The World Turning

Chapter 9: Apologies

The flight from Jade Mountain to the Rain Kingdom only lasted about three hours before the four dragonets had made their way to NightWing's village. It would normally have been a faster trip however, the trees made navigating the rain forest hard for all but Kinkajou. The four dragons also had to make a short stop for Winter, who seemed to need a moment to catch his breath.

Winter recognized the damp, humid air of the forest as this was his second time visiting. He remembered how much he disliked the weather, the plentiful tall trees, and worst of all the abundant population of pesky bugs that would buzz about annoyingly. Despite this, Winter couldn't afford to feel bothered. After all, he was too busy fretting over the current state of his friend, Moon. It was as if the closer they got to the village, the more stressed he became. Each passing second weighed down on him. He also noticed a similar effect being displayed by his friends. Even cheery Kinkajou who continued to banter and laugh through the forest sounded as if she was slightly toning down the farther they flew.

But now they saw the NightWing's village entrance. And thankfully, no sign of any catastrophe or metallic madness was evident.

Kinkajou did a twirl in the air as she saw the village entrance. "We made it! Wee! Let's go see Moon!" She said while dashing towards two NightWing's who stood guard at the entrance, each one holding a thin wooden spear.

Qibli let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness this place is alright." He said while turning to Winter. "Maybe those mech things have only attacked Sanctuary and Jade Mountain so far."

"Yeah." Winter replied. "Or maybe they didn't bother to attack a place full of dense greenery like this."

"Are you worried about the other kingdoms? Like the Ice Kingdom?" Qibli asked in a soft tone.

"Maybe. This whole mess happened so fast." Winter squinted his eyes a bit. "I just hope... nothing bad happened anywhere else."

The three males eventually caught up to Kinkajou as she confronted the village guards. "Heyyyyyy! Kinkajou here! Visiting a friend."

One of the guards tensed a little when he noticed the other three dragons behind her. "Wha!? Who are they? Did you all come from Jade Academy?"

"Yep!" Kinkajou said while ignoring the guards' faint hostility. "And one of our friends should be here. Moonwatcher! Does that ring a bell?"

The other guard, who looked more casual than the one asking questions, answered. "Oh, yeah. Nice girl. She's probably at Hope's place right now. Go right ahead!"

"Thanks! Thanks! Thanks!" Kinkajou exclaimed joyfully as she dashed into the village.

"Um, thank you." Turtle said as he bowed graciously at the helpful NightWing before all three of them followed Kinkajou in.

Although the rain forest air was awful, Winter did notice how much more he enjoyed the village than the rest of the forest. It was a lot clearer here. And the atmosphere was slightly cooler due to the nearby river. Winter even thought it was a little cozy. He also noticed how much more lived in the village looked from the last time he arrived. There were more put together buildings and the dragons here looked more at peace. He even noticed that some RainWings casually walked around. One RainWing laughed and sang as she flew around tossing flower petals onto a smiling NightWing who watched her. Another group of dragons consisted of three NightWings and two RainWings as they casually ate fruit together.

Winter quickly felt shame wash over him as he remembered how he used to despise NightWings, and how he considered them lesser dragons and scoundrels. Thinking about the old Winter made him feel sick. He quickly decided to chat with Qibli and Turtle so as to ignore his thoughts. "So do any of you know who Hope is?"