Selene was very, very excited. After the years of pain, the years of ashes, the years of wondering why everyone thought the powers maybe weren't real, and how they all forgot.

They had been planning this ever since they had met, after all.

And now, they had fallen in love, and Selene knew. She and Nightwatcher knew that the tribe wouldn't listen. They were too caught up pretending. As she thought of all of them, she let the memories flood through. The tribe, laughing at her and her ideas. Doubt, lots of doubt. What if it's really all false? I mean… how did we all forget about it?, she had thought at the time. Thinking of the past made Selene's body shake. She held back the tears, and slowly got a grip on herself. The shaking stopped. It's over, she reminded herself. They'll never bother you again. Selene shook herself out of her thoughts. Nightwatcher was arriving soon.

Nightwatcher was walking through the volcano. He spread his wings wide, and glided across the yawning chasm that led to a fiery doom. He felt… he didn't know. Something was buzzing in his body, a dull thread of excitement. But there were undercurrents of deep sadness too. He would have to leave all his friends behind: Farsight, Mastermind, Truthseeker… he would have to say goodbye to all of them.

Still walking, in a barely audible whisper, he said, "Goodbye, friends… goodbye, accursed island."

This was immediately followed by a loud thump as he collided straight into Selene at the cliff. "Oof. Are… are you ready?"

"I'm as ready as ever."

"Then… let's go. Goodbye, island. Forever."

Ten seconds.

Nightwatcher held his breath. Would the guards catch them? He didn't know.

Two minutes.

He was breathing normally now, both from avoiding capture (so far) and because flying was extremely tiring. Still, he couldn't help but still be anxious.

An hour.

It was exhilarating. Nightwatcher turned his head back. The island was still visible, but it was oh so far away. The night was lightening too, and passing into day.

Two hours.

As they continued flying and as night passed into day, Nightwatcher took the time to admire the sunrise. The black of the night sky, with the quickly fading stars, being overtaken by the rising sun and the pink-orange of a new dawn. How poetic. Our tribe, the Night, fading into the dawn of a new chapter of our lives, as we escape to be free. Free from it all, from the ash, the darkness, the never ending hunger, he mused to himself. An impulse ran through him, and he yelled, "Freedom at last!" against the sunrise, all while continuing to soar in the sky, heading toward the continent. He smiled at Selene. "We-we did it. They didn't catch us. We're free!"

She smiled back, that smile that captured his heart. "And we'll figure it out. We always do. We'll build a new life, somewhere."

Nightwatcher couldn't help but agree.

Three years later…

Selene was extremely excited. So was Nightwatcher. They had achieved much: escaping from the island, rebuilding a life in the old Talon Peninsula, and now, finally, having a dragonet. I've dreamed of this moment for so long, she thought. A smile was plastered on her face.

"Nightwatcher?"

"Yeah?", he replied.

"He- or she- is going to be special. I can just feel it. Two moons are full, and we know what that means… and then, there's the comet."

"I know," he said simply.

They stood there together, watching the night sky, peppered with bright twinkles of light. The comet was passing over now, like a glowing IceWing, hurtling in the sky towards wherever it was going.

And the first crack rang out, clear as a bell.

Selene immediately turned her back to the sky and looked at the egg. Her mate did the same. It was glowing silver. "Here it comes! It's getting its powers!" she exclaimed excitedly. The egg cracked a bit more, and continued until the dragonet inside decided to just headbutt the shell. It was small, with a bit of eggshell still on its head. Selene smiled. He's adorable, she thought. Somehow, she just knew it was a he. The dragonet stared up at the night sky as if mesmerised. He started running, or at least running as well as a newborn could. His tiny claws reached for the bright comet, still hurtling through the sky- until he was grabbed and pulled back into his father' talons. He smiled at the little dragonet, now thrashing in his claws. "What should we name him, Selene?"

She smiled.

"…Cometchaser."

Cold and dark. It was his world. But he didn't like it. He wanted more. He deserved more! He didn't want all to just be cold and dark! But the light came. It illuminated everything, letting him know what he looked like (and that he had claws! And mayyybe could burst out of his cage?) and he decided to try something. Tentatively, he pressed a clawtip to the shell. He heard it crack, and a rush of joy ran through the dragonet. He could escape! At the same time, he could hear voices. Voices in his head. They seemed to be talking about… him? But they had never seen him before! Nevertheless, the dragonet continued, cracking the shell until he got impatient. He decided to ram his whole body at the wall of the cage. Suddenly, he could stretch his wings. He was free! He shook the eggshell off his head, and stared up at what he saw. It was… so pretty! He wanted the flying thing for himself, to roll it around and fly on it. He began to walk, and then run towards it, arms outstretched, believing that would help him reach. But he never did. Another, bigger dragon held him, and they both stared down at him. They were his family. And he knew he would be safe. With them.

(Wouldn't hurt if he got the flying glowy ball, though.)

One year later…

Starflight smiled. It was his favourite part of the hatchingday celebrations: the part where they gave each other surprise gifts and tried to discern what they were from touch only. It came about after he became blind, and they decided to do this to help him (and have some fun). He walked through the halls of the academy, easily turning corners without hesitation. It was part of being blind for so long: you just memorised the layout after a while. Starflight walked into the prey-center, where they were holding the game. "Took you long enough," Clay said as he walked in. Starflight grinned. "You're only saying that because you want to eat quickly and get this over with, right?" He could feel that everyone in the room was trying not to laugh. "Of course!" Clay replied. Starflight could tell that he was also grinning good-naturedly, like how only an older sibling could. The next few minutes were a blur as everyone got into position and the packages were handed out. Starflight was the last to open his. As he tore through the box, his talons found a cold, smooth metal ring. Sunny's (he could tell from the heat) claw guided the ring onto his claw, and someone else untied the blindfold on his head.

And then he immediately closed his eyes, having been assaulted with light for the first time in a year. Slowly, carefully, he opened his eyes. A small stream of light reached him. He could not stop his heart. It raced forwards with excitement. Starflight mentally debated on whether or not he should just open his eyes and speed up the process. He decided to.

And Starflight opened his eyes, seeing for the first time in a long time the faces of his friends.

If Starflight had every word at his disposal, he would not have been able to string them together to express how happy he was.

He smiled.

"But-how-how did you do this?" he asked to no one in particular, still smiling like a dragonet.

"Anemone and Turtle made some tests to cure blindness for Tamarin and you," Sunny replied, amused. "But then, the whole Jerboa thing, so… they're using a prototype and it worked!"

Starflight's eyes darted across the library. He had never seen it before, having been blinded before the Academy had been built. He had never seen the way the light filtered down through the leaves, casting the room in iridescent green. He smiled, still somewhat unbelieving. "Thank you, all of you. You… you just made my whole day. Maybe even my whole week." Tsunami smiled. "We all knew you'd like it." And Clay brought them together into a group hug.

A/N: This was cross-posted from AO3, and kept in its original state, so I use the stars for line breaks like the original version. Anyway this idea has been around in my head for forever, and has gone through a ridiculous amount of iterations. Expect little tidbits here and there. First story, so review and all that jazz. Thank you and I hope you enjoy this.