Qibli's Quest

Chapter 8

Enjoy!

Qibli was able to find Kinkajou and Turtle relatively quickly. They were swimming together in one of the underground lakes, closer to the main entrance. Qibli could hear Kinkajou's laughing and Turtle's splashing from a great distance.

Once he found them, he tried to fill them in as quickly as possible. He told them about how he had been dreamvisited, and what the mystery dragon had told him. He emphasized the fact that the dragon had told them that they only had until the third moon was full, which meant they needed to leave like, right now!

As Qibli expected, Kinkajou had been ready to go before Qibli had even finished talking. Turtle on the other hand was a little less excited.

"A whole day of non-stop flying...are you sure I'm the right dragon for this?" Turtle asked

"You have to be Turtle. We need you, and whether you want to or not we have to go. I know you can see how important this is. Think about how many dragons you can help by doing this. Maybe you can even write a scroll about it after we come back."

Qibli hoped this was enough to convince Turtle. He didn't want to be too harsh, but Turtle would be coming whether he liked it or not. Qibli needed someone he could trust in any situation; someone he knew would be by his side no matter what. Moon, Kinkajou, and Turtle were all dragons with whom he had built this level of trust.

"Ok ok. I get it. I'll come. I'm sure I'll find a way to be useful eventually...maybe I can provide emotional insight! yes, that's what I'll do. Ok, I'm ready to go when you guys are." Turtle declared

Qibli smiled. He knew that this was not at the top of the list of things Turtle wanted to be doing. But he did know that Turtle would want to be with Kinkajou, and he was sure that her coming would motivate him.

Turtle had told Qibli how he felt about Kinkajou just a few weeks ago. It was an important conversation, one that Qibli was glad he was able to have with his friend. Turtle and Kinkajou had been growing closer and closer in the days and weeks after Darkstalker was defeated. It had gotten to the point where they had started dating, just a little while ago. Qibli was glad that Turtle had been able to muster up the nerve to say something, after keeping his feelings hidden away for so long. Qibli knew that wherever Kinkajou was going, Turtle would want to go too.

Qibli, Turtle, and Kinkajou found Moon in her sleeping cave, her nose in a scroll like usual. She looked up at them and then stood up quickly and furrowed her brow once she saw the look Kinkajou was giving her.

"What's going on? Everyone keeps whispering and thinking about Queen Thorn. Is she all right? Moon asked

Qibli shook his head. "She was kidnapped, along with Smolder too." He said solemnly.

"Oh no. Qibli that's awful! we're going to find them right? That's why you all came here to my room?"

Qibli let the reassurance briefly flood over him. It comforted him knowing that Moon felt the same way that he did, regardless of whether it was the queen of her tribe or not.

"That's the plan!" Kinkajou exclaimed. "buuut we kind of have to go like right now because the evil kidnapper said that If we don't come before the third moon is full then he's going to do something super bad to Queen Thorn, which would be really bad so yeah WE NEED TO GO NOW!!"

"Hold on hold on." Moon said, confused. "you've been in contact with her kidnapper? How?"

"He used a dreamvisitor to talk to me last night," Qibli explained. "I'll tell you the full story once we're flying."

"Good, good. We should get there as soon as we can to give us as much time as possible to find Queen Thorn," Turtle remarked.

"Right," Kinkajou said. "So can we just go or are we going to talk to the headmasters first?" She asked.

"Oh...about that," Qibli said. "I may have convinced Sunny to let us go, but she said she was going to see what the other headmasters thought before letting us go anywhere. We should probably go see them first."

"I'm sure they'll let us go," Kinkajou said, unbothered as she started down the hallway toward the school entrance. "We're like experts at rescue missions at this point!"

"Kinkajou, You have been a part of one rescue mission. And that one did not go very well for you. Remember?" Moon asked.

"That was different!" Kinkajou insisted. "Besides, I FEEL like an expert, as should you guys!

Qibli laughed, a genuine laugh that made him realize how much better he felt now that his friends were involved.

"Wait!" Turtle suddenly spoke. "Shouldn't we ask Peril to come too? I mean, you did say there will probably be Dragonbite Vipers right? She could help us with those."

"That's a great point Turtle" Moon said. "I thought Peril was gone though. Wasn't she supposed to be visiting sanctuary?"
"She did, but I saw her last night and she told me that she decided to come back a day early," Turtle responded

"If that's the case then we should definitely ask her," Moon said.

"Oh. I saw her just a little while ago. Moon and I will go find her and meet you guys at the front entrance." Kinkajou said.

Maybe Qibli was imagining it, but Kinkajou's voice seemed the slightest bit clipped. A few stray scales flashed a dark greenish color for a moment but then subdued back to the lavish pink and yellow that they had been before. A couple of seconds later, the two turned and headed down the corridor that led to the student's caves as Qibli and Turtle continued towards the main entrance.

"I know this isn't the most ideal thing for you." Qibli blurted. "I'm sure you have other things you'd rather be doing. It's just that...I needed someone I could trust." Qibli said slowly.

"I get it," Turtle said with a shrug. "If Queen Coral ever went missing, I would probably ask for your help before anyone else's. You could probably come up with like 12 different ideas in 5 minutes." He said, laughing.

Qibli laughed too. He was glad that Turtle seemed at least somewhat enthusiastic about going on this journey.

"Also," Turtle said in a more hushed voice. "If Kinkajou was going somewhere...Then I don't think I would be able to stay here." He explained in a soft tone.

Qibli nodded his head. "I thought so." He said, giving Turtle a sideways glance.

Turtle nodded his head. "I hope nothing happens to her. After last time..." he said in an even softer voice.

Qibli still vividly remembered what had happened. Turtle had not been with them, But Qibli (and probably Kinkajou) had described to him what had happened. During their attempt to rescue Winters's brother Hailstorm, Kinkajou had been slammed into a tree by a dragon with super strength. She was put into a coma for over a week and had broken multiple bones. The only reason she was able to recover was because of an animus spell that Turtle's sister, Anemone had cast.

Qibli remembered the look on Turtle's face when he saw Kinkajou for the first time, unconscious at the hospital in Possibility. He understood what Turtle was feeling. If anything happened to Moon...Qibli would be crushed. She was everything to him, and he would always do everything he could to keep her safe. Qibli assumed that Turtle felt the same way about Kinkajou.

"Nothing's going to happen to her," Qibli assured Turtle, trying to sound confident. "She's super tough on her own, and now with you here too...Everyone is a lot safer."

Turtle managed a smile, still looking a bit nervous.

"Thanks, Qibli," Turtle said. "I hope we can get your queen back."

"I hope so too," Qibli responded. The sense of doubt was still eating away at him...the dangers that presented themselves were still very clear. However, Qibli felt better now that he had his friends by his side.

NOTE: 1397 words...finally a bit longer chapter. Was feeling super motivated and decided to write two chapters in one night!

Also, it's like 3am at the time of me writing this so apologies if there are some grammatical errors.

Anyways, have a good one!