This part was supposed to happen last chapter but I didn't have any room for it, so just act like this happened last week.
Moon sat down in one of the chairs a ways down the hall. Turtle, Clay, and Kinkajou had all gone downstairs to find Sora, Jet, Zephyr, and Turvar while she and Qibli stayed upstairs.
A part of her felt horrible for Flame, and the other felt guilty and scared about what he would do once he found out about her mind reading. She hoped that if — once Umber recovered, he would go back to normal and calm down.
As Flame's anger rose, more and more of his thoughts began slipping through her grasp. FUCK! Flame's mind screamed unexpectedly, causing her to flinch. FUCK THEM! FUCK TURTLE, FUCK QIBLI, FUCK MOON, FUCK ALL OF THEM!
She could feel her heart rate begin to pick up, so she put more energy into keeping his thoughts away specifically, images flashing through her head with what happened back at Jade Mountain.
But doing that let other thoughts slip through. Some were terrified, some were crying, and some were just straight up sleeping, including Umber. His mind felt…peaceful. Too peaceful for what he was going through. But nothing could be worse than Flame's thoughts right now, right?
Then she saw something — an image burying itself in her mind and refusing to leave while it got comfortable.
It was him and Flame, both sitting on their couch reading something called a "graphicoll" — or so they called it. It was dark outside, and she could clearly see that whenever he looked out the window, there were no houses, and there was no ground; they were just in an empty void where the only thing that existed was their house and nothing else.
She could hear Umber sounding out every word in his head as he skimmed his talons underneath the ink-stained scroll.
"The dragon res…restless- restlessly?" Umber looked over at Flame for confirmation, to which he just nodded his head with a smile. "Restlessly dug through the sand in the sc…orching heat, d-desper…desperately trying to find a memory he lost long ago," he read slowly.
"You're getting better, MudWing," Flame congratulated. "But, I think it's time that we stop for now." He rolled up the scroll and picked it up.
"What? We were just getting to the good part!" Umber complained. He stood up with Flame, who walked around to the other side of the table and pulled out a box from underneath, and stashed the scroll inside before pushing it back under.
"Well, it's getting late, and I'm getting tired." He walked over to their door and opened it, beckoning for him to come inside with him. Their room was just a seemingly black abyss that looked to have nothing on the other side. Even the dim light from the candle should let him see inside at least a little bit, and she could sense some unease coming from Umber.
Flame disappeared through the doorway, and Umber quickly followed. "Wait for me!" he said with a laugh.
But once he walked through the doorway, everything turned orange — no — everything lit on fire. He jolted around only to see that the door he had just walked through was gone, and it was replaced with familiar red carpet and black wooden walls around him.
The row of carpet he was standing on was almost completely on fire, and he reflexively took a step back.
But as he did that, he tripped over a mass on the floor and his back thumped against the carpet. As he gathered himself, he realized that it wasn't just one thing he tripped over, no; it was two things: Flame and…Umber? No, another Umber; another version of himself, like he was a ghost looking over his dead body.
As he looked down at himself, his scales were charred in all sorts of different shades of black and gray, some of them even flaking off from Flame's touch.
Moon gagged.
Umber hardly paid attention to that second part though, and only focused his attention on Flame. His eyes were closed, and he was tightly cuddled up next to Umber. He could clearly see tears coming from his eyes as he sobbed.
"Flame?" Umber called out. "I thought I told you to run! What are you doing here?! You shouldn't be here!" But his cries didn't even seem to phase him, and he stayed curled up next to Umber.
"I'm so sorry, Umber," Flame whispered in his ear with a sob. "I couldn't save you in time. But don't worry, I'm coming with you." These words sent a shockwave of sympathy through Moon, and she audibly gasped.
"Moon? What's wrong?" Qibli asked worriedly.
"NO!" Umber screamed. "NO, STOP! RUN! PLEASE!" He tried to shake Flame, but his talons just phased right through him.
Moon's breathing began turning into short, quick breaths, just like back at Jade Mountain when Flame got close. Umber was panicking, and there was almostnothing she could do about it. She put her talons to her temples, her head starting to roar with pain with each throb.
"Moon?!" Qibli said again. "Is it happening again?! C'mon, talk to me!"
Umber began to hear the roof above him start to creak and crack. And after an agonizing few seconds, one of the beams broke free from the ceiling and started hurling toward Flame. "FLAME!" Umber screamed, throwing himself forward and covering Flame with his body.
Except, he just phased right through him, and the beam continued hurling down at them.
Her head was yelling in pain, and her headache became almost unbearable — excruciating, even. She screamed out in pain, gripping her talons on her head even harder than before.
She slumped forward and fell off of the chair, slamming against the ground and landing on her side; but the pain from that was nothing compared to what she was experiencing right now.
"Moon?!" Qibli yelled. "That's it, I'm stopping this!" He took his skyfire pouch off, and then everything immediately stopped as she felt it slap against her chest.
All of the thoughts just vanished, and the headache almost immediately disappeared. With this, she realized that tears were running down her face, and her heart was racing so fast that it felt like it might explode any second.
"Moon, are you okay?" Qibli asked as he dropped onto his knees by her side and grabbed her shoulder, shaking her a bit.
Though she was a bit shaken up, Qibli's warm touch made her feel better — it always made her feel better. She sprung up and wrapped her arms around him as tight as she possibly could, pulling him close. She could feel the full warmth of his scales soothing her heart when she felt his talons hug her back.
"What the hell happened?" Qibli asked comfortingly. "Was it a vision?"
"No…" Moon muttered in Qibli's shoulder. "I-I tried to push Flame's thoughts away but then Umber's dreams popped up and all of a sudden there was so much fire and screaming and-"
"Shhhh," Qibli cooed, gently stroking the scales along her back. "It's okay, it's over now." She could feel more tears begin to run down her face uncontrollably, her sobs filling the air from Qibli's comfort.
She pulled him in closer with her wings and buried her face in his neck, wishing like she could stay like this forever.
"I love you," Moon whispered shakily.
Flame paced around the room in a panic, still trying to make sense of what had happened the other day. On one talon, Turtle was apparently an animus, but on the other talon, Turtle was APPARENTLY AN ANIMUS; an untrustworthy animus at that! Not ONLY was he an untrustworthy animus, but he was a fucking useless one as well!
"Fucking Turtle!" Flame muttered under his breath, his scales burning with rage. He had trusted Turtle, and now it seemed like everything was falling apart. How could he have been so blind? How could he have let himself get so close to someone who had such dangerous power?
I bet he's just like Darkstalker! Manipulating everyone with his magic so that they'll like him! Flame thought. That must be what he did with the others, and now he maybe even did something to Umber! FUCK!
Then, there was a knock at the door, and he was sure he knew who it probably was.
He had come in to look at Umber the most, which was understandable. He had also let Moon, Kinkajou, Qibli, Sora, Jet, and Zephyr in whenever they wanted to see him, but he would never talk to his winglet and ignore anything they tried to say to them. He even let Turvar in a few times; a dragon he didn't even know!
Like, he knew he wasn't the bad guy here! They deserved everything that he's done to them (which wasn't much, arguably. But he knew refusing to let them see Umber would make him the bad guy.
But of course, he never let Turtle in, not even when Moon or Qibli or Kinkajou or Clay tried to argue with him. He was probably trying to make sure whatever spell he put on Umber was working. He was the one exception to that rule because he was protecting Umber from whatever he had done.
He reluctantly walked over to the door, before he heard Clay knock again. "Yeah yeah, I'm fucking coming," Flame mumbled.
He swung the door open and saw the familiar saddened look on Clay's face as he walked through the doorway. "Is he doing any better?" Clay asked, stopping midway and turning his head to look at him. His voice was low and full of hopelessness; it was as if he was expecting the answer.
"No," Flame said matter of factly, sitting down in the chair.
Clay turned his head back down to the floor and continued walking, before stopping at Umber's bed and sitting down at his side. "Yeah, I thought so," he sighed, resting his talons on Umber's.
For the next few minutes, they both sat in silence — almost silence — the only thing keeping it from, being the bustling dragons' talonsteps in the hall that they could hear through the thin wooden door.
Clay turned his head to look at Flame. "You know, about the other day-" he started.
"No, shut the fuck up. I don't want to hear your sorries," Flame barked, shifting his scales angrily to the other side of the chair. "The only thing you can do to even begin to fix this is to keep that motherfucker away from Umber."
"You know it wasn't that easy," Clay tried, turning his head back to Umber. "It wasn't our secret to tell."
"Are you fucking serious?!" Flame jumped off of the chair so fast that it slammed against the wall. "What do you mean it 'wasn't that easy'?! Don't you think that it's important to tell me that one of my "friends" has the power to literally tear down this whole fucking building with one thought?"
Clay snapped his head toward Flame, tightening his grip around Umber's talons. "What? You know Turtle would never do that! Why are you saying things like this? He helped us defeat Darkstalker for moons' sake!"
All animus are the same, Flame thought. This is what they do, they manipulate you into thinking they're good, just so that they can get close and cast whatever fucking spell they can on you, just like Darkstalker.
This was a lesson he'd never forget; not after what Darkstalker did to him. The only animus he would ever trust is Stonemover, and he wasn't even an animus anymore! Hell, he could hardly even walk!
"How can you trust him?!" Flame asked angrily. "Are you stupid or has he already fucked with your mind and made you his little minion?"
"I can trust him because if he really wanted to do something, he could've easily done it as soon as he realized he was animus!" Clay argued. "Don't you remember how fast Darkstalker acted? Why hasn't he done anythingyet except help if he was the same?"
Flame puckered his lips before opening his mouth as if he was about to say something, but nothing to mind. Why hasn't he done anything yet? he wondered. He seemed like he cares about me, about Umber, about Moon and Qibli and Kinkajou. But that's probably just another animus trait!
"I…don't have all the answers, but I knowhe can't be trusted!" Flame declared, looking down at the floor. "Just you wait until he actually does something, and I'll be right." He walked back over to the chair and sat down, staring at the floor.
"I hope you'll trust him eventually because he only wants to help," Clay said. "Not all animus are evil." He rested his head on Umber's lap and closed his eyes.
"Whatever," Flame commented, resting his head against the wall and closing his eyes tiredly.
Clay awoke with a gasp, his heart racing relentlessly. His eyes opened to a pitch black room, but he could still feel his talons in Umber's. The images of his dreams kept flashing through his head, over and over again like the repetitive sound of wingbeats.
As they faded from his memory, though, one thing refused to leave his head: the feeling of his talons against Umber's chest as his heart slowed to a complete stop, the cries of everyone in the room (especially Flame's) and the panic and dread running through him.
As he recovered from the nightmare, he had a realization. I should've visited more… Clay thought with a stab of sadness. I should've prioritized Umber over Jade Mountain. I wish…I wish I could just talk to you one last time. He felt tears begin to roll down his face as he clenched Umber's talons harder.
He lifted himself up, pushing against Umber a bit for support — not enough to hurt him, but enough to get his weight up. Except he slipped a bit, but thankfully caught himself before crushing Umber.
But his talons landed on his necklace. More specifically, the gem of the necklace. The familiar feel of the smoothened rock, mixed with the tiny micro scratches on it felt similar; similar enough to where his brain immediately landed on the image of a familiar blue gem.
A dreamvisitor.
THAT'S IT! THE DREAMVISITOR! Clay thought as if a candle had just been lit above his head. I — no — we can talk to him again! Just until he… Clay paused. Just until Turtle heals him, of course! He said he was working on a new spell; a better spell!
"Flame," Clay called out, but didn't get a response. "Flame!" he said louder.
"Shut the fuck up!" Flame responded from somewhere in the darkness. "Go back to sleep, it's fucking early!" He heard the chair creak a bit as Flame shifted around.
"I have an idea!" Clay said, giddy excitement running through his veins at just the thought of using the dreamvisitor. "I know how we can talk to Umber!"
There was a moment of silence.
"No," Flame said. "We aren't getting fucking Turtle! Go back to sleep and stop trying to get my hopes up."
"I'm talking about a dreamvisitor!" Clay interrupted. "Sunny still has one back at Jade Mountain!"
There was another moment of silence, "I'll go, I can fly faster," Flame said.
"No, you stay here with Umber." He began feeling his way up the bed and over to the table, being careful not to scratch him on his way up.
"What?! That's bullshit! I can fly faster than you can, so I'll probably be there and back in the next couple of hours!" He blew a tiny plume of flames out of his nose in anger, which lit up the room for a second.
He grabbed the candle and felt his way up before realizing that it had completely burned out, and they were probably stuck in complete darkness until morning.
"Sunny won't just give you the dreamvisitor though, especially after you stole it from Starflight," Clay reminded. "She'll give it to me, I know she will." He sighed, hesitating a little. "I would rather you go just as much as you do, but I won't take the chance."
"So let me come with you!" Flame proposed. "Let me fly with you until Jade Mountain, then we can both get the dreamvisitor and I can fly back with it! That, or we can just use the dreamvisitor as soon as Sunny gives it to us!"
Clay considered this for a moment, before coming to a decision. "All of us are going to use the dreamvistor," he said. "We're all using it here, it wouldn't be fair to the others." He began feeling his way back down to Umber, before sitting back down and gripping his talons in his.
"The fuck? 'Wouldn't be fair'?" Flame said angrily. "I'm his boyfriend and you're his brother! We should be the first ones to use it!" The chair creaked more as he quickly stood up.
Now that he thought of it, it did make sense for them to be the first ones to use it; he was his brother, and Flame was the love of his life. Maybe we'll just use it first after I get back from Jade Mountain. I'm sure they'll all understand, right? Flame can go first, then me, then they can all decide upon each other from there.
"I'm leaving in the morning, and I'll be back in a few hours where we'll all use the dreamvisitor." He rested his head back on Umber's lap.
"This is fucking stupid," Flame pouted like a dragonet. The only difference being that most dragonets don't curse like him. He heard the chair smack against the wall as Flame sat back down, muttering curses inaudibly.
All throughout the night, he tried to go to sleep but couldn't shake the constant thought of what might happen if Umber does…pass. It's not like it was something he wanted to think about, but his brain kept going in circles about what it would mean for them all, especially Flame.
He'll be even more aggressive I bet… Clay thought. Maybe even violent if it gets that far.
He knew the best thing that they could do is to try and be here for him now so that they could possibly cushion his fall if worse comes to worst, and Umber does possibly go into the mud puddle down below — or the mountain up in the sky in Flame's case, if that's really what all SkyWings believed in.
Within a few hours, he could see the sun shining through the window and he still hadn't gotten any sleep ever since he had woken up. Now that it was brighter in the room, he could see that Flame had actually gotten up from the chair without him noticing and was sleeping at the end of Umber's bed.
"Flame," Clay called out. Flame perked his head up from his slumber and stared blankly at him. "I'm leaving now, alright?"
"Hurry up," was all Flame muttered before burying his head back in the blankets.
Clay stood up and walked through the door. Everyone should be downstairs, Clay thought. At least, that's where they were last night.
He quietly closed the door behind him. The hallway was only lit by a few windows since none of the candles had been lit yet because just about everyone was away right now.
He made his way through the winding and bending halls, down multiple flights of stairs, and through the familiar two doors before walking into the waiting room, where everyone was sound asleep.
He had to admit, it did look odd for so many different tribes to be asleep next to each other, especially when just about this whole kingdom was filled to the brim with SkyWings.
He carefully walked up to Moon and tapped her on the shoulder. Ever since the other day, she had been wearing Qibli's pouch, likely to protect her from any lingering thoughts.
"Hey, Moon," Clay whispered, shaking her a little.
"Huh?" Moon said groggily as she awoke. "Oh, hey Clay," she mumbled.
"I'm going back to Jade Mountain to get Sunny's dreamvisitor, and I need you to gather everyone outside of Umber's room in a few hours for when I get back."
Moon quickly awoke at the word, nearly waking Qibli up who was soundly sleeping on her shoulder. "A dreamvisitor? You mean…"
"Yeah, we're going to talk to Umber," Clay explained. "Anyways, I've got to go, I'll be back in a few hours. Be ready when I get back." He began swiftly walking over to the door, excitement flooding his veins at the thought of the dreamvisitor.
"Qibli, wake up," Moon whispered as Clay walked through the door, their chattering voices disappearing behind him.
As he took his first step outside, the early morning sunlight and cool air beamed against his scales for the first time in what felt like years. He had been in that hospital for the last four days, only stepping outside to send a few letters back to the Jade Academy, or checking up on Peril.
I have to get that dreamvisitor, and I have to do it quickly, Umber is waiting on us, Clay thought. But first…
He looked around, keeping his eyes on lookout for a certain SkyWing.
He looked all around the hospital, under a few bridges, and even in the water before eventually finding her sitting atop a hill nearby, the grass all around her burnt to a crisp along with talonprints leading up to her.
His talons slammed into the grass as he landed, furdling his wings back in. Peril — who was sleeping — immediately jolted awake and looked up at him.
"HEY! DON'T-," she started before realizing who she was looking at. "Oh, hey Clay!" Her panicked expression immediately changed to delight as a smile formed across her face.
"Hey, Peril," Clay greeted. "How're you doing out here? I mean, it must be horrible to have to sit up here, right? Because of all of the dragons staring at you and everything."
"Oh, it's fine," Peril assured, taking a casual step toward him. "I've gotten used to it after the last couple years. Besides, most of them are too scared of me to look at me anyways," she joked. "...So, how have you been? Is Umber doing any better?" she asked comfortingly.
"No…" he said lowly, his head falling to look at the grass below. "He's exactly the same as when we first got here: asleep and covered head to talon in bandages."
"Aw, I'm sorry. I'm sure he'll wake up soon though," Peril said reassuringly.
She took another step forward. They were only mere inches apart now, and for any other dragon, this would probably be setting alarm bells off in their head and they would run away in fear of her flaming touch. Except those dragons didn't have fireproof scales like he did.
She leaned in for a hug, and orange scales met brown as he graciously accepted. Strangely, the warmth from her scales was comforting — more comforting than it usually was. As she wrapped her wings their full length around him, it felt like being tucked into a warm blanket during the winter next to a fireplace.
This must be what Umber felt like every time Flame hugs him, Clay thought with a stab of remorse.
They stayed like that for the next few minutes before Clay pulled away. Not because he wanted to, but because he had to, his fireproof scales were starting to become less fireproof than before.
"Hey, Peril," Clay said softly. "I'm going to Jade Mountain to get Sunny's dreamvisitor, and I'll be back in a few hours. We can all talk to Umber when I get back."
He saw a slight frown begin to form on her face as she looked down at the ground.
He took his talons underneath her chin and lifted her head up to look at him. "No, Peril. All of us, including you."
"But…I'll melt it," Peril reminded, her voice low and saddened.
"We have a SeaWing animus, remember?" Clay recalled, taking his talons off of her chin. "We can get Turtle to enchant it or something." Peril's face immediately perked up at the mention of that.
"Oh…I guess I forgot about that part," she said with a light laugh. She looked up at him with a smile, her scales radiating in the sunlight as she glared at him. "I guess it just slipped out of my…my mind…" her voice lowered as they both got lost in each other's gaze.
Then, time stopped as they locked eyes. From her steaming scales, to the way she laughed, to the way she smiled was beautiful — too beautiful even. It was almost scary to think how close Scarlet came to taking this away from him.
He could feel his heart begin to beat through his chest as he smiled, their faces inching closer, until the distance closed and their lips met.
For the few seconds that their lips mingled, they both rested their talons on each other's shoulders, pulling them both in closer. Clay wished he could stay like this forever, cursed to eternally kiss Peril. But he knew he had to get that dreamvisitor soon, so he reluctantly pulled away.
"I'll be back soon, alright?" Clay said softly, running his talon down her cheek. "Before you even realize I was gone."
Peril smiled. "I'll be waiting."
He launched himself in the air, flapping his wings as hard as he could; or until they almost gave out and he nearly fell straight out of the sky. He had to take a twenty minute long break, before the shakiness in his wings completely went away.
He didn't know how long he had been flying, his brain wasn't keeping track of time too much; it was too busy thinking about that dream he had of Umber, and how scared he realized he was about it becoming a reality.
He had only known his brother for just a few short years, and he was already about to be taken away. Taken away just like Crane had been while he was trapped under Scarlet's grasp.
Finally, though, he saw Jade Mountain in the distance, and it only took a few more minutes of flying as hard as he could before he landed at the cave entrance.
Classes were just starting, and many dragons were scurrying the halls on their way to their class. A few of them looked at him excitedly, before rushing over to wherever they needed to go.
He inhaled deeply, before taking his first step in. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the inside since it was far darker here than outside; the halls were only lit by a few candles and windows.
The cool cave air began cooling his scales after a long while of flying, and he couldn't help but feel relieved; even after everything he's gone through in the last couple of days.
He didn't have time to relax though, he needed to find Sunny and get the dreamvisitor quickly. Sunny didn't teach any classes at this time, so he knew that she was either in one of the study rooms helping out a few of the students, or in the library helping Starflight organize scrolls.
Alright, library or study room, Clay tried to decide. But Sunny usually did both of these things equally, so it was a coin flip. Calm down Clay, it's not like Umber will die because of that extra couple minutes, he tried to reassure himself. Though it hardly worked because he felt even more anxious now that he put that thought back in his head.
He decided to go to the library because if it turns out that she wasn't in the study room OR library, then at least Starflight would know where she went.
So he began walking through the crowded cave, through every turn and bend, until he finally made it to the library. Starflight was sitting at his desk — as usual — , and there was no sign of Sunny anywhere in here. There were a few dragonets reading though, who mostly perked their heads up past their scrolls to look at him.
"Clay? Is that you?" Starflight blinked and shifted himself forward. "Is Umber okay?"
"Uhm…no," Clay admitted. "Turtle's-" he looked over at the dragonets. "That thing from before didn't work…" He looked down at the cave floor awkwardly. He
"You mean…oh…I'm so sorry," Starflight said sympathetically. He sunk back into his chair and frowned during the pause. "So uh, why aren't you back at the hospital with him right now, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I need Sunny's dreamvisitor," Clay explained. "They're putting him under every few hours, so he's probably sleeping right now." He walked a few steps further into the room. The reading dragonets were eyeing him down at this point, mixes of curiosity and sympathy spreading across their faces.
He imagined that Tsunami had probably told a few of the other teachers and classes that he was leaving. Maybe she didn't tell them the specifics of it? Which was possibly a blessing and a curse at the same time. On one talon, he didn't need dragons constantly bombarding him with sympathy. But on the other talon, he didn't need dragons
"That's…wow. I mean, it must be horrible to see him like that. Are you okay? If you want, I can get one of our therapy teachers down here." He gripped the wooden desk with his talons.
"No, no, that's alright, Starflight," Clay dismissed. "Besides, I'm not the one who needs something like that anyways, that's Flame. He isn't taking this whole thing very well." He sighed as he heard Flame's screams shoot through his mind.
GET THE FUCK OUT! ALL OF YOU, GET THE FUCK OUT RIGHT NOW! his mind echoed
"...Which reminds me, do you know where Sunny is?"
"Sunny? She was just in here a few minutes ago," Starflight explained. "I think she said something about filling in one of your classes?"
Oh moons! Clay thought. Now I have other dragons filling in my classes for me!
He sighed. "Alright, thanks." He turned around to walk out of the library.
"Clay, wait," Starflight called out, immediately stopping him in his tracks, and he turned his head back. "Umber will be fine, you know that right? I mean, you have Tu- uh…that other thing to make sure of it."
"Yeah…I guess," Clay said, continuing through the door. Though, he was putting up a façade. As much as he wanted Umber to live, his hope was starting to run thin. Every day he only seemed to get worse, not better. And that was obviously affecting Flame, too.
He tried to remember what class he would be teaching now. History? No, that's next period I think. Maybe art? I don't think I'm teaching that today. So he began scrolling through his mental list of every class he had and on what days. Oh, wait! I'm teaching Dragon today.
So he started running through the halls — which were empty now — until he finally made it to the entrance. He could see his full class of students sitting down and boringly listening to Sunny speak.
He walked through the door and immediately, everyone looked over at him in surprise, especially Sunny.
"Clay?!" Sunny said in surprise, jumping from her stand and rushing over to him. "What are you doing here? You should be back at the Sky Kingdom with Umber!"
"Sunny, can you come out in the hall for a minute? We need to talk," Clay beckoned as he walked through the door.
"Yeah, of course, sure!" Sunny said.
"Oooooo, she's in troubleeee," one of the dragonets said.
Once they were out in the hall, he led them both down more so that he was sure that nobody could hear them. It was fairly dark down here, but that was basically every hall that had unused rooms.
"Sunny, I need the dreamvisitor," Clay said. "Umber's constantly asleep, so it's the only way we can all talk to him. I know you're probably going to say no and-"
"Of course!" Sunny said hurriedly, reaching into the pouch around her neck. After a few seconds of rummaging, she pulled out a shiny blue gem that shined brightly even when there was no light. "Here, take it!"
"What? Just like that?" Clay tilted his head confusedly.
"Yeah! Why would I deny you seeing your brother?" Sunny questioned. "Clay, I grew up with you, of course I'd give you some lousy rock if it meant that you could talk to him again!"
She dropped the dreamvisitor in his talons, and he could already feel the power surging through it, just like when he used it the first time to warn the MudWing soldiers. "Moons, thank you so much!" Clay thanked, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a great big bear hug. "I'll give it back as soon as we're done with it, alright?"
"No, that's fine," Sunny said. "Keep it for now, just until Umber recovers. Also, you're crushing me just a tad."
"Oh, sorry," Clay apologized. "Well, I've got to go then, alright? I'll see you in a few days hopefully!"
Without even looking back, he began sprinting as fast as he could through the halls, tightly gripping the dreamvisitor in his talons, excitement running through him all the while. The kind of excitement you get when you first wake up in the morning and get to the last cow in the Prey Center before anyone else.
Once he got outside, he threw himself off of the edge and spread his wings, and flapped as hard and fast as he could.
Author's note: Another late upload, sorry haha. I had a couple finals this week that I needed to study for, but school is officially out for me now! Hopefully, this means that writing will be a lot easier from here on out, but no promises because uploading weekly like this is challenging, regardless of school or not.
PS: I think the next chapter will give everyone (including me) a nice break from all of the depressing stuff going on.
