Chapter 5

Out of the Forest

Tualang spent the rest of his evening packing up for the journey ahead. When morning came, he jumped out of bed and grabbed his bag, eating a quick breakfast while he waited for the rest of his party to show up.

He was still incredibly grateful that they agreed to tag along. Even if Sol and Nova just wanted to explore and Orion was going to look after Nova, they'd still decided to go with him, to help him find his father.

As he finished a banana, there was a knock on his door. Judging from the blurs of black, purple, and crimson he saw in the corner of his eye, the others were ready to go.

Tualang disposed of the banana peel and made his way to the door, strapping his bag to his chest.

"Morning, fellas." He greeted as he stepped outside, closing the door behind him.

"Good morning, Tua." Nova responded and Orion nodded in greeting. Sol was too busy eating an apple to say anything, but she too nodded at him with a smile.

Tualang stretched his wings and glanced at the NightWing siblings. "Your parents know you're leaving, right?" He asked, to which Nova nodded.

"Yes. We told them about our plan last night."

Orion rolled his eyes. "I don't think 'plan' is the right word to use. We just said we're leaving." He paused and frowned at Tualang. "Do we even have a plan? Where are we even going?"

Tualang paused. 'Oh. I didn't think about that. I'm an idiot.' He realized, not exactly sure where to start. But he couldn't tell Orion that. "I thought we could start by visiting that town at the mouth of Diamond Spray River. You know, the one that leads into the bay?"

Sol perked up and swallowed the fruit she had in her mouth. "I know that place. I believe it's called Inlet." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's it."

Nova looked a little confused. "What's Inlet like?" She asked, tilting her head.

"Think Possibility, just by the ocean. And not as sketchy or cramped." The SkyWing explained with a grin. Nova was still confused. She'd never seen Possibility either so this comparison did little to help her.

"Enough talk. I'm ready to go." Orion said impatiently, eliciting a skeptical look from his sister. "I thought you didn't want to go in the first place?" She asked with a teasing smirk.

"I don't," He huffed, flicking his tail. "I just figure the sooner we get going, the sooner we return to the forest."

"Right. Let's get going, then." Tualang said, spreading his wings and taking to the sky. The other three followed suit. "Inlet's off that way. It'll take a day or two to fly there, but it's not terribly far." Sol called, pointing in a certain direction to the north.

Without further hesitation, the quartet flapped their wings and started North. As they departed the rainforest, Tualang looked up. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky.

"Hello? Earth to Tua?" Nova called, bumping into him, snapping him back from his thoughts. "Uh, sorry. What?" He asked, blinking at her as they caught up with Sol and Orion.

Nova grinned and turned her attention forwards again. "I asked what we're going to do once we get to Inlet." She asked.

Tualang blinked. He wasn't too sure himself. "...I'm actually not sure." He said regretfully, looking down at the ground far below. "I'm not a good planner, alright? I just figured we could hang around the town for a few days. See if we can find anything that might help."

"I guess it's a good place to start." The NightWing said with a bit of a shrug as they flew. Tualang nodded. "It's the only idea I have. I don't know what my father looks like so the only way I can think to play this is by ear. It's better than nothing."

'This is why I didn't want anyone to come with me. I don't know what I'm doing. Hell, we're lucky if we last a week in Inlet.' He thought with a wince.

'But it's too late to turn back now, I guess.' Tualang thought as he saw Sol happily flapping her wings, the forest slowly growing smaller and smaller behind them.

The sun began to set as the quartet found a spot to rest near a small lake. Nova and Orion went fishing and Sol started a fire using sticks Tualang gathered from the nearby trees.

With a tired sigh, Tualang sat by the fire and opened his bag, taking out a peach and biting into it. Sol snagged a few fish from the pile Nova and Orion made and began cooking them over the fire. "So…" Tualang began.

"So?" Orion asked with a frown, waiting for the fish.

"Just trying to break the silence. I don't like it." Tualang said defensively and mentally kicked himself. There were three other dragons near him yet he had no clue what to talk about. 'Think of something!'

Orion snorted and blew a small plume of flame into the air. "Well, you're going to have to do better than 'so', RainWing." Nova whacked him with her wing and scowled before glancing at the fire. "We should arrive in Inlet tomorrow afternoon, if I recall." She said thoughtfully, tapping her chin.

Tualang wanted to thank her for silencing Orion but was cut off.

Sol nodded in confirmation but didn't look away as she continued to cook the fish. "That sounds about right. Once we're there, Tua can…" She trailed off, trying to find the words. "Do whatever it is he needs to do. Which is..."

He frowned and started peeling an orange. "I'm just going to hang around town for a few days. See if I can pick up on anything. Hell, maybe we'll find something interesting completely unrelated to my father. Who knows? It's a big world."

It was incredibly frustrating. The sole reason he left the rainforest was to find his father and he didn't even know where to start. 'Why did you have to leave? Why must you make things so difficult for me?' He thought, a pang of anger directed at his father.

The scenarios played through his mind over and over. How would his father react? Obviously he knew he had a son, but what would he say? Maybe he actually hated RainWings and left because he didn't feel like caring for a RainWing son.

Tualang froze and felt his heart sink. That was a terrifying thought. Maybe they were going to waste all this time on a dragon that didn't even care for him.

'You can't think like that, Tualang.' He growled at himself. 'You're doing this because you want to. It doesn't matter if he wants to see you or not. You'll get your answers. You'll see his face, and he'll have to see yours again.'

"Uh, you alright there, Tua?" Orion asked with a scowl, grabbing a cooked fish. Tualang blinked and returned from his thoughts.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because you're grinding your teeth. It's bothering me." The NightWing grunted as he sat down by Nova, who was biting into a fish.

Tualang blinked. Did he do that every time he got lost in his thoughts? "Err, sorry." He apologized and tossed an orange slice into his mouth. As he ate, he couldn't help but regret asking the others to come with him. They were venturing across the continent to find a dragon that didn't even concern them.

Part of this regret was actually annoyance that Orion had decided to tag along. The last thing he needed was this dragon's negativity hanging around.

But of course, he had to be there. In fact, Orion gladly reminded them during the past few hours that he was only joining them because Nova was going, much to Tualang's annoyance. Hell, even Sol seemed to be getting tired of his complaining and Nova had to constantly tell him to shut up. That made the trip bearable so far.

Tualang ate the rest of the orange and tossed the peels away with a sigh, planting his head against the grass and staring at the fire. They'd be in Inlet tomorrow afternoon, as Nova said earlier.

'Get some rest, Tualang. Long day ahead of you tomorrow.' He thought and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep a few minutes later.