"I know how to fight!" the pale orange dragon cried. "Don't touch me!"
"I wasn't- I'm not going to." Hare stared at the odd thing. He was lighter than Alder was, and he had the same striking blue eyes as Peril. "What are you doing here?"
The SkyWing hesitated. "I- I'm looking for my mother. She was supposed to be back by sunrise, but she never returned."
Hare blinked. "Is your mother... a RainWing?"
The SkyWing shook his head. "No, she's a SkyWing, like me."
"Why are two SkyWings living in the rainforest?" Hare asked.
"Mother said she needs to protect me from other dragons, especially SkyWings," the dragon replied. "Not even the RainWings know we're here. She made sure we were very well hidden."
Hare eyed him up and down. He looked about the same age as Peril, why was he so dependent on his mother?
That doesn't matter. He misses her and wants to find her, I'd want to do the same for mine.
"What does she look like?" Hare asked. "Maybe I can help."
The SkyWing perked up. "Really? Oh, thank you! She's dark red and she has a yellow belly and amber eyes."
Hare nodded and held out her talon. "Hare."
The SkyWing blinked at her. "Hare?"
"That's my name," Hare said.
"Oh!" The SkyWing reached out and shook Hare's talon. "I'm Breeze."
Hare smiled. "It's nice to meet you." She looked over her shoulder through the trees. She could see the shapes of her friends moving around, almost panicked.
Uh-oh.
"We should go back to my friends," she said. "I think they're looking for me."
Breeze's eyes widened even more and he violently shook his head. "Oh, no, no, no. My mother said I'm not allowed near other dragons."
"You're near me," Hare pointed out. "Come on, my friends won't hurt you."
Breeze hesitated. "They can help," Hare insisted.
Finally, Breeze sighed. "Okay, fine, but only if you promise they won't hurt me. Mother said I can't trust anyone too much, even my own mother, my real mother, tried to kill me."
Poor little dragon.
"So the dragon we're looking for isn't your real mother?"
Breeze shook his head. "No, but she's all I have. All I've ever had. She may as well be my real mother."
Hare nodded. "Right. Okay, well listen, I know you may have a hard time believing this but you can trust me and my friends. We just want to help."
Breeze just eyed her for what felt like eternities before he nodded. "Okay, but you better not be lying to me. My mother taught me how to fight."
And my guardians taught me.
Hare signaled for him to follow her as she walked back through the trees and undergrowth. Together they walked back into the clearing. Tsunami looked up as Hare approached and shot toward her.
"You feather-brained fool!" Tsunami pulled Hare close to her. "Never run off like that again! You had us thinking you got kidnapped."
"I'm fine," Hare said, trying to squirm free. She looked over at Breeze, who was standing there awkwardly. "I just went to find him."
Tsunami blinked at him. "A SkyWing? In the rainforest?"
"Well it isn't all too odd." Kestrel walked up beside Tsunami and placed a talon on her shoulder. "Who-"
Her voice suddenly caught off as her eyes rested on Breeze. Her eyes went wide and her pupils round. It was almost like she recognized him.
She suddenly shook her head. "Sorry, who are you?"
Breeze took a step back and looked at Hare. "You didn't tell me a SkyWing would be here."
Clay blinked. "But you're a SkyWing."
"No." Breeze shook his head. "No, no, no. I can't be here."
"Breeze, listen." Hare finally managed to free herself from Tsunami and walked up to him. "Kestrel won't hurt you, none of us will. We just want to help."
"Where in the name of the stars and everything above them did you come from?" Nightingale asked. "Not a single one of our patrols has ever reported a SkyWing that looks like you in our rainforest."
"My mother hid me well," Breeze said.
Kestrel looked a little sad when he said that. Hare couldn't figure out why. "Your mother? What's her name?"
"Eagle," Breeze replied.
"He needs to find her, she's been missing for a little bit," Hare explained.
"Well let's do this quickly," Liana said. "We have a task to get back to."
"There's no rush," Kestrel said, a little sharper than anyone expected.
Liana bristled. "Did you forget everything we said?" Liana demanded. "The entire argument? It wasn't just to hear ourselves speak, you know."
"She's right, we need to stay on track," Jambu said. "We have dragons to find."
"We need to find Orchid," Mangrove put in.
"We will," Kestrel said. "But we'll find Eagle first."
"Why is it our job?" Glory demanded. "We already have a mission, remember? Breeze, look, I'm sorry, but you'll need to find your mother on your own."
"No," Kestrel said firmly. "We're helping him, and that's final."
Breeze shifted nervously. "Um, thank you, uh..."
"Kestrel," the SkyWing said. "My name is Kestrel. You've already met Hare. This is Tsunami, Sunny, Starflight, Clay, and Glory. That's Dainty, Liana, Jambu, Nightingale, Ringtail, Vanilla, Liana, and that little one there is Kookaburra."
Kookaburra bounded forward and smiled at Breeze. "Look, I can look just like you!" The little dragonet shifted his scales until they perfectly matched the color of Breeze's.
Breeze smiled a little. "Well would you look at that."
"Enough delaying." Liana was already moving toward the trees. "Let's find this Eagle dragon and get on with our lives."
Kestrel rested her wing over Breeze's back. "Don't mind her."
"Or do, that'll get us all moving quicker," Jambu grumbled as he followed her. Kookaburra hurried after his mentor with Dainty close behind. Breeze raced after them.
"What's with Kestrel and Breeze?" Hare asked Tsunami quietly as they followed. "Please tell me you noticed it too."
Tsunami just sighed. "I don't know. Maybe she just wants to help. I wouldn't look too far into it."
"Yeah, right," Hare murmured, though she couldn't shake the feeling that there was more behind it.
"Look for a dark red dragon," Breeze said. "With a yellow underbelly, and she has amber eyes."
Liana looked over her shoulder at him. "She sounds nothing like you."
"Eagle isn't my real mother," Breeze admitted. "She found me when I was only a few days old and she took me in."
"And what about your real mother?" Liana asked.
"She tried to kill me."
Liana stopped and turned to face him. "And how exactly does Eagle know this?"
"She saw," Breeze replied, stopping where he was.
"And she didn't try to help you?"
"Of course she did! She saved me the moment she could."
"Maybe there's more to your mother than both of you think," Kestrel snapped. "Did you ever think about that? Like maybe she didn't want to hurt you? Did you ever consider that she was forced to? Or that she was trying to save you?"
Breeze shook his head. "No, Eagle saw it clearer than day. She tried to kill me."
Kestrel bristled. "No, she didn't," she snarled. "Your mother never would've hurt you or your sister if she'd been given a choice. Never. She loved you with her whole heart, and she missed you every day of her life."
Breeze eyed her suspiciously. "And how do you know that?"
Before she could speak, Hare rushed up to her guardian's side. She knew what she was going to say. "Kestrel, maybe you should wait until you're sure."
"No, I am sure," Kestrel said. "Very sure. A mother recognizes her son even years later."
Breeze froze. "My- What are you saying?"
"I think you know." Kestrel walked closer to him, her gaze softening. "I'm your mother, Breeze. Your real mother."