Wings of Fire; Creature / ✅

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"SkyWings!" Gleam hissed. At that, Blue disappeared, blending in with the sky completely.

Gleam slammed into Elk and drove him to the rocks and bushes below them. He let out a small, "oof!" as she hit him, winded, but she ignored him.

She threw him into the bushes and dived in right next to him. "Um-" Elk began, but Gleam cut him off. "Shhh," she said softly. 

Silence. Gleam could only hear the beating of Elk's and her own heart, and the flapping of wings, gradually getting closer and closer. Gleam was suddenly aware of how close to Elk she was - their talons were wrapped around each other's, and their tails were on top of one another's. Still, Gleam did not move.

The wingbeats were close now. Gleam could pick up some of the patrol's conversation as they passed.

"Have you heard? Gleam escaped from Burn's stronghold."

"Yeah, I heard, you ninny, know how? We are heading there to check it out right now."

"I wonder how she managed it though..."

Gleam held her breath until their voices faded off into the distance. As they passed over, their wings had sounded like thunder in a storm.

She released her breath, her chest aching. 

"I think they've gone," whispered Blue's voice out of nowhere, and Gleam was startled into jumping out of the bush into the air.

Elk straightened and looked at her, grinning cheekily. Blue materialized, her scales yellow, the colour of amuesment.

Gleam huffed and landed beside them, trying not to show her embarrassment. "We're close," she said.

"Yes, but you know what else was close? Us being caught. I swear that one of them SkyWings looked down and looked right at me. I think we should go back to our original spot," Elk said.

"Hey, worry-a-lot, quit being all tense. Relax," Blue said, poking his snout. "I thought you were fun. Anyways, go back to where, exactly? The boulder-pond place is open to the sky. If we almost got caught here, then we'll definitely get caught there."

Elk fiddled with a small string bracelet on his wrist which Gleam hadn't noticed before. It was pink and green, and looked like it had been made from the smallest bit of yarn.

"I'm just scared to get caught," he mumbled. "If the SkyWings catch us, we'll be taken to Scarlet, or worse, back to Burn. I don't want to risk it."

"Don't worry," Gleam assured him. "Even if we do get caught, I have my grr-angry-glowy-scary-power-thingy." 

"Don't forget the yikes-I-have-no-air bit," Blue added. Elk smiled at both of them.

"Let's move on, and then decide what to do from there," Gleam said.

The caves were not how Gleam expected them to be.

Firstly, they were very shallow - they only go a few millimetres into the rock and leave a dead end, which meant that if the SkyWings caught them, they'd be cornered.

Secondly, there was this annoying drip-drip sound that gave Gleam a headache. 

Thirdly, THERE WAS BARELY ANY ROOM.

The third one especially applied to the cave the dragonets had chosen. There was barely any room for two fully-grown dragons, let alone three dragonets.

Yes, they could've chosen a different one, but the other ones faced towards the Kingdom of Sand, and the wind blew hot air and sand into their faces, which wasn't pleasant.