She had been running through the swamps for days, her legs aching. Thirst burned through her tongue, and oh, how her stomach hurt. but she can't stop, she couldn't stop. Thundering wingbeats echoed behind her. The IceWing troops. She thought, her frills flaring in alarm. She had to be quick. Her scales shimmered into the stone gray of the Claws of Clouds mountain range and stormy gray of the sky, camouflaging her from view. Taking off, she soared up, a movement she hadn't done for days in fear of being discovered.

Oh how I'll die for a taste of water. She thought, as she swiveled her head back, glancing riskily to see if anyone was following her. She was approaching the sand kingdom, the tawny gold of the sand a strip on the horizon. "Just...a…few…more…" she whispered. Few more what? Minutes? Hours? Days? The concept of time had blurred in these days, the only thing that reminded her was the passing of the sun and moons.

She flew on, wings now aching as if thousands of okapis had trampled over them. The expanse of desert was growing closer, below her the mountains disappeared and all she could see were sand dunes.

What did Permafrost say? She wondered, as the thought of him blurred her scales with a shade of rose. Quick! She thought in alarm, trying to get her disguise back on, but the pink was seeping through her scales like blood from a wound.

She landed on the sand dunes, letting her wings take a rest and started running, despite the protest of her sore legs. Just a few…more…steps. She thought, trying to go faster, but her talons gave away and she collapsed into the sand. Just…can't…yet. Her talons grasped desperately forwards, clutching piles of sand until the last of her strength gave away and all she could see was…black.

—

She woke up in a hut, the crystal blue curtains casting dapples of light onto her face. Where was this? She thought, sitting up but wincing at the pain. "Relax." A familiar voice echoed from somewhere in the hut.

"You're safe here, the troops won't suspect a tiny hut in the midst of an oasis." A lean NightWing stepped in, but closer look proved that his scales were ice blue and covered with dark blue on his front talons. His tail lashed back and forth, revealing speckles of black scales on his tail. "Inkblot?" She croaked. "At your service." He grinned. "Also, do these happen to be yours?" He disappeared back into the other room and came back with a pearly white satchel. He unbuckled it, revealing two white eggs shimmering with rainbows like a pair of large opals.

"My eggs." She gasped. "Let me guess, IceWing/RainWing hybrids?" He joked, but then his smile dwindled when he saw the look on her face. "Oh." He echoed. "Well, I'll give you some…ummm…private time." He stumbled out.

Poor Inkblot. She thought. He had a crush on her ever since they met at the NightWing Exodus. I hope he'll recover. Won't he? She thought, glancing out. The wave of white was already washing over this hut, flashes of pale blue and purple and silver, all reflecting the sun like a vast expanse of mirrors.

Her eyes hurt, so she closed the curtains and fell back onto the bed. Her nose caught the aroma of date cookies drifting out from the kitchen. Yum. She thought, closing her eyes and trying to wash away the pang of sadness in her heart through the smell. "Permafrost." She sighed. "When will we ever meet again?"

"Perhaps like, one point six nine eight seconds later?" She jolted awake in shock to see Permafrost standing in the doorjamb, the familiar white-green scales so comforting unlike the troop. "Permafrost!" She gasped, hurling herself at him. "Relax, Bamboo." He said, patting her head. The cool scales were so comfortable compared to the blistering desert heat. "Plus, look what I came with!" He brought out something behind his back, revealing a ice slushee with passion-fruits and frozen coconut milk poured into it. She gasped and almost slurped it up immediately. The ice melted on her tongue, water washing over her cracked lips and refreshing them.

"Permafrost." She mumbled.

"What, my dear."

"I have eggs now. And they're…yours."

Now Permafrost couldn't possibly cover the shock on his face. "What—" he mumbled. "But the troops—Queen Glacier—the ice cliff—they will never survive, not when the war is at it's peak!"

How about this?" She said. "We both take an egg each. The dragonet you have can pass the ice cliff, so they can grow up healthily there. I can't take care of two dragonets for long, and plus." She shuffled her talons. "I don't think we'll be meeting each other for a very long time."

Permafrost sighed and looked at her longingly. "I guess this is for the best. He picked up a egg and stuffed it in his bag swung around his neck. She nodded and then took the other one. The egg was cool and hard to the touch, and she can see the dragonet pulsing under her talons. "Poor little thing." She echoed. "I guess you won't be seeing your sibling after all."

Thundering talon steps echoed out the door.

"Oh no." Permafrost gasped. "Wait, Bamboo. I got to go. I'm sorry, meet another time?" He burst out the door and took off into the sky, egg and all.

"Wait!"

"I haven't…given you the present yet."

Bamboo stared down at her talons, opening them and revealing a small locket engraved with a snowflake on one side. Flipping it over, there was a small emote of a sloth head on the other.

Opening the locket revealed a picture of Permafrost and Bamboo, huddled together on the peaks of Jade Mountain looking out at the moons, slivers of white against the dark blue sky. She snapped it shut and fastened it over her neck.

"I wonder when we'll meet again…"