Unshattered

Chapter Seventeen

"Nice name," the SkyWing answered.

"No, not really," Turtle replied. "My brothers keep making fun of me, saying things like, 'Well, they picked the perfect name for you!' Which, you know, means I'm really slow."

"I'm pretty slow too," Soaren lied.

The SeaWing gave him a skeptical look.

"Really. A SkyWing. Slow. Hahaha."

Soaren wrinkled his snout at him.

"I mean," Turtle said, "You've got those HUGE WINGS and you're telling me that you're slow? Honestly, you look like the kind of dragon who could lift up three boulders with just your pinkie claw."

The SkyWing wasn't sure what to say to that. Yes, he was quite big. But no, he was not as strong as Turtle had said. The SkyWing was as scared as a scavenger was when a dragon was about to eat it.

Soaren would jump at the slightest things, mostly squeaking mice from the edge of the pit. It would always creep him out.

WAKE UP, SOAREN! His mind yelled. YOU NEED TO GO TO THE RAINFOREST NOW! FORGET THE SEAWING!

Oh shush, his conscious snapped back. I'm going, alright? I just need to warn Turtle not to go to the shore. If he does, it could put him in grave danger. Well, unless he was an animus, which he probably isn't.

"I'm not that strong," Soaren confessed. "I can't even fight. I don't even like to fight. It...scares me."

Turtle gave him an understanding look, as if he's been through something similar.

"Oh, and," The SkyWing realized, "don't go to the shore."

"What? Why?" Turtle said.

Soaren thought how to word the scenario. "Because there's an animus battle happening."

Yep, that's the perfect excuse.

The SeaWing shot him a bewildered look. "What? Where?"

"The shore,"

Turtle didn't say anything. He just gasped and submerged himself underwater, then suddenly shot through the waves and headed towards the shore where Aqua was battling that horrifying SandWing.

"Wait!" Soaren called. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING! YOU'RE SWIMMING TO YOUR DEATH!"

The SeaWing's head popped out, but he still swam.

"TO HELP!"

His head went under the water again, and soon enough, Soaren couldn't see the emerald scales anymore.

The SkyWing sighed. R.I.P, SeaWing.

He looked into the rising sun and flew off, finally feeling the pain of his sore muscles. He winced, slightly dropping a level down and nearly falling in the water, which would make him go crazy.

"Gargh!"

He looked down at the enchanted shell in his talons with wonder.

Will this only teleport me back to the Sea Kingdom, or anywhere on Pyrrhia?

He stopped and hovered, staring at the magic object for a moment and let out a deep exhale.

"Well," he said to himself, "it's worth a try..."

He clutched the shell closer to his chest and closed his eyes, thinking about where he wanted to go clearly in his mind. He opened his eyes again and held the wheel in front of his face, but he didn't know what to say to it.

"So, um, hey magic shell," he said awkwardly. "Is it okay if, um, you could maybe...like...teleport me to the Rainforest? It's okay if you don't want to...I mean — you can if you want, but um..."

He face-taloned and sighed, trying it again when the shell didn't work.

"Um..." he mumbled.

He had to be fluent when he said it, be confident and know exactly what you want from it. BE DEMANDING.

"Teleport me to the Rainforest to Queen Glory," he ordered, but felt guilty and mean for not saying—

"Please?"

Soaren thought the shell wasn't working after all. He was about to continue flying when a bright ray of blue light radiated from the shell's peach surface and in his red-scaled face. It made vibrating sounds, the kind that you would mistake for bees buzzing, yet calm and quiet.

The blue ray started glowing brighter and stretching wider, until it surpassed the SkyWing and swallowed him whole.

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