She was leaving. His love and mate were leaving. She had to go.

But at least it was for a good reason.

.

"You will be back as soon as you can, right?" Starflight asked.

.

"Of Course Silly! You are the one who sent me to get these things," she answered back. That was true. But he wished she did not have to go.

.

They needed more scrolls for the library and he was sending her off to collect them since he could not do it himself.

He was blind anyway and it would take a toll on his frail body.

His lungs would not appreciate it either.

.

At the moment it felt quite cruel.

But he understood it too. She would be back soon.

.

It was for the best.

.

"I know…Just please stay safe!" he said.

"I will, I promise," she told him.

.

That did not help his anxious mind. Not at all. If anything it made him even more fearful.

.

To comfort him she brushed her wing up against his though he could not see her do it. It felt..warm to him.

"It will only be a week, OK?" she said. A week?!

.

Right...he forgot he would send her on this venture for a week.

.

"A week feels quite long without you," he whined.

He was starting to have second thoughts about this. He really did not want her to go.

.

He would rather not have his mate leave.

.

"I will be fine, Handsome Snout," she giggled.

She had never called him that.

.

Except in the letter she sent when they did this last time for his guidebook.

There was that.

.

It was a bit flattering to be very honest.

.

Starflight sighed once again.

.

She then gave him a big hug.

For a moment he was startled by it.

.

Then he let it happen.

.

It felt nice.

To him and to her.

.

It had been a while since they had embraced like this. It made him feel much better.

"Better?" Fatespeaker asked.

.

"Yeah," he said sincerely

.

As soon as she let go she straightened her pack and left.

But not before giving him a sweet little peck on the side of his snout.

.

"See you soon Starflight!" she called as she flew off.

.

"Bye…Fatespeaker," he said to himself.

This was going to be a lonely week.

.

He breathed in through his clouded lungs again.

But he would be ok.

.

She was right.

He would be ok.

.

He felt a little better.

A lot better in fact.

.

He turned around back to the School.

"You Two Are Very Sweet!" a voice said.

.

Sunny.

He did not know she was here!

.

He blushed slightly in a dark purple having the thought that his private moment with Fatepeaker had been watched by Sunny.

He remembered how he had liked Sunny romantically.

.

He was still quite embarrassed by that. It had been silly anyway. Fatespeaker was a far better choice for him in the end.

But it was ok, Sunny had found her own ray of light.

.

A very friendly Rainwing named Cantalope.

He was a good reader surprisingly.

.

That was to Startflight's appreciation.

.

"T-Thanks," he stuttered.

"You Two Are Also Very Cute Togther!" she added.

.

"Sunny…" he said with embarrassment.

"Sorry! I will Stop," she said with a grin.

.

"Thank you," he said.

.

She promptly then left to not embarrass him further.

That was nice of her.

.

He was alone again.

Starflight was alone with his thoughts again as usual.

.

He remembered how he had liked Sunny at one point.

It was really quite childish now that he thought back on it.

.

But now he thought of her as a friend.

.

He had Fatespeaker now.

And his Dragonet.

.

Far as he knew he was a good dad.

And he did not plan to change that anytime soon.

.

And of course the library.

Which he had to go back to soon.

.

He did have some scrolls to sort. A lot of them in fact.

Starflight was sure to breathe in the mountain air one last time.

.

He was about to leave when he smelled an odor in the air.

That was curious. He had not smelled smoke in a long time.

.

Smoke was something bad to him. It reminded him of the night he went blind. How he was burned and taken away the pleasure to read with his own eyes.

.

He smelled it again.

It made him anxious. Even fearful.

.

Smoke.

From some far-off place.

.

He thought about it for a moment.

What was it? And where was it coming from?

.

Far as he could tell it was from the east. From the swamps.

He had a good sense of smell still and his nose did not lie to him.

.

He brushed it off as a cookfire or something like that.

Starflight had other things to do and he would not worry about it.

.

Little did he know that it was a sign.

.

A sign of the times.

.

A Sign of something that was coming.

Something that was big.

.

Something that…

.

Could not be stopped.