Just a little Glorybringer for ya

Gone.

The group, and Pyrite, landed in a clearing. 

"Is this it?" Air asked. Moon nodded.

 "Yes," she said in agreement. "This is what I saw." 

"Hey guys!" Joy called. "Check this out!" They turned to see a destroyed shelter. 

"Somebody wasn't happy," Qibli noted as they searched through the remains. Pyrite let out a gasp and held up an orange scale. 

"It's Scarlet's!" she cried. The others looked at her skeptically. "I'd recognize her color anywhere," Pyrite added, staring fondly at the scale. The others glanced at each other and Kelp spun a talon around his ear mouthing the word cuckoo. 

"What do we do now?" Seashell asked. "Since Scarlet's not here anyways."

 "This was a stupid plan." Winter declared. "Hailstorm is most likely dead, and Scarlet could be anywhere in the world right now. There's nothing left for us to do." 

"Hey, don't talk like that. We're going to find him." Qibli assured him. 

"How?" Winter demanded.

 "We could go search up in the mountains," Nightflyer suggested. 

"Or we could search the rest of the valley." Joy added. 

"Or we could split up and do both," Kelp offered. 

"I don't think that's a good idea," Moon admitted. "Something still feels off in this place." An argument was brewing. Everyone had different plan. Nightflyer watched them fight with a sigh, and then he frowned, counting the number of dragons that were here. There were eight dragons in the clearing. There were supposed to be nine. He spun around, searching the clearing. Nothing. 

"Hey guys?" Nightflyer said hesitantly. They didn't hear him. "Hey guys," he repeated, louder. Still, they ignored him, too busy bickering to realize a potential problem, or, in Nightflyer's case, a very serious problem. "GUYS!!" he yelled. They stopped and turned to look at him. Nightflyer took one more glance around before turning back to them with wide eyes. "Where's Air?" 

Unbeknownst to Air was the panic she had just sent her friends into. She had snuck away as they were arguing.She didn't want to upset them, but she had to be sure of something. Scarlet hadn't been that far away from Air's home. She had to check and make sure that her mother and Squelch were okay. Worried as she was, she couldn't help but smile at the sight of her home. The river, it's muddy banks, the tall grass where Squelch would hide in to scare her. The four-roomed cave they lived in. Air walked into the cave cautiously.

 "Mother?" she called. "Squelch?" There was no reply. Air walked into her brother's room, her nerves growing. "Squelch?" There was no one in the room. She ran to the next one. "Mother?" Empty. The next one? Nothing. Air sprinted out of the cave and spun around. "Mother!" she cried. "Squelch!" They were gone. Where could they have gone? Air searched around for any sign, any clue. Something orange on the ground caught her eye.

"Where have you been?!" Joy shouted as Air walked back into the clearing. But after seeing the look on her friend's face, she stopped. 

"Air?" Nightflyer asked gently, but she ignored him. With a determined look streaked with fear covering her face, Air marched over and grabbed Pyrite, who let out a yelp. 

"Is this Scarlet's?" she demanded, holding up a scale. The Skywing mumbled and stammered in fear. "ANSWER ME!" Air roared. Pyrite looked at the scale and nodded. Air released her and stepped back, the scale falling from her talons. 

"Air, what happened?" Nightflyer asked. She turned towards the group, her face contorted in terror and grief. 

"They're gone." she began. "I went home. With Scarlet being so close I wanted to make sure they were alright and when I went there, they were gone, and one of Scarlet's scales was right on the ground. Right in front of my home." her voice wavered slightly as she went on. "We're going to find Scarlet. I don't care what it takes. We're going to find her, and Winter's gonna get his brother back, and she's going to tell me what she did with my family. And then, she's gonna be wishing she never messed with any of us." 

"I second that." Winter said with a growl. 

"Air, you can't just-" Moon began, but Air cut her off.

"She took my baby brother, Moon. She took my mother. How would you feel if she had taken your mother?" Air demanded. Moon stopped for a moment and considered this. How would she feel if Secretkeeper was taken? There were barely words to describe that kind of feeling. 

"It would feel like the world was ending," Moon said softly. 

"Exactly," Air replied, her voice wavering. "And that's why we have to find Scarlet." Tears filled Air's eyes and she turned away from the group, not wanting the to see her cry. The others went to the opposite side of the clearing to discuss their next move, but Nightflyer didn't go with them. Quietly, he walked over and sat beside Air, who was sobbing at this point. He didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. Silently, he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, letting her cry into his chest. He didn't make any promises, didn't tell her that it was going to be okay, he just let her cry, but at the same time, he let her know that she wasn't alone.