The Prince of Night and Rain

Chapter 2

I FORGOT PEREGRINE'S SPIKES-

Eh, whatever... He still looks good and that's really all that matters...

Dawn was breaking when Shadowscale woke from another nightmare/vision. He sighed, shifting the leaves of his bed, trying to remember what day it was. The... first day of the Month of Beginnings... oh, it's my hatching day. He wasn't particularly excited, after all, he knew no one would remember. Well, no one but Deathbringer, Glory, and Firefly at least. He didn't quite mind though, his little sister's hatching day was enough partying to last him a lifetime. Too many dragons, too many minds to try and block. Moon's lessons help but still, it's overwhelming. 

He rose from his bed and glanced around his room. Well, it was a storage room but he wanted it to be his room.

"Why?" His mother asked when he insisted on it being his room. "There is a perfectly good room over here. A, you know, ACTUAL room?"

"I don't like big areas, they scare me." He replied with a shrug. So, they turned the closet into a room and uses the room as a guest bedroom. It was a large place, enough to hold a chest of his belongings and a bed. Which was a woven cot of leaves and moss.

He yawned as he made his way towards the door. Just as his talons scrapped the handle, it swung open.

"HAPPY HATCHING DAY BIG BROTHER!!!!" Firefly exclaimed as she launched at him and tackled him in a tight hug.

"Oh, good morning to you too. Why are you up so early?"

"Because..." She started, letting go and frowning at him. "I wanted to spend time with you before you leave. Like you do every hatching day. Why do you leave? Why don't you ever want to celebrate it? Where do you go?"

He looked away from her large green eyes. "I... just would rather be alone. It's not a very special day-"

"NOT A SPECIAL DAY!?" She cried. "IF THIS DAY NEVER HAPPENED, THEN... THEN I'D HAVE NEVER HAD A BIG BROTHER!"

"Your's is more important. If YOU where never born, then we'd have no future queen." Shadowscale retorted. "AND I'd not have a little sister."

"Queen, shween! Who wants to be queen? Work, work, work, no play time! Only work and... and Suntime! I mean, Suntime IS good, but playtime is BETTER!"

Shadowscale chuckled as he pat his little sister on the head. "You are just too adorable!"

"I'm nooooooooooooooooot!" She wined as she pushed his talon away. 

He chuckled again as he smiled at her. She is... the vision of her older appeared in his head again, how she roared in rage and attacked the large dark figure, him gaping and doing nothing about it. For now, she is adorable for now... 

"What's wrong? You are doing the smile mommy makes when she tells us everything is fine but they actually aren't fine and she's just saying it is so she doesn't scare us..." 

"Oh, um... just thought of something. I really gotta get going."

"NO! Why do you be alone? I don't like seeing you alone!"Firefly shouted.

"Shhhh!" He hushed, wrapping a wing gently around his sister. "I am not sad. I like being alone, it makes me happy."

Firefly paused, slightly stupefied by his answer. "Happy? Alone? Why?"

Minds... he thought but didn't say. So noisy. Sure, I can block them, but sometimes, it's just too hard.

"It helps me think, and I like thinking." He decided, for it was partially true. With so many intrusive thoughts on the daily, he found it hard to get a thought of his own through and finds himself discombobulated. Again, Moonwatcher's lessons help, but no more than finding out the mind-blocking method he found when he was much younger when he learned that focusing on the minds of random animals helped sometimes.