Author's Note: Yep, hey there. After 3 months I am finally updating this fic ONCE. I will admit that I thought I'd be much farther along in the Rewrite by this point, like close to the end, buuut very far from that. So I've decided that for the "side" fics at the very least I'll attempt irregular updates.

Clearer

Just 20 minutes were needed until Shadowhunter was standing in front of his home, it could have taken half the time but he wasn't one to hurry, rush or worry a whole lot about time, better to just enjoy himself while he's flying even if he always makes this trip daily.

As usual, he wasn't interrupted on the way back. The 50 or so Nightwings that remained loyal to his father and thus were also sent here had incredible respect towards Shadow, which at times meant they'd do a short bow while he passed by but wouldn't stop him to talk or really engage a whole lot with him as he was considered a Prince pretty much.

Anyway, that short flight was a perfect time to think further about everything he was recently told. They're getting out of the island, straight up leaving, for real. That was something that Shadow had often wondered how it'd be like before he basically just accepted the monotony and just made the most from each day with his group.

But now? Now he knows that within 3 days, he'll follow a magical fish across the barrier and out to the outside world so he can be sent to a school he's heard plenty about, mostly due to the dragons who attended it more than its actual quality.

At last, the monotony will be broken, he'll see the sprawling continent beyond this island, will meet a lot of new dragons, check on plenty of interesting minds, and hopefully he might get to try on a few new sweets and desserts as well, those are always a plus.

Really the only things that could worry him were the fact that Dauber's fate is yet to be seen, and he hoped that she'd be able to join them. She was the last addition to the group but it felt as if she were always there, and besides she could do with being several miles away from her mother to maybe actually fill up her tummy for once because oh moons she needed it.

And then his other worry made him roll his eyes slightly. His friends' parents couldn't have been any more obvious? Wow, they're certainly going to expect them to go and do their bidding outside as they're free, because of course no one in the continent would expect the "villains" to do just that, and won't be observing the dragonets from very close.

Shadow wondered whether his father would have a request for him or not, knowing Darkstalker, it'd probably be some grand goal to grant him freedom, and it's not like he could just flat out refuse to his father's face because he's his family, and Shadow didn't want his family to be imprisoned forever either.

He shook his head and stopped in front of the tall black ebony wood building, made as elegant as possible with the limited assets and tools that can be used to craft with wood like that, then he pushed on the big door and entered.

Darkstalker's residence had to be either the most or the second best place to be at in the island, and Shadow only had doubts because he'd seen plenty of the Hive to know it was a close match, with that one also helping more dragons.

Everything was as refined as resources allowed it, with most of the furniture being made with the best wood around and then painted over to darker shades. There were a lot of carved rocks, redefined into new shapes to be useful, like tables and large chairs, and there always were at least a few Nightwings working around, cleaning the place and making everything have a nice shine to it.

He made his way across, closing his eyes for a moment as he just slowly walked, listening to the sounds of dragons walking around, and sniffing the unmistakable smell of… Chocolate?

Quite excited about that he opened his eyes and began to speed up the pace as he headed towards the kitchen. And there she was, placing several talonfuls of chocolate and honey cookies on a large plate, his mother, Clearsight.

She must have heard him, because she turned and looked at her son with these loving purple eyes, before approaching and giving him some nuzzles as a greeting.

"Welcome back, how did everything go today?" She asked with affection.

"It was all good. Red had a match with Condor as usual, we sang a cool song, and we met a magical princess," Shadowhunter said in a casual tone, making Clearsight look with interest.

"Oh, so that's what had your father rushing outside so fast. He simply told me that a Nightwing announced someone requested his presence with haste. So we received an actual royal visit?" She asked, no seeing the future on this island so she's gotta learn the classic way.

"Yup, Anemone from the Seawings, she was pretty," Shadow said with a grin, earning a short look from his mother.

"Ignoring that for now, what did she say? We'll still be fine, right?" She asked with some worry in her tone.

"All good, but there are some… News," Shadow admitted, talking slower now as he tapped the ground with his claws for a moment, knowing he'll have to tell her now.

His mom had never been a mindreader, but the way he reacted was enough to show something was going on, so she grabbed one of his talons for comfort.

"What 's wrong? Is it your father?" Clearsight asked now.

"No, it's not him, he even was the happiest upon seeing the princess. It's something she said and well, my friends and I will be leaving," he decided to just be straight and get to the point. Her purple eyes looked in surprise.

"All four of you are just leaving? Where are you going?"

"We've all received a formal invitation to leave the island and join that school in Pyrrhia that dad talked so much about, that's where we're going," he announced, and it's at this point, actually being face to face with his mother and telling her of their very sudden departure, that despite fighting hard against them, worries were starting to creep into his mind, all of them related to his mom, and the family he'd leave here.

Clearsight looked extremely surprised by that, and the way she looked up for a moment, he could guess that she immediately tried to see what that future had in store for him, but of course was unable to.

He expected his mother to panic or be worried that they might do something to his child, but instead she brought a talon to the plate and took two cookies, giving one to him while she took a bite of the other one. Shadowhunter did the same and he could feel sweetness overtaking his sense of taste.

"And do you know why that is?" She asked, actually staying rather calm.

"Well, I saw a pretty good theory in Condor's mind," Shadowhunter admitted. "And it sounds very obvious too, the children of the biggest names in this "isle of villains"? Probably trying to redeem all of us or something like that," he said, not knowing what to think about other dragons trying to change the way he is, and what even is there to change? He was already great after all.

Clearsight gave a short nod at that. "Makes sense they would think so, none of you have truly done anything bad to Pyrrhia after all, you can't be blamed."

That made sense to Shadowhunter, but there was still something he couldn't understand. "Mom? Aren't you worried about this? Wasp believed it's a trap to simply take us away for example."

His mother closed her eyes for a moment and exhaled some breath. "I'm worried, Shadowhunter, you are my child, and I truly don't know how the continent will react to you, or if anyone will feel spite towards you based on what your parents did. But at the same time, maybe it would be for the best," she said with melancholy.

Shadow tilted his head at this. What did she mean? Did his mom want him to go? She must have somewhat picked up what he thought based on his expression because she started talking again.

"This is not the place for young dragons like you to spend their whole lives. And even though things are mostly peaceful, thinking of what could be there are just too many possibilities. Either of the four leaders might want to grow, or since this place is used as exile for any great evils then someone else might come later and start a war, while you four would need to live through it all."

The Nightwing hadn't thought of that possibility before, ever since he was born things have been like this, four sides and four rulers, with any newcomers joining either for safety. The idea that a new power could arrive and ruin this stability didn't sound too promising.

"But will we be truly safer out there? Let's review the facts," he said with a sigh. "Icewings will not be very happy to see me, Skywings will be afraid of Red and she'll also give them plenty of reasons to be, Condor I feel should be safer than the rest but I don't know how much pain his family caused. And then Dauber is at risk with Silkwings, Leafwings and Hivewings."

"But at the same time, a decision like this wouldn't have been made lightly, the queens must have agreed and the tribes should be warned. So if even their queens are willing to give you a chance, then they could see how great of a dragon you truly are," Clearsight said softly, making him smile.

"True, I am quite great," he commented, making her shake her head in amusement.

"You just had to inherit your father's superiority complex of all things," she said with a short scoff.

After that short funny moment, he finally asked a question that's been in his mind while they talked. "How are you so calm about this? I still don't know what might happen, at least until I get the rest of my powers after leaving the island, but it's possible that they wouldn't want us to visit, so I might not see you again for a while…"

And then he leaned his head down and looked over to his mom's stomach for a second, where there was a slight bulge. "Or my new sibling."

Eclipse, be it a boy or a girl, that is going to be their name. The egg should be coming out in a few days and then it'll be a matter of waiting for them to hatch. These cookies here being a gift from the Hivewings to help his mother during those times.

And he was going to miss all of it.

She gently rubbed her stomach for a moment, smiling softly at his words. "Eclipse will be fine, and who knows? Perhaps your stay at Pyrrhia will make it so more dragonets could be picked, and then they'll join you at the school."

But then it would only be you and dad here.

His mother's tone was odd, almost as if she was sounding resigned for some reason.

"Mom," Shadow said, actually turning completely serious now, a rare occurrence. "What troubles you? You'll just accept all of your dragonets leaving? Why?"

She looked him in the eyes, and her expression showed the passing of years, despite her body being in the mid tens, Shadowhunter knew there was a lot more than that in her mind. He respected her so much he almost never tried to read it, but the few times he did, it showed so many memories and different dragons.

"I already had to leave my home, my continent once, so many years ago. And despite the memories of what I left behind lingered on forever, I had a fulfilling and incredible life in my new home."

Clearsight slowly took another bite from her treat, her expression looking tired. "I am a dead dragon, Shadow. I remember that last day as if it were last year. And then there I was, in front of your father, my thoughts conflicted and I was confused, and yet I strongly felt the need to forgive his past actions."

"Mom…" Shadow said as he moved closer and nudged one of her wings with his one, with her returning the gesture. He knew about this truth for some years now, that was one of his biggest questions back then and a reason for him to pry into his parent's minds, but to hear her actually talk about it just felt wrong, the same feeling of wrongness that happened whenever he touched her, the feeling of magic.

"I don't quite like it, but he's forgiven for the past, however he is not for continuing with his deeds at the present and getting us stuck on this island. You have one of the most feared dragons in all history, and someone who already lived as your parents. And if I am to live again, at least I want my children to get the chance to chase their freedom, their future, like I once did."

His mother took a step closer and embraced him in a hug, her eyes showing a love that was everlasting and couldn't be taken away, and he embraced her back.

"Your father was never able to move on from the past, and my whole life I kept looking forward to the future, I want both you and Eclipse to enjoy the present, even if it means moving on," she said gently.

"I don't want to just leave and stop thinking about you either," Shadow said as he shook his head. "You are the best mother in all continents. Maybe the same way I might get Eclipse out, I could convince others out there to let you go."

"But then Darkstalker would be alone," she said sadly. "He has opened his heart to me, told me so much of his time underground. I don't appreciate that he brought me back with my memories just to then spend a lifetime here, but I can't bring myself to leave him either. I had plenty of lovers during my time, but I'd lie if I didn't think about him and what our life could have been."

Shadow remained silent, right now he didn't feel like he was acting his age, but instead he felt as if he were a tiny dragonet, trying his hardest to cling to his mom, even though she clearly wished more than that for him.

"Okay, if that's what you want, then I'll respect that decision," he said with a resigned tone of his own. "But don't think I won't at least try to visit at all, no matter how much you talk about moving on, you're literally on an island just a few hours away," he protested.

She chuckled at his tone and kept a warm smile "Fine, if you're ever allowed to come in and out of the island, then maybe you could do that. It would be something nice to look forward to."

"It's a promise then. I'll be an honorary student in this new school, marry some nice princess, and get allowed monthly visits at least," he said, his tone more confident once more now. "Although I don't know if my friends might delay that for a while, considering their parents oh so clearly have some evil things in mind for them to do. And I bet dad's at the Hive specifically to convince Wasp to go through with some scheme," he added, rolling his eyes.

"You four are best friends, aren't you? If you, the son of the scary Darkstalker, is able to show it's not all black and white like a Soul Reader, then I'm sure that your friends will eventually listen to reason, as admittedly most parents in this island should be ignored," she said.

"I'm hoping Dauber shouldn't pose too much trouble, her mom is clearly terrible to her, Wasp shouldn't get any plans to come to fruition. So Condor and Red will be the issue," he said after some thought.

"I believe in you, if there's someone that can get them to change, it is you. I'll be praying to the moons and hoping the best for all of you," she said with an assuring tone before giving him a short hug.

"I love you, Shadowhunter, with all of my heart."

"Love you too, mom, I'm seriously going to miss you, a lot."