No, this fic is not dead or abandoned. It's just going to be on a 'whenever I feel like writing this' upload schedule. If anything changes with that, you'll know.
Savanna had been looking forward to this trip for a long time. While Prairie would have loved the trip for the adventure, the Sandwing Princess looked forward to meeting the tribes of Pantala and the dragons in them. There were plenty of similarities between the two continents, most of which likely had to do with Clearsight's migration, but she was excited about the differences.
The biggest thing was probably the Silkwing Assembly. The Silkwings were the only tribe, dragon or human, that chose their leaders by giving the dragons of the tribe the power to 'vote' them in. They chose from among themselves to rule them instead of a Queen's relatives challenging the current Queen for the throne. Savanna's mom said she tried to do the same at the end of the War of Sandwing Succession, but, in her own words, it didn't go too well. Savanna was looking forward to seeing what the Sandwings could have been.
After sitting in on one of the Assembly's meetings, Savanna and her mom planned on meeting the Silkwing Chancellor, as well as a select few other Assembly dragons. From there, the plan was to fly to Jewel Hive and speak with Queen Jewel of the Hivewings, and from there to Homeroot, the new capital of the Leafwings. That sounded pretty cool too since Savanna was half Leafwing herself. It was probably a good thing Prairie couldn't make the trip. He'd be bored out of his mind on this diplomatic mission. Savanna was looking forward to all of it.
All of it, except for this moon's forsaken flight!
Apparently Sandwings were supposed to be strong, long distance fliers, something about not a lot of food and water and the desert heat. Her mom wasn't having a problem. Qibli flew back and forth at least once a year. Savanna was exhausted halfway through the first day over the ocean. Prairie flew better than a Skywing. He'd literally be flying circles around her, laughing the whole time. Still, Savanna would prefer that over Ostrich, her bodyguard, who flew under her, ready to catch. Really! The future Sandwing Queen shouldn't need to be caught on a simple straight line flight!
The part of her brain said that it made sense in case her wings just gave up, needed to shut up. It was embarrassing. Who cared if her wings felt heavier than stone? So many others went without food or water or sunlight for days during the war, so could she. She only let herself pant with every flap because no one was around. Orchid was sworn to protect the royal family, and that hopefully meant preventing death from embarrassment too.
"How are you doing over there?" her mom asked for the millionth time in the past… hour? Time lost all meaning after that first night.
"Fiiiii…" Savanna panted. For whatever reason, she didn't hear the 'n' at the end.
"Are you sure you don't want to rest a bit?" Ostrich offered. "I can carry your weight no problem."
Why was she so tempted to accept the offer? "No… I can…" Why did it hurt to talk? Savanna let her head dip down to take a look at the ocean. There was so much water down there, but she couldn't drink any of it. She felt herself fall a few tail lengths and flapped herself back to the height before. This was supposed to be the last day. She couldn't give up now. Not when she was so…
Savanna blinked and squinted. She thought she saw something on the horizon. They'd stopped on islands along the way, of course. Not even the fastest Skywings could make the flight in the day. But no islands were that big. That couldn't be…
Her mom rose a few dragon lengths, then glided back to Savanna's side. "That's land, Van. We're almost there. You can rest and eat soon." Savanna would have dropped her jaw if it wasn't already hanging open. Thank the moons, this flight was almost over.
As they flew closer, the land started to develop itself. From this distance, it looked no different than the Pyrrhian coast. It looked pretty flat from this approach. Then again, that was most of the continent. Young trees grew along the coastline. Savanna then saw buildings along the beach. Swordtail Bay, the landing and launching place for travel between the continents. The settlement was fairly small, only about the size of Possibility, and just as many tribes in there. As such, the Pantalan tribes built habitats that appeal to all… except the Icewings. It was just too hot for them to have a large population on the continent. Parts of the beach itself looked like it was groomed for Sandwings. The sand glowed a golden yellow, pressed flat past the seaside dunes. The dunes themselves looked comfortable too… so much… soft… warm… sand…
Savanna held her wings straight to glide down to the inviting bed. She angled toward a section of beach where no other dragons lay. The past four nights, she 'crashed' onto beaches of the islands they stayed on. But this was the last leg of the trip. Finally, she wouldn't need to fly her wings off to not drown in the ocean.
As she approached the beach, Savanna flared her wings. Her dragging legs clipped the dunes, throwing her off balance. She pulled her wings in by instinct as she dipped to the side. Her momentum carried her into the sand and rolled several times. She came to a rest on her back. The ungraceful landing didn't hurt one bit. She'd intentionally done worse plenty of times, one of Prairie and her games. Savanna closed her eyes and sighed as she wiggled into her bed for however long it would be.
Two thumps came from the direction of the waves. "Your highness?" Ostrich asked, as she had after every landing, though this time she didn't sound nearly as concerned.
"Let me sleep," Savanna whined. "Don't talk to me unless you have water or a lizard or two.
"Well, I don't have a lizard right now," a voice said, a voice that did not belong to Ostrich or Savanna's mom, "but I do have a lot of water."
Savanna snapped her eyes open and looked 'down' at the speaker. A dragon with pale blue and pink scales stared down at her with a light smirk on her face. She tilted her eyes to look at the dragon's legs. A bracelet of pearl's wrapped around the dragon's right front wrist. A thin webbing connected each of her toes. While Savanna had never met her, she knew she was belly up in front of one of the Seawing Princesses.
"Anemone," Savanna's mom started, "I don't suppose you can bring that water a little closer to her?"
Princess Anemone looked past Savanna, still with that smirk. "It's good to see you too, Sunny. Don't worry, we'll take care of…" She trailed off as she faced Savanna again. A worried stare replaced her smirk. "You're not exaggerating, are you?"
"What… are you… talking about?" Savanna asked as she rested her head back on the sand. "I… feel…" She blinked and… Everything was right side up? And it was night? She blinked again and raised her head. When did this hut get here? Why wasn't she thirsty anymore? Her stomach still growled though, so at least that made sense. She looked around for her travel bag. Hers laid alongside her mom's and Ostrich's. Neither of them were in the hut.
Savanna walked to the window and stared up at the sky. One of the moons was full, the others were waning crescents. But… It was noon. How did… "Dragons actually black out like that?" she whispered. She'd read it in scrolls before but expected that to be works of fiction, not real. But… was it really noon then? Savanna thought the days were getting longer as she flew west. Her brain hurt thinking about that… or maybe that was from the long flight.
A dragon walked into her view, a Leafwing carrying a spear. She turned her head toward the hut and stopped. "Princess Savanna." She bowed at the dragonet. "Good to see you're awake."
Considering the Leafwing hadn't attacked her, she was probably a guard. It was time for the future Sandwing Queen to start her diplomacy. "Thank you. I appear to have fallen asleep. Where have my mother and personal guard gone?"
"Speaking with Princess Anemone, your Highness. They wished to solidify your itinerary before your work begins."
Savanna nodded, but couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. She was supposed to be a part of that. But if she fell asleep for as long as she thought, her mom would need to get things sorted out sooner rather than later. "Thank you. I-" Her empty stomach roared for her attention. She clamped her mouth shut and widened her eyes. The guard also pressed her lips together, but her bouncing chest gave away her laugh. "I… uh… that… err…" Savanna looked everywhere but the guard as she stammered. "Could you… food?"
"Of course." The guard's laugh made it into her words. "I'll see if one of my dragons can find a lizard for you."
"Thank you, again." Savanna pulled her head down and covered her eyes with her talons. That could have gone better. She didn't like speaking all diplomatically, heck, her grandma never spoke that way with other queens, but she preferred that over having her stomach betray her in her first contact with a member of a Pantalan tribe. There couldn't have been a worse time for that. And that stammering. Ugh. Why did her tongue leave her too? That was not princessy behavior. She couldn't be taken seriously if she couldn't even speak straight.
She didn't know how long she laid there before a knock on her hut made her jump. "Your late night dinner, your Highness,"
Savanna shook her head to clear it. She was a princess, dangit. She needed to act like one. "Thank you. You may return to your duties." She waited until she heard the dragon's footsteps quiet before she opened the door and looked at the front step.
A steaming lizard of a species she hadn't seen before lay on a plate drenched in some kind of sauce. Assorted greens surrounded the main meal. Her terrible sense of smell caught up to her eyes. It smelled better than anything the cooks in the Stronghold could come up with. Her mouth watered as she stared at the meal. Before she could drool over the gift, she snapped her jaw closed, grabbed the plate, and brought it inside. As soon as the door closed, she tore into the lizard. Forget proper etiquette. She was hungry and no one was around to scold her for going in teeth first.
When only the lizard's neck and head were left, the door to the hut opened again. Savanna raised her head with a hunk of lizard flesh in her mouth and locked eyes with her mom. She gulped her food down and smiled up at her. "Hi, mom." She stepped forward and pressed her head into her mom's neck.
"Van." Her mom nosed down and rubbed her snout against the back of Savanna's neck. "Good to see you up and moving." She pulled back and stepped away. "You had us worried for a bit."
"It's no problem." Savanna waved a paw at her mom. "I made it just fine." Her eyes flicked to her mom's neck. A streak of lizard blood coated her scales. Savanna locked her eyes to her mom's again. If she didn't look at it, maybe it wouldn't be noticed.
Her mom sighed. "Yes, it is. I knew you weren't the strongest flier. I shouldn't have brought you on this trip."
"It's… really no problem." Savanna cocked her head. Her mom and Anemone sounded legitimately concerned after she landed on the beach. "Unless…" That had happened before. Dragons couldn't say she wasn't determined. She wasn't the most physically gifted dragon. She'd worn herself down in competitions with Prairie and her cousins quite a few times. "Did I…"
"Yes. You woke up long enough to drink all the water Anemone drank then blacked out again.
"Oh." Savanna dipped her head, once again avoiding looking at the mess on her mom's neck. She couldn't make the flight on her own. Considering she was going to be a Queen, that wasn't so good. "I… guess I'll ride on Ostrich on the flight back."
Ostrich cleared her throat as she finally stepped inside. "Uh, Sunny?" She pointed at Savanna's mom's chest. "You got a little…"
Savanna's mom looked down herself and sighed. "Savanna…"
Savanna lowered herself and pulled her wings and tail in. "Sorry, mom…"
"It's fine." Her mom ran a wing over her back. "I'll go wash up. You get ready for bed. We've got a long day tomorrow."
"Bed?" Savanna cocked her head. "But I just woke up."
"Yes, bed. We've all been flying for quite a bit, and we've got a big day tomorrow." She nosed Savanna toward one of the sandy beds. "Now go get settled. I'll be back in a minute." She stepped outside. Ostrich followed and stood right outside the door.
Savanna sighed and curled up on one of the beds. She stared at the door to the hut with half lidded eyes. She wasn't tired yet, but then again, she didn't have anyone next to her. Prairie slept next to her pretty much every night of their lives until this trip. On the first night, Savanna barely got any sleep. The second night, she crept under her mom's wing and that did it for her. Yes, she was too old to do that, but sleep was more important.
After a few minutes, her mom walked back inside. She yawned and smiled down Savanna. "Goodnight, Van." She nuzzled her daughter's face then coiled around her. Savanna sighed and leaned into her mom's side. Yeah, that felt right. She closed her eyes, now starting to feel tired again. Tomorrow, the real work will begin.
Prairie crouched low and glared at his target through the underbrush of the rainforest. A lone Nightwing walked along the rainforest floor. Gentletalon, a name fitting for her personality and her position. Her scales could blend into the night's sky on the Darkest Night. A scale pattern mirrored on each wing looked like an oddly shaped spoon. Of course, none of that helped in the rainforest. She stuck out like a sore wing. The bag around her neck was off limits. This was a game, after all, and she was a doctor. Her supplies shouldn't be touched by anyone.
Pitchtooth, his partner on this mission, lay prone beside him, under a leafy blanket and a tree blocking. Her near purple scales could pass as purple flowers on a cursory glance. Despite being hidden from their target's view, they weren't out of earshot. Pitch being Pitch, didn't understand that. "When are we moving?" she whispered, her black teeth catching the little bit of sun filtering through the canopy.
Prairie whipped his tail around and shoved scale into mouth with his tail barb nowhere near being a danger to his cousin. But it was too late. Gentletalon stopped in place and looked roughly in the direction she was being stalked from. "Hello?" Prairie didn't move. He didn't breathe. Even Pitch was smart enough to stay silent.
The third member of the team, however, wasn't the smartest. "Attack!" Nightwatch flew down from the trees, talons stretched out at Gentletalon. Prairie groaned. Not only was he way too early, he was off target. Watch flew right over Gentletalon's head. He yelped and flailed as he smashed into the soft ground. His body dug a ditch in the ground, and he came to a stop at the base of a tree. "I'm okay." Prairie didn't doubt it. He'd crashed much harder before.
Pitch spit Prairie's tail out of her mouth and gasped. "Watch!" She jumped out of her cover and toward where her brother lay as a gray lump.
Gentletalon stepped over as well and looked down at her brother. "You'll be fine. Just walk it off." She looked up at where Prairie still lay hidden. "I guess the chase is on." She whipped around and jumped into the air, her wings snapping open.
Prairie pounced after her and flapped to catch up. Gentletalon was older and naturally faster. Add that to the fact that this was her normal walk or flight to work. She knew every tree, every hanging vine, every blade of grass. Hunting was almost always on the prey's home land, but dragons weren't normal prey. They were much, much smarter, and they could fight back.
That just made it more fun.
For every turn Gentletalon made, Prairie mimicked. She circled around a tree several times, and her tail gained ground. Prairie was much better at cornering than his bigger prey. After the tree, Gentletalon looked back and smirked at him. She dove for the ground and Prairie followed. He almost snapped his wings open when he thought his cousin was going to slam into the ground, then he saw the gap under a tree's root. Prairie bared his teeth and growled in glee. Challenge accepted. He folded his wings in and dove for the hole. He extended them to swoop up the other side-
-Vines caught him as he tried to fly out of the small tunnel. Prairie yelped as his wings were yanked back and his legs flailed in front of him. He slammed back to the ground, his tail between his hind legs. He looked up at whatever got him. These vines weren't natural. Someone had tied them together in a net. Prairie glared up at his cousin, who flew in a circle by the Rainwing hospital. She laughed down at him. "Cheater!"
"Cheater?" Gentletalon laughed even harder. "Three on one? I'd hardly consider that f-oof!" She flew to the side at an unnatural angle. Prairie smirked. There were four members on his team, actually. He cut himself free from the vines and flew up to the hospital. He landed on the porch just outside the hospital and aimed his smirk directly at his cousin. Gentletalon glared up at open space. "Now that is cheating."
The air shifted colors until a mostly forest green dragon turning black by his talons appeared, pinning down the larger Nightwing. Prince Caiman, son of Queen Glory and King Deathbringer, gave his innocent face to his cousin. Prairie swore Caiman stole that right from his father. "Cheating? Me?" Caiman blew raspberries in the air. "No. I'm just taking all the advantages I can get."
"Soooo, cheating." Gentletalon blew smoke in Caiman's face. The prince coughed and backed up. "Remind me to keep an eye on you during any contests." She stood up and looked inside her pouch. Considering she didn't scold Caiman further, nothing inside was damaged.
Prairie stepped to Caiman's side and bumped shoulders with his fellow Prince. "Nice ambush. How long were you waiting?"
Caiman coughed once more and shook his head like it was wet. "For a bit. I saw her lay that net last night too. I wanted to get her myself. How'd the others do?"
"The usual." Prairie sighed. Pitch and Watch could hunt prey easily enough. Anything smarter than a cow though, not a chance. Prairie looked over a shoulder at where he came from. The two Nightwings flew into the Rainwing village side by side. As expected, Watch's flight wasn't hindered from his crash at all.
When they landed, Watch half hid his face behind a wing while Pitch smiled up at her sister. The smallest and youngest Nightwing present stepped up to her big sister and wrapped her wings around Gentletalon. "No hard feelings?"
"Never." Gentletalon nuzzled her little sister.
Watch raised his head to yawn. "Is it sun-time yet?"
Caiman snorted. "Are we sure I'm the one who's half Rainwing?" He kind of had a point. While his scales could camouflage like any Rainwing, the similarities stopped there. His limbs were thick with muscle and his chest and belly full, like all Nightwings hatched in the rainforest. His snout was also wider than every Rainwings. He didn't have the prehensile tail either.
Nightwatch gave Caiman a blank stare, one of the few times he managed that. "If I had a coconut for every time you said that…"
Gentletalon backed out of her little sister's hug. "Now please, I have work to do. I have Leafwings with…" She trailed off as she looked up. The doctor straightened and she held her wings to her sides. "Oh."
Prairie looked up as well. Three dragons glided toward them. Auntie Glory, Uncle Deathbringer, and Princess Wonderwing. That'll do it. Ever since Gentletalon got the job at the Rainwing hospital, she always treated her Queen and King with an increased level of respect. While not bad exactly, it was kind of annoying when not even they took themselves that seriously.
The three landed and Uncle Deathbringer gave his son a knowing smile. "Did I just see you attack camouflaged from behind and in the shadows?"
"Yep." Caiman bounced as he said that. "How was it?"
"Almost as good as me." Uncle Deathbringer punched his son's shoulder. "You'll get there some day."
"Oh really?" Auntie Glory asked. "I thought you were the best in Pyrrhia, no one could ever best you?"
"I am." Uncle Deathbringer brought one fist to his chest. "I said almost, didn't I?"
"Your Highnesses." Gentletalon stepped forward and bowed to the leaders of the Kingdom.
"Oh, do get up," Wonderwing said in her musical voice. Prairie had to bite his tongue. Wonder's voice was probably his favorite in Pyrrhia. The silver swirls on her wings matched… What were the Skywings calling them, galaxies?... in the night sky. They almost made her look like Seawing royalty, only prettier… Prairie bit his tongue harder. They weren't actually cousins, but it still felt weird thinking about her like that. "You act like there's someone important around."
"You heard my daughter." Auntie Glory brushed one of her wings against Wonder's. "And you've heard me. There's no need to do that unless there are representatives of other tribes around." Gentletalon did as the Queen ordered.
Auntie Glory turned her attention to the other dragonets. "I hope your intention wasn't to harm one of my best doctors."
Watch's jaw dropped. "No! We'd never hurt her!"
Caiman smiled up at his mom. "I know how to take her down with minimal damage."
"Oh, good, an assassin that doesn't hurt his targets. Just what the tribe needs." Some scales on Glory's tail turned pink for a second before blending back into the rest. She returned her attention to Gentletalon. "Anyway, we're expecting Queen Tsunami to arrive before-"
"Auntie Tsunami's coming?" Prairie's talons left the ground in his excited outburst. Maybe coming here instead of Pantala wasn't the worst thing.
Auntie Glory rolled her eyes. "Yes, she's coming, but not for fun. We're talking about the outposts on the islands between here and Pantala. Something tells me you aren't interested in logistics."
Prairie blinked and cocked his head. "Log-ickies?"
Uncle Deathbringer snorted. "I agree."
Wonder gave Prairie a sad smile. "Maybe next time." Prairie let his tail and wings hang. That's what his mom said last time, and the time before that.
"Anyway," Auntie Glory locked eyes with Gentletalon again and spoke in an almost impatient tone, "she wants to arrange for transport of medical supplies grown in the rainforest to the outposts, among other things."
Gentletalon nodded. "Of course. I'll check on my Leafwing patients and I'll gather my scrolls."
"Of course, they come first. Do what you need to." Auntie Glory nodded at the hospital. Gentletalon bowed low once more before walking inside.
Auntie Glory looked over the dragonets with a soft glare. "As for the rest of you…" Prairie's Nightwing cousins shrunk away. "I thought your parents wanted you to help around your hut today."
"Helping Peacemaker actually…" Nightwatch yawned wide and a high pitched squeak shot out of his mouth. He never could yawn quietly. "Then Prairie got an idea, and I was coming here for sun-time anyway."
Prairie gave his cousin a blank look. "Way to clip my wings there, Watch…"
Wonder giggled. "Can you get me in on one of your plans sometimes."
Uncle Deathbringer gave an exasperated scoff. "Those antics are beneath a Nightwing Princess and too intensive for a Rainwing." Auntie Glory gave an exaggerated nod but also tapped her daughter with a wing. Prairie wasn't against the idea, but if a single scale was out of place on Wonder's snout, he was pretty sure Uncle Deathbringer might actually hurt him. Deathbringer gave the Nightwings a pointed look. "Especially when the Princess has other duties to attend to."
"Peacemaker's waiting for you two at the groves," Auntie Glory said.
Watch and Pitch exchanged a glance. "We'll see you at dinner, Prairie." Pitch brushed a wing against Prairie's, then jumped away from the hospital.
"As for you, Prince Prairie," Uncle Deathbringer gestured his snout up. "How many guards do we have right now?"
Prairie straightened his neck and looked up at the trees. He liked this game. Unlike so many dragons, he knew how to track by examining the surroundings. It came from playing hide and seek with his cousins and Rainwings. A compressed leaf here, a bent twig there, missing shadows just about everywhere. Then there were the black shapes way up high that thought they were being sneaky. "I'm counting… twenty-three Rainwings… with four Nightwings way up in the trees."
"So close!" a voice said right behind Prairie. The dragonet jumped and spun around. No one was there… then an almost glowing yellow and pink face appeared. Kinkajou laughed. "Scared ya!"
"But I was right." Prairie ruffled his wings, trying to recover from the scare. "You're not a guard."
Kinkajou gasped as the rest of her scales became visible. "Are you saying I wouldn't protect my Queen and best friend? I'm insulted."
"Oh, Kinkajou," Auntie Glory sighed. "You could happy someone to death. I should know. You've tried with me."
"Only because you never let your scales change." Kinkajou let her wings change through every color of the rainbow before settling back on her happy yellow.
A few lines of red scales appeared on Auntie Glory's face. "Happy now?"
"When aren't I happy?" Kinkajou turned around and flicked Prairie with the tip of her tail. "Come on, you. Glory's got to be all queeny now. Don't want to keep her distracted." She flew off without waiting for the dragonet.
Prairie looked over his shoulder at his aunt. She, Uncle Deathbringer, and Wonder already disappeared into the hospital. Prairie shrugged and jumped after Kinkajou. He flapped to catch up with her. "How long were you behind me?"
"Since Glory landed on the platform." Kinkajou smirked at him. "You would've found me eventually."
"Maybe." Prairie cocked his head. "But I'm still right. You're not actively protecting Auntie Glory."
"What do you mean I'm not? I'm keeping you away, aren't I?"
"I… but…" Prairie blinked. There were certainly Sandwing guards that kept dragons away from Thorn when she wanted to do business. He just didn't expect the Rainwings to have something similar. He sighed. "Yeah, you win."
"I do, don't I?" Kinkajou somehow managed to prance while flying. "I don't suppose you've heard anything back from Sunny or Savanna?"
Prairie shook his head. He had to shove down his irritation. His sister was on a different continent, exploring it without him. So close to the Poison Jungle… and she wasn't even going in it. "They're not going to use Pantala's Dreamvisitor until they have something to say. Besides, they should have got there today… unless they ran into storms." He felt his scales crawl. Savanna wasn't a strong flier at all. She grounded herself even if an even moderate gust of wind blew through. Even some Skywings had problems with ocean winds. Prairie shook his head. "How much of Pantala have you seen?"
"Just all the Hives, Homeroot, and Swordtail Bay, though two of those weren't well developed then. Glory has me doing too many things around here."
"What were you doing when the Talons United flew to Pantala? I thought you would have volunteered for that?"
Kinkajou huffed. Scales along her wings and sides turned orange. "I would have loved to go. I'm sure she would have asked. But, I was at school. Everyone's going off to save the world without me. Story of my life."
"Have you ever been to the Poison Jungle?" The words were out before Prairie could hold them back.
"Oh, no." Kinkajou's scales returned to their normal golden yellow. "I may like action more than most Rainwings, but that place is too much. I'll take the nice, safe, sloth-filled, not-murdery rainforest over that place, thank you very much." She left it at that. She at least acted like she didn't know the real reason for his question.
Prairie blinked. He hadn't been paying attention to where he was flying. He was just following Kinkajou. They were flying right toward the Nightwing village and his aunt and uncle's hut. "Are you really escorting me back?" He couldn't keep the whine out of his voice.
"Hm? Oh, no. I'm meeting Tsunami just outside the village… and Turtle should be with her. You can go wherever." Kinkajou looked around herself then flew a little closer to Prairie. "Next time you want to ambush someone, let me know. That looked like fun."
"I'll try to remember that. See you later." Prairie banked away and flew where his snout pointed. He didn't really care where. Flying with no destination was one of the most relaxing things he could think of. The desert didn't provide much to look at, but it was quiet. He didn't know if it was his Leafwing side or it just grew on him, this place was sooooo much better. The rainforest had a lot to fly through. So many animals called out to each other. No matter how many times Prairie had been in the rainforest, he always found something new.
Come to think of it, Prairie didn't think he'd been in this particular section before. He slowed down and looked around. While his memory wasn't perfect, he didn't think he ever forgot a place. He didn't know where he was flying. He thought about the path he took and the places he knew. He thought he was flying right at the pond near the tunnels to the volcano and the desert. If he was wrong, he just needed to fly above the trees and look for either the Rainwing Village and Jade Mountain to get a bearing and he could make it just about anywhere.
Prairie continued on his path much slower than before, taking note of every tree, every rock, every hidden animal trail. He smiled to himself as he added to his mental map. This was where he thrived. Unless his grandma or whoever became Queen had something else planned for him, he was going to be a cartographer. Even if he couldn't map new lands, he could make better ones than the tribes currently had.
After a few more minutes, Prairie flew out into the clearing he expected. He nodded to himself. Another route to lose any followers and to ambush his cousins. He looked down at the water and noticed that he wasn't alone. Uncle Starflight and Auntie Fatespeaker stood down by the water. This wasn't the closest body of water to the Nightwing village, but his family preferred the taste of this one. While it wasn't bad, Prairie liked one of the ponds near the Rainwings better.
Uncle Starflight raised his head and pointed it in Prairie's direction. He smiled up at the dragonet. "Prairie. I thought you flew off with the others."
How Uncle Starflight did that, Prairie didn't know. He'd seen his uncle's eyes once when the wind blew off the cloth over his eyes… he'd never see anything again without Animus magic. "I did, but Auntie Glory wants me out from underwing when Auntie Tsunami comes." He circled down to his aunt and uncle and landed beside Uncle Starflight.
"I hope you didn't give her too much trouble," Auntie Fatespeaker said.
"I think it's more like she didn't want me and Auntie Tsunami causing trouble for her." Prairie laughed to himself. "That last time was fun."
"Didn't you set a tree on fire?" Uncle Starflight asked.
"Yeah. I've got to figure out how we did that." Prairie actually didn't know. He didn't use his magic, not even to put the fire out. He thought it had something to do with a specific kind of rock. "That could be really useful."
Auntie Fatespeaker started laughing but stopped right away. Her smile disappeared as well. "Wait…" She looked at the two beside her, the water, the trees, and the sky. She shook her head and made a confused face. "There it is again…"
Prairie cocked his head. "There what is?"
"I've seen that moment before." Auntie Fatespeaker grimaced.
Uncle Starflight cocked his head. "That's the third in two months. I wonder if it's a pattern."
"We can write it down when we get back to the hut. Can't believe we need to rediscover all this stuff about us…"
Prairie couldn't help staring at his aunt. "You can see the future?"
Auntie Fatespeaker sighed. "Sure, I can. I found out for sure a couple years ago." She snorted. "But why can't I see anything cool? Moon gives mountain shattering prophecies. Cloudchaser can predict the weather a week out. Me? I can see, in perfect clarity, an event in the grand scheme of things means nothing. In fact, it's so clear, I don't even know I saw the future until it actually happens! Some trick that is." She shook her head. "I got what I wanted, just not how I wanted it."
"Whoa..." Praire stared at the silver scales beside his aunt's eyes. "Can you read minds too?"
"Ugh." Auntie Fatespeaker jabbed a talon at one of the silver scales. "These make even less sense! Only Nightwings that can read minds have these. Unless you call me knowing when my dragonets are about to do something naughty, I can't read minds at all!"
"I believe I can call that a mother's intuition," Uncle Starflight said. "That, or working with the first Jade Winglet."
"I still don't know how they all turned out okay." Auntie Fatespeaker shook her head.
Prairie pulled up his jaw. He didn't even realize he let it fall. Nightwing magic was so cool, and it didn't corrupt their souls either. Why was Auntie Fatespeaker upset? Also… Prairie couldn't help but feel a little annoyed, as he always did when he heard about a new Nightwing prediction. They never got in trouble for using their magic.
"Anyway," Auntie Fatespeaker shook her head and faced Prairie. "What brings you out here? This isn't your watering hole."
"I was just flying." Prairie shrugged. He hoped his annoyance didn't show on his face. Auntie Fatespeaker wasn't his mom, but she could still catch on when he came up with an idea in front of her. "Not anywhere in particular, just… flying."
"You do that a lot," Uncle Starflight said. "Exploring the rainforest? I can't imagine there's much you haven't seen around here."
"Actually, I just found a path I've never seen before." Prairie pointed a wing at where he flew in from. "I'm just flying to fly. As long as I'm back before dinner, I don't care where I go."
"Okay." Auntie Fatespeaker nodded at him. "Be safe out there. Dinner's at the normal time."
"Got it. See you then." Prairie raised his wings, jumped away, and threw his wings down, leaving before his aunt and uncle decided they could make him do some chores. Without thinking about it, he flew over the rock that led to the tunnel to the desert. He looked down at it, then faced forward again. He always wondered what the wording was to make a tunnel like that. It was either extremely complex, or something so simple like, 'turn this rock into a tunnel that connects the rainforest to the desert.' That would be stupid.
But… what if…
Prairie glided to the ground as he thought. What would that spell have been? It had to have been pretty smart. Neither tunnel was far from the Rainwing Village. The Nightwings or Sandwings could have gotten an army through and attack without the Rainwings knowing… for multiple reasons.
What end were they cast from? Did Grandpa Stonemover cast them from the rainforest or from the volcano? He never talked about what he did. Prairie couldn't tell him why he wanted to know these things. He'd tell just about anyone who came to his cave… Even though he was no longer an Animus, he probably wouldn't like his scales being returned to normal either.
Prairie landed at the base of a short cliff and stared at it. He could make a tunnel to Pantala. He could make a tunnel to the Poison Jungle. His heart beat a little faster. He could be there and back before anyone knew he was gone. All he'd need to do was figure out the wording.
But… his soul. Prairie took a couple steps away from the cliff. He'd heard the stories. Albatross. Arctic. Darkstalker. Even Anemone. They all turned evil. From the sound of it, they didn't even need to use that much magic for it to happen. Anemone didn't use much before it happened to her. But that could be the reason why she turned good again. Fathom wasn't evil either. He stopped Darkstalker the first time. Then, of course, there was Turtle. Only Rainwings were gentler than him, outside his stories anyway.
Prairie didn't feel evil. He'd cast less spells than his Seawing teacher too. Maybe it was how big the spell was? All his spells so far were to do little things. They only affected whoever was using them at the time. He couldn't think of an Icewing Gift that was less impressive than anything he did. Maybe… Just one? No one would need to know. He could cancel his magic after he cast it… right?
Besides, if a spell wasn't complete, it wouldn't do anything. That made sense.
Prairie placed his right paw on the rock of the cliff. This was it. A quick in and out to the Poison Jungle and be back in time for dinner. He was about to go somewhere no dragon had ever gone before. Maybe a place no dragon had ever seen before… That was an idea! A place no dragon had seen before. Pantala was the Lost Continent. What if there was another out there somewhere? Maybe full of humans, or some other species that no one knew about. Prairie bounced on his talons. This was the best idea ever!
With a smile on his face, Prairie said, "Enchant this rock face to form a tunnel to a place that no dragon has ever seen before!" His smile fell away and he yanked his leg back. Why did some ideas only sound bad when he said them out loud?
But it was too late. The ground shook around him. Birds in the trees shrieked and flew away. Leaves and fruits fell around him. Pebbles plunked down the cliff face. The rocks in front of him cracked in so many places until it formed an arch. Then the arch caved inward as the tunnel pushed itself through the cliff. By the time the shaking stopped, the tunnel stretched so far inward the light didn't reach. Two adult dragons could walk down side by side.
"Oh, no…" Prairie crouched low to the ground and backed up. "Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. I'm evil. I'm evil. I'm evil…" He stared down the tunnel he just created. It was coming. He was going to want to kill every dragon he saw. He'd want to rule both continents with iron talons. He wanted to eat a whole cow… okay, that one was normal. But still, the evil was coming. Any time now… Any…
Prairie blinked at the tunnel. He felt… the same. He still missed his sister, he felt no evil feelings to the tribes, he felt… maybe a little hungrier than normal. There was no evil, no hate, no anything bad. It was like he never cast a spell in the first place. He slowly stood up and sniffed the tunnel. It didn't smell weird at all. He took a few steps toward his newest enchantment. A cool breeze came from inside.
That could only mean one thing. His spell worked.
"Woo!" Prairie jumped and leaned back into a backflip. "I did it! Take that, grandpa! I did this before you did!" He stared deep into the tunnel again. He had no idea how deep it went. There was only one way to find out. A quick in and out, then make it back in time for dinner.
"Adventure!" Prairie sprinted into his new tunnel, eager to see what was on the other side.
*cue Raiders march*