Songbird, Book 1: Sun's Arrival

Chapter 1

Modern day...

Thunder Strike woke up from a nightmare. It was the same one every night when she had trouble sleeping... About her family being murdered by intruders. Tia shook her head. "It's just a dream..." she thought, not feeling very reassured. "Well, off to another normal, boring day, like every other day... no need to worry. I'll meet my friends and go kick some rotten dragon tails." So Tia stepped out of her home and watched as the sun rose and the birds started to chirp. "Songbirds," Thunder Strike thought as she listened for a moment. "How lovely." When the sun was over the horizon, she flew off to meet Moon.

*Zzz* Was the first thing Thunder Strike heard when she stepped into Moon's den. She's always such a sleepyhead. Never on time. Thunder Strike let out a heavy sigh. That's when the glistening white dragon's head shot up. "YOU WANT YOUR TAIL KICKED!? I'LL HAVE Y- Oh, hi Tia." Pearl cut off mid-sentence. Thunder Strike always loved seeing Pearl. She was so energetic and friendly, unlike Ivory, whose crush was very obvious. Stella woke up, blinked a few times, surveying her environment, then settled down her neck spines once realizing she was in the safety of her home. "C'mon! You don't want to miss out on the wing-breaking adventures that Tsunami, Eclipse, Serpent and I are participating in!" Thunder Strike said in a sing-song voice. Ivory scowled, then slapped Stella with her tail.

"MOVING!!! ALRIGHT!!! Stella growled. She rolled out of the nest and stood up next to Thunder Strike. Pearl groaned. "Let's go to Stone River for a meal first, though. I'd eat Ivory if I weren't too tired to move..." Pearl added. Thunder Strike snickered. "THAT'S NOT FUNNY!!!" Ivory hissed. Thunder Strike hurried out of the den before Ivory could bite her.

At the river, they spotted the gang feasting on some salmon upstream. Snowy came down to see Moon and Tia. "Hi..." Stella said sleepily. Snowy smiled. "Come with us to grab some tasty fish! There's all kinds! UwU UwU" Thunder Strike rolled her eyes. Of course, she respected everyone's traits, but she still didn't understand what Tsunami and Lightzilla saw in Snowy. Moon slowly trudged her way up the river and to the group. Thunder Strike took up the end. As they came within earshot of the other kaiju, Ivory quickly split up with Pearl and Stella, then made her way over to Blizzard. Tia clenched her teeth, trying hard not to grin. Then a flurry of rainbow cascaded over Thunder Strike's vision. She yelped, and moon laughed. "What an energetic Eclipse!" Stella chirped. "Did you eat a kangaroo for breakfast???" Eclipse gagged. "No, kangaroos are gross!!!" She replied. And finally, when Eclipse looked down at poor Tia, she jumped aside and Thunder Strike finally got to breathe. "Sorry," Eclipse mumbled. "Nah, it's okay..." Tia wheezed, then stood up shakily. "We've got twenty minutes left before we leave." Eclipse informed the group. "So finish up your meal, or we'll leave you behind," Thunder Strike joked. Pearl yelped in realization, and quickly hurried off to grab something to eat.

As the sun rose higher into the sky, the wing got ready to take flight, using magic to lift the zillas. "This is awesome!!!" Tsunami roared over the rushing wind. "I've only been up in the air once, when I fell from on top of a cliff." Thunder Strike chuckled. "Well, good for you-WHAT!!?? You fell off a mountain?" Tia exclaimed. "Well, more like a tall cliff..." Tsunami said thoughtfully. Thunder Strike quickly turned away before she could shutter. She remembered the incident. When Tia just met Tsunami, Tsunami had tripped over a log, and was sent plummeting down the steep rocks of Eternity Mountain. Thunder Strike shuttered just at the thought. That was how Tsunami had gotten his scar under his left arm, and on his horn. Finally, after a couple hours of nonstop flying, (Which Thunder Strike was very used to at this point,) They reached their destination. The Forest of Fog. As the wing descended, it began pouring toads and frogs. Everyone started roaring and screaming. Thunder Strike yelled over the rolling thunder to be heard. "EVERYONE, STAY CALM! IT'S JUST RAIN AND WIND!" They journeyed here because many kaiju had told them that they saw Nightmare's scouts somewhere around this area. Tia had brought all her powerful friends (Snowy was an exception cause Tsunami begged her to bring Snowy) to capture some of the scouts and interrogate them at the Ring of Volcanoes.

"Tsunami, Snowy, you guys go West, Eclipse, Hailstorm, go to the far side of the forest, Moon, go East, Serpent, Flame & Frost, go South, and Blizzard and Summer, go North. I'll head to the lake." "But-" Ivory began to protest, then cut off mid-sentence and gazed longingly at Blizzard. Thunder Strike couldn't stop herself from giggling. Pearl gave Tia a look that might've meant, "Yeah, I know, right? Suuuch a good secret keeper."

When everyone had reached their assigned destination, Thunder Strike quickly made her way to Lake Pine. When she was in the middle of walking to the Lake, she saw a flash before her eyes through the rain. "Probably just lightning." Thunder Strike thought. But then the flash came again, much closer, and with no thunder. Something's definitely wrong here... Tia thought. Then a gold flash of scales covered by black cloth appeared in her vision. That dragon pummeled her down onto the wet grass, and laid her down onto her stomach. N o ! Thunder Strike thought furiously. I'm not going to die today and let you take my dead corpse to Nightmare! We've had too much history to end like that!!! Slowly, Tia called up the storm inside her body. 3... 2... 1... NOW!!! A flash of lightning struck the ground around Thunder Strike and she opened her mouth. The mystery dragon quickly shut Tia's snout, then shoved it into the ground. "That won't stop me you fool!" Tia growled through the tightly clenched talons around her snout. She waited for the electricity to build up inside of her.

Then, lightning struck from the clouds and charged Thunder Strike up with the power of the sky. She flung whoever that was from her back and jumped out of his reach. Tia then sprang out into the trees, and looked back to see who her attacker was. He had burn scars along the places they touched, and his talons were smoldering. His scales were a gold color with fire instead of back spines. Even though Thunder Strike was curious, she didn't slow down. Why isn't he chasing me? Has he already given up? Or...

That's when Thunder Strike felt the pain against her muzzle. "Oh! The fire from his claws wasn't from me-it was his own power!" Tia exclaimed aloud. "I never knew someone who could penetrate my scales like that." Thunder Strike wondered. Stars were beginning to dance behind her eyes. Well, I'd better rest soon or else I might faint. And she made her way to the lake to take a break and cool down.