Nightfall

III

The following week was in a pattern: fly through the night, pausing about halfway through to hunt, land somewhere safe before morning, sleep through the day, hunt again, and then take off. The hatchlings were slowly getting some abilities to fly, but they still had to ride on their parents, unable to keep up with the older dragons.

A week after the group left the valley, just before sunset, Midnight was trying to help teach Eclipse to fly. The little dragonet kept trying to fly, and she could for a minute or two, but then landed and folded her wings, uncertain.

The only thing that was barring him from communicating with her well was the fact that Eclipse was still learning what words even meant. The few things she did know were words Eagle had been repeating on the flights, to give her an opportunity to learn while they flew.

Hearth suddenly barreled into Eclipse, who yelped, and began to shove at the other dragonet, but she was startled, and her attempts were futile. Jade flew over, and gently pulled Hearth away.

"No, Hearth," she scolded. "Sorry, Midnight. She's really bored."

"I think we all are," he replied, "and it's okay. Dragonets will be dragonets."

"What does that mean?" Tetriz demanded, struggling to hold Nebuiz, who kept wriggling away from her and Krakel. "I'm awesome. I think I should be a dragonet-sitter."

"You really do help us out," Jade replied, "but your ability to let these two run away is very..." she trailed off.

"Good, which is bad," Midnight offered, earning a huff from the five year old, and laughs from everyone else. Eclipse scrambled up, and lunged for Hearth's dangling tail. Soon enough, the two were rolling around on the ground, and Nebuiz escaped her father and Tetriz once more, only to join in the game.

Eagle landed beside Midnight, brushing his wing with her's. "Grove and Lagoon called a meeting," she sighed.

"Probably to criticize me," he snorted. "Jade, we have a meeting to get to," the black dragon called, already turning to walk over to the area they agreed to hold any meetings at.

When they arrived, Grove, Lagoon, and basically every other dragon were already gathered, waiting for the meeting to begin. Instead of reprimanding their lack of punctuality, Grove leapt right into the meeting.

"We are at the tip of what humans call South America," he stated, "and across the ocean is our goal."

"We know this, Grove," Eagle yawned. "Care to tell us anything else everyone already knows?"

"You worry about the safety of our hatchling against the cold, yet bring us to the coldest place on this planet!" he snarled. "The tribe won't welcome us. Those three," he flung a wing to point at the three hatchlings, who were playing with a pinecone on the ground, "will freeze to death in three days."

"The food supply there is enough to sustain us, yes, but the lack of shelter will bring our deaths. But the more pressing matter is the flight to even reach Antarctica, which could take three days, never mind any storms or weather that may strike." The green dragon paced, his tail trailing behind him heavily, causing a small furrow in the ground. "What is your plan for that, Midnight?"

Silence. Complete silence after his speech. Even the dragonets stopped their playing to look at him, sensing something amiss with everyone. Midnight lowered his eyes, realizing the mistake of not planning that far ahead.

"I've spoken with Whirlwind," Eagle replied, her tone even, but her eyes gave away the anger she was feeling. "We won't have the bad luck to run into any bad weather, if we fly straight and true. The tribe is close enough to the coast that the dragonets won't freeze before we reach it."

"How do you know they'll accept us into their home?" Lagoon demanded. Eagle hesitated, unable to answer. "That's what I thought."

Midnight resisted the urge to growl at the younger dragon, keeping up the appearance of feeling calm, despite the annoying circumstances. Lagoon and Grove were right, sadly. They didn't know if the tribe would accept them. The settlement had cut off communications with the tribe generations ago, long before humans became a threat.

It was simply a hope that the other group of dragos, who hadn't even truly acknowledged their existence as a separate group, would welcome them. The only problem was the one Grove and Lagoon kept bringing up. What if they didn't?

"Lagoon," Midnight said, "we're all dragons. If anything, the tribe will let us stay because of the scarcity of our species. Our settlement has about a hundred dragons in it. That's a lot, compared to the small groups that branched off after the humans came. I believe they will accept us as readily as they would accept one of their own."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Eagle hissed quietly. "You don't know everything."

He knew better than to make a promise, because Eagle was right; he didn't know if the tribe really would accept them. It was going to be hard to complete the migration, but if dragons started to take sides, everything would be at risk of falling apart.

"Um, is this a bad time to say something just went wrong?" Raze asked, landing a few feet away from the council members. "Because something just went wrong."

He nodded upward, where three dragons were hovering. All three were unfamiliar, and one was holding a scroll, probably some kind of message. Midnight stared at them for a moment, trying to figure out who they were.

All three of them were a smaller size, a bit larger than Raze, implying that they were still dragonets. The one holding the scroll was light blue, and their wingbeats were uneven, one wing flapping harder than the other. The other two looked fine, but were clearly tense and uneasy.

"We're from the tribe," the one with the message said in a misleadingly calm voice. "We have a message for you, Midnight."

His voice was definitely male, and grey-green eyes flicked over to Midnight's. It took a long moment for his words to process, but the black dragon finally asked, "Me? Are you sure?"

"Yes," the messenger said. "May we land?"

Midnight would have asked why he didn't just land with Raze, but remembered a custom that he hadn't had to look over for years. They were occupying the land, so any dragons coming from a different group can't land without permission from the leader. He nodded to the three of them, and they touched down, folding their wings on their backs.

"What are your names?" Jade asked politely.

"My name is Glaciar," the messenger stated, "and these are Seal and Stormhawk." He nodded to the other two when he said their names. Seal was grey, with a few black scales, and a thick, muscular build, even for a younger dragon. Stormhawk was smaller, more aerodynamic, with purple scales.

Glaciar handed the scroll to him, and Midnight opened it, conscious of every dragon's eyes on him. The seal was wax, and it felt cold to the touch. He unrolled it, and read it in his mind, deciding if it was bad news, the other dragons shouldn't know yet.

Midnight,

It's been a long time, hasn't it? We haven't seen each other in centuries. I hope this letter reaches you in good health, perhaps even already on your migration.

As for me, I can't say the situation is good. To put it bluntly, we are at war. Not with others, though humans are a threat, but with ourselves. I'm as safe as any leader would be in this situation.

If you are on your migration, which you are, because my calculations are never wrong, then keep coming. The tribe will welcome you, but it won't take long before you have to choose sides. Keep that in mind when you come.

I can't write anymore. I ran out of paper. See you soon, old friend!

Moss

Midnight sighed. Really, Moss?

-

Hi, guys! This is a bit shorter than my previous chapters, but I really like it! What do you think of Moss, from the letter? Predictions for future chapters?

Vote, comment, and have a good day!