The pursuit was in full swing. The hoard of dreadwings was chasing after the three young dragons. Colreus did everything he could to evade them. While they outpaced the dreadwings, the riders and beasts made sure to try to close the gap by shooting bolts and having their beasts spit, what the dragons thought was, acid. Luckily, none of it had landed a hot. But that may soon change if they did not lose them.

However, as they rounded the side of the mountain in a frenzy, the sight of the forests down below gave Colreus an idea. A risky one, but likely the only one they could take.

"Joltiera, down!" He shouted. , while still keeping the younger dragon's scruff tightly grasped in his maw.

In half a moment, he changed trajectory and dove down. Thanks to their aerodynamic advantage, the dragons were able to outmaneuver the bat-like beasts, as they could not adjust their altitude fast enough. Their decedent continued in a frenzy. Dodging bolts and acid alike, the dragons dived for the ground outside of the forest.

Colreus made for a swift landing just shy of the edge of the forest. He winced as he shuffled a bit as he landed and his paws skidded to a halt in the dirt below him. Jolteira landed nearby, a tad less graceful than Colreus had. She nearly lost balance due to the velocity of her impact.

"Into the first!" He yelled, still firmly grasping the young dragonling's scruff. He bolted as fast as he could, as Aurora wintered in fear as she hang from Colreus' maw, terrified of the hoard of dreadwings chasing them. The ice dragon however did not stop, he kept running as fast as he could, keeping Joltiera in his line of sight.

By the time the apes would have been able to land, the dragons would have been long gone.


Joltiera and Colreus had kept running for as long as they could, probably for a solid fifteen or so minutes. She was growing a bit tired but refused to stop, the sheer terror of being caught again fueling her adrenaline and drive to make it forward.

However, the fatigue eventually got to all of them. She collapsed to the ground as her sprinting slowed. The ice dragon stopped and dropped her sister near her. He started panting as well.

"That was close…" the little wind dragoness said.

"Ditto." Joltiera huffed. She collected her breath for a minute or two. After collecting her breath for a bit... she started giggling. The realization of what had happened got to her. Her sister looked at her curiously while the ice dragon raised a brow.

"That was kind of cool!" The electric dragoness proclaimed. "We were just flying and then a whole hoard came in like out of nowhere. And then I was like-" she started mimicking her flying form"-zoom! And the apes were like: we'll get you rats!" She said in a mocking voice. "And then we bolted down the mountain and to safety at the fastest speed I have ever flown at! Those stupid bats couldn't even land a hit." She said. Her sister giggled too.

"Yeah, I guess you are right. That was kind of fun." The little wind dragoness agreed.

Colreus raised a brow. "You girls weren't scared? They could have caught us."

Joltiera shook her head. "But they did not. And we're fine." She stated.

The little wind dragoness spoke up after her. "And to be fair... the escape was a bit fun. I have never gone so fast!" She said, jumping for joy.

Colreus just playfully rolled his eyes. "Hey, whatever floats your boat, I guess."

Joltier looked at him. "But we lost them, right? Surely they aren't going to be able to follow us through here." She said, noting the thickness of the treelines overhead, and the density of the flora.

Colreus nodded. "Well, yeah. Good news is no way one of their dreadwings is going to be able to fly into here." He said, looking up. "Plus I doubt they would risk chasing us into here anyway." He stated, as his gaze shifted to the treeline above. "But they may place patrols over the forest, in case we try to fly out of a clearing." He stated.

The two younger kids frowned. "Then what do we do?' The electric dragon asked.
The teen looked over at her. "We go through it on foot." But his gaze narrowed. "Problem is... there are gonna be a lot of predators going running about. That will deter the apes from pursuing on foot, but it's a threat to us all the same. Both of you stay close." He stated.

The sisters complied. Colreus turned towards the north. "For now, we best continue to put some more distance from us and the way we came in. Our priority should be to find shelter for the night. Let's let the heat from the chase die down a bit, and keep our heads low." He stated. Saying nothing more, he ushered the sisters closer to him and began to walk toward the north.

Joltiera did not know if he knew where he was going, but she did not care right now. All that mattered was that they were safe and sound, under his protection.
As they traversed the woods, she could not help but be enthralled by her new surroundings. She had never seen anything like this before. Dark wood trees with thick bark composed the forest, each looking old and towering high into the sky, obscuring the sky for the most part. Various bioluminescent mushrooms, mostly blue or purple in color, were growing around the densely packed forest floor.

It was beautiful. She hoped they got a chance to learn more.


The trio of dragons had been walking for a bit longer before coming into a clearing out in the woods. Aurora saw how her sister had looked around the woods not in fear, but in awe and wonder. And the younger dragon had to admit, she was curious too. Their parents had never really taken them out into forests like this, under the worry of predators. But surely it was not all dangerous right?

In the clearing, she saw a rather large river, running through the middle, into the rest of the forest. It looked somewhat deep, but the little dragoness would just be happy to have a drink of water. She looked at the teen. "Can we get a drink from the river? I'm thirsty. " She said.

Colreus looked at the river wearily. "Uhhh... yes, but hold up on that for just a second. My parents taught me a bit about the wilderness... sometimes things might not be as safe as they seem on first glance. Even a simple river like that." he said.

Jolitiera scoffed. "You are just being paranoid. It's just water." She said, in jest. The ice dragon sighed.

"Trust me, you never know what could be hiding here. Give me a second, and I will make sure it's safe. I just want to do a quick tally on how many supplies I have left in my bag." He said, reaching into his satchel. The electric dragoness sighed, and sat down, turning her back to her sister. Joltiera started speaking to Colreus but the wind dragon paid no heed to it. She glance over at the rive again, and something in the water caught the young dragon's eye. A strange glow. So mysterious yet… enticing. She did not know why but she just had to see it.

She looked to the others, who were busy talking at the second. She smirked. She crept closer to the river, observing the light. It was a bright blue in color. She had no idea what could be emitting such a light but did not pay that thought much heed. Aurora looked closer at the glow in the water, mesmerized. It was so pretty, so bright… She leaned in as if pulled by its glow. She wanted to get closer to it, to try to touch it.

Only then did she realize something was wrong.

Next thing she knew, a large maw lunged right out of the river right at her, as if trying to grab her and pull her in. Just as suddenly as this happened, she felt her scruff is grabbed, pulling her back a split second before the maw snapped shut on her head. She froze in horror and shock as her scruff was let go. She collected her bearings enough to Congo Rene her surroundings again Before her, she saw what had just tried to have her as lunch.

A large blue serpent, near double the size of Colreus, whose scales seemed to blend in with the river bed, as if changing color. It seemed to have gills and fin-like appendages across its body. It looked at her and Jolteira hungrily. It has a ravenous look in its eyes, and its body and neck were protruding out of the river, dwarfing the dragons. It looked as if it was about by lunge right for the two young dragons.

However, Colreus had already jumped over the two younger dragons and put his wings in front of them, shielding them from the serpent. He hissed at the beast, who seemed to be contemplating if they were worth the effort for a meal. The serpent glared at them, bearing its fang as if taunting them, daring them to move.

Aurora's breathing doubled, as she hid closer to her sister, behind Colreus' wings. What would this beast do? Would it try fighting them? It looked massive to take them all on a fight. Heck, its maw alone looked big enough to swallow one of the younger dragons whole. This thought made her curl in on herself, and quiver in fear.

The serpent hissed one more time, glaring at the dragons more. However, to their relief, it withdrew back into the river, swimming further downstream. The three dragons breathed a collective sigh of relief. The teen then looked at the two younger children.

"Are you ok?"

The little wind dragon nodded, as did her sister.

"Mmh hmm." She said, wiping a few tears from her eyes.

"What was that thing? It was huge! It looked like it could have swallowed us whole!" She said, nervously.,

Colreus sighed "That, girls, is called a river serpent. They are a lot like their cousins in the ocean, except in, well, rivers. And a bit smaller. " Colreus explained

Aurora, however, raised her wing. "I don't remember snakes having glowing lights. Did I miss something in school?"

Colreus chuckled. "That's because this species learned a few tricks. They are ambush predators. They can hunt when they want, but they prefer to camouflage and lure prey to the riverside. That light you is actually a very basic spell they cast when near prey." He explained. "Something about it is alluring to most creatures. It doesn't even have to actively hunt too often, because this spell is so effective." He stared

He looked at her with a stern gaze. "You are lucky we were next to you when this happened. If Joltiera had been a second slower, it would have had you for lunch." He noted. Aurora shrieked a bit in fear. Her sister shook a bit nervously as well.

"It's stuff like this why I said to stay close." He reminded the pair. "Don't go running off or sticking your head in random rivers. Predators are lurking all over the place."

The wind dragoness frowned. "Sorry, Colreus…"

The ice dragon sighed in response to her. "Don't be sorry, just be more careful, please." He placed a wing over her back to comfort her.

Her sister nuzzled her too. "He's right. I can't lose you too." She reminded her sister, tearing up a bit. Aurora returned the embrace but caught a forlorn look on Colreus' face out of the corner of her eye. He, however, averted his gaze. She did not know why but was not in the state to press him.

Colreus turned back towards them. "We need to get moving. It's getting darker out, more predators will be out hunting soon." He reminded them.

Both nodded eagerly, wanting to put this serpent behind them. He led them back into the forest trees, away from the river, after a few quick laps from the river, once they were sure the beast was gone. All the while, it sank into the child's head just how dangerous this forest was.

"If that happened so soon after we just got here… what else could be lurking around here?" The wind dragon thought. As she entered the trees, the forest felt… even more foreboding. Her mind ran wild, as she began picturing all the various creatures that could be prowling about, waiting to rip them to shreds.

The feeling did not seem exclusive to her either. Her older sister was twitching restlessly, anxiously glancing around as well.

Both huddled closer and nearly tripped over themselves trying to stay behind Colreus. To her, he was like a beacon of protection, just about the only one she had. Her sister's precise did of course bring comfort, but even then she knew there was only so much they could do. Joliteira was only slightly better with her element than the wind dragoness. And neither was very strong or talented; they each only had the most basic control or understanding of how to use their elements; it took years to learn and Jotlierea was a slow learner anyways. Aurora had only discovered hers a year ago.

They cowered under Colreus, clinging desperately to the protection he offered.


The snake incident did a good job of instilling a new sense of dread into the young electric dragon. While at first, she looked at the forest with a sense of curiosity, now she quivered in fear at the mere thought of what could be out here. Even in a seemly peaceful clearing, a predator had been in hiding. Who was to say something was not hiding nearby? Her curiosity still remained, but she still felt herself acting nervous.

It had been a few hours since leaving the clearing. Overhead, they had heard the heavy flapping of wings a few times, as well as bat-like screeches, confirming there were indeed dreadwings waiting overhead to ambush them. Colreus had continued leading them towards the northern part of the forest. But, recently they had grown hungry. Colreus and Joltiera had at least managed to catch some small prey. Little rodents that had been scampering around.

Now, the three were seated near the trunk of a tree hollow, the two girls sitting together and Colreus sat on the other end of the tree, looking over some more supplies he had gathered and stuffed in his bag. In a nearby tree, they found an opening under a trunk, a den left behind by some kind of animal. It was large enough for the dragons to sleep in, so they decided to use it for the night. As the girls ate, the wind dragon decided to speak.

"Sooo... what do you think of the forest?" She asked, curious.

Joltiera raised a brow. "Well, it's a bit spooky but still kind of cool looking. I've never been in something like it before." She replied honestly. Her sister nodded.

'Yeah. It is a bit scary. But I still enjoy seeing it. Even after the big snake thing nearly got me." She stated, with a slight flinch of fear. Her elder sister nodded.

'Yeah. I mean, it is kind of fun to be exploring a bit all the same. I just hope that-"but she was cut off as her sister suddenly grew wide-eyed.

"Aurora is s-something w-wrong?" She inquired nervously. Aurra could see only stare in complete terror at something behind her. The electric dragon turned very slowly and nearly choked on a scream.

A large, feline-like creature stood over them. It was mostly dark brown, blending in with the trees nearby. It had a very thick, nearly stone-like hide to it. She knew from school how certain beasts adapted to resist dragon's elements; and this matched the description of one such creature she had heard of: the stone pumea.

The beast looked at them, snarling, and the sisters slowly moved back, Jolteira shielded her younger sister with her wing. The creature just stood there, as the two slowly paced backward.

"H-h-hi... mister cat. W-we really are not tasty..." Aurora began to utter, childishly trying to talk the beast down. But it gave no indication that it understood or cared. "There really is n-no need to eat us... you can have our prey..." she tried, but the beast ignored the dead rodent remains, instead looking over the much larger prey with a ravenous gaze. Colreus slowly stepped in front of the girls, and glared back at the feline, keeping his wings out to shield the girls. Joltiera quivered and shook nervously. Though she might have once thought that, because she could have at least breath her element, she could at least fight something off, this beast's sure presence shook her of any kind of bravado she thought she had. This beast was nearly double the size of Colreus. To say it dwarfed her was an understatement. This beast might as well be a behemoth to her and Aurora; they would be nothing more than a snack to it.

What worsened her fear was she doubted she could do anything to fight it off if she tried. It was clearly stronger than them and its hide looked thick. No elemental attack she nor anyone present had was going to do much against it; their magic was too weak. Even Colreus' practiced ice element looked like it would have a nominal effect against this creature's hide. He did say the species had adapted to resist elemental breaths.

He snarled once more, but its gaze fell past the ice dragon and onto the smaller, more vulnerable targets. The two sister's winched under its gaze. No doubt it saw them as an easy meal. Jtorra's blood ran colder as it started circling them as if looking for an opening. The trio froze stiff. No one made a move, for fear of provoking the beast to attack. Colreus whispered to them. "When I say go... you dash for the hollow." He said, gesturing towards the opening they had found under a tree trunk, too small for the beast but big enough for them." Both girls nodded silently as their predator continued to circle them.

It took about half a minute before things went for the worse.

The beast, apparently finding an opening, lunged for the smallest dragon, but Colreus intercepted it. "Run!" He yelled as the girls made haste. The teen was pinned under the weight of the larger creature, but a quick ice spike to its less armored belly caused it to growl in mild pain. It shot off him and the teen tackled it, clawing and thrashing about as best he could. He tried to wound it enough to run, but it pinned him by the tail and made to bite his neck.

The pair entered a fierce scuffle, eliciting fierce slashes and scrapes on the ice dragon. Colreus again used his element to freeze its unarmored paw and slash' its face with his claw. It growled in anger and began thrashing but in its frenzy, it clawed the ice dragon's back left leg.

"Argh!" he grunted, as he limped to the hollow.

The little electric dragon had witnessed this. She gasped as the beast regrouped and got ready to pounce on him again, likely to go for the kill. Thinking fast, she bolted and spat a bolt of electricity aimed toward its face, which had less protection. It turned its attention to her, but before it could do anything, an ice spike to the paw caught its attention. It turned its head to the side, and her eclectic barely grazed the side of its face, searing it slightly. It grunted in anger and recoiled.

Both dragons took the opportunity to dash to the hollow, the ice dragon entering first. The younger girl just made it in just as a pair of jaws snapped shut just behind her tail. The three dragons huddled together in fear. The feline tried desperately to dig into the den but could not seem to breach the trunk of the tree.

After a few minutes, a growl was heard and the sound of its movements outside went quiet.


A deafening silence had blanketed the den after the fight with the predator. Colreus had used one of his last couple red crystals to heal his wounds, which were mostly closed but he still felt some nasty bit of pain. Other than to ask if each other were ok, no one said anything for a solid two hours, trying to collect their thoughts. Everyone was tired; they had been hounded the whole day; either being chased by apes or remaining on the move and remaining on the alert for predators or prey. And that was to say nothing of the stress of the serpent nearly eating the youngest among them. He could not even register his own stress, let alone imagine what was going through the younger children's minds. He saw forlorn and weary looks on their faces since they had gotten into the den, but he barely had the mental strength left to ask anymore. This encounter with the feline pushed him to his last thread.

Abruptly, after a long period of silence, Aurora broke into tears, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"I can't, I can't!" She sputtered through her sobs, bawling her eyes. She started sobbing into her sister's side. Joltiera, as well, had broken into tears as well.

Colreus blinked. "What do you mean? Are you-"

Joltiera was the one who spoke. "We can't do it anymore, Colreus! Our parents and home are gone and now we are out here on our own, in some forest of death! The apes are still chasing us, and everything is trying to eat us here! Why can't we just be safe?! Why can't we have our parents back? Why is this happening!?" She said, bawling her eyes out.

Colreus moved to comfort both and draped a wing over the two sisters. He tried to come up with answers but could not. He truly could not explain why any of this had to happen to them; maybe they were just unlucky.

"I-I... don't know..." he tried. He could not blame them for crying, after everything they went through, at such a young age. He had worried something was wrong earlier when he saw their expressions.

"You should have noticed sooner, you moron."He berated himself.

He wrapped his wings over both of them tighter and pulled them in closer. "It's ok..." he said, in the most soothing tone he could think of.
"How? How is it ok?! Our home is gone, and we are on the run, and everything is trying to kill us and-" the wind dragoness said, between her tears. The teen shushed her and nuzzled her.

"I promise you it will all be alright. I will see us out of this forest in one piece and get us to safety. Mark my words," he assured her.

Neither sister said anything more. Both were too emotionally fried. They both merely cried into his sides for what seemed like hours. And it was all he could let them do. He did not have the answers they so craved. He wasn't even sure if he could protect them as he promised; he nearly failed several times that day alone. And he was at the end of his rope too.

Though he acted maturely, he knew his own limits. He had no idea what to do; no figure of guidance to look towards for help. He was just a kid as well, he knew; he did not know everything...


The rest of the night passed in silence, and the trio had gone asleep, still uncertain of what will happen to them. As she slept though, a thought crossed the young electric dragon's mind: what do they do if Colreus gets injured? He had been doing basically everything for him by this point, including protecting and hunting for them.

Sure she had helped hunt a bit, but... she wanted to help him too. Her thoughts transferred over to their low supply of healing gems. If she could get some more... they would be off to a good start, right? She knew it was dangerous, but they needed this. Crystal clusters grew in weird spots, and this forest was no different. If she could just find some healing gems, maybe they would be okay.

She glanced back towards Colreus and her sister, both in deep sleeping. She smirked. This would not take long. Unraveling herself from Colreus' tail, she slowly crept out of the hollow, and back into the forest. Her mind made up, she went out to find the gems. Taking the pouch Colreus had taken off before his sleep with her, sheet out into the forest. With any luck, she could be back with some breakfast and gems before he and Aurora woke up

Oh noes, what will happen to her? Will sure be ok? Is this an effective hook for next chapter?( I sure hope so) Surely she will be ok, right? Right? ( ominous music plays) Anyways, I hope this chapter was a tad more exciting, I was trying to play up the dangers of wandering out into the woods, given all the large creatures that compose the enemies in the LOS series. And for the characters, I know I need to make them more well-rounded than just fretting over death and angsting, though it is important they reflect on their tragic circumstances. But at the same time, I want the younger sisters to act more realistic for their ages; I don't imagine children, even after all of this, will just shed their childlisness completely. But I hope I am fleshing them out properly.

Be sure to let me know what you think in the comments.