A Brighter Future Ahead

AN: 2 things in one day!? Man, I'm good!

Although, I didn't get a single review for the last chapter of this. In my mind, that means one of two things:

A) Everyone hated it

B) It wasn't good or bad enough to warrant a review. In other words, it was a meh chapter.

If you're worried about how nothing has happened yet, I will say that the actual plot starts in the next chapter. I've been taking this kind of slow, I know, but this is all according to plan.

Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire.

Darkstalker:

He was sitting by himself as he gazed out at the coming tides. It had been mostly the same these past two weeks. On Clearsight's advice, he had given the two Seawings their space while they at least grew accustomed to his presence. Even Clearsight had spent most days with them rather than with him, but he understood why.

He couldn't expect her to always dote on him. Fathom and Indigo were her friends, too, and as lonely as he had been, he wasn't complaining. He could be patient if that's what it took. After all, I am immortal, he thought wryly.

What was a year, a decade, a century even to a dragon who couldn't die of old age?

The one good thing about the solitude was that he had a lot of time to think about the past present, and future. He reflected on the choices he had already made and contemplated on the choices he needed to make now. Though he could see the future, he and Clearsight had both promised not to trifle with the threads of fate anymore.

They had done that before and look where it landed them.

Despite the time he spent thinking, he still blamed Arctic for everything that happened to him. If his father had been more supportive and caring, it was possible that none of this would have happened. Maybe his mother would still be alive…

He sighed as he watched the sunset. He and Clearsight had been trying to change their sleeping schedules to better match the Seawings'. The bright sunlight still hurt his eyes, but Fathom had promised Clearsight when she asked him that it would pass. Apparently, the same thing had happened to them when they went from being active in the night during their stay at the Nightwing city to being active during the day.

Then again, they hadn't been sleeping during the days for their entire lives.

He also spent a lot of time observing the others…like right now. Fathom's anger had dulled considerably in the past two weeks, but there was still some lingering resentment. I find it completely understandable, though.

As for Indigo…

Well, he still didn't really care about what she thought of him.

"What are you thinking about this time?" He turned around to see Clearsight walking over to him.

He smiled at her as she approached. "The usual," he replied. "I was wondering if tomorrow would a good time to talk with Fathom. Or should I wait?"

She sat down beside him and laid her head on his shoulders as he wrapped a wing around her, "You tell me, Mr. Mind-reader." He knew that she was joking, but somehow, her words made him really self-conscious.

He honestly didn't know why, either. He had never second-guessed his abilities before. Maybe he was having withdrawals? He hadn't enchanted anything for three weeks now. It would be so easy now, but…I know I can't. I have to keep resisting the temptation.

"I think I will," he finally responded. "I know that you and Indigo are somewhat close now. Could you take her on a supply run tomorrow while I talk with him?"

Clearsight nodded, "If she agrees, yes, I will."

By this time, the sun was almost gone, "I think it's time to go to sleep." She nodded and followed him over to their rudimentary shelter. He had made a lean-to with his own talons a few days after arriving on the island using some driftwood and palm fronds.

They fell asleep together and, for once, the nightmares left him alone.

He woke up a few hours after dawn to the sound of wood breaking and panicked yelling.

He opened up his eyes groggily to see that the 'house' that Indigo and Fathom were trying to build had collapsed…again. What is this, the third time now? Wait no…it's the fourth. It collapsed in the middle of the night a few days ago, too. He chuckled to himself as he stood up to go see if he could help.

Fathom looked deflated—more so than usual. Indigo's thoughts were upset, too, but she was trying to stay strong on the outside for Fathom. The green Seawing just observed him as he looked over the collapsed building. "What do you want?" Indigo asked, suspiciously.

"To help," he answered truthfully. "I can tell you now that you'll never be able to build a house using the materials you have here."

"Since when are you an expert on construction?" the purple Seawing shot back.

He looked at her for a minute before answering, "Well, I did take a carpentry class in school. I got an A too."

"If I remember right, you cheated in that class," Clearsight pointed out.

Darkstalker looked at her feeling slightly betrayed, "Who's side are you on, anyways?" She shrugged.

He just rolled his eyes, "The point is…driftwood and loose rocks aren't exactly prime building material. I would recommend cutting down a few trees on the coast and maybe finding some vines to use as rope."

Clearsight nodded, "He does make a good point."

"Cutting down trees in the Rainforest is insane!" Indigo yelled, outraged.

"No…insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting things to change. That is crazy." He smirked at her. If she could breathe fire, smoke would be coming out of her nostrils in waves.

"He's right, Indigo," Fathom said defeated. We can't keep doing what we've been doing. I think we both know it won't ever work." Her glare softened as she looked at him before she sighed and nodded.

"Why don't we go get some better materials?" Clearsight suggested to Indigo. She looked dubious to say the least but didn't argue.

"Fathom, will you help me with the plans?" Darkstalker asked.

The Seawing looked between him and Indigo…who was angry again. At first, Darkstalker didn't think he would, but he eventually accepted. The two females flew towards the nearest shoreline with Clearsight giving him a mental good luck.

Darkstalker was etching some measurements in the sand with a stick as Fathom sat down next to him. "Why are you suddenly interested in helping me?" he asked with no small amount of suspicion.

The Nightwing sighed, "There aren't many dragons that I truly care about, Fathom. Neither, do I care about what they think of me." He turned to look at the Seawing, "You are one of the few that I do care about. I took advantage of your friendship before, and I lost your trust. I won't make that mistake again."

The Seawing was silent as Darkstalker focused his attention back onto his building plans. The Nightwing was smiling to himself as he looked over at the foundation. It was the only thing that was usable from this mess. It was just stone and mortar, but they didn't need anything fancy. After a few minutes, Darkstalker walked over and started sorting through the ruined wood before he held up a salvageable piece, "I know it'll be hard to earn your trust again, so I'll start small. I'm going to help you build your house using my own two claws."

Fathom walked over and grabbed the piece of wood that Darkstalker was holding, "How do we know what's good and what's bad?"

Darkstalker smiled at the Seawing and Fathom smiled back, "Well first…"

AN: So what did you think? Please leave me a review, so I don't feel like I'm shouting into the wind. Even if it's a 'good job' or 'I liked it', it lets me know that people are actually reading this. The next chapter of this might be out next weekend.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22