Clearsight's Choice

Chapter 16. Whiteout. The Night Kingdom.

Whiteout was resting on the stone slab in the infirmary. She stared at the ceiling, hardly noticing the throbbing pain along her back. She was so nervous about the results of her wounds. Would she be able to fly again? Were her beautiful, black and white wings completely torched?

The sound of a dragon padding outside of the room startled her out of her thoughts. She lifted her head to get a better view of the hallway that stretched beyond, and tried to recognize the pattern of claw-prints. "Listener...?" she guessed, tilting her head. Thoughtful was snoozing peacefully beside her stone slab. He didn't wake when the NightWing entered the room.

Listener was quiet, and merely uttered a soft greeting to them both before taking a seat in the corner. "Hey, Listener." Whiteout said. "What's wrong? Did something happen? Where's Clearsight?" Listener avoided her gaze and curled her tail around her front talons. "She couldn't come." she said simply. But there was something strange about her tone... It sounded so... monotone.

Maybe she's just tired, Whiteout thought, but couldn't shake the doubtful colors out of her mind as she watched her friend shift awkwardly. "Are you okay?" Whiteout pressed. Listener nodded.

There was another ridiculously awkward silence. What is going on with you? "Okay...."

Thoughtful moved around a bit, yawning. Whiteout turned to look at him, praying he was finally awake. He blinked open his eyes, yawned once more, and rubbed them thoroughly before getting up.

Thank the moons, Whiteout thought with a sigh of relief. She was glad not to have to interrogate Listener by herself. Thoughtful glanced from Whiteout to Listener. "Hey, Listener." he greeted her with a nod. "Did you find Clearsight?" Listener ignored him. Whiteout felt her scales itch with annoyance, and answered Thoughtful instead, "Listener said she couldn't come."

Thoughtful looked confused. "Is she okay?" he said, gesturing to Listener with a light flick of his tail. "She's acting strange." "I know," Whiteout replied, feeling again that prickly irritation. "She won't tell me what's wrong." Thoughtful looked thoughtful for a moment, as if he were trying to come up with different reasons behind her behavior.

"Did something happen, Listener?" he asked.

Of course something had happened. Whiteout had been struck by lightning, that had happened. Maybe she was just concerned for her friend? Or perhaps she was traumatized by the accident? Whiteout had no idea.

"No," Listener said, and forced a smile. "Nothing happened. Everything is fine." Thoughtful squinted at her, skeptical. "Alright." he said, instead of prodding any longer. "But if something did happen, you can tell us, okay? We're here for you." Whiteout nodded. She tried to move her wing a bit, for it felt squished under her side, but she had to stop immediately because of the severe pain.

Whiteout let out a groan of agony and lay still. She wished she could move properly, without the immense amount of pain she felt whenever she moved. She had never felt more envious of dragons who could fly. Or walk, or stretch, or do anything at all without pain.

"Are you okay, Whiteout?" Thoughtful asked. Whiteout nodded. "Yeah... just in a lot of pain right now...." "Want me to call the nurse?" Thoughtful suggested, his voice proving he was genuinely concerned. "No, no. That's okay. Thank you, though." "Alright.... Why don't you get some more sleep? If anything happens, you know, I'll wake you."

Whiteout was so tired of laying around doing nothing, but she agreed with Thoughtful once again. "Fine. But..." she lowered her voice. "If Listener says anything at all, tell me everything, please." Thoughtful let out a soft chuckle and agreed. "Yeah, I'll do that. Now, get some sleep, miss Queen of the Board Games." Whiteout laughed and closed her eyes. Moments later, she drifted into sleep.

Violent colors of red and blue streaked the sky, blinding Whiteout as she raced through the chaos. Dragons were everywhere she went: fighting, roaring, crying out in agony. Tears streamed down her face faster than a flowing river as Whiteout dodged blow after blow, adrenaline pumping through her veins.

​​​​​​ She screamed as a huge dragon leaped in front of her, swiping at her with massive, deadly claws. They scraped the side of her face, but only just barely. Whiteout ducked, avoiding the worst of the damage. Blood mixed with tears as she cried, fear causing her jaws to tremble. The blood and tears of the other dragons fell to the ground, and eventually, began to flood.

​​​​​ As if Whiteout were in a story scroll, the ground around her turned into a pool of red and blue blood. "Help!" she cried hopelessly, flailing her limbs around as she attempted to swim. Something in the blood, a dark shape, swam toward her from below. She couldn't see it, but she could somehow sense its presence. Whiteout let out a toe-curling scream and swam away as fast as she could. But it was useless. She didn't get far, and the shape surged up, hooking its claw around her ankle. It dragged her down, through the bloody water, and into the deepest, darkest depths of the pool.