Don't Fall in Love with the Night

Chapter 17

     "Read? Write?!" Mirage's face was doubtful.

     "Yes! Isn't it wonderful?"

     "Not really." Mirage plucked a flower off of a nearby bush and examined it. They were in Mirage's clearing, which was surrounded by brightly flowered bushes. Vines heavy with berries hung across the clearing, and Mirage's bed of eucalyptus leaves was set right in the middle of her living space.

     Prism was confused. "What do you mean, 'not really'?"

     Mirage tucked a whilte flower behind her ear where it set off the blue and teal scales she usually wore. "I mean that reading and writing won't do us much good. We've always been fine without it, right?" She handed Prism a matching white flower, knowing that Prism enjoyed how the white and the light pink of her scales matched. 

     Prism also tucked her flower behind her ear, matching Mirage, and smiled. "I guess we don't really need it, but wouldn't it be fun and interesting? Plus, we get to meet more NightWings."

     "I don't want to meet more NightWings." Mirage's voice suddenly turned cold, and Prism realized that her last sentence was a mistake. "I won't as easily forget what they've done."

     Prism hesitated, but decided to push the matter. "But-"

     "Do you know what happened after the battle? What they did?" Mirage's ruff turned an angry orange-red. "They kidnapped the weird golden dragonet, the friend of the queen. And because of their volcano, the NightWing dragonet who also came with the queen was blinded - though I don't exactly trust him, either. Yet you want to learn how to read and write from them?!"

     Prism felt sick. They had blinded a dragonet? And captured another? She struggled to find an argument. "Not all of them are evil," she began quietly.

     "Most of them are. All of them might be. How could you tell if one of them was good or not?"

     "By learning about them! Like spending time with them, which is what this program is trying to do!"

     "So they can learn the easiest way to kill you or kidnap you," commented Mirage acidly.

     Prism was silent, not wanting to argue any more. She quietly started weaving a basket out of the nearby vines, gathering her courage for her next question. "Where are they keeping the blinded dragonet?"

     Mirage's tone had cooled. "At the healing center." She hesitated a moment, then continued. "I'm sorry for yelling at you like that. It's just... you're the closest thing to family I have. Even more than Iguana. If you were hurt or..." She swallowed. "You know... I don't know what I would do."

     Prism's frustration melted away, and she stepped forward to hug Mirage, who sniffled. "This is all so stressful," Mirage whispered. "I'm sorry, Prism, I'm not really mad at you."

     "It'll all be okay in the end," Prism reassured. 

     "Really? Who says? What do we have to hold onto in all this chaos?" said Mirage bleakly. "What are we even fighting for?"

     Prism's heart froze at her friend's hopeless tone. "We have each other. That's what we'll fight for. Our loved ones are always worth it." She relaxed her hold on Mirage and looked her straight in the eye. "That means you."

     They both smiled, and Mirage shook herself. "Sorry for panicking... would you mind if I thought over these things alone?"

    "Not at all. I'll see you soon, then." Prism stepped out of Mirage's clearing after another quick hug.

     She still wanted to take lessons from the NightWings, but a seed of doubt was planted in her heart. Prism decided to visit the blind dragonet and ask him about it. She took off towards the healing center.