Days had passed since they all left their old home. They had to move quickly. There were three places they needed to go to and each place required them to convince someone to help them. On top of that, they needed to be careful not to get captured by the Sandwings. The Sandwings wouldn't know who they were, but it would be safer to remain hidden from them.
However, they never before had to fly for so long. Much of the days were spent resting in the sun and only the thought of Jetstream kept them from staying in one place for too long. Now they were near the border between the Mud Kingdom and the Night Kingdom. Treefire was resting on a tree branch next to Leafall who was leaning on the trunk. Alligator was slouched over a smooth rock and Mud was flat on the ground.
"At least we can take in more of the sun while flying in the open." said Treefire with her wings drooping to her side. Everyone else was equally tired.
"Which is why I thought we could fly near endlessly during the day." Alligator groaned as he tried to address his sister. "I guess more strength really isn't the same as more stamina. Hey Leafall, how much further to the Sandwing? What was his name, Adder?"
Leafall began to think. "We still need to go over the mountains of the Nightwing territory before we get to the…." She pulled out the marked map of Pyrrhia from her satchel. "Scorpion's Den. And yes, his name is Adder."
"I love The King of Thieves stories Jetstream wrote about Basilisk." Mud said dreamingly. "King of the Sand and rival to Queen Sunburn!"
Leafall giggled brightly at her little brother's wonder. "Thankfully we won't have to encounter him. Adder is only near the den."
Mud raises his head. A curious thought crossed his mind. "Hey, Leaf? Since we'll be going through Nightwing territory, shouldn't we meet the Nightwing first?"
"Lostbringer is in the City of the Night which is northward. I guess it is closer to where we are now."
"I wonder if the Nightwings will know we're coming." Treefire barely audible with her head on the tree branch.
"The Nightwing aren't omnipotent." Alligator rose up on the rock to look towards the Cloud Mountains that held the Nightwing home. "Just because they can see the future doesn't mean everything is revealed to them."
"We don't know that." Treefire was beginning to doze off.
Everything they read and everything Jetstream told them about the Nightwings was vague. Any prophecy they told came true. Every time they predicted the future it came to pass. They were the reason why Pyrrhia hasn't had a war in many years. They offered their skills to whoever could pay and they refused to take a side in any conflict. They were also the hardest to conquer even without any natural advantage like the Icewings' tundra or Seawings' desert. But what were the limits of their powers? Do they all have the same abilities and if not, what determines which dragon gets what ability?
Regardless, they needed to get into the City of the Night without being caught. The Nightwing territory was mostly safe to travers by members of other tribes, but the city was off limits to those who weren't invited. Getting in shouldn't be hard as long as they had the ability to change their scales. Even if they were to be found out, they could just blend in with their surroundings and escape that way. The only problem with that was Nightwings could also read minds.
Suddenly, Treefire perked up, nearly knocking her sister off the tree. "Did the letter say Lostbringer was in the city?"
Leafall pulled out said letter while glaring at her sister.
for: Alligator, Treefire, Leafall, Mud, Lostbringer, Adder
The time has come for all of you to meet. I do not know where I am at this time, but now is the time for you to move on without me.
To find Adder, go east of the Scorpion's Den.
For Lostbringer, look south of the Nightwing city.
For Alligator, Treefire, Leafall, and Mud, look north of the Rainwing forest.
"Oh. Would you look at that." Leafall looked over the letter again just to make sure she was reading it right. "Treefire is right. We don't have to go into the city, but I don't know how close we need to get."
"Close enough to allow Lostbringer to leave the city and return to it without raising suspicion." Alligator thought out loud. "Which means we still need to be careful."
Mud seemed a bit confused, so he asked, "Remind me again why it would be a big deal if anyone got close to the city. Doesn't everyone know where it is?"
"If we are seen outside the city they may not care. But there's no telling how long we will have to wait for Lostbringer to show up at her meeting place. On top of that, we need to find the meeting place."
Leafall picked up after Alligator. "We'll be running near their home and if they notice us, they'll at least want to investigate us for information. We can't let them find out about Jetstream."
Mud took a moment to think. "So how are we going to find her hiding spot in a limited time frame?"
"Easy." Proclaimed Treefire landing next to Mud. "We have all the pieces; direction and distance. We also can assume that this place is a secret, so we just need to find a place that can't easily be seen from the sky. Easy, right?" She bumped Mud's wing with her own nearly knocking him over.
"Alright then." Alligator stretched his wings. "Let's go as soon as we can."
And off they went as fast as they could. As they reached the mountains' base, a cool wind blew down on them. A shiver went through all of them as they never had felt a chill like this before. In response, Treefire landed on the dry rock beneath them and breathed fire on herself. The rest of her siblings joined her.
"This cold is unbeatable." She complained. Her own fire was doing little to satisfy her need to stay warm.
"It is not that bad." Said Alligator through clenched teeth. "We have to keep going for Jetstream sake."
"I know, I know! Just give me a minute to warm up."
"We can't wait any longer. Look." Alligator pointed his wings towards the setting sun. There was still enough light covering the vast land before them, but time was running short. "Once night falls, we will be at a disadvantage while traversing."
With another shiver, Treefire hardened her resolve and pushed forward along with everyone else.
Now they were in the heart of the mountain. The plain, rocky, samey looking mountain. Every now and then the sibs would see the familiar green of tree tops and pools of the most crystal looking water they've ever seen. Yet it was not enough to forget the whistles that came from the mountains' teeth. Try as they could, none of them saw any signs of life squirming, crawling, or even running over these lifeless rocks. Mud, Leafall, and even Treefire kept close to Alligator for comfort, but even he was not safe from the growing fear that bowled in their chest. Yet, they pushed on.
Night was beginning to fall. The sibs had gotten exhausted from flying and fearing the unknown.
In gasp for air, Leafall said, "I know-we're in a rush-and all, but maybe we should consider...resting...again." All of a sudden, Leafall raised her head and looked closely at what was in front of her. Though it was hard to see in the dimming light of the sun, Leafall saw in the distance more light pouring out between a cavity in the mountains. "Is that what I think it is?"
Mud perked up, now seeing what his twin was seeing. "It's the City of the Night! They must be putting up their lights since it's getting dark out." There was a time when the tribes(excluding the Icewings, maybe) used fire and the three moons to provide light where there was none. Now the tribes use various versions of light orbs that came from the Rainforest Kingdom. It was written that the Rainwings and the Nightwings had the greatest display of these lights among all the tribes but only the Rainforest Kingdom had illustrations. Mud was almost sad they may not see the lights personally.
Alligator took no time to ponder and dived downward while Mud was speaking. The rest of the sibs followed with Mud lagging behind.
Once Mud had caught up with the rest of them, he asked Alligator, "Hey! Why did you change direction like that?"
Alligator responded. "At this distance, guards should be on patrol. They will surely see us in the sky."
"Oh." Mud crouched low to the ground. He wanted to see more of the lights, but he knew Alligator was right.
"Now, let's keep moving before-," as Alligator was about to take a step forward, they all heard something that made them tense.
"I said over there! That's where I saw it." The voice came from above, but none of the sibs could see who was speaking. It didn't matter. They had to find a place to hide. Alligator flicked his tail to signal for everyone to run.
"Are you sure?" Came another voice not too far away. This one was less enthusiastic.
"Yes! I can hear their thoughts panicking. I think there's three of them."
Nightwings! And one of them could hear their thoughts. The sibs ran as lightly as they could lest the Nightwings would hear their footsteps as well. Leafall lead her siblings forward. Eventually, she found a crevice that she slid into nicely. Mud and Treefire followed suit with Treefire having a little more trouble squeezing through, but Alligator didn't follow. Before they realized he was missing, Alligator whispered, "I'm going to find Lostbringer." Then he moved up the crevice and waited. The other three were left motionless and speechless because if they tried to stop Alligator, they would be caught too. So Mud and Leafall slithered on Treefire and blended in with everything around them as best they could. They waited for the Nightwings to take their brother.
It had occurred to Alligator that since at least one of the Nightwings could read their minds, it wouldn't matter how well they could hide. At least this would allow for him to look for Lostbringer in the city while the rest of his family can do their own search around the city. Alligator allowed his scales to turn black and hoped to the three moons his crazy plan would work.
The Nightwings descended on him. They were both male and were caring spears. The biggest of them looked confused and it took much focus on Alligator to only think of himself as a misbehaving Nightwing dragonet. This Nightwing was pointing his spear eagerly at what he must have thought was an intruder, but was no longer sure what he was looking at. The other Nightwing seemed almost disappointed seeing Alligator. He looked older than Alligator, but clearly the youngest of the pair.
The youngest one said, "Well, this is different. Not quite the thrill ride I was hoping for, but I'll give you points anyway, Nighthinker." His tone was sarcastic towards his elder.
"Trap it, Galaxywing!" Shouted Nighthinker. "I know I heard more dragon thoughts. They're just… not clear to me."
The youngest Nightwing, Galaxywing, didn't look convinced. He turned to Alligator, but he no longer was slouching on his spear like before and stood up straight. "Did you see any other dragons come by here?"
"N-no sirs." Alligator was trying to sound calm and natural. Though he failed to do so, his nervousness would end up benefiting him.
"Calm down, dragonet." Galaxywing's voice was slow and calm. He had done this before. "Though I'm curious as to why you're out here, we just want to make sure there is no one else out here. You sure there's no one else around."
"I don't know. The light was in my eyes when I thought something went down here." Alligator pointed directly beneath him. Nighthinker took his spear and jammed it in, but only the sound of rocks came through.
Nighthinker pulled out his spear. "I can hear something down there! Maybe if I get in further..."
"Just turn it off for now before you get a headache again," replied Galaxywing. "If anything, they were just dragonets from the other tribes trying to get a peak at our city." He turns to Alligator. "You wouldn't believe how often that happens."
Looking defeated, Nighthinker moved away from the crevices and his body relaxed as if he just dropped a bolder he was carrying all day. He too turned to Alligator. "What was your name again?"
Alligator thought back to the times when he and his siblings would pretend they were from other tribes as described to them by Jetstream. He would correct them if they chose names that didn't fit. Alligator thought of a name that he always liked the sound of. "Fatekeeper."
"Alright then," said Galaxywing, "let's take you back home. Nighthinker, wait here."
"Why are you giving me orders?"
"This isn't an order. Clearly, you're making our friend here uncomfortable and one of us has to stay here while the other makes sure he gets back to the city." There was a short pause before Nighthinker sighed and flew off. Once he did, Galaxywing led Alligator to the now luminous city.
The map I'm using as a reference can be found on the link down below. Thank you SassyTurtle for allowing to use the map. 598056063-wings-of-fire-winter-is-coming-map-of-pyrrhia-5