(ROUGH DRAFT) Endless Sky ~Elemental Chaos~

Chapter One

Avaro stared at the entrance to the den, dark shadows from the leaves being cast below from the glowing moon. It's his second night sleeping here, keeping Blaze company with Mystic gone. The first night was hell. The stress, no pillow or mattress, constant forest noises. Even if Avaro spent most of his life sleeping in a cave, he at least had the ability to curl up like a cat. As a human, doing that just felt uncomfortable. Being unable to lay comfortably, everything just felt more irritating. While crickets wouldn't usually bother him, it did when he was trying and failing to sleep. Lucerne expressed his struggles to him in the morning, both agreeing on a plan.
With fur pressed all around him, Avaro felt warm and much more comfortable. His friend had taken a strange large and fluffy creature, six legs with a canine like head, three eyes, long pointy ears and a very fluffy tail. He was curled around the dragon and acting like both a blanket and a bed. Blaze curled nearby, generating more heat. Being a dragon, heat wasn't that big of an issue. Avaro can take a bit more than normal before he would start sweating, but that meant he couldn't take cold weather as well as others. That didn't matter at the time though.
This night was far more comfortable than the one before. Still not the best, but a massive upgrade from last time. The den was too small for Avaro to go dragon and a little too small for half dragon. The downside of half dragon is the clothes anyways. They would be tight and uncomfortable and sleeping naked was a no go with Blaze around. So this plan was the best.
It still felt cold knowing Mystic once slept here, comfortably keeping Blaze company. The walls covered in cracks which were filled with tiny plants and moss, keeping the den well sealed if it were to rain. A cozy place for an animal or two.
Avaro listened to the now tolerable crickets, Lucerne and Blaze already fast asleep. He was the only one awake here.
An owl hooted, cicadas buzzed, but no voices. It was peaceful without the irritation of a hard cold ground or itchy moss. He would never understand how cats sleep on that.
"Mystic? Can you see me? Hear me?" Avaro thought, looking at the ceiling.
Nothing.
He sighed and closed his eyes, feeling hollow. Mystic was a kind cat, willing to give up so much for others... Down to even her own life...
Mystic had told him that when she was born, she took all her mother's magic and energy, killing her shortly after giving birth. The father was more the happy to give his kit away to Zeru. He left so fast that Mystic doesn't even know who he was, Zeru is who took care of her. But she never saw him as a dad, more of a caretaker or teacher. Mystic had no parents.
Avaro did, he and Rual are the only ones in the mansion who knew their parents, still loved them, want to visit them and make sure they are okay.
OStar was created, Afina doesn't remember, Estella doesn't remember, Roxxan had none, Lucerne had none, Charlotte refuses to say anything. Leaving Rual and Avaro. Except Avaro is banished and returning home could get him killed. It hurt him knowing he can never see his family again. He wasn't even sure if they still care about him, or if the queen manipulated them into hating him.
Avaro felt his friend stir a bit in his sleep, fluffing out his fur. Even if he lost his home, he still had Lucerne, and other friends. Avaro could still remember the day he first met Lucerne. Early morning, years ago.

The soft crunch of the undergrowth stirred the silence as a young dragon pouted. He wanted the sugar fruit, but his parents told him it was too early. Like any reasonable hungry dragonet, he threw a tantrum and left. Avaro would come back later, he just needed to blow off steam. The other dragonets have been doing nothing but pick on him since the day he got severely sick, so trying to hang out with them was not an option. A simple walk would do.
Avaro has been doing that more often recently, growing quicker and quicker to anger at the littlest of things. Just a few days ago he got into a fight with another dragonet, but they honestly deserved it.
A growl broke through the air, making Avaro stop. It was his stomach, he hasn't eaten breakfast yet. It was too early to go back home, so he lifted up his snout and sniffed, searching for some food.
There. A sweet smell. Not as strong as a sugar fruit, but then again those have hard shells and hidden well. It would take a good scavenger to find them, not an inexperienced dragonet.
Regardless, Avaro followed the scent, hungry.
He managed to come across a small bush with spiky leaves, covered in plump red and purple speckled berries. Clearly ripened recently.
Avaro had never seen these berries before, but they looked and smell good, they have to be editable.
He reached over and sniffed, checking for anything that might smell bad, but there was nothing.
"Must be okay," Avaro thought before biting a few berries off. Just like the smell, the taste was sweet with a hint of sour, a good clash of flavors. Avaro couldn't understand why his family never got anything like this, it was delicious!
He continued to eat, enjoying the taste. After a few moments he slowed down and stopped, discomfort in his mouth.
His tongue was slowly going numb, the flavor dwindling as he lost his taste. Panic started to grow as he stepped back from the bush, over half the berries were gone. "Maybe it's just a short side effect, not dangerous," Avaro reassured, taking deep breathes. But he couldn't breathe.
Every breath was quickly getting harder and harder to muster as his throat closed up. More fear built up. Avaro panicked, having no idea what he should do. Does he have the time to run back to the village? The breath to call for help? He tried to let out a cry, but only a gurgle came out as foam started to build up, he was starting to die. What was so sweet ended up being deadly. Tears welled up in Avaro's eyes, he didn't want to die. He wanted to go home, hug his parents, goof around, not die alone in the forest.
The dragonet staggered, his energy draining as his legs started turning into jelly. It was getting harder and harder to see straight, to breathe, to stand.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw something blue emerge from the bushes, a shade of blue Avaro couldn't recognize. It couldn't be any dragon he knew, not his mother or father, in fact the dragon was just as small as him. A dragonet.
The blur moved over and gently pushed Avaro down onto his side, saying something but he wasn't paying attention. Too focused on trying to breathe. Whatever this thing was, it was trying to do something and he had no idea what.
Avaro tried to plead for help, but again, nothing but gurgles came out. The blur spoke again, this time making a nosie that sounded much like a shushing noise. Avaro obeyed, staying silent and continuing to breathe. Waiting.
There was a sharp prick on his neck, making him flinch. It wasn't too painful, but still startling.
The effects were almost instant, his throat opened up, the blurriness faded, his strength regaining. It was a massive relief.
Now Avaro could hear and understand.
"There there, everything okay?" A small voice asked, clearly young.
"Hhh?" the albino answered, blinking and looking over at his savior.
A light blue dragonet, covered in small white spots, glowing pure white eyes, dark blue horns that curved back and down. Someone he had never seen before.
Lucerne.

Lucerne. Retired celestial beast. Avaro's best friend that did nothing but help him. Stopped the fights, got him more friends, and saved his life once more when the queen tried to get him killed. Lucerne listened to him, understood him, didn't believe him to be a murderer. And in the end, took him somewhere safe.
It was hard at first, fitting in and being small. But Lucerne was there, helping. Stating that Avaro helped him when he was struggling to settle, now simply returning the favor.
Lost in his thoughts, his memories, the dragon drifted off to sleep. Comfortable in the fur, even more than he thought he would be.
While Avaro usually wakes up around seven, today seemed a little different.
Someone poked his face and pushed on it, trying to get his attention.
Avaro grumbled, wanting to sleep more but the poking continued.
Irritated, he opened his eyes to see what was pestering him. Blaze looked down at him with orange and red eyes, pouting.
"Blaze?" Avaro mumbled, blinking at the light filtering into the den. Lucerne was still asleep, curled around Avaro, not bothered by how bright it was in the den.
"It's late!" Blaze meowed, frowning.
"How late?" He asked, tired.
The cat blinked at him, then shrugged.
Avaro sighed and squirmed, getting up to his feet and stepping away from Lucerne. The celestial curled up tighter, making a few tired noises, but didn't wake up. Blaze followed the albino outside, watching him as he looked around at the sky.
"Maybe an hour or two before sunhigh. It's not that early," he huffed.
"But it is early for you!" Blaze protested, puffing out her fur. Avaro shrugged this time. "Don't forget, I didn't sleep well the night before..." he said to the young cat.
The elemental blinked and nodded, understanding. Avaro saw the pain in her eyes, he could tell she was trying to act positive. But it must be eating her up inside, losing another parental figure while still a child. What was he supposed to do? Avaro had no idea what to do, anything to do with kids leaves him lost. That might explain why Afina always goes to anyone but him for advice.
"Come on then, let's wake up Lucerne," Avaro said, motioning Blaze to follow. She nodded quickly and scurried inside, going to the starry beast and crawling all over him. Lucerne tried to ignore it at first, but eventually stirred and moved to his feet, the kit quickly jumping off him. Yawning, Lucerne turned to the two, blinking.
"Morning," Avaro chuckled, giving a small grin. "Morning!" Blaze quickly added.
"...Morning," Lucerne finally said, shifting back into his normal human form. "Was it easier to sleep last night?" He then asked his friend.
Avaro nodded. "Mmhm, slept like a baby," he responded.
Blaze's face twisted in confusion. "Don't babies cry a lot at night?" She started, but both her friends ignored her.
"That's good to hear," the Celestial said, stretching with a yawn. "What time is it?" He then asked.
"Ten or eleven," Avaro responded, patting Blaze's head. The little cat purred, nuzzling his hand as Lucerne walked over.
"Should we see how Fuchsia is doing today?" The celestial offered, looking down at the purring fuzzball.
Yesterday was spent with Blaze, keeping he company and calming her when she cried. Nobody bothered them,  the entire place was unusually quiet, even after the funeral two days ago. A blanket of darkness seemed to have coated the place.
"Sounds like a good idea, I worry about the kits. They dont understand death yet, too young," Avaro replied.
"They'll understand," Lucerne reassured, patting his friend's shoulder before leaving the den.
Blaze watched them in silence, waiting for them to do something.
"Let's go Blaze," Avaro said, exiting. Puffing out her fur, the elemental trailed behind the two, keeping silent the entire walk. Even with most of the cats awake, most of them stayed inside or left to hunt and scavenge. The usual groups weren't around, it was practically deserted.
"Just give it time. Things will go back to normal, or at least somewhat normal," Avaro told himself, hoping it was true.
He glanced back at the cat following him, not liking her silence.
"You alright?" He asked. Blaze nodded quietly. Avaro frowned, slowing down to walk next to her.
"Come on now, Patch and Rose love it when you visit. It'll cheer you up, I'm sure of it," he said with a chuckle, patting her head once more.
Blaze gave him a smile, her tail waving.
"Everything's going to be fine," Avaro added, wishing he could truly believe it.