The Turtle Bowl (Discontinued)

Chapter 5

Luna could just make out the soft sounds of the Pyrrians in the darkening night. She crept after the sounds of cheerful conversation punctuated with laughter and comfortable pauses. Then she saw them-they seemed to be looking for a likely spot for a lookout perch. They were quiet now, their atmosphere somehow filled with both perfect tranquility and a quiet buzzing that pulsed when they touched. Luna remembered that feeling from many walks and flights with Swordtail.

They found a large rock that overlooked the ocean as the sun flashed it's last bits of light for the day. Moon and Qibli climbed on top of it, twining tails as they reached the top.

Luna wondered whether she should really be following them. But everything about the warmth and the wide-open feeling and the fresh air out here drew her away from the cave, where she would be alone with her thoughts and the cheerful voices of Cricket and Kinkajou, and she couldn't take that right now.

Qibli and Moon weren't talking anymore, but watching the last rays of the sun slowly disappear. They silently leaned towards each other for a long time.

Eventually Moon looked at Qibli, smiling in a way that made her mouth quirk up on one side. 

 "What?" Qibli said.

"Just-if you could be here," tilting one wing to indicate the breathtaking view, "with anyone on the whole planet-who would it be?"

"You, of course," he said, curling a wing around her and pulling her closer. "And you?"

She put her chin on his shoulder, taking it in. "Hm," she said musingly. "Probably Clearsight."

Qibli gasped melodramatically, putting one hand to his forehead and turning away as though he had been mortally wounded. Moon giggled and poked him, provoking a brief poking fight.

They both gradually slowed their assaults, until they were just laughing together, like two dragons perfectly at peace, free of everything-wars, horrible dragonethoods, evil thoughts and painful visions of the future. The way everyone-and everything-should be. Some of the dragons in the Chrysalis seemed to think it was wrong to even feel happy as long as so many were suffering under the talons of the HiveWings. But if there was anything that her brother had taught her, it was that without moments like this, there isn't really any reason to fight. As much as vengeance against their oppressors burned in her bones, Luna could see that what mattered (slightly) more was the dragons they were trying to save.

Qibli sighed and looked at the NightWing shining in her namesake. "Moon?"

"Mmm?"

"I love you."

Luna blushed. OK, these two definitely won't be making any important plans right now. She turned to fly away as quietly as she could, leaving the pair to their moment. But she could still hear Moon say (after a brief, shocked pause), "I love you too, Qibli."

...

Luna made it back to the cave, trying to ignore her memories of Swordtail that kept popping up so annoyingly. We'll find him, there will be more where those came from. In the meantime, reminiscing pointlessly just slows us down. She crept into the cave. Cricket seemed to be asleep, curled as closely around Blue's cocoon as she could without burning herself.

"O. T. P." Kinkajou stage-whispered, popping up behind her.

"Wha-" Luna turned, putting a talon on her chest, as if that could save her from the heart attack she had just died from.

"Amirite?" Kinkajou asked, grinning at her conspiratorially.

"I-"

"Oh, you don't owe me any explanations," Kinkajou reassured her. "I mean, it's a LITTLE RUDE to just assume that we are up to something and start spying on us. But I get it! I would probably do the same." Luna looked at her skeptically. "OK, I would totally trust us," she amended. "Because we are awesome. But still, don't worry. I'm not mad. And I won't tell anyone unless you want me to."

"Thank you," Luna said sincerely. For some reason, this almost made her want to cry.

"OK, now that we're done with that brand of mushy stuff," Kinkajou said, "Let's move on to the next."

"Hm?"

"WHAT WERE MOON AND QIBLI DOING OUT THERE? I MUST KNOW!"

Holding in laughter, Luna shook her head solemnly. "I'll never tell."

"AUGH!" Kinkajou shouted. "NO! TELL MEEEEEEEE!"

Luna lay down, putting her snout deliberately between her talons.

"BETRAYAL!" Kinkajou declared. "You are so lucky that I'm not in the mood to melt your eyeballs out! Because I could totally do that!"

Luna drifted asleep, letting the ocean lure her into dreams of death, destruction and HiveWings threatening her with Kinkajou's voice.