going to be okay?" She asked.

Cyclone turned to her and smiled with a nod. "If Thunder was here, he would want me to go on with my life. The best way to honor him would be to move on and make him proud by walking in his footsteps. Hopefully one day I can aspire to become as good of a dragon as he was." He said.

Aurora smiled. "That's very wise of you." She said, leaning forward to give her mate a kiss on the lips.

After spending the new few hours playing with his mate and daughter inside of their cave, Cyclone looked up to see Tempest entering their cave.

"Highdragon." Cyclone said. "What can I do for you?"

"We still mourn Thunder's loss but we need a new leader of the hunters as soon as possible. You knew him more than anyone else. Would it be too much to ask for you to take up his mantle?" Tempest asked.

Aurora covered her lip and looked towards her mate, wondering what his response would be.

Cyclone smiled and held his head high. "I would be honored."

Once night had fallen and Aurora and Cyclone were curled up together, Cyclone started to grow restless. Aurora and Daisy were both sound asleep but something kept gnawing at Cyclone that kept him from getting any sleep. He still stuck to the belief that Thunder had been murdered but every reason he could think of seemed unlikely. If it was Nithogg's clan that did it, why would they kill one of Tempest's dragons knowing full-well what happened last time? If it was the Vrykul, why would they not harvest Thunder's body? If anymore murdered Thunder, why leave his body out in the open as if asking to be found?

So many questions yet so few answers. Everyone else in the camp went about their normal business, but Cyclone couldn't help but think something wasn't right...