A Brighter Future Ahead
AN: WOW! Two things in one day! It's unbelievable! I guess the good thing about shorter chapters is that I can pump these out within an hour or two. I hope everyone has been enjoying this so far. I've gotten a few good reviews for this, and I can't wait for more. It helps keep me motivated.
Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire.
Chapter 2:
Darkstalker:
After they had dried their tears, the two of them had relocated to Jade Mountain. They watched and waited as the ground shook, making Agate Mountain collapse upon itself. Without her bracelet, Darkstalker could hear all of Clearsight's thoughts. Her heard her self-doubt. She was wondering if she did the right thing.
Darkstalker looked down at his talons—the ones that tried to choke her. He clenched his fist in determination. She had seen the worst side of him. No. Not the worst. Not even close. He had seen a few of the possible futures…the darkest ones. The things he would do…
Is that who I am? He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Clearsight's concern for him grew when she saw him show physical signs of his mental battle. She had seen those futures, too. She saw what he was capable of, yet she still gave him the benefit of the doubt. "I can feel your doubt, Clearsight." She looked over at him guiltily. He looked back at her, "Don't worry. I won't let you down."
"For the world's sake, I hope you're right," she whispered.
He smirked, "When have I ever been wrong?"
She pinned him with a glare, "You don't want me to answer that." He chuckled weakly, Riiight… he thought. There was a pause as he looked around the cave that they had found. The quiet drip, drip, drip of water could be heard from deeper in the mountain, and he shivered. How long would I have been trapped down here if Clearsight had used the bracelet? It was so cold and…solitary. "Should we go back to the city?"
He heard her sigh, "You know as well as I do that there's no one there. They all ran away…from you."
He dropped his head, "I know. I just didn't want to believe it." He laid his head on hers, "Where did they go?"
"I don't know," was her immediate reply.
He snorted in amusement, "Yes, you do. Even if you didn't, I know you could find out easily."
He felt her head shift until hers was under his jaw. She took a deep breath of his scent before answering, "If we go there, they'll imprison and torture you."
Darkstalker rolled his eyes, "What would they do to me? My scales are impenetrable and I can't die."
"But mine aren't…and I can," she said after a moment. He pulled his head back and looked at her horrified. "They would torture me and force you to watch knowing you couldn't do anything to save me."
His expression darkened as he looked away. They call me a monster, yet they would do something like this!? She had nothing to do with this! "Where's my scroll? I'll make sure they can't hurt you."
"NO!" she shouted. He looked at her, surprised. "No. You can't use your powers anymore! You have to listen to Fathom and I! If you continue using them, it won't matter how noble your goals are." She paused and looked away before whispering, "You would end up destroying the entire world." She looked at him, and he looked back. That escalated quickly.
He decided to ask a question that just came to mind. He needed to know, "Are you afraid of me?"
She looked at him before looking away in shame, "Yes. I am afraid of what you'll become if you don't change, Darkstalker." She laughed dryly, "You're the most dangerous dragon that has ever and will ever live…but I still love you." She said that last part with a smile, so he smiled back.
"I love you, too." He pulled her into a hug to which she gladly accepted. His arms and wings wrapped around her, and he rested his head atop hers, "Thank you for giving me another chance. Anyone else would say I didn't deserve it."
"I'm not anyone else, am I?" she joked.
"No, you're not," he joked back. His smile fell when he asked, "So what now? Where will we go?"
He sensed her hesitation to answer, but she did after a while, "Fathom is taking your scroll to an island south of the rainforest. I asked him to meet us there if you…" she trailed off, but he could hear the finish in her mind, …if you didn't kill me.
He shivered again. Was that a possible future? Would he really have killed her?
…
No… He hugged her tighter, "I—" He stopped. He was going to say that he would never hurt her. I did, though, didn't I? So instead, he tried again, "I won't ever hurt you again, Clearsight. I promise."
She released a mirthless laugh, "I'll hold you to that." She broke out of his embrace and began walking deeper into the cave where the sunlight was less severe, "We should get some rest. We can leave once the sun goes down."
Darkstalker nodded his assent. They found a slightly more comfortable place to bed down for the night. Clearsight surprised him when she laid down by his side. They had never actually slept together before. He could hear her doubts: Did I do the right thing? Is this too fast? Maybe he's uncomfortable and I should move.
To prevent that, he draped his foreleg and a wing over her as he smiled mischievously, "You won't get away that easily." He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "You're mine…now and forever."
She shivered against him when she heard his words and felt his breath in her ear. With a smirk on his face, Darkstalker rested his head next to hers. Soon enough, they were both asleep.
AN: Hope everyone enjoyed this one. Yes, they're shorter chapters, but that's kind of the point for this one. I wanted to write shorter chapters to expand my skill sets.
And since you guys got two things in one day, you'll be all set until Thanksgiving break, right?
...
That was a joke. Nobody panic! I will update before then.
Until Next Time
AdmiralCole22
