Chapter 9

The Rain Forest

Inferno was looking for a river. He was so thirsty; he had been flying for days. When Inferno had finally arrived at the Rain Forest, he had soared over the treetops looking for a river or pond to drink from.

"Finally," he grumbled spying a break in the woods and a glimmer of water. Seeing this he swooped down to land. Unfortunately for Inferno, he had not taken into account the trees and vines of the Rain Forest. While trying to land, his large wings tangled in some vines and his tail caught in thick clump leaves and tree sap.

"Grr," he growled trying to pull himself free. A couple of minutes of pulling did nothing to free him. When Inferno took a break from pulling, he saw that the tree branches that held some of the vines were dead and rotting only held together by the vines themselves. Seeing this, Inferno got an idea, he began swinging back and forth and side to side. The branches groan and cracked. Inferno swung harder. With a final groan, the branches gave way and dropped Inferno to the forest floor, with a resounding crash.

"Ahh," he groaned as he lay on the ground for a few minutes to catch his breath.

"Are you okay?" asked a strange voice.

Inferno leaped to his claws with a hiss and turned toward the voice. It was a small, female Mudwing with a concerned look on her face.

"I am fine," Inferno snapped, "who are you and what are you doing in the Rain Forest?"

"I am Crane," said the Mudwing, "and I am doing the same thing here that you are doing, hiding."

"What makes you think I am hiding," asked Inferno angrily even though that was exactly what he was doing.

"Why else would you, a Skywing, be in the Rain Forest?" asked Crane sitting down by the riverbank.

"And what if I am?" asked Inferno suspiciously, "what would you do if I was?"

"I would ask you to join us," said Crane simply.

"Us?" asked Inferno, "there are other dragons here?"

"Yes," said Crane, "the others with me are hiding too."

"Where are they?" asked Inferno looking around anxiously.

"They are behind me," said Crane to Inferno before turning and calling into the woods,

"I am here. With the Skywing. It is all fine. He is a fugitive like us."

This statement was followed by a crashing in the woods and soon out came three other dragonets. One was an Icewing, one a Seawing, and one was a strange-looking dragon that he guessed was a Sandwing but was the wrong color and had a funny-looking tail.

"Hello," said the Sandwing, "I am Sandstar, the Seawing is Slipstream, and the grumpy Icewing is Frostbite. Who are you and why are you here?"

"I am Inferno," said Inferno before adding with a scowl, "and I am trying to avoid being found."

"Well then you are falling, very badly," said new voice cynically.

"Who is there?" asked Frostbite baring his teeth, again, moons this was getting old fast.

"Why should we tell you," asked a different voice, "you are in my forest, you explain yourself first."

"You show yourself, and then we will talk to you," said Frostbite trying to bargain with these invisible dragons.

There was a silence of a moment and then there was a rustling in the brush and a black dragonet staked out into the open.

"You're a Nightwing," Sandstar cried, excited.

"Yes," replied the Nightwing before looking at Sandstar strangely. Sandstar returned the look and then jumped.

"You just spoke in my mind," she cried, "how did you do that?"

"I don't know," said the Nightwing puzzled, "it's never happened when I have read minds before."

"I thought that you said that you were the only one who could read minds, Sandstar?" asked Frostbite suspicious, yet again.

"You can read minds, too?" asked a puzzled Nightwing before a look of recognition crossed his face.

"You are that Sandstar, Morrowseer's daughter?" he asked, realization dawning on his face.

"Yes," replied Sandstar, "how did you know?"

"I recognized you from Morrowseer's mind, he thinks about you a lot by the way. I can read minds too, in guess you hadn't guess that already," said the Nightwing.

"I thought no Nightwing could do that in two thousand years?" asked Slipstream looking way too fascinated by the conversation.

"I thought so too, I am the only one on the island that can," said the Nightwing, "I am Nightshade by the way."

"And I am Oleander," spoke the second voice again from the trees. Suddenly the ground rippled, and a dragon appeared on of thin air

"Ahh," shout Crane and Slipstream, while Frostbite bared his teeth yet again his jaws were going to start hurting if this keeps up, Sandstar and Nightshade, however, remained completely unbothered by the whole situation.

"Well, that was a nice introduction," said Oleander sarcastically.

"Well," said Inferno, "this meet and greet are nice and all, but would someone tell me WHAT IN PYRRHIA IS GOING ON?!"