The Silken Seer

Chapter 7

A hatchery visit.

Hidden catacombs far beneath the surface of Pantala.

And vines. Vines everywhere. Stretching from one end of the continent to the other, laughing (if vines could laugh).

Clearwing was jolted out of her sleep by strong talons.

"Clearwing," Coal said, urgency in his voice. "Are you okay? You were crying and saying something in your sleep."

"I've never done that before," the SilkWing blinked slowly, looking around. She, Coal, and the flamesilks were laying in the middle of the savanna, surrounded by waving grass and peaceful breezes. She wondered how long it would be until Wasp noticed her flamesilks were gone.

She wondered how long it would take until the queen came after them.

It was only a matter of days, wasn't it?

She involuntarily shivered, from her antennae to the tip of her tail.

"I-I'm fine," she said honestly, although her voice was shaking and she didn't know why. She didn't even remember what she had been dreaming about. Probably about something bad happening to Coal. If that was the case, she'd have to protect him. Not that he couldn't do a fine job of protecting himself, but still.

She looked down at her wrists.

They were glowing.

Not with a molten-lava or fireflies-under-her-scales sort of glow, but a moons-on-a-cloudy-night kind of glow, soft and gentle, almost like a lullaby, but with colors instead of words.

It was still terrifying, though.

She tried to look into Coal's mind again, but to no avail, strangely. His head was back to the faint fuzz that she always got when she tried to see his past. She wondered if he was voluntarily shielding his mind from her, or if it was just something that naturally kicked in whenever he was awake.

"Coal," she said, "my metamorphosis is soon."

"I know," Coal said. "How... do you feel about it?"

"Terrified."

"I'd probably feel the same way in your situation." He looked at Clearwing, the gold of his eyes contrasting the dark night and his black scales. "But hey, we'll watch each other's backs, right?" To Clearwing's surprise, Coal twined his tail around her's. "We'll keep each other safe."

"Yeah," Clearwing said. This moment felt oddly... comforting. "Yeah, we will."

She reluctantly untangled their tails and glanced over at the sleeping form of Blue. She had to check something.

"I'll be right back," she whispered.

"Blue," she said, nudging him awake with her tail. "Wake up. I have to ask you something."

"Hmm?" the SilkWing opened his blue eyes and looked at her sleepily.

"Do you know a HiveWing named Cricket?"

He shook his head. "Why? Do you?"

This hit her like a shockwave.

"What? But she-" Alright, Clearwing. Calm down. Just tell him. "I saw her in your past — I'm sure I did, she was right-"

"You saw her in my past," Blue echoed.

"I can see things," Clearwing said in a rush. She had no time to explain the specifics of her powers to a random dragon she'd just met, even if he was one of the most important dragons in Pantalan history and he didn't know it yet. She needed to go live in a cave with a lot of scrolls and try to figure out what was going on. "More than other dragons. I can see the past and the truth and it's out there somewhere if I look. Make sense?" She smiled lopsidedly and Blue gave her a funny look.

"Not really, but sort of. But who's Cricket, if she's so important?" Clearwing felt an emotion spiraling out of his mind — confused but happy, if she felt it right. When she tried to figure out what it meant, it disappeared.

"She's the dragon you fall in love with," Clearwing replied. "Or, fell in love with, except you didn't, and I don't know why."

Blue looked at her, settling his wings. "I can tell that you think this is important. So I'll try to remember if I've ever met anyone named Cricket." He was telling the truth; he wanted to help her figure out this mystery.

"And one other thing," Clearwing added hastily. "I've been saying a lot of things to you, so I guess you don't have to listen to me if you don't want to. But I know where your sister is."

"Luna?" Blue sat up in a hurry, his antennae unfurling and waving wildly. "She's alright?"

"She's fine. She's with the LeafWings. She burned down Bloodworm Hive."

"Oh, Luna..." Blue covered his face in his talons. "Of course she did. She always complained about the HiveWings. She always said she wished that things were a little bit more even."

"I'm sorry, Blue."

She left the flamesilk to himself, wading back through the grass to Coal.

"He must feel like I dropped a really heavy book on his head," she said with a sigh. "I wonder if he wants to see his sister, or if he's afraid of what she's become." She glanced up at Coal. Am I afraid of you? I don't think so. I don't think I could ever be. I think maybe... I do love you back. She shook her head, and looked down at her wrists again. They were glowing brighter now; and the sun was climbing in the sky. She hadn't realized how long she'd been talking to Blue.

"It's starting," Clearwing whispered. "Oh my goodness, it's starting." She held her talons away from herself just as silk started spiraling out of them. "Oh my goodness, should I do something, why don't I know what to do, how come I don't remember..." She trailed off as the silk started wrapping around her forearms, snaking around her wingbuds.

"Coal..."

He looked at her with his golden eyes. She wasn't sure if it was just the silk trance starting, but it almost sort of looked like he was crying.

"Don't worry, Clearwing. I'll be right here."

And then soft silken wings wrapped around her, and for the first time in years, Clearwing fell into an utterly dreamless sleep. 

A/N: It's finished! Part One is finished!! I think that's kind of exciting, do you think that's kind of exciting?
Now for notes: Before dragonner started writing with me, Coal was a mysterious, strange "SilkWing" named Marble. Marble later split into two characters - Coal, Clearwing's bizarre friend from an unknown tribe, and Weave. You'll learn more about him later. 
Although the book is now finished, I still worry that Bloodworm Hive burning was kind of abrupt, and Clearwing and Coal recover from the destruction of their home too quickly. I also feel like I didn't flesh out Clearwing keeping her gift a secret well enough, but unfortunately writer's block hit me hard on the head and I don't have any energy to go back and rewrite the first few chapters. 
On a lighter note, now that Part Two is beginning, I'll be able to publish Part One's title, so that's fun. And prepare to speedrun the entire Poison Jungle, because that exists. 
If you haven't guessed yet, this is an AU. Triggered by Luna's flamesilk metamorphosis, in this universe, Blue doesn't escape the guards and gets captured, therefore never meeting Cricket. The LeafWing accidentally run into the flamesilk cavern, freeing Luna in the process, and getting her to join their side. Clearwing and Coal get caught up in the mix, and the rest, as they say, is history. 
Thank you all for reading, and I'll see you in the next chapter!

- Galaxy