Flying through another cloud, Evan shivered. Feeling the cold mist cling to his skin. They had left the endless greenery of the Rainforest hours ago, traveling briefly through Mudwing territory before the mud and swamp transformed into mountains and hills." Never thought life and nature would be so… full of life" he thought." It would be nice if…"
He let the thought trail off as they soared through the clouds. Crystals shone in his hair, his teeth chattering in the mist. He knew that clouds were just water vapor, but didn't expect them to be this cold. Even with the glaring sun.
"Damn it's freezing" he chuckled, shivering."
"It was twice this cold where I grew up. " Wren muttered, annoyed.
" I'm not. He protested. " I just didn't expect flying to be so cold."
"Whatever, there's nothing better than flying," Wren glared at him as if, daring him to challenge her.
"That is true," he conceded, although he would never admit it to Wren. Flying makes you feel…. Free. I wish I could do it myself. He had never felt so happy and breathless at the same time. Like a rollercoaster, you couldn't get off with no seatbelts. He'd always been a daredevil but… He gulped glancing down at the jagged mountains and cliffs, ready to catch him if he fell. At least it would be quick.
"How far out are we?" he asked.
Wren glanced back at him " About 20 minutes," Sky perked up,
"Good" " It took foreeeeever to get out of The Rainforest," he complained.
"That was pretty long…" He admitted it had taken most of the day to get out of the Rainforest, the sun already dipping towards the horizon. Amazing view tho
"So what's Earth like?" Wren asked, looking back at him.
He scratched his head, racking his brain for things that wouldn't cause her to have an existential crisis. " Well It's… different," he stated.
She snorted " and the sky turns black at night."
"No, it doesn't," Sky said "It turns more of a pretty dark blue with stars and lights," He said, smugly looking back at them.
Wren glared at him "You focus on flying mister." Sky laughed but turned his attention back to flying. "Now back to my question," she said.
"Sorry, it's….complicated. " He said," My world is almost nothing like yours. There are no dragons and no magic, there are over 7 different continents, hundreds of languages, and giant cities filled with thousands of people with crazy technology." "And that's just the simplified version.
" no dragons…" Wren whispered. She shuddered slightly. "I can't even think of a world without Sky."
"It's not all bad though." He stated hurriedly. "There's… umm Ice cream and art, technology, uhh. " He was struggling to find anything. friendship? No, have us beat there. Family, no. well maybe. Thinking of The Golden Parents of Phyria. Morrowseer, Artic, Coral,...Cattail.
"No offense Evan.'' Wren interrupted, still looking ahead."But I'm surprised your world is still alive with so many other humans."
He frowned slightly. She's right but why when people say no offense they then say the most offensive thing possible?
They flew in silence, tension filling the cold air like butter.
He continued to mull over Wren's comment "Unfortunately that is true.. he thought My World isn't exactly perfect sometimes it seems like most people only care about themselves. Killing off our planet…If I had to choose-"
he cut the thought off before it could bloom in his mind." It depends on the person. He said.
Wren raised her eyebrow." I've had a lot of experience with humans Evan."
" I know but." "There's a lot of good in the world if you know where to look."
She rolled her eyes.
"Wren, sometimes you need to look past the bad and find the good in the world. I could say all dragons are bad because they destroyed my town. Is Sky evil, because some other dragons did something bad?
She looked at him thoughtfully... " It's... that's different," she said.
" Is it? " he asked,
" I notice too many people categorize an entire group because of the rotten part." "You wouldn't throw away a perfect apple because of a bruise would you?"
" I like that metaphor," Sky cut in smiling.
"hmmm," Wren hummed thoughtfully. " Sky, I told you to focus on flying. I don't want to end up a stain on a cliffside."
"Fine" Sky huffed, returning his focus to flying.
Giving advice is one thing. Evan thought. Following it is another. He sighed, He didn't know how to feel about his world, Maybe Wren was right. " I need to-"
" SKY LOOK OUT" Wren shouted.
" Sky yelped, Lurching to the side as a smoking fireball shot past them.
He yelped, teetering off the edge of the saddle. That was close.
Sky yelped again. A blackened smoking sear trailed across his wing. " OW OW OW OW," Sky whined.
Wren swung in her saddle glaring behind him, he blanched as she roared. " I'LL KILL YOU FOR THAT!" she seemed to pulse fury, Yanking a sword out of her belt.
He turned, 2 Nightwings were quickly closing the distance between them, black blurs zipping towards them. "HOW ARE THEY SO FAST," he screamed.
Wren turned, cursing when she saw how fast the Nightwings were. "They must still have some spells from Darkstalker"
"Why are they after us?" he had to scream to be heard over the roaring wind.
"They must have followed us from the village"Wren shouted still staring at the Gaining Nightwings.
The Realization hit him like a freight Train. The Nightwings from the clearing, They're after me.
Sky accelerated smoke trailing from his wing. Tears streamed down his face. "TURN AROUND SKY I'LL TEAR THEM TO SHREDS!" She shouted fire burning in her eyes
" NO, We can't Fight." He shouted "We need to get to Jade Mountain before they catch up. "
HOW EVAN, WITH SKY HURT, AND THEIR STUPID MAGIC. WE'LL NEVER MAKE IT" Wren growled fire dancing in her eyes.
" I can *pant* make it" Sky gasped. Sweat rolled off his face, mixing with his tears. He smiled slightly, Some fire of his own sparking in his eyes "I'm still a Skywing you know." Wren glanced at Sky, her face draining of color, along with her anger as she saw his face.
" Another fireball shot past them, he felt the warmth as it rushed by, Singing his Eyelashes." Wren groaned. "DAMMIT," she sheathed her sword, gripping tightly onto the spike in front of her. "EVAN GET DOWN" FLY SKY, FLY''
Sky sped up, his wings a red blur as they shot over the mountains, As they crested the mountain, he tucked his wings to his sides and dived into the canyons below.
He screamed, clinging to the mad dragon's back. SWEET BLOOD MOONS OF PYRRHIA. They weaved through canons dipping and diving past jagged boulders. He glanced back wind ripping through his clothes. The Nightwings were gaining. They couldn't outrun them. His heart sank into his stomach. My fault… A canyon wall loomed ahead. They were trapped.
The Nightwings roared triumphantly, As their necks started to glow preparing another fireball. The Cliff loomed overhead, ready to catch them in its jagged embrace. They were not slowing.
"DO IT" Wren shouted ''
Screaming in pain, Sky banked Hard. Flinging his wings out to either side. The Nightwings shot past them, like speeding bullets. Slamming into the canyon walls.
They hit the wall with an alarming crunch, jagged scales, and bones pitched down with the broken bodies as they tumbled down the side of the mountain. Blood oozed from the cracks of the shattered skulls. Jagged bits of bone jutting out of every part of their bodies.
No amount of Video games or movies could prepare him for this. He retched over Sky's back, bile coating his mouth.
Tears streamed down Sky's face. "I'm sorry.." he whispered"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry " "Sky…" Wren looked down, rubbing his neck " It wasn't your fault, It was us or them Sky. you saved us"
" n- n-nobody-y deserves that." Sky choked out, jerking his head towards the corpses.
He agreed. "They were going so fast it was probably painless."
Wren glared at him " NOT HELPING" she hissed. Sky staggered in his hover nearly throwing them off. He wined before righting himself.
" Sky what-" Wren's face turned ghost white, all color bleached from her face as she stared at Sky's wing.
He turned, the burn had spread rapidly. covering at least a 4th of his wing, looking closer he felt his stomach drop even further as he saw a small cut in the wing's membrane.
Dragons were tough, they healed very quickly and bounced back from most wounds. But the worst injuries were done to the delicate wing membranes. They healed very slowly, and if left untended could permanently ground a dragon. Every dragon's worst nightmare. YOUR FAULT YOUR FAULT. His head pounded. He never should have gone with Sky, It was his fault the Nightwings were here. Why did I make myself so obvious?
Above them, a dragon roared.
They had them, they easily had followed them from the rainforest and had managed to Injure the Skywing with their first volley of fire, Slowing them. She had held back in case they had doubled back or managed to evade her friends. How had it gone so wrong, that stupid Skywing had dived into the canyon preventing them from using fire. he was good but not good enough. she thought. She had smiled when she noticed he was heading straight for a dead end. Idiot, she thought smiling … nevertheless, the Skywing had shot straight towards the wall refusing to slow down "What is he doing? Is he going to kill himself?"
something wasn't right. She shifted uneasily as they closed in on the helpless Skywing. Panic slammed through her as she realized what he was doing." IT'S A TRAP" she roared diving. Got to get there, got to stop them. The Skywing banked, at the last possible moment. She wailed as she watched her friends shoot past them unable to stop. They slammed into the canyon walls, she could almost hear the crunch from here.
She stared at the mangled bodies, rage flooding through her. It had gone so smoothly, and they were about to escape because of a stupid wall? She Roared furious, diving towards the trio. They would not reach Jade Mountain alive.
" ABOVE US" Evan yelled. The Sandwing dove claws outstretched. Sky yelped, dodging the best he could. The sandwing whizzed past them, carving into Sky's tail. Blood trailing in dark rivers down his tail. Further incapacitating his flying abilities.
The Sandwing had fallen behind from her enraged dive, barely managing to stop herself from slamming into the ground. but was gaining quickly, Sky's flying was lopsided, his breathing heavy and labored. From pain or exhaustion, He couldn't tell. Looking up he saw Jade Mountain finally come into view. Its craggy cliffs promising safety. We're not going to make it… he realized.
They flew, it was all they could do. The fireballs had stopped, with the sandwing more focused on catching them before they reached Jade Mountain and she didn't want to risk accidentally signaling for help with one of her fireballs. Sky somehow had managed to keep ahead of her for now. Jade Moutain loomed overhead, They were so close. He glanced at Sky's burn. The small tear had widened, growing with every beat from Sky's wings. His eyes were glazed over, eyelids fluttering. From blood loss and pain.
. " YOU NEED TO STOP" Wren shouted her voice on the edge of panic.
He grunted weakly. All efforts focused on flying.
Evan noticed Wren's breathing become uneven, Her eyes darted around searching for something, anything. The sandwing was gaining fast, She would catch them before they reached Jade Moutain. What do I do What do I do, This is your fault, Evan. Wren and Sky are going to Die because of you.
" EVAN DO SOMETHING" Wren shouted. Her voice trembling as she stared at Sky's tearing Wing.
He looked around, searching desperately for any place to escape to or for any help… there was none. This is all my fault, they're going to die, and it's all my fault. I never should've come here. His gaze landed on Wren's Sword, His mouth went dry as his mind finally came up with a plan. At least I can make it up to them… "Sky slow down, I have an idea," he said. " Wren hand me your sword."
"WHAT" She shouted "WE DON'T HAVE TIME"
"WREN TRUST ME"
"I DON'T"
" I do" Sky whispered His eyes were fully glazed over, his wings beating slower and slower. Wren glanced at her partner, pain lancing across her face.
" FINE!." She tossed him her sword."
The sandwing was just behind them. Her jaws snapped inches away from Sky's already maimed tail.
He glanced over at the sword. It was a heavy but elegant weapon. Sorry, Dad, I'm going to be a little late for dinner. He rose in the saddle. Huh, strange. He had barely managed to hold on earlier but now… standing on the careening dragon's back felt strangely easy.
" It was nice while it lasted…"He said, Smiling back at Wren.
"Fly"
The Sandwing roared in triumph, claws outstretched to tear them to shreds. And stepping forward he jumped giving a roar of his own, sailing off Sky's back. The Sadnwing veered sideways trying to avoid him. OH NO YOU DON'T. The sword plunged into the Sandwings fragile Wing, tearing through it like paper. The Sandwing Wailed in pain, her voice tearing through the sky as they fell.
They were falling. Spinning and Twisting through the air. Claws, Wings, and Scales tore into him as They careened toward the unforgiving ground. He felt claws digging into his stomach tearing into his guts. Raising his sword he stabbed over and over again. His sword stabbing at whatever he could reach. Time seemed to slow the closer they got, the world spinning slowly in its own private melody. Glancing up he saw Sky slowly flapping away. They were safe.
He smiled.
A resounding boom echoed through the empty canyons.