CHAPTER 5

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Oh….. oh wow, I haven't posted anything in two months… yeesh.

Sorry about that, I have a tendency to be late with things, I plan to get better, enjoy!

Also, sorry the chapters have been a little shorter lately, I will try and get better with that too!

*LUNA'S POV*

She looked at Sarah, her mind spun. Are there more dragons? Why didn't Sarah tell them this earlier, would this mean she'd have to go there? Where was the hidden world?

Luna looked at Bethany, who looked like she was about to burst, immediately Luna covered her ears, knowing what would come next.

"WHAT?!" Bethany screamed at the top of her lungs. "THE HIDDEN WORLD IS REAL AND YOU KNEW ABOUT IT?!" Bethany continued to screech.

"I should have expected that reaction..." Luna thought as she saw Sarah slinking back into the sand, she looked like she was trying to turn as small as possible.

Cressida quietly walked behind Sarah, also covering her ears and glaring at the screeching night fury. "Bethany shut it or the whole world will know our location, it's a miracle that we haven't been found yet! Don't ruin it for the rest of us!" Cressida yelled, pointing one of her fingers at the dragon.

Luna turned back to Sarah, "Why didn't you tell us earlier?" She asked her friend. "It was something that Cressida felt awful about, she didn't want me to tell anyone, I'm not sure why she trusted me, but she did, and now that I'm coming with you we might as well go to the place we will be safe," Sarah muttered in a quiet tone. Luna could see fear, and sadness in her eyes.

Luna couldn't help but feel sorry for Sarah, she was trusted with a secret and had to tell them to keep the rest of them safe, even though it wasn't what she wanted, none of them wanted to leave everyone they loved and cared for. Luna put her wing over her friend's back.

"Well you told us in the end, that's what's important." She said and looked down at Sarah, her friend gave her a weak smile.

Bethany coughed and they both turned to look at Bethany. "I'm sorry to interfere with this touching moment, but we should leave, and get Cressida to get back before people come to kill us." Bethany reminded them.

Luna nodded and walked over to Cressida and started to write. "Are you going to take me back?" Cressida exclaimed questionably.

Luna finished writing and when Cressida saw it she almost jumped back in surprise seeing the words she wrote.

Where is the hidden world?

"How do you know about that?! Sarah told you?!" The author asked angrily, glaring at Sarah, making her friend look down in shame.

Luna blocked Cressida's glare with her wing and scribbled again in the dirt.

It is better this way, we will be safe.

Cressida looked at her in surprise "You're not going to find a way out of your dragon self?" Cressida asked questionably. Luna shook her head sadly

We are dragons now, no human will listen to us, we might find a way to change back, we might not.

Cressida nodded and sighed. "I understand… I hope you guys have a good life as dragons, you may not be with your families, but you will be happy, I can assure you."

Luna sighed deeply and Cressida nodded at them, giving a wave before turning around. "I can find my way back, don't worry, I may be old but I still know my stuff!" Cressida chuckled and walked away, the forest consuming her in its thick branches and leaves.

Cressida had left for good.

Luna looked at her two friends, Bethany looked angry, but she also looked sad. Sarah looked fully miserable. She felt….. Somewhat relieved. She'd never seen her family again, but she knew they were alive and well, they could go on without her, and she knew that her little brother would grow up to become a fine young man, and her sister a young woman. Her mother and father would turn old, until they died peacefully, wondering what happened to her their entire lives. Maybe one day she'd even get to return to them. She felt content knowing that everyone she loved was alright.

She heard the splatter of raindrops, and soon enough, it was raining, it was soft and gradually turned harder, until it splattered hard enough it almost hurt. She walked into the woods, to let her friends be alone, Bethany was hunched down in the sand, and Sarah looked as though tears were streaming down from her face. She didn't know if night furies were able to cry, but she knew she should let them have a moment to themselves.

She walked into the forest, maple and oak trees surrounded her, she smiled, feeling at home. She felt sadness seeping in, she never would see her family again, she never even got to say goodbye. but she couldn't think about that, everyone she loved was alive and well.

As the forest got thicker she realized that the trees were changing, the maples trees turned into pine, and the oak turned into long willow trees, reaching far above into the sky. She looked up, realizing the branches were blocking the view of the sky.

She felt the needles in her claws, getting stuck in between her odd small nubby fingers.

She saw the long dark shadows of the trees becoming longer, as though time itself was speeding up, she felt scared, confused, and anxious.

She soon saw fog rolling in, it surrounded her, getting thicker as she continued walking. Even with her huge eyes and night vision, she couldn't see through the foggy forest.

Her claws scrunched up, she felt nervous, she didn't know where she was. Her talons forced her to keep going. She wanted to go back, but she knew that she had to find a place where the trees were open enough for her to fly up.

Luna looked around and stopped, her feet itching to keep going, but she just sat down, feeling the mud on her scales as she sat.

She leaned on a large Willow tree, the wind was whistling, the forest was dark. The wind whistled in her ear, she felt like the wind was almost speaking, muttering something. She raised her ears, listening for the wind as it whispered in her ear, it swirled around her, as if there was something alive swirling around her.

"North, go north my kin."

"Follow."

"Come with us"

The wind whistled, it spoke over and over over and over again, it was eerie, but she felt as though it were familiar, as though it was an old friend.

The whisper slowed, and the fog cleared. She looked around in confusion, she saw her trail in the mud and started to follow them back to where she left her friends.

Soon enough the woods once again became less thick and mucky, although it started to rain harder. Her scales ached.

She came back and saw her friends in the same spot she left them, Sarah was looking at her with a worried expression, while Bethany was looking at her in annoyance.

"WHERE WERE YOU?!" Bethany screeched.

" Bethany be quiet! I was taking a walk and I lost track of time!" Luna growled, not really wanting to tell her friends what happened, yet.

*SARAH POV*

She looked at her friend, which seemed quieter than usual. She watched as Luna walked to the shore of the beach, looking out into the distant waters. She walked beside her and sat down.

Luna turned to her, giving her a soft smile, and turning back into the depths of the water.

Sarah followed her gaze, she looked up at the sky, it was a dark grey, with the rain making it hard to see far into the distance. She felt the rain hitting her scales, making them sting lightly.

'It's funny, how our scales are meant to protect us, yet the rain hurts." She heard Luna say. She turned to her friend, who gave her a toothy grin.

Sarah nodded and looked up at the rock that she had practiced flying on. She walked over to it, maybe she'd get a better view up there, along with being able to check if people were on their way to hunt them down.

Her claws dug into the rock, lightly slipping from the rain, she clawed her way up once again. Once she was on top of the rock she saw Luna looking at her quizzically. A thunderclap rattled the sky, making her look up, seeing the lightning flash.

It hurt her eyes, she looked away and opened her wings in alarm. Suddenly, her wings felt a gush of wind, and she started to glide off the rock against her will. She looked up as thunder and lightning continued to strike in the sky, she felt the cold droplets of water dripping onto her wings and falling off. She looked back in alarm and saw two specks on the land.

She looked down and saw the swirling water underneath her. She tried to turn around, but a gust of wind made her wings fold inward. She pummelled into the water, feeling the terror as the waves swirled over and around her. She coughed and opened her mouth for air before going under the surface again.

She panicked and started to splash upwards towards the surface, feeling her whole body scream at her to stop from exhaustion, but she continued knowing her life depended on it.

*Luna POV*

She watched as Sarah flew out into the storm, she tried to call for her, but she wouldn't respond. Luna heard a grunt from behind her and saw Bethany walk behind her.

"What on earth is she doing? Doesn't she know not to fly in a thunderstorm?" Bethany asked. She huffed and watched as Sarah went father into the distance. "I don't have any idea, she doesn't even have enough flying experience to fly by herself yet!' Luna said watching worried for her friend, why was she leaving? Didn't she realize how much of a bad idea this was?

Luna looked down, seeing the sand beneath her. Bethany looked at her and surprisingly put a wing over her back. "She'll be fine, probably, and if she isn't we can help her," Bethany grumbled. Luna smiled, knowing signs of affection like this were rare.

Then suddenly, she heard a scream.

Luna looked up, seeing a dark speck in the sky plummeting into the water. She watched in horror as the waves went over her friend. Immediately she opened her wings but felt Bethany put her talon on her shoulder.

"We are too far, besides you won't be able to drag her by yourself without falling," Bethany said. Luna looked at her, she growled and turned to her. "You just said that if she needs help then we would help her!" she snarled.

Bethany looked at her and sighed. "Look, we can't help her that far, she will be too far to reach, and she will be too heavy to carry, I don't think I could help you much, I was barely able to hold Cressida." Bethany muttered. Anger flared inside luna, she wanted to scream in fury, she wanted to bare her teeth and show Bethany that she wasn't playing around. She shook the thought from her head and glared at her friend.

"Then I'll help her without you! I don't need your help anyway, you stay here like a coward!" She snarled and looked around, trying to find something to help her.

Luna's eyes locked with a dead tree, it was slightly cracked on the side, it was right at the edge of the beach. She ran towards it, her heart pounding, She knew that she didn't have long until Sarah would be consumed by the waves.

Luna looked at the tree and rammed into it, she heard a large crack come from the wood. She looked at her shoulder and groaned in pain.

"Well, at least I have two shoulders." She thought as she turned and bashed into the tree again with the other side of her shoulder. The tree cracked once again and it fell onto the beach with a thud.

Luna felt herself tremble, pain shot up her arms. She groaned and winced, opening her wings and flying into the air. She grabbed onto a branch and started to drag it into the water.

Luna turned as she felt the other side of the log being pushed. Bethany was pushing the other side, helping her bring it into the water.

"I don't think you'll make it, but go try." Bethany murmured and watched as the log floated on the surface. She felt herself give a small smile at Bethany, then she turned and started to steer the log towards Sarah.

Luna beat her wings furiously, feeling the wind fight her with each wingbeat. The rain poured into her eyes, making it hard to see in the storm. The thunder rumbled above, making her flinch. "I need to get Sarah out of the water before she gets electrocuted." She mumbled and looked around, trying to find the purplish form of her friend.

Luna turned around and saw a dark figure in the water flailing around, she realized it was Sarah and started to drag the branch towards her friend.

She watched in horror as Sarah started to go under another wave. Immediately she dove and grabbed her friend's talon, she gripped onto it for dear life, pulling her to the fallen tree. Once Sarah had gripped onto the fallen tree she lifted her head out of the water and looked at her. "Luna! What are you doing here?" Sarah asked after taking a deep breath of air.

Luna laughed and flinched as lightning struck the sky. She looked up at the grey sky and grabbed one of the branches on the fallen tree and started to drag her to shore without answering her friend's question.

The rain poured harder, making her sore all over, each wingbeat became weaker until she fell into sand. Sarah followed her and fell beside her. Luna turned to her friend, she stared into Sarah's warm red eyes and smiled. "What were you thinking?" She asked, with a slight edge in her tone.

"I didn't mean to fly away, I just wanted to see if I could see anyone that was looking for us. I'm worried that they might be preparing something, maybe that's why they haven't started to look for us." Sarah replied worriedly.

"Possibly, I hope not, hopefully, we can leave as soon as possible." She replied, giving a reassuring smile to her friend.

She laid down, watching as Sarah followed in her lead and slumped beside her. Luna yawned and closed her eyes, listening as the rain splattered on the ground and onto their scales.

For the first time in a long time, sleep came quickly.

*Bethany's POV*

Bethany woke up, cold, and alone.

She wished she were home, she was utterly alone, Luna and her friend had probably decided to leave her. Since they were nowhere in sight. She knew that she couldn't deal with being a dragon by herself, no matter how much she hated to admit it.

She groaned and got up, the sun shining in her eyes, the storm had just passed, it was still wet, the soil was still damp and the leaves on the trees were dripping water onto her scales. She shook herself and shivered.

"Maybe I can find those idiots…" She groaned and walked around until she saw two sets of footprints smaller than hers. Grumbling, she walked into the forest, looking around as shadows hit her scaly form.

As Bethany walked through the woods, she heard something squish underneath her talons, she looked down, seeing mud seep from her claws. She grunted in annoyance, feeling a pang of homesickness suddenly. Bethany looked up to see birds chirping, hearing birds in the city was an odd thing, but at the moment wished she woke by the sound of cars racing by.

Finally, her ears perked, hearing light breathing in the distance. Bethany followed the sound until she saw two dark lumps covered in sand, dirt, and leaves. Bethany felt a pang of jealousy run through her, Luna had not seen Sarah in a long time, now that perfect purple dragon shows up and Luna was all over her!

Why couldn't she look so peaceful when they were together? A dark part of her mind went back to when she attacked Luna in anger, she was easily defeated. Yet, that had put an invisible wall between her and Luna.

Finally taking a deep breath, Bethany walked up to the pair and nudged Luna's side with her muddy paw. "Five more minutes..." Luna cooed softly, not even opening her eyes to look at her.

"No, up now!" Bethany growled.

Bethany felt a tinge of anger as Luna's eyes opened, showing her friend's annoyed expression.

"What? What could you possibly want right now?" Luna asked in a somewhat harsh tone. Bethany felt a rumble and looked down at her stomach

.

"I'm hungry, I haven't eaten in days." She said to LunaLuna looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded.

"We both have not eaten in days, Sarah will probably wake up feeling hungry as well. We could try and hunt something." Luna said tiredly. Bethany snorted as her friend mentioned Sarah then realized with a jolt what she said.

"You're joking, right? Right?!" Bethany said, seeing Luna's I'm not joking face.

"I-I am not going to go chasing some rabbit, I could get rabies!" Bethany exclaimed, making Sarah wake up beside Luna.

"Hm?" Sarah mumbled as Luna sighed. "First of all eating a rabid animal won't make you rabid, second, what else do you suppose we do? I have no knowledge of where to fish, and for all, we know this lake doesn't even have anything edible to eat." Her friend replied back.

"Well, maybe we can go back to the city and explain everything!" Bethany said, frantic, feeling fear knaw in her belly. "I-If we tell them who we are and what happened I'm sure they will understand, Please!" Said Bethany, feeling tears well in her eyes.

She would not become a dragon, she would not eat raw meat and become bloodthirsty, she would not live the rest of her life in scales!

"No, Come on Bethany, you know this. We can't go back unless you want to be caught and documented or something." Luna Said sternly, but Bethany swore she saw a flicker of sadness in her friend's eyes.

"I also don't think they will accept us, dragons went to the hidden world for a reason," Said Sarah unexpectedly, making both Luna and Bethany look at her in surprise. Bethany felt anger flare in her as she saw Luna smile and nod.

"Sarah has a point, Bethany, they also think we attacked Cressida and killed Sarah, it will be hard to explain that Sarah turned into a dragon." Said Luna, giving her a sad smile.

"Alright... let's hunt." Bethany breathed, giving up.