"We have to go," Khapra says. "You get Chalcedon. I'll wait for you at the exit." I bolt towards the main area and get Chalcedon. "Chalcedon?" I ask, poking my head in the doorframe.

"Yes?"

"Come here." I hear Chalcedon's talonsteps come closer. "We need to find Lachia," I whisper. "She's missing and in trouble."

"Well, where is she?"

"I think I know, but you need to come with us."

"What do you need me for?"

"You're our friend. Plus, it would be kind of pointless for two blind dragonets to go on a mission across the continent by themselves."

"You mean we're leaving this place?"

"Yup."

"Sweet. I'm in. Where do I go?"

"Where's the cave entrance?"

"Follow me."

So I follow the sound of his talons hitting rock for about ten minutes or so. I hear Khapra welcome us and stand up. "Okay, guys. Let's go. I know you two are new to flying, so maybe I can teach you. Chalcedon first." Chalcedon leaps up and Khapra describes where to move his wings in the air. Chalcedon, being a SilkWing, caught on quickly and found it easier to teach me. Within two hours we were all flying.

It's a little harder being blind in midair. You're simply flying, and you have no idea if you're about to hit a mountain until it's too late. Chalcedon gave us instructions (Okay, left! Let's go a little higher, we're passing Wasp Hive.) It's fairly easy, but then I start to struggle. Oh no. The Othermind's acting up. I have to use every ounce of resistance in my body to keep going. Wings up. Wings down. That little tail flick every now and then. "Chalcedon," I wheeze. "Let's— we have to stop."

We glide down towards the ground (ack) and we stop to rest for a little bit. It's easier to resist a near uncontrollable urge that literally takes over your brain when you're standing on solid ground, not in the air flying to nowhere. Khapra isn't so lucky. She lands, takes two minutes to breathe, and flies off to some mystery battle, only saying, "I'll be back for you."

Well THAT wasn't terrifying at all.

I feel my wings trying to lift off. I hold my ground, knowing that sooner or later I would give in. "Chalcedon?" I ask.

"What?"

"Do you have any weapons on you?"

"Let's see… I have this piece of obsidian."

"Let me see it." Chalcedon gingerly places the shard in my hand, and I hold it above my other arm. You wouldn't want this to happen again, would you? I mentally snarl. The urge to fly subsides, and I can relax my body without flying anywhere.

"So…" Chalcedon awkwardly says. "When will Khapra be back?"

That question catches me off-guard. "I-I don't know."

"Maybe we should leave her a note saying, 'Hey, Khapra! Off to rescue Lachia! Bye! We went this way!'" This makes me laugh so hard I feel like my wings are about to fly off. "Chalcedon," I snort. "Khapra can't read." Chalcedon joins in, laughing at that idea. "But, seriously," he asks. "Are we just going to sit here or what?"

We sit there. For hours. Suddenly an idea hits me like a rock falling off a mountain. "We could leave a note," I blurt. "But I know how to write it." I dig about two and a half times my height underground and pick up a slab of clay about the length of my arm. Perfect. I begin to carve my message for her.

KHAPRA. GO TO YELLOWJACKET HIVE. IT'S ABANDONED AND NOBODY IS THERE. IT'S IN THE DIRECTION IF YOU POINT IN THIS DIRECTION OF THE NOTE AND GO LEFT DIAGONALLY. YELLOWJACKET HIVE.

I'm still not sure if it'll work. But she did say, "I'll be back for you," so maybe she'll remember this spot?

Long story short, we left and hoped she would come back. Chalcedon occasionally says little blurbs like, "Over here!" and, "Attacus!" if I was in the wrong direction. You could say I'm flying blind into something — but I have no idea what. At one point I sense it's getting late. Chalcedon recognises it too and we swoop down, lie ourselves down in the tall savanna grass and fall fast asleep after a day of flying.