Chapter 5: Safety Lost

"It's gone!"

The shriek snapped Bloom awake. She sat up quickly, looking around. "Huh? Who? What's gone?" She asked, cyan flicking her talons as she saw Mamba's panicked face.

"My bag! It's gone! Some-" Mamba stopped, then bared her teeth. "Someone stole it."

"Hold on, let's be rational." Silverspinner stepped beside Mamba. "Are you sure you didn't misplace it?"

"Yes, I'm sure. My tail was wrapped around it when I fell asleep." Mamba answered. "Someone took it while I was sleeping."

"Well, neither of us took it," Bloom said. "So who did?"

"I'll tell you who took it," Mamba yelled, "a thief!"

"Well, then," Silverspinner picked up her pack, then announced. "We're going to go get Mamba's things back."

Bloom made a squeakish noise and reached for her bag. Just as she was about to pick it up, she noticed talonprints a couple feet away.

"Were these here last night?" She asked, peering at them as the others walked over.

"No, they weren't." Silverspinner said, inspecting the tracks.

"They're probably from the thief! They match the ones we saw yesterday," Mamba said, then quickly followed them. They ended after 30 feet, and Mamba growled under her breath.

"Well, it is a dragon. They probably flew the rest of the way." Silverspinner thought out loud. "My first thought is to fly the direction the prints are headed." Mamba spread her wings, but Silverspinner continued. "But, my second thought is that this thief is probably experienced, seeing as he or she managed to steal Mamba's bag even though Mamba was touching it. So they wouldn't be so careless as to leave such obvious footprints." She grinned. "Unless, of course, they didn't actually go this way."

"Also, these go towards the rainforest," Bloom butted in. "SandWings would hate the rainforest. It's the opposite of the desert. So, they probably went the opposite direction of these tracks."

"So, we should go..." Mamba turned around, "...to the mountains."

A few hours later

Bloom felt they had explored every nook and cranny in the mountains, but she didn't say so, for Mamba's sake. She had searched harder than the other two, squeezing into every small hole they found. She wondered what was in there, but felt it was too personal.

When the sun was at it's highest, they landed to take a break and eat something.

Bloom found a blackberry bush and a tree with strange tasting, but edible red fruit. She walked back to the others, eating the red fruits.

Silverspinner had caught a mountain goat, and was sharing it with Mamba. "I found a cave while I was hunting, should we check it out?" Silverspinner said after she had swallowed. Bloom nodded and finished her fruits quickly, and Mamba ripped her share in half and ate both the pieces.

They landed at the mouth of the cave, and Bloom wondered how Silverspinner saw it from the air. It was shaded by a large overhang, with vines trailing down the sides. Mamba stepped in the cave, and disappeared into the darkness. Bloom went next, and heard Silverspinner go in behind her. Claws clicked on the stone in the near darkness, the cave slowly becoming larger.

"There's a...light?" Mamba whispered. "There's a light." Bloom saw the faint glow of firelight, and heard Mamba speed up.

"If there's a light, there's a dragon." Silverspinner warned. "Be careful,"

Mamba stopped, and Bloom moved to stand next to her. A bend in the tunnel was in front of them, and the light was coming from it.

"...Well.." Mamba said, and took a deep breath. "Here's goes nothing." She rounded the corner. Her tail was still visible when Bloom heard her say "Freeze!" And another dragon gasp. She hurried around the corner, and Silverspinner followed her.

A NightWing dragonet, around her age, was standing in the middle of a cave that looked like a room. A few torches on the wall lit up the cave, carpets and pillows formed a nest-like bed in the corner, and a small desk with scrolls and an ink pot was placed against the farthest wall. The dragonet was a dull bluish gray, with almost black underscales. Straight lines of white scales went in all directions on the wings, creating triangles all around them. Silverspinner gasped behind her, and Mamba bared her teeth.

"Who are you?" She demanded, and the NightWing flinched.

"My name is Daybreaker, a-and I promise I'm harmless." She said, holding up her talons.

"What are you doing here? Have you been...living in this cave?" Bloom asked.

"Yes, I have been living here." Daybreaker sighed, and lowered her talons in a helpless expression. "Long story, or short story?"

"Short story, I guess," Mamba said, closing her mouth and relaxing.

The NightWing took a deep breath and sat down. "I'm a seer. I was supposed to be some future seeing priest to the NightWings, but I didn't want to. So, I ran away. I've lived here for the past 3 years, hiding from any dragons that fly above." She explained, and sighed again. "I knew you three were coming. I've had visions every night for the past week." She walked over to her desk and picked up a sealed scroll. She handed it to Silverspinner, who took it warily.

Daybreaker grinned in a tired, sympathetic way. "You three have a prophecy."

The three dragonets sat around the fire, all looking at the sealed scroll curiously. Daybreaker had told them to open it when they thought they were ready, told them that Mamba's bag was going to the Sky Kingdom, and then sent them on their way. Bloom had wanted to ask more about her life, but the other two hadn't, so they left.

"...I don't think we're ready yet. We still have to get Mamba's stuff back." Silverspinner said suddenly, and Mamba nodded in agreement. "You're right. As much as I want to see our prophecy, I don't think we're ready." Bloom said, flicking her tail.

"We have a lot in store for us tomorrow," Silverspinner yawned, "I'm going to sleep."

"Goodnight," Bloom and Mamba said simultaneously, then both laid down. Bloom closed her eyes, and fell asleep almost instantly.

All three dragonets slept peacefully for the entire night, oblivious to what was waiting for them when morning came.

Thank you for reading!