Never Alive (A WoF Fanfiction)

Prologue: Always Empty

Status was everything. And that was something Sunrise didn't have.

She was known as "the big dragonet". Nothing more. Just another dragonet. Not like her sister, Dawn. She was known as "the clever one". Not like her brother, Dusk. He was known as "the handsome and adventurous one". He had two titles. That was a lot.

Her mother and father said they loved all of them equally. And it was very clear they did, but Sunrise still felt empty.

By the river behind the SandWing palace, there wasn't much drama. In fact, it was quite quiet. Every day was the same. Drink water, play around, listen to stories, fly a bit, learn how to hunt. It wasn't always in the same order, but they never did anything besides those things. Dawn didn't mind, but Dusk was never satisfied. Sunrise was still on the fence about it.

But today was different. Today, her mother and father were acting very weird. Mother flinched quite a few times, in which she never does. Father was silent and distant, in which he is always loud and hyper.

Dawn, of course, notices before all of them. She points it out, but Father dismisses it. The subject wasn't addressed until dinner.

Father cleared his throat loudly as he began. "We've been living out in solitude for many years now. I wish this could've lasted longer. But Mother's job requires us to move."

Dawn's face scrunched up in confusion. "But Mother doesn't have a job."

Mother looked nervously at Father, then back at Dawn. "The Queen needs me at the front lines."

Sunrise scooted back a bit, seeing Dawn's ash-tinted pale golden face grow red.

"You never had a job. Why do you have one now?"

Mother fidgeted and turned away, her sunny color seeming to fade. Dusk turned to his twin, his talons clenching and scraping the wooden flooring of the hut under them.

"Your making her uncomfortable. She obviously doesn't want to talk about it."

The family ate in silence after that.

Everyone coped in different ways. Dawn said goodbye to all of the furniture in their house. She had lived here for all of her five years, after all. Instead, Sunrise and Dusk were up all night talking about how much fun it would be to finally leave. They theorized on what they would see, how far they would fly, everything. Mother and Father went out on the porch and simply talked, watching the three moons and clouds up above.

It was very late when Sunrise fell asleep. One of the moons had already disappeared behind a hill. She didn't sleep for long, though. Her parents woke her up when the first light had come. They said that the Scorpion Den was very far away and they needed to get there very soon.

Within the hour, the entire family had begun to fly southwest of their little hut on the river. It was then Sunrise realized she would never see her room again, with its hanging hammock and it's pretty little cactuses in the corner. As it slowly disappeared, she wondered who would water them.

This is very unfair. Sunrise thought as her wings  grew very tired, while everyone else's wings seemed just fine.

Even though she was big for a three year old dragonet, she was still young. And that meant she got tired. Very easily. Or at least, quicker than her family.

Sunrise decided to stay strong for her family. They needed to get to the Scorpion Den as soon as they could, so if she took a break then they would all have to stop. And that meant not getting there as fast.

A few hours later, they spotted some tired-looking camels heading for shade. Sunrise watched as Mother flew down and landed on both of them, crushing one and stinging the other with her tail barb. Father flew after her and so did Dusk and Dawn. Sunrise dived down, letting the cool air go in between her white scales. She flapped her wings to land, but ended up tumbling down a dune with a cry. She got up, and raced toward the food. Everyone ignored her as they tore away at the camels. Two was not enough for a feisty family of five. Mother and Father weren't putting up too much of a fight, but Dusk and Dawn were snarling and snapping at one another as they chomped up huge bites of meat that couldn't even fit in their mouths.

Sunrise was pushed aside more times than she could count, and got almost no food. A few bites, but that was all. Her stomach shook in disapproval as her meal was all eaten up by her siblings.

As soon as the last drop of meat had gone, the family spared no time as they took to the skies again. Sunrise's wings throbbed, but they were also numb. It was like she was forced to make the same movements over and over again, she was not allowed to stop. It almost felt blurred. But she continued. Her family needed her to stay strong.

They arrived when the sun had begun to say goodbye, and when one of the three moons had begun to say hello.

Sunrise felt the soft sand welcome her talons as she landed.  She let out a huge sigh and smiled. Her wings may be dead, but she was alive and with her family. That was all that mattered.

"Oh my! Lion? Peach? Your here already? With my grandchildren? Oh, what hardships they must have gone through to be here within a day." A voice came from the distance, ringing loud and clear and deep.

A female SandWing rushed towards them, acting all surprised. Her black eyes were empty.

Dusk and Dawn stood silent. They also had no idea what was going on. Mother stepped forward and hugged this new dragon. Her tail fidgeted. Her ears twitched. Her talons clenched and unclenched. She never did any of those at normal. Mother was strong. And tougher than stone. And sweeter than a peach. But never on edge. Never scared. Never empty.

Father looked stern. He was never stern.

Something was going on. Sunrise just couldn't decide what.

They had dinner at the odd dragon's house that night. It was near the Scorpion Den. Supposedly, there was a surprise for them in the morning. Sunrise wasn't sure if that was good or bad. She was on the fence again.

Sleep came to her easily. Waking up did not. Her brother had to slap her many times to make her open her eyes. They had to get ready very fast again to go to the surprise.

The walk to the Scorpion Den was silent. Sunrise's supposed Grandmother seemed very proud. However, Mother and Father did not seem very proud at all. They seemed almost... Terrified.

Once they arrived, Grandmother turned to Mother. "My daughter, your children will do so well in the army. It's so sad that you can't come back."

Mother seemed to choke on air. Tears slid down her cheeks as her muscles bunched up. "I'm sure they will be great."

Sunrise could not believe what she was hearing. They weren't sent here for their Mother's work. They were sent her for their own.

Dawn and Dusk seemed furious. They screamed at Grandmother and Mother and Father. But Sunrise couldn't here any of it. It was all empty.