Don't Fall in Love with the Night

Chapter 8

     "Reach farther! Pretend like you're reaching for a dagger to kill a NightWing with!" 

     Prism grit her teeth and tried harder. This stretching was nothing like she'd experienced before. In a bad way. 

     "That didn't seem to work very well," mused Tsunami aloud. "Okay, different tactic!" Taking that as an excuse, Prism sat up and groaned, her muscles seeming to sigh in relief. Her general continued. "Stretch, but this time, reach for this." She picked a banana off a nearby tree and placed it just out of Starfruit's reach. "If you can get it, you can eat it."

     That goal proved to have more success. Inspired by her new idea, Tsunami pressed on. "Seeing as that seemed to work," she continued, "Maybe try imagining that I'm the enemy." The RainWings looked at her boredly. "The enemy taking away your suntime." She narrowed her eyes, gaining her trainees' interest.

     "Starfruit! You're first." The general advanced on the RainWing. "I'm a NightWing. A NightWing standing between you and your fruit. Your suntime. Your--"

    She was cut off by Starfruit's growl. Starfruit crept forward slowly, her eyes remaining fixed on her general.

     "Better. You look fiercer now, but can your actions match your passion?"

     Starfruit answered by lunging at the SeaWing. Instead of falling backwards, however, Tsunami prepared and held her ground. Starfruit, expecting otherwise, crashed into her and fell. Tsunami quickly pinned the RainWing down, and Starfruit hissed, "If I could use my venom on you, you'd be dead." 

     "Good point, actually." Tsunami let her up. "Your venom is your most dangerous weapon, as we have no defense against it. But we won't be training with venom, for that matter. Or claws or teeth. We're not totally barbarians." She grinned. "Anyway, back to fighting. You must know your strengths and what you're fighting for - are you fighting for loved ones or for peace? For pride or for life? When you know what or who you're fighting for, you'll hit harder, strike faster, and have more pride in a win. Most NightWings are fighting because they are forced to, so you have the advantage. Use it well." 

     Prism nodded thoughtfully. In a way, she was fighting for all those goals. Fighting for Mirage and Buttercup, fighting for her home, fighting for her tribe. "It really does help to know your goals," she murmured to Mirage. "I feel... more capable, I guess, knowing that I'm keeping my life and everything I know safe."

     "Yup. I definitely know who I'm fighting for. You!" Mirage playfully nudged Prism. "And my suntime. Suntime is important."

     "As important as Iguana?" teased Prism.

     "Hmm... now that you mention it, I think he's on the list as well," mused Mirage. She glanced across the clearing towards Iguana, who was helping Hyacinth stretch. "He's really nice."

     Prism unsucessfully tried to hide a snort. Mirage glared at her. "He is!" 

     "I never said he wasn't," countered Prism, "But isn't this the time for war?"

     Mirage huffed. "Yes. We were talking about what we were fighting for. Obviously, our motives are different." Her smile faded, and she had an unusual expression on her face.

     "What's the matter?" Prism asked.

     "Just... had a weird thought." Mirage looked at the dragons around her. "How... how hard do you think those NightWings are going to fight?"

     "Well, they don't have as much to fight for as we do, like the general pointed out."

     "True, but they've probably been fighting for their whole lives. Training for years while we've only trained for one day." She paused, gathering her thoughts. "I guess what I'm trying to say is... What if what we say before the battle is the last thing we ever say to each other?" Mirage's troubled gaze met Prism's, and Prism saw traces of tears in her eyes. "You know?" whispered Mirage. "What if Iguana never returns? What if you never return?"