A Brighter Future Ahead

AN: Seriously, these things are so much easier to write compared to 8k word chapters. I finished this in like two hours, if that. There's not really much to say in these things, so I'll just get on with it after the short disclaimer.

Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire.

Fathom:

The two all but collapsed on the island when they had finally made it. They didn't stop for fear of being caught, questioned, and who knows what else by any of the other tribes—especially the Rainwings. Their viciousness towards their prisoners was beyond measure.

Fathom looked around the island while his head was on the sand. He was panting from exhaustion, and Indigo wasn't faring any better. It was rather small compared to some, but it was still spacious enough. There was enough room for a family to live…Or for one to start. After everything that had happened, he had decided that he owed no loyalty to Pearl anymore. No Seawing would ever give him a chance because of who he might be.

None except Indigo.

When he looked over at her, half-submerged in the shallows, he felt some of his worries wash away with the leaving tide. Although, she did look a little grumpy, "Are you okay?"

She looked at him suspiciously, "When you said we were going to an island, I thought you meant we were going back to the Kingdom of the Sea to find an island away from the Palace. Why are we here?"

Oh…right. I forgot to tell her. He looked away sheepishly, "Uh…we're waiting for Clearsight." She didn't look too thrilled about that.

"Haven't we had enough Nightwing-related troubles already?" she moved closer to him and reached for the satchel around his neck. He scooted away before she could see what was inside. She huffed in frustration, "And why won't you let me see what's in that bag…you're not keeping secrets, are you?" Despite his expectation for her to be upset by that, she sounded…flirty.

It was weird.

Indigo wasn't like most dragonesses. She wasn't bubbly or flippant or anything like that. Rather, she was kind of gruff—even blunt. To see her acting like…not that…was strange, "Are you sure you're okay?"

She tilted her head curiously, "Why?"

He studied her with a critical gaze, "You're acting strange, Indigo. Flirty, almost."

She looked away with a blush, "You noticed that, did you? It's just…when I saw where we landed, I thought that you decided to just disregard the Queen. I thought we…" she trailed off before sighing, "But I guess not. I'll go find some food." She turned around abruptly and dove into the water.

He just stared after her in regret before whispering to the breeze, "…but I did…and we were." I shouldn't have waited to tell her. Fathom dumped out the contents of his satchel. A single scroll rolled out.

He stared at the black thing for a long while with a mixture of emotions—the two strongest being disgust…and hatred. Fathom wasn't the kind of dragon that would hold grudges or other negative sentiments over another, but this time was a special exception. That Nightwing had tried to enchant him…multiple times! And he almost took away the thing that Fathom loved most of all in this world!

I should have told Clearsight to bury him underneath the mountain. He deserves to rot, after all. What's done was done, though. Despite the company she kept, Clearsight was still his friend, and he would stay here until she met them. "What's that?"

He broke out of his reverie with a start and threw some sand over the scroll, "What's what?" he asked innocently.

Indigo looked at him funny as she dropped a few fish on the sand, "The scroll…you know the one you just buried." She studied his guilty expression for a moment before she realized, "It's his isn't it?" she asked with a sneer. "Why do you even have that!? Do you even know what kind of evil that thing has been touched by!?" She was yelling at him now, and he actually lost his own temper a little bit.

"Yes! I do know! And I share your sentiment! Darkstalker is evil! More than that, he's on his way here to find it! I don't know if Clearsight is even with him or if he killed her! I just—" He broke down into tears at this point.

Despite probably being upset with him, Indigo came forward and pulled him into an embrace, "Hey, it's okay. I'm not mad, Fathom. Not at you, at least. I hope Clearsight is okay, I really do. She was a good dragon despite the company she kept. But Darkstalker…he scares me. I try not to let him see it, but he is the most terrifying dragon I've ever met."

Fathom had calmed down a bit by this point, and he whispered, "I thought he was my friend…but he just used me! He used me like Albatross did!"

He heard Indigo sigh, "Yes, he did. I don't know what you may have read on that scroll, Fathom, but you know him better than most dragons. I'll follow you, whatever your decision. I trust you."

Fathom pulled away and looked at her in confusion, "Why? Why would you trust me? If my grandfather and Darkstalker both turned out evil, what's stopping me from becoming evil, too? I'm just like them. I have the same curse!" he glared at his talons for emphasis.

His head was roughly grabbed and forced to look at her furious face, "Don't you ever say that again, do you hear me? You are nothing like them, Fathom! Your heart wouldn't let you be." He looked at her in awe. How many dragons had told him that before? She's the only one. She always has been. I'm done waiting!"

He reached up and pulled her talons away from his face without breaking eye contact. She resisted at first but eventually allowed him to move them. He interlaced his talons with hers before leaning forward and nuzzling her underneath her jaw. She stiffened at first but relaxed eventually. He leaned back and gazed into her surprised gaze, "I love you, Indigo," he stated with utmost sincerity.

She was caught off guard by his confession to be sure, if her rapid series of blinking was any clue. She smiled after a while and looked down with a blush, "It's about time you realized that." This time, she leaned forward and nuzzled him back, "I love you, too, Fathom."

They sat with each other for almost an hour before the sun started going down, and they decided to get a fire going. It was a bit difficult since neither of them could actually breathe fire, but they eventually got a small blaze going. They were quiet as they enjoyed each other's company, but Fathom's smile fell after a while.

Darkstalker would most likely be here tomorrow, and he had no way of knowing if Clearsight was with him or not. If she wasn't, there was a good chance that both he and Indigo would die tomorrow.

He clenched his fists as a small snarl formed on his face. Darkstalker was a powerful enemy, but he was severely weakened without his scroll. There was no way he would let the Nightwing hurt either of them…even if he had to use his magic or the scroll to prevent it.

AN: So Fathom isn't ruling anything out anymore, is he? What's going to happen when he sees Darkstalker again? I know, obviously, but that is for you to wonder about until the next chapter.

In all seriousness, though, did I do a good job with these characters? This is my first time writing Indigo, so tell me if I got her right or not.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22