Eclipsis: Water

Chapter 5

Alara didn't know how to get back to Sol. She had been so focused on trying to get to Ondine, on following those Moons, that she hadn't been paying attention to the direction they had taken her. She felt stupid that she hadn't paid attention. She would've been able to go back and get help, to put together a group that would help her get to Lune and find her sister. She couldn't imagine that there'd be many eager, but she was sure that she would have at least one parent on her side.

However, going back would mean that she wouldn't be able to leave the Moon currently unconscious on the floor - the annoyingly-beautiful ice-fairy, as he was sure to escape back to Lune once she left him alone. She would have to carry him through the forest - he looked like he was heavy, and Alara didn't particularly want to touch him. She would be able to fly above the trees for a moment to try and work out what direction she came from, if her wings were working. Wings.

Alara closed her eyes to focus, going against her better judgement; the ice-fairy could attack her much more easily like this, but she needed her full concentration. She paid attention to the wind that was tickling her skin and her hair, the sound it made travelling through the leaves and branches of the trees. The rustling of small creatures in the undergrowth, snapping twigs and their quiet calls to each other. She let all that fade away, let her sense of hearing become oblivious to these sounds until they were only background noise. She then inhaled deeply, cupped her hands over her mouth, and emitted a whistle so high-pitched it was almost silent.

It echoed slightly in the night, and she felt the sound waves bounce off of the objects around her before she let herself open her eyes. She hoped that one was nearby to hear her call. The ice-fairy still hadn't moved at all, thankfully. Just as Alara was about to take a seat on the ground in front of him, thinking it might be a while until her whistle had reached one of them, her pointed right ear twitched ever so slightly. She stopped moving completely, even going as far as to hold her breath, just to make sure the sound she had heard was familiar.

And it was, there was no mistaking it - the sound of ginormous wings, getting closer and closer. She looked up at the sky, trying to locate its source, but they had a very good camouflage at night.

Alara?

Alara smiled at the sky, hoping it was the right direction, laughing a little. "Cetus, is that you?"

The enormous dragon swooped down to meet Alara on the floor, the ground shaking slightly from his landing. He was only a juvenile dragon, the equivalent of about 16 in human years, so he was yet to grow to his full-size. But he was still a ginormous creature, about 10ft tall and almost the length of a bus.

Cetus was a sea-dragon with ultramarine scales and spines that protruded from the back of his head downwards, ending at the start of his shoulders like a mane. What made him camouflage so well in the night was his stomach - little speckles of light were dotted across his scales in a random pattern. It allowed him to fly during night-time undetected, as any creature that happened to look up would just think they were the stars.

Alara moved forward to greet her friend, patting him on the side of his neck. He pushed her away playfully, huffing air through his nose, and blinked slowly at her.

Why did you call? Is everything alright?

Some creatures in Eclipsis were unable to form actual words, and instead communicated telepathically. The only catch was that telepathic water creatures could only communicate with other water creatures, telepathic fire creatures could only communicate with other fire creatures, and so on. It was like each element had a separate language.

Alara knew there was no time to be wasted, and explained what had happened to Ondine, about the Moons, and her injured wing.

Cetus' eyes glowed in the same light as his star-spots, narrowing once "Moon" was said.