Note: I do not own Wings of Fire or any of the characters or locations mentioned. The series is created by Tui T Sutherland and published by Scholastic. This work is fanfiction meant for entertainment purposes only. No profit is being made from this story.
Sunny walked through the halls of the academy, a heaviness in her small footsteps. While she was proud of her plan kicking into full gear, she had her head was mostly plagued with uncertainty and a small amount of guilt about her friend Starflight. Feeling it may help with her thoughts, Sunny was searching the academy for Fatespeaker. She had hoped that they would be in the library that was recently finished. It was the evening, so construction was halted for the night. The mountain now had the sounds of the night serving as its ambiance.
Sunny soon made it to the library. When she entered it, the emerald green glow of the day was replaced with the near-pitch-black darkness of the night. The only source of light to illuminate the main areas of the cave were the few torches that were lit in many areas of the cave along with the open windows from the open spaces around the save, letting the night's light in. Sunny could make out the desk, along with the entrances of each space. She spotted Starflight sleeping in a secluded part of the library, lying down on a bed of moss in deep sleep. She also saw Fatespeaker approaching him to rest as well. Sunny took a deep breath as she processed her response to get Fatespeaker's attention.
"...Fatespeaker?" Sunny whispered, just loud enough to garner Fatespeaker's attention. Fatespeaker looked around and spotted Sunny at the lip of the exit. "Sunny. Is everything alright?" Fatespeaker whispered in response, genuine curiosity in her voice.
"...may I speak to you privately, if you have the time?" Sunny whispered back, curiosity in her quiet voice.
"I was just gonna go and rest, but…sure," Fatespeaker answered, giving Sunny a small nod of understanding.
Fatespeaker placed the torch she was holding onto its rack, and she and Sunny quietly whisked away from the library. They quietly walked through the halls looking for a spot to talk. They eventually settled on the Great Hall to have their conversation. Sunny and Fatespeaker went to the edge of the Great Hall and sat next to each other, looking up at the moonlit sky above, illuminating the cave. Stars could be seen clearly in the sky as the sounds of the wind and the cricket chirps provided a peaceful ambiance to the scene. The SandWing-NightWing and the NightWing sat side by side before Fatespeaker looked at Sunny to talk to her.
"So, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Fatespeaker curiously asked, her brow raised.
Sunny remained momentarily silent, figuring out how to state her worries to her. "I'm just concerned, Fate" Sunny managed to muster. "About Starflight"
"Starflight's doing alright. Im helping him through his blindness and all-" Fatespeaker started saying, talking about their progress in helping Starflight with his blindness.
"Other than that, Fate" Sunny quickly interjected, her voice firm and urgent.
Fatespeaker paused at her response, her snout having a look of confusion and curiosity. "Oh. Well…what is your concern then?" Fatespeaker asked as she searched Sunny's face.
Sunny took a moment to think of her next response. Sunny had moments where she observed the two NightWings in the coming weeks leading to this moment and felt guilty each time, but eventually Sunny felt it was time she told Fatespeaker about her concerns.
"Well, before and even after you joined us…Starflight had romantic feelings for me, and even confessed them before..well, you know what happened next" Sunny said, worry in her normally cheery voice.
"He did? Hm." Fatespeaker told Sunny, a slight twinge of jealousy in her voice.
"Before you start feeling as jealous about it, I had turned down his feelings for me." Sunny quickly interjected. "I do love him, but like a brother, especially since we grew up together"
Fatespeaker continued to look at Sunny with genuine interest and understanding on her snout as Sunny poured her thoughts about Starflight's feelings for her.
"But after I told him…it just felt odd afterward." Sunny then told Fatespeaker with confusion in her voice. "He appeared to take it well…a bit too well. He just smiled as I read to or interacted with him afterward and it felt like he was-" Sunny suddenly stopped, not wanting to bore Fatespeaker with her rambling. "Fatespeaker, something just doesn't feel right about this, and it makes me feel like this strange mix of guilt and-" Sunny sighed as she told her conclusion.
"I knew there was a reason he was under the weather when I was with him." Fatespeaker suddenly interrupted with a tone in her voice that felt like everything made sense in her head.
Fatespeaker's response caught the hybrid off guard, and confusion dripped from the expression she then grew on her snout. "What do you mean?" Sunny couldn't help but ask.
"Him feeling sad overall as we prepared the library, him saying 'Im alright, Fatespeaker' with that soulless smile on his snout, even that one night where he cried in his sleep; it all adds up," Fatespeaker told Sunny as she pulled out each claw for each sign of Starflight's heartbroken behavior.
"So…you're saying he's actually heartbroken over my decision?" Sunny asked, with worry and guilt in her voice.
"That's what it seems like" Fatespeaker nodded sadly.
This realization felt like a thunderclap to Sunny's heart. It felt like the same guilt spear stabbed into her heart the same way as when she saw them together each time, perhaps stabbing deeper than before. Sunny hoped that things would be alright despite her concerns, but hearing that outcome come out of Fatespeaker's muzzle caused her face to grow a look that had guilt and regret mixed together "Aw, man. I just told him what I truly felt about him. I didn't mean to hurt him by doing it" Sunny told her, regret dripping from her voice as her wings completely dropped to the floor. Sunny had worried that Starfilght being heartbroken would be a possible reaction to her turning down his feelings, but it didn't make the impact hit any less for her.
Fatespeaker had a saddened, yet understanding look on her face. "It's not your fault, Sunny. You were only honest with him about your feelings." Fatespeaker told Sunny as she placed her talon on her shoulder. "You shouldn't have to force yourself to have the feeling someone had for you just because they confessed. You told him what your heart decided"
But Sunny looked back at the NightWing, her body fidgeting and a clear look of worry on her face. "But what if anything changes between us?" Sunny reluctantly asked. "I don't want this to ruin the friendship we already have."
Fatespeaker grew a hopeful look mixing with her understanding expression."It won't. While Starflight may be heartbroken over you rejecting him, I'm sure it won't mean your friendship will change." Fatespeaker assured Sunny. "You see him as a brother, a dragon you've grown up with and that is a relationship that you'll always cherish. And I feel Starflight will cherish it too in the future."
Fatespeaker's words went through Sunny's bright-scaled body and touched her heart. Every word she said was correct. Sunny may not have romantic feelings for Starflight, but the familial bond they share still lingered in her heart. Deep down, Sunny hoped that Starflight would someday realize that. Sunny and Fatespeaker shared a smile with each other."...I hope you're right." Sunny quietly responded. "I just…wish I could do more for him"
Fatespeaker had a look of empathy and prepared to respond, before-
"Sunny, Fatespeaker," A deep, but memorable voice spoke, cutting through their conversation. Fatespeaker and Sunny turned around at the source of the voice, with Sunny growing a warm smile at who it was. It was Clay, Sunny's favorite dragonet in her family. When she saw him hobbling toward her, Tsunami was by his side.
"What is it, Clay?" Sunny asked, her brow raised in curiosity as Fatespeaker looked on.
"It's about Starflight," Clay answered quickly. "You rejected his romantic feelings, right?"
"Yeah. And Im guessing he's heartbroken? Fatespeaker was just telling me about it" Sunny responded as she shot a glance at Fatespeaker as she spoke.
Clay stopped in front of Sunny and Fatespeaker as she answered, and nodded in response to her question. "I think he is, and he's feeling the pain. I was told of this first, and I feel we should be there for him to show that we all love and support him." Clay explained with a determined stance, while Tsunami had a bored expression on her snout. "You two want to help us?" Clay asked, hope in his voice over their decision.
Sunny and Fatespeaker looked at each other with an understanding and supportive look in their eyes. Sunny saw Starflight as a brother and Fatespeaker saw him as a potential mate. But there was one equal goal in their minds: to see Starflight happy. Sunny and Fatespeaker gave each other a nod of acknowledgment. "We're in," The two dragonets accepted in unison.
Clay smiled at their response as they approached him and began to walk with him to another spot in the academy, their combined footsteps echoing through the cave, which grew quieter as they entered the left tunnel.
"Let's just get planning this over with" Tsunami begrudgingly said as they ventured deeper into the academy...