Wings of Fire: A Destiny Found

~CHAPTER 34~

       "I see." Condor said quietly, his head hanging low and his black wings drooping. "So that's what's happened." Avalanche had her wings draped over his shoulder, Condor's hazel eyes clouded with shock.

       "Three moons, what did you even see in her to begin with?!" Corona asked, albeit rather tactlessly.

       The gentle SkyWing shook his head and swung his head around to face Corona, although he was visibly squinting. "She wasn't always like this," he said. "When I met her, she was like a normal dragon, although she was ambitious, brash, and strong-willed. Although I have to admit," he paused. "She was always rather poor at hearing the word 'no' and always complained when things didn't go her way." He explained.

       "In hindsight, we probably should've seen it coming." Flashover said weakly. The other SkyWing's heads bowed in disappointment and regret. It seemed as though it wasn't only Kite they were saddened by.

       "Yeah. I guess we should've." Ore finally said.

       Combustion and Charcoal dragged themselves to Ore's side. "But would anything have changed if we did? Would she have listened to us?" Combustion posed.

       One-Eye straightened his wings slightly. "Maybe if I had scolded her more when she was a dragonet instead of letting her behavior slide so much, things would have been different." He said, ruefully.

       Corona shifted her ebony gaze towards the ground awkwardly. "Sorry I asked." She apologized quietly.

       Condor padded up to the small SandWing and put a claw on her shoulder. "It's alright, no need to apologize." He reassured her.

       Tsunami shook off her wings impatiently. "Well, there's no point in wondering what you could've done. How about you worry about what you can do now." She said.

       "Yeah, Kite needs you now. The best you can do is go save him!" Sunny cried, stamping her foot passionately.

       "We'll help you." Clay said.

       Glory whipped her head around at him, red and green flaring through the brown guise of her shifting scales. "No way. We can't waste any more time. We need to leave as soon as possible. In fact, we should have left already." She hissed in disagreement.

       Sunny gawked at Glory. "But we can't just leave them." She said pitifully.

       "No." Glow finally said, staying quiet this whole time and ignoring the fluttering of her chest. "Glory's right. You've been here long enough, and if you stay here any longer, I don't doubt that Burn will catch you." She said. "And right now, she's the last dragon you want to have their claws on you."

       Clay stepped forward and stood level with Glow. "But, what about you? Are you sure you can handle this on your own? I mean, with your, um –" He said.

       Glow ran her forked tongue over where her teeth used to be and suddenly felt the absence of remaining flesh on her right ear.

       She nodded. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm not alone. And besides, from the sky, we'll just look like another squadron. You look very distinct." She explained.

       "But –" Clay interjected.

       "You five are number one on Burn's hit list. The longer you're out here, the more danger you'll be in." Clay still looked unsure. Glow smiled at her and shoved his shoulder playfully. "Come on. I survived Burn, and a whole NightWing battalion. I can survive a tiny rescue mission. Trust me."