It took Frute and Mye a few weeks until they could see Pyrrhia in the distance. It took another few days until they actually reached the dragon-shaped continent, Frute being sure that they landed near the border of the Rainforest and Mud Kingdoms.
As the neared land, Frute drilled basic safety rules to Mye, who had already learned mostly everything she needed to know about Pyrrhia. Frute was impressed, mostly at himself for being able to teach her.
Frute stopped the boat when the water grew too shallow for it, and got out to drag it the rest of the way to shore. Mye got out to help him, making the job much easier. Once they got there, the two dragonets sat on the ground.
Frute sat there until the sun set. Neither of them had said anything since arriving. Frute decided to change that by saying, "We finally made it. It took weeks, but we made it." He looked over at Mye, who seemed to be thinking of everything they should be doing. "How long do you want to stay? No longer than a month—your parents might get worried."
"I'm not sure." Mye replied. "I want to see every inch of this place, but that might take years, and there's no guarantee that we'd ever leave, if the war gets too bloody."
"We could come back." Frute suggested. "When we're adults. That way, no one will worry about us. And the war will be over." Mye seemed to agree, since she nodded. Frute didn't completely believe that she was listening, though. He stood up, and looked at the rainforest. "Come on, we can sleep closer to the rainforest. If a RainWing sees us, they're less likely to question us, I'm sure."
"You don't sound very confident." Mye pointed out.
"It's because I'm not." Frute replied honestly. "But I am confident that we can't stay in the Mud Kingdom. There's less danger in the rainforest—less danger of starving, less danger of being caught, less danger of being killed." Less danger of my sibs seeing me, Frute's mind added.
"Rainforest it is, then." Mye said. She got up, only to sit down a few steps later where the rainforest and Mud Kingdom met. Frute managed to laugh a little, and sat down beside her. The trees were thick enough here that they wouldn't be seen from above, and no one came this close to the border or ocean.
Frute took off his small bags, and watched as Mye did the same. They sat them in between them, and ate a little bit of the food. After that, Frute closed his eyes and managed to drift into a dreamless sleep.
…
For a second, when Frute opened his eyes, he thought he was two again, with no one to hide from, nothing to care about besides how he'll spend his day. But when he opened his eyes, he was alone. The sun was up, the birds chirped, but no one was beside him.
At first, Frute thought this was normal. His still-mostly-asleep brain didn't recognize that he had come with someone else until minutes later. Frute instantly stood up again.
"Mye!" He shouted. He looked beside him, but the dull brown-and-red SilkWing wasn't there. His mind instantly assumed the worst. She must've wandered off, he thought. Or someone found her. I knew she shouldn't have come here. Pyrrhia isn't the place for SilkWings. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Frute tried to calm himself down, but failed. Miserably. He looked around him. "She has to be around here somewhere." He told himself. "She still can't fly, and it's harder to get around by walking."
Frute tried to think of where he could look. A picture—memory—flashed in his head. "No," he muttered. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO." He hit himself, the brief memory getting clearer. Frute knew where the memory had been made. Deeper into the Mud Kingdom—closer to his old home.
There were many things Frute knew he would never be able to do again—anything that requires a quickly beating heart, living by himself, flying far distances, battling. Never seeing his sibs again were among those. Unless Frute was lucky enough for them to be in the middle of a battle—or an adventure around Pyrrhia—he was pretty sure he would have to at least look at them.
Frute sighed. If he wanted to find Mye, a classic ask-around search would probably be the best option. He sat back down again, and latched the small bags back on him, trying to think of a solution to his major problems—not being recognized and keeping his dark memories under control.