Wings of Fire: The Endless Hunt (Fanfiction/Fantribe)

Chapter 1

It's way too early for any sane dragon to be awake. Jet drags himself off of his sleeping ledge and blinks sleepily at the dragon who had woken him, blue wings dragging heavily behind him.

"Evening, moonbeam," his mother says affectionately with hints of amusement. Her tail sweeps across the floor behind her and her long thin wings frame her gentle shape. Her green eyes are all smiles and light.

"Its too early," Jet complains, trying to ignore the dying sunbeams still poking around the edges his thick curtains.

"Its never too early to start a productive night. Don't you remember what we are doing?" Her amused tone fades and becomes more business-like. "We have to hurry. I let you sleep in for longer than I should have, and we might miss this opportunity."

A sudden bolt of energy flows through Jet as he remembers what his mother had promised to do with him tonight. Serendibite had promised to take him hunting like a real Hunter in an effort to help him find out if he is fit to become one just like her. "By The Wood, its tonight isn't it?" Jet's wings lift and he stands straighter. A smile splits his face.

Serendibite laughs as she notices the sudden change that had gone through him. "Of course. We won't have time for a pre-hunt breakfast, so we'll have to eat some of what we catch, but that's part of the fun." She sweeps out of the room with purposeful strides as Jet follows a little more slowly, rubbing the last of the sleep from his eyes.

Serendibite slips through the door and out onto the deserted street and waits for Jet to catch up. He stumbles through, nearly stepping on her tail, and she swiftly locks the front door behind them. Jet nearly has to jog to keep up with his mother as they make their way to a platform to take off.

Never having been up this early before, Jet has never seen the Hollow this empty before. It's eerily silent and feels abandoned, as though the tribe inside had vanished over the course of the day, leaving only Jet and his mother to wander through what they left behind.

The emptiness reminds him of the abandoned Hollow far to the Northeast he had learned about in school, and he wonders if this is what it feels like to be there. Black halls that make the street you live on, but they feel wrong as though someone had tried to imitate it.

The windows high above the houses didn't help make the street feel any more like home. Instead of gentle streams of silvery moonlight with a vast background of stars that watch over you like benevolent spirits, there are harsh beams of incredibly golden eye-scorching sunlight on a sky that looks like the forest outside is burning with angry reds and oranges.

Stepping outside onto the platform does not help with the eye-scorching. The wall of angry sunlight strikes Jet with such ferocity that he stands in place, blinking rapidly and sneezing. After his eyes adjust, he turns to the sky.

His green eyes grow wide as he takes in the radiant orange glow disappearing over the trees. "It's . . ." he begins.

"Surprisingly beautiful?" Serendibite offers, also turning to watch the sunset.

"Yeah, exactly." They both watch the sunset for a heartbeat in silence.

Serendibite shakes herself and looks away. "We have to keep going, come on." She brushes Jet's wing with her own before spreading them. She gives them a few test flaps before taking off with a rush of air and freedom. Jet launches himself into the sky after her, spreading his wings as wide as possible to catch the remainders of the sunlight and the wind. They spiral down to the treetops like fallen leaves riding the wind.

The darkening shapes of the trees flash below, blending and swirling together like shades of green and black and brown paint spilled across the canvas of the world. The dark of night begins to win over the sky and buries the distant sun like a curtain falling in slow motion, marking the end of the play of the day and ushering in the quiet peace of the night. The far away ocean captures the last of the sky's flame before releasing its beauty in favor of capturing the stars and the endless void above instead.