The Beginning

Chapter 34

After the great flash, the friends stayed huddled under Clauchice's den, shivering in the cold. The raindrops turned into snowflakes, and a snowflake floated down and landed on Clauchice's nose. It sent a chill through her, so she stretched out her tongue until it touched her nose, then she licked it off. The wind died down, and she squinted up at the sky. The clouds were thinning out, the sky a dark blue. As soon as all the clouds dissipated, Clauchice gasped in awe.

Her youngest brother brought out the best of the constellations. Swirling currents of stars swam throughout the night sky, and she saw a huge Catwing flying fast, glittering stars shining in its wake. Comet Trail was letting them know that wherever they went and whatever they were doing, he would protect them. Underlying that message, Clauchice knew that her brother was watching over them. Even though he was going through something, she had the feeling that he still cared about them.

A smaller, starry Catwing flew after the bigger one, and its tail left behind trails of stars. As the sky swirled with stars, a white light shone next to a particularly bright star. Clauchice looked at it curiously. What could be so bright that it outshone even the brightest star?

The light shone brighter and brighter until it covered the entire night sky, then it disappeared with a flash.

Clauchice shared a confused look with Lhrioun. Was that light a signal from Comet Trail, or was it a warning from Jhaufyther?

Slaughlitte came up to her. "Jhaufyther's gone, isn't he?"

She nodded. "He's planning something, but I don't know what."

"Whatever it is, it can't be good," Lhrioun said.

"I know." Slaughlitte looked at Clauchice. "Do you still want the fighting to start, or..?"

Lhrioun glanced at her. Jhaufyther wouldn't like it if they postponed an event again due to him. "I think we should start it," Clauchice said.

"Okay, then. I'll go tell my brother. You guys wait here." He flew off into the sky, leaving Clauchice with her brother and friend. "I guess we'll wait here," she said, shrugging.

Jhaufyther was watching from the sky in his domain. He looked down and saw Slaughlitte talking to his twins and Cloodhot, and he had to guess it was about the fighting. He did not want another event to be postponed because of him, so when he saw- well, heard- Slaughlitte confirming the fighting, Jhaufyther felt a pang of satisfaction. He decided to go back to the land and watch the fighting.

Normally, he would be participating in the fight, but the news of Riley and her friends-particularly Riley- getting hurt or even killed shattered Jhaufyther's confidence. He could not imagine what he would become if his human best friend was killed.

When Slaughlitte flew off, he closed his eyes and imagined himself standing in front of them. He opened his eyes again to see Clauchice staring at him. "Well, uh. Hi?"

"That was a big storm that you caused," Lhrioun said.

He shrugged. "I guess. I wasn't feeling well, so what did you expect?"

Cloodhot's tail tip twitched. "You're not going to be in the fight, right?"

Jhaufyther shook his head. "No, sadly. I don't... really feel like it."

"When your friend is in danger, you wouldn't feel glad," Clauchice explained. His sister always understood him, and she knew what he was feeling right now.

Slaughlitte came back with a glance at Jhaufyther. "He said that it's better to do it at night where everything is shrouded in darkness."

Slaughlitte turned around and flicked his tail. "Let's go."