Hare was staying in one of the caves among the cliff. It was high up and neatly organized. A rug was laid out on the floor. A comfy bed was sat against the wall. Scrolls were scattered out on the floor and a shelf was hanging from the wall, filled with other scrolls. A candle was on the floor by her bed, though she wasn't sure how much good it would do. Hare breathed freezing fire, nothing that would provide warmth. Light, sure, but no warmth.
When Whirlpool left, Hare had collapsed onto the bed and curled up into a comfortable ball. She didn't realize she'd fallen asleep until someone poked her in the side.
She lifted her head sleepily, her vision blurry with drowsiness. She remembered the only dragon who'd woken her up like that recently. "Copper?"
As her vision cleared, Hare saw a familiar SeaWing in front of her with a wide smile. "Not Copper. Catfish."
"Catfish?"
Hare sat up and yawned. "How'd you know I was up here? Did someone tell you?"
Catfish shook his head. "No, I watched Whirlpool bring you here. I waited until the sun began to set to come find you, but you were sleeping so I waited a little bit to wake you up."
Hare climbed off her bed and went over to the entrance of her cave. Orange sunlight glittered through the canopy and painted the water shades of yellow and orange.
"Wow," Hare breathed.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Catfish walked up beside her and looked down at the water. His whisker-like tendrils waved in the light wind that blew through the cliffs. "I've lived here my whole life, yet this always leaves me in awe."
"It's amazing," Hare said.
Catfish looked at her and smiled. "If you think this is pretty, you should see the view from my spot."
Hare looked at him in confusion. "Your spot?"
"Yes." Catfish puffed his chest out a little in pride. "I could bring you there."
Hare liked the idea of getting to spend some time with Catfish, and the thought of him showing her something that made him proud made her smile.
"Alright," she said. "Lead the way."
Hare had forgotten that she needed to swim in order to leave the Summer Palace.
And swimming right after you wake up is not a good way to recover from a nap.
Thankfully, Catfish kept a good pace and gave her time to take breaks. Right now they were stopped on a small island, sitting side by side. Catfish was crouched over the water, watching the water closely.
"Trench might be there," Catfish said, lashing out his front talon into the water. When he lifted it, a large silver fish was wriggling around on his claws. Catfish chomped down on its throat, making it go limp. Hare shuddered. She remembered when she'd done that.
But not to a fish.
Not to any piece of prey.
She'd done it to another dragon.
Snow Goose.
"I can't wait for her to meet you," Catfish went on, plucking the fish off his claws. "She'll be so excited."
Catfish offered the fish to Hare. Hare shook her head, despite how hungry she was. "Oh no, I can't. You caught that."
"I can catch another," Catfish said. "Please, it's my treat."
Hare smiled and took the fish. "Thanks."
Catfish gave a small nod and went back to fishing, his tail lashing slowly as he concentrated. Hare took a bite from the fish. It wasn't the kind of thing she normally ate, but she couldn't deny the fact that it was pretty good.
"Trench is your cousin, right?" Hare asked as she swallowed a mouthful of fish. "That's what Queen Coral said, isn't it?"
"Yes, that's right," Catfish replied. "I live with her and my sister."
"What about your parents?" Hare asked, tearing off another chunk of her food. "You can't be much older than me. Why don't you live with them?"
Catfish hesitated. Hare realized suddenly how personal the question was. "Oh, I'm so so-"
"No, no. It's fine." Catfish turned his attention back to fishing. "I never knew my mother. Aunt Featherstar, my mother's sister, said she left right after she laid my egg, but she never told us where." He went silent again, his gaze distant. "Sometimes I wonder if Axolotl blames me for it."
Hare opened her mouth to offer comfort but Catfish quickly continued. "Anyway, my father is a soldier in the war. He left us in the care of Featherstar and Trench so he knew his dragonets would be safe while he was gone. I haven't seen him since I turned two." Catfish leaped forward, then pulled back. A massive trout was in his claws, flopping around desperately. Catfish snapped his teeth around its neck and it stopped moving.
"Aunt Featherstar hasn't bothered with us since the last time father visited," Catfish said. "Trench had just become a fully grown dragon, so Featherstar left us with her. She didn't even bother telling Trench where she was going."
"I see mothers don't have the best reputation in your family," Hare commented. She dug her teeth into her fish and ripped off another chunk.
Catfish laughed. "No, not really." He brought the trout over and laid down next to Hare. He took a bite and looked out at the water, his eyes following the waves as the setting sun turned them pretty colors. "When I have dragonets, I'm going to make sure their mother is a good dragon. Someone I know won't abandon them the first chance she gets."
Hare looked at him, surprised. "You've already thought about this?"
"Yeah," Catfish said with a small shrug. "I don't want my dragonets having the same family life I do."
He chuckled and looked down at the trout. "You must think I'm weird for discussing this with someone I just met."
"No, no." Hare settled down so she was laying beside him. "I don't think it's weird at all. We're just having a conversation."
Catfish smiled at her. Hare tried to ignore the little jerk her heart made. "Thanks Hare." He tore off part of his trout and swallowed it. "You know, you're nothing like what I expected you to be."
Hare tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
"Think about it," Catfish said around a mouthful of trout. "You hear that one of the cruelest dragons in all of Pyrrhia has a daughter. What do you think she'll be like? Do you expect her to be like you or a vicious dragon like her mother?"
Hare dug her claws into the sand. Did every dragon here see her mother like that? Would they all insult her right in front of her daughter?
Hare finished the last of her fish and cleaned her claws. Catfish took a few more bites of the trout, then stood up and shook out his wings. He then dragged it to the edge of the beach. Catfish dug a hole in the sand, then dropped the trout into it. He piled sand back on top of it and patted it down so it looked as though it hadn't been touched. Then Catfish drew a circle on it with a smaller circle in the middle. Catfish drew an x in the smaller circle, then stepped away.
"What's that for?" Hare asked.
"A wandering SeaWing might get hungry," Catfish explained. "This symbol shows that there's prey here to be eaten."
"How do you know someone will find it?"
"It always gets found." Catfish looked out at the water. "We should get going. Are you ready?"
Hare stood up and shook out her wings. "Yeah, let's go."
Stars were beginning to dot the sky when Catfish announced they were almost at the end of their flight. He led her over a few more sandy islands and rocky points. Suddenly he took a sharp turn and veered right. Hare followed as he dove toward another island.
This island was covered with plants. It was possibly the most green place Hare had ever seen.
Large trees with damp leaves covered the island. Catfish led her through them and taught her how to crawl through the weaving branches.
There was a wall of vines and bushes at one point. Catfish turned to her and smiled. "Ready?"
Hare smiled and nodded. Catfish turned back to the wall. He pushed the vines away, revealing a beautiful spot. The plants wove around to make a place large enough to fit at least nine dragons. The walls were circular and surrounded three sides. The side that wasn't covered was the edge of the island. Sand covered the bottom of the whole area. There was a wonderful view of the ocean from here.
Pillows and cushions were laid out in the sand. Scrolls were stacked against one of the walls. Painting and writing supplies were close by. Canvasses were piled messily by the scrolls. Seashells decorated the walls and floor. The last bit of sunlight caught them so they painted the area with beautiful shades of pinks and blues and purples. The light also reflected off the leaves, adding green into the mix. Hare just stared in awe.
"Nice, isn't it?" Catfish said. "Come on."
He walked past the vines and kept them pulled back as Hare walked in. Hare walked to the edge of the sand and looked out at the water. Catfish hadn't been kidding. It was gorgeous.
"Trench showed us this place."
Catfish moved to stand beside her. They stared at the water in silence for a little while. Hare didn't know what to say. Words couldn't capture how nice the view was.
"I don't know how nobody else knows about this," Catfish said, sitting down and curling his tail over his talons. "It's not like the island is very hidden. It stands out. I wonder why nobody else has thought to take a look."
"Because nobody wants to tromp through plants and branches."
Hare looked over her shoulder and saw another SeaWing coming to join them. Her scales were a pale blue with dark blue spots rising from her talons. They stopped at her shoulders but there were some speckled across her face. She had eyes that were more blue than a cloudless sky.
"Who are you?" Hare asked.
"I should be asking you the same thing." The newcomer walked over to face her, her tail lashing slowly behind her.
Catfish stepped in front of Hare to block off the new dragon. "It's okay," he said. "This is Hare. She's Queen Blister's niece."
The new dragon stopped and stared at Hare with wide eyes. "Really?" She tilted her head curiously. "Well, I guess that would explain why an IceWing/SandWing hybrid is in our kingdom." The SeaWing bowed elegantly. "It's an honor to meet you. My name is Trench."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Hare said, bowing her head.
Trench raised her head and smiled at Catfish. "How did you befriend the niece of Queen Blister?"
Catfish looked away in embarrassment. "We just... started talking."
"A royal dragon communicating with commoners like us?" Trench laughed. "Right. What'd you really do? Tell her you're some long-lost prince? Tell her you wrestled a beluga whale or have a house made of shark teeth?"
Hare laughed as Catfish shot Trench a look. "We just met on the queen's pavilion and introduced ourselves."
"How cute." Trench turned to Hare. "So, how'd you find us? Is Queen Blister here?"
"I'm here with my friends," Hare explained. "We met Riptide and he brought us here."
Trench eyed her suspiciously. "Your friends wouldn't happen to be that gang of misfits, would it?"
Hare narrowed her eyes a little. "If you're referring to the group with the MudWing, SkyWing, RainWing, SandWing, NightWing, and your missing princess, yes, they are."
"The dragons who claim to be the dragonets of destiny." Trench sighed. "I personally don't believe them. The prophecy is supposed to have a SkyWing, but the only SkyWing in that group is far older than anyone else, definitely not a dragonet. And the SandWing? I heard that she's real funny looking, doesn't even have a tail barb. And why in the name of the moons is there a RainWing? Only three of those dragons fit in with the prophecy."
Hare felt anger bubbling inside her. How dare she accuse her friends like that?
"Don't insult them!" she snapped. "They're going to save us all, and they're no liars. I grew up with them."
Trench made a face. "Then why don't they fit what the prophecy says?"
"Destiny isn't always written in stone," Hare snapped. "Sometimes things need to change. If you knew them, you'd know there's no better dragons fit to save Pyrrhia."
Trench was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, I'll believe you for now. But why is there a SkyWing?"
"That's our guardian," Hare explained. "She helped raise us, and she refuses to leave us. She just wants to make sure we're safe."
"And the others just left?" Trench asked. She sat down, looking at Hare with a quizzical look.
"Rose did," Hare replied. "So did Asha. Hvitur and Dune" - Hare winced - "died. And Webs disappeared when Scarlet arrived to take us prisoner."
"Typical," Trench spat. "That dragon was always a coward."
"He had to go find help," Hare protested.
"Did that help ever arrive?"
Hare winced. She hated to admit it, but Trench was right. Help had never arrived. They'd had to escape entirely on their own.
Catfish pressed himself close to Hare. "She's not trying to be mean," he whispered. "She just doesn't trust new dragons. That's one of the effects of being a soldier in the war. Trust me, she's really nice."
"It's okay," Hare said, twining her tail around his. "I'm not taking any of it too harshly."
Catfish smiled, then looked at Trench. "Did you have any luck today?" he asked softly.
Trench looked at him sadly and shook her head. "Nothing, I'm sorry Catfish. I've searched every corner of the palaces and beyond our territory. I've torn up half the ocean. There's nothing."
Catfish's smile disappeared. He drew in a shaky breath, then nodded. "It's fine. We can look again tomorrow."
Trench brushed her wing against his. "We should go home," she said quietly. "We all need some rest."
Catfish shook out his scales. "Right."
Trench looked at Hare. "Do you need an escort back to the palace?"
Hare shook her head. "No, I can find my way back."
"You'll get lost," Catfish said. "I'll bring you home."
"You don't have to-"
"No," Catfish insisted. "I'm bringing you home."