Clearsight's Choice

Chapter 20. Whiteout. The Night Kingdom.

Whiteout was still resting on the stone slab, her wings aching more than ever. She winced as she shifted slightly, bolts of pain striking her like lightning. She had thought she was done with the trauma-- with the nightmares, panic, anxiety. Yet there she was, whimpering in her sleep. Her dream of the war-- of the dying dragons screaming in agony all around her --had faded, but she still felt anxious. Colors of red and blue would still find a way into her dreams, no matter how good she was feeling throughout her days.

        "Whiteout!" A voice called to her. It sounded faint, though, as if they were in the next room. Whiteout shifted, the inky blackness of sleep still there. "Whiteout!" The voice persisted, and the Night-IceWing hybrid groaned protest. "Wha...." she mumbled, blinking open her eyes. The sudden, ridiculous amount of light blinded her, and it took her a moment to fully adjust her eyes. She squinted, searching for the dragon calling her name. Thoughtful tilted his head, concerned. "Whiteout," he said again. "are you alright?"

        "Huh...?" she said, and rubbed her face to wake herself up. Whiteout tried to lift her head, and pain jabbed her scales. She flinched and lay down once more. "No," she said with a sigh. "No, I'm not." she stared, rather gloomily, at the ground. She had forgotten about her dream. Thoughtful brushed her scales with the tip of his wing reassuringly. "You seemed restless.... Like you were having a nightmare." he explained, his voice heavy with sympathy. Whiteout shrugged-- but the agony she felt afterwards forced her to yell.

        Thoughtful leaped back. "What happened? Did I hurt you?" he said quickly, examining her. Whiteout felt her eyes burn as she tried not to cry. "No... it wasn't you." she whispered. She began to cry, sobbing in front of Thoughtful as he tried to figure out what to do. He lay beside her stone slab, mumbling reassuring and positive things, as she let out all of her bottled up emotions. "It'll be okay," he said. "Things will get better--" "No, they won't!" she snapped suddenly, and felt instant regret. Thoughtful was shocked into silence.

        "I-I'm sorry," Whiteout said quickly, ending in another sob. She covered her face with one talon, ashamed of herself. Thoughtful sighed. "It's okay," he murmured, and went quiet once more. Neither of them said anything else; they just thought about everything. From Darkstalker, Arctic, the lightning bolt, to their current situation.

       Whiteout turned her head away from Thoughtful, sniffling. Her face was warm with embarrassment. "Sorry...." she whispered to her friend, closing her eyes. Tears rolled down the side of her face, trickling unpleasantly around her cheeks. She shifted, but her spine seemed to scream out in agony and time she moved.

       Whimpering, Whiteout took a deep, shaky breath, and tried to get some more sleep.