Wings of Fire: The Prequels

2.2

When Cloudwatcher turned three years old, Courtesy forced him to leave and venture to the SkyWing Kingdom.

"Do I have to go?" Cloud asked with a hint of a whine in his voice, staring up at the sky with a slight shudder. The two of them were sitting on a rock ledge, facing the direction of the SkyWing Palace.

I don't want to go. This place is safe. This place is my home. This place has Courtesy.

"Yes, Cloud. You have to go," said Courtesy, a hint of sadness making its way into his voice but he continued anyway. "You can't be here forever. The longer you're out in the real world, the longer you have to make connections and changes. I know you'll do something great, Cloud."

"But I don't want to do it without you," said Cloud, pressing his wings against Courtesy's in a search of comfort. "I want you to be there to see it. I want you to be apart of it."

"I may not be able to fulfill the first two parts of that request, but I can fulfill the third," said Courtesy, putting his talons over Cloud's as he continued. "I've trained you as much as I can. Parts of my technique, style, and possibly personality have imprinted on you. You'll always have a part of me with you, even if you can't see it."

Cloud turned his head, pressing his nose to Courtesy's shoulder with a shudder. The same shoulder he had jumped onto within the first few minutes of existing. Scents of the meadows, mildew, and scrolls that always accompanied Courtesy flooded Cloud's nose. Comfortable smells that Cloud had known from the beginning. Smells of home.

"I'll miss you," Cloud murmured as Courtesy pressed his snout to Cloud's copper/light orange diamond of scales. Cloud took a shuddering breath, slowly accepting what had to happen. "Thank you for everything."

"I'll miss you too. Remember, if anything happens, you know where I'll be," said Courtesy, nuzzling Cloud's forehead a little and squeezing the dragonet's talons to comfort him more. "You don't need to thank me. I was glad to do it."

With great willpower, Cloud lifted his head away from Courtesy and moved his talons. Every loss of contact hurt Cloud's heart just a little bit more, removing his wings from Courtesy's nearly ripping him in two.

"Goodbye, Courtesy," said Cloud, walking towards the edge of the rock ledge with slow shuddering steps. Every step away from Courtesy dropped rocks onto his shoulders, making it harder and harder to tear himself away from his guardian.

"Until next time, Cloudwatcher," said Courtesy, calling Cloud a name he hadn't called him in ages.

"Until next time," said Cloud, turning his head towards Courtesy one last time. While he had a small encouraging smile on his face, Courtesy's eyes gave away his sadness. Cloud could only imagine how defeated he looked, with drooping shoulders, head, and wings. Pulling himself up straight, Cloud managed a small sad smile before turning around and leaping off of the rock ledge.

Just like the first time he flew, Cloud dropped for a terrifying moment before his wings snapped open to catch the wind. Despite the energy it took, Cloud didn't look back as he flew away. Even when he cleared the mountains that encircled their safe little home, Cloud forced himself to look forward rather than back.

'The future is always fresher than the past' as Courtesy would say.

Cloud moved to a faster air current rather than completely thinking through what his mind brought up. He should probably look around. Around him, there were mostly mountains upon mountains but a few small ponds, meadows, and forests nestled between some of them.

Nothing all that interesting during his flight happened, his wings barely even tired by the time night rolled around. Rather than try to squint at the dark for the rest of the night, Cloud decided to land. Landing with barely any noise, Cloud looked around for a place to rest.