A Brighter Future Ahead

AN: I meant to have this posted over the weekend, but I was doing a few other things and it slipped my mind. Here it is, though.

The plot is beginning to form, but either next chapter or the one after will be the turning point. Stick around until then, and you won't be disappointed. I promise.

Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire.

Darkstalker:

It only took around thirty minutes to sort through the materials because most everything was crap. With nothing else to do, they gathered some palm fronds from a few other nearby islands. When the two females still didn't show up even after that, Fathom was obviously getting worried.

If his pacing wasn't enough of a clue, his frantic thoughts were. They should have been back by now! What if they were caught and the Rainwings are melting out their eyes!? Or maybe a tree fell on them!

Darkstalker rolled his eyes, exasperated. Some of the things this dragon comes up with are just ludicrous! I'm pretty sure neither of them are dumb enough to let a tree fall on them! Then again, he did hear the resounding boom of a tree falling a few hours ago… Okay, maybe Indigo might be stupid enough, but Clearsight isn't…right?

The longer he listened to Fathom's panicked tangents, the less confident he became. Until finally, he snapped, "WILL YOU SHUT UP!?" Fathom blinked at him a few times, clearly not expecting that. "I can't even think with all of your frantic thoughts and ridiculous scenarios that couldn't possibly have happened running through your mind!"

"Then why are you listening?" Fathom asked, hotly.

"You probably wouldn't understand," he replied, much calmer now. "It's not as easy being a mind-reader as you might think. Once you get used to hearing the thoughts of others only to turn it off… The quiet has driven a few Nightwings who tried mad. I, for one, don't want the next to be me."

He looked over at Fathom to see that the Seawing was deep in thought, "How exactly does that work?" he asked, sounding confused.

Darkstalker was about to answer when a new mind entered his range of detection. He could easily recognize who it was, too. "Clearsight's coming back!" he called over to the still frantic Seawing.

"What about Indigo? Shouldn't they be together?" he asked, worried.

Darkstalker smirked to himself as he looked towards the far shore near the horizon. "Maybe a tree fell on her," he replied, nonchalantly.

"THAT'S NOT FUNNY!" Fathom all but screamed at him. He went back to his pacing with his thoughts even more frantic than before.

Darkstalker's smirk grew wider. He was rather fond of messing with the Seawing. He used to think that Fathom's constant worrying was nothing but a nuisance. Now, though, he found it oddly amusing.

However, his smirk fell for a frown when he heard the terrified thoughts swirling around in his Clearsight's mind. "Fathom!" he called. The Seawing glared at him for interrupting him again. "Something's wrong!"

Whether or not his friend believed him was of no consequence right now. He rushed over to Clearsight when she landed and she threw her arms around him as she began crying into his shoulder. "W-What happened?" Fathom asked, his worry reaching almost record levels.

Darkstalker gave him a look that clearly said: 'let me handle this.' "What happened? Where's Indigo; is she okay?" he was mildly surprised at the genuine-sounding care and worry in his voice. He didn't like Indigo anymore than the Seawing liked him, but his friends cared about her. For him, that was enough of a reason to tolerate her presence. If she needed help, he would put his pride aside, not for her sake, but for Fathom and Clearsight's, in order to save her.

"I-I s-saw the future," she whispered. His eyes hardened and his jaw clenched. Either unknowing or uncaring of his sudden tenseness, she continued. "Y-You were—"

He pushed her back suddenly. "Stop talking," he commanded. Her mouth snapped shut, and her eyes widened in surprise and fear as she gazed at him. He enchanted me! She thought, incredulously. He took a deep breath before continuing, "No one can control the future, Clearsight—not even you. It's dangerous to even try! You can't have forgotten everything that happened, can you?" She looked down ashamed but still didn't answer. He sighed, "You can talk again."

"I'm sorry… It's just—the things I saw…" she looked up at him, pleading for him to do something, even when she knew he wouldn't.

"One often meets their fate on the road they take to avoid it," he quoted. She looked at him and nodded, upset but understanding. "It's best you just forget everything you saw. We'll take life one day at a time, right?"

She nodded, much calmer now than a few minutes ago. Fathom took this opportunity to interject, "Where's Indigo? Why isn't she with you?"

Darkstalker smirked again, "He thinks a tree fell on her."

Clearsight refused to meet their eyes when she answered, "We were seen by a Rainwing." Darkstalker's smirk instantly vanished to be a replaced by a serious expression. "She took off after it, but I was already on the ground because of the visions."

Darkstalker took a deep breath before walking off and gazing at the horizon again. He stood tall and imposing as a growl rumbled from deep in his chest. He could feel the other two watching him—waiting to see what he would do. I am NOT letting some tree-living cowards come between me and my dream of a normal life! He turned back to Clearsight. "Take me to where you were spotted," he commanded. His tone made it clear that he would abide no argument.

Clearsight looked at Fathom, worry obvious both from her thoughts and her expression. Fathom looked at him just as unsettled. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Darkstalker didn't even look at him. His gaze was firmly fixed on Clearsight. She finally looked back at him and nodded. She was scared, he could see, both from what she saw in her visions and what might happen that she didn't know about. "Fathom, you're coming, too."

"What!? Why!?" he flinched back in surprise.

"You're going to watch after Clearsight while I go find Indigo," he stated.

Or what's left of her…

AN: Tell me what you think.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22