The Raging Storm

Prologue

"Today it will be cloudy with a chance of showers! Stay safe later on due to a high chance of thunder and lighting!"
Cloudreader's childish voice sang as she gazed up at the morning sky.
Dark grey clouds lined the black sky, cottony and soft, yet fierce and intimidating.

"A strike from the thundery bolts would be very bad, and it is pretty common in these parts!"
she added, eyes sparkling.
She shifted her black wings, making the bushes around her rustle.

"Cloudreader,"Petunia, one of her friends, squeaked. "Mabye we should get inside! Mother wouldn't want me-us, to get hurt!"

"Don't worry, Petunia! It won't start thundering for hours.A little rain won't hurt, will it? We can stay out and play all day!"Cloudreader waved away her friend's worry.

"Are you sure? Like, one hundred percent sure?!"Petunia looked ready to flee, wings outstretched.

"Yes.We'll be fine.Don't you trust me?"Cloudreader pouted.

"Yes, I suppose I do."Petunia sighed, folding her light pink wings in close to her.Her scales rippled from the usual rose colour into a deep magenta.

"Come on! Let's go find Sorrel and Whisper!"Cloudreader beamed, flying over Petunia's head to swoop up into the RainWing village.

She flew past sleeping RainWings and NightWings, and past fruit stands and adorable dragonets.
She landed in front of a small hut with a cute welcoming mat that read, 'Home'.

Cloudreader knocked on the door as Petunia landed beside her.
"Hey, Sorrel!"she grinned as a bright red RainWing answered the door.

"Cloud!"Sorrel laughed, tackling the NightWing in a hug.Her scales turned into a bright neon pink, and she smiled at Petunia. "Hey!"

"Hi."Petunia said shyly.

"What are we doing today?"Sorrel asked, breaking apart the hug.

"I have an idea.But first, we have to get Whisper!"
Cloudreader grinned.

"Alright! Last one there is a rotten mango!"Sorrel shrieked, taking off for the NightWing village, Cloudreader right behind her.

She knew Petunia would be the last one there, she always was.

As the NightWing village got closer, Sorrel swooped down low and grabbed a small NightWing with her talons, lifting him in the air.

Whisper yelped, flailing his wings in an act to free himself.
Sorrel giggled, letting go of him.
He dropped one foot, landing on the soft grass.

"Sorrel, stop doing that! It scares me!"Whisper whined, inspecting a claw.

"Noooo! It's fun! You're the only one who's light enough for me to pick up."Sorrel landed, her scales turning back to the usual red.

Cloudreader landed beside Whisper, and she nodded to him. "I have an idea for what we can play."

"What?"Whisper frowned. "Not some weather game, right?"

"Ummm, mabye?"Cloudreader grinned.

"That's all we ever play!"Petunia complained. "You're the only one who can speak to the air and stuff!"

"It's called reading the weather, and, it is not the only thing we play!"Cloudreader frowned.

"It's fun! I like the weather games!"Sorrel defended her, draping a wing protectively over Cloudreader's back.

"Thanks, Sorrel."Cloudreader muttered.

"Then what do you guys wanna do?"Sorrel squinted at Whisper.

"I want to watch bugs!"he smiled, holding out a claw.
A light red ant crawled along his talon, then dropped onto a leaf and started eating it.

"Me, too! I want to watch something eat this berry!"Petunia held out a dark red berry, and set it on the ground.

"Fine! You guys can watch bugs be bugs.Sorrel and I are going to go play a weather game!"Cloudreader snapped, dragging Sorrel along the grass.

Sorrel smiled and trotted beside the NightWing. "Hey, Cloud?"

"Yeah, Sorrel?"Cloudreader scanned the ground.

"Do you ever wonder why we're friends with them?"

"Who?"Cloudreader picked up a leaf and nodded to herself.

"Whisper and Petunia! They're so different from us! Both introverted and boring.We're extroverted and fun!"
Sorrel grasped Cloudreader's talon.

"I like Petunia! And Whisper.They're my friends, no matter how boring they may be."Cloudreader frowned at Sorrel.

"Oh, okay."Sorrel let go of her talon. "What are we going to play?"

"My favourite game!" Cloudreader grinned. "Lightning strike."

"What's lightning strike?"Sorrel's eyes sparkled.

"It's where we build a leaf tower, and lightning strikes it! According to the air and temperature, if we place one at just the right height, it'll cause lightning to strike it."Cloudreader nodded to the pile of leaves she'd made on a stone.
"All we need is one more leaf on there."

"I'll find one!"Sorrel smiled, digging around in the bushes till she pulled out a small green leaf.
She set it on the pile and stood back, watching it carefully.

The wind started to pick up, and the trees started blowing heavily.
Rain started to shower down around them, yet not touching the pile of leaves.
The sky rumbled and cracked, and there was a huge boom as a beam of light snapped down on the leaves.
A huge explosion burst around the stone, as the leaves caught fire.

"Sorrel! What have we done!?" Cloudreader shrieked as flames surrounded them, lapping hungrily at their scales.

"I don't know!"Sorrel yelped.
"And why isn't the fire going out!? It's raining!"

The rain seemed to be swallowed up by the fire, and the grass wasn't even wet.
The gray sky turned to a black quickly, and all around the wind whistled and the trees blew strongly.

"Sorrel!? Whisper!? Cloudreader!?"
Petunia's desperate call echoed around the forest.

Cloudreader spotted familiar pink scales beyond the fire.

Her heart dropped with fear as she heard a deafening shriek and a flash of light dropped down on Petunia.
The soft face and light scales of Cloudreader's friend were soon gone, and a black, ashy blob lay silent and limp on the forest floor, rain drenching her scales.

"Petunia!"Cloudreader's scream was swallowed by the thundering rain around her.

She didn't know where Sorrel was, and she didn't know where Whisper was.

Then, she heard the clouds whispering.....

It's only the beginning........