Eclipse of the Moon

Chapter Three

Cielast flinched as she awoke, finding herself on the cold stone ground surrounded by rocks. Light filtered in through the entrance, the beams of sun dancing wildly before her as if they were inviting her to come outside. She yawned and stretched out, getting to her talons and looking around the area.

I guess I'm going to need to move, they'll find me if I'm this close to the kingdom... They're probably looking. She brushed herself off and glanced at the entrance, approaching it slowly as she yawned again.

Cielast slowly trotted out, breathing in the fresh air as she gazed at the sky. Clouds were scattered around in the vast abyss, birds were chirping and singing their lovely morning songs. The bright light blinded her as she awoke fully, glancing from left to right.

The bright banana flowers bloomed from all around, their petals swaying majestically throughout the breeze. The bushes were aligned perfectly, creating a somewhat path through the forest. Trees overhung in zigzags from above, their leaves tumbling down onto the ground below.

When she took a close look at her surroundings, they were truly beautiful to see. The vastness of the forest continued widely, until it began to be swallowed by the thick fog in the faint distance.

She stretched out her wings, but she was still a young hatchling and wasn't prepared to fly yet. If her mother was still here, she'd probably teach her. Cielast could imagine racing swiftly throughout the skies, zipping left and right freely. Diving into the waters below, and discovering all the different fish underwater.

These were only dreams, as she did not learn to fly when she was younger. Pyra planned on taking the learning slow, and teaching her about her past before anything. The one topic she had never touched was Adrian, Cielast's father. He had apparently smashed every other egg for his amusement, or something of that sort.

Pyra trusted him one little bit, and promised Cielast that she'd meet him one day, and they'd have a chat about how things had been. But that promise would be broken with the terrible gift of death.

Cielast's legs began to get tired as she wandered along the path drowsily, her legs shuddering. It had been a half an hour since she had begun walking, but all that trying to fly the previous day had made her very tired.

She was surprised that she never crashed, or anything horrible. She swore to herself that she'd never try to fly again unless she fully knew about flying. So her dreams would have to wait.

Cielast then glanced over at a cave that was nearby, and stumbled towards it, collapsing on the floor tiredly. It was stone cold, but it was all she had, unless she'd take the chance to go out into the blistering heat again.

Closing her eyes, she heard a shuffle from above and a few pebbles thumped down onto her snout. She opened her eyes slowly and gazed up at a shadowy figure that swept across the cave, its tail snaking behind it. "W-who are you?" she asked nervously, keeping her tail and wings close to herself protectively.

The figure crept down the wall and slithered up to her, his beady orange eyes glaring into hers. "The question is, who are you?" he hissed, swishing his tail aggressively.