Ember, Shore, Rin, Ander, Orange, Shadow, Haze, Boysen, Dusk, and Parrot searched through the forest for any sign of Apple.
"Where could she be?" Rin wondered out loud.
"Anywhere." Ember admitted ruefully.
"APPLE!!!!!" Shadow screamed.
"Shhhhh!!" Orange hissed.
"What? If we can't find her, maybe she'll hear us and find a way to us."
"And what if instead the dragons that kidnapped her find us and take us too?" Orange retorted. Haze nodded in agreement.
"Good point. No screaming." She declared. There was a pause of silence before Ander screeched like a howler monkey, causing everyone to jump.
"Ander, what the h-" Shore was cut off as Ander continued.
"MALUM!!!!!! OLLY OLLY OXEN FREE!!!!!! CLAMO, SI NON AUDIUNT ME!!!!"
"Shut up!" Boysen urged. Ander turned to him and purposefully screeched in his face. Shore and Rin tackled her to the ground and covered her mouth, ignoring her muffled Latin curses.
"If we die, I'm blaming her." Haze announced.
"If Apple dies, I second that motion." Ember agreed. Shadow nodded in approval. Before they could say another word, a scream echoed through the air. Everyone's ears pricked up. Ander shoved Shore away in triumph.
"Ha!" She cried. "Knew it would work!"
Another scream cut loose and Ember jumped up.
"That's her." He proclaimed. "That's Apple. I recognize her scream." There was a pause before Ember glanced around at everyone's frozen and shocked expressions. ".......what?"
"Uh....how exactly do you know what Apple's scream sounds like?" Shore questioned. Ember's eyes widened.
"Wow Ember. I didn't imagine you as that kind of dragon." Haze admitted. She pointed at Rin. "My money was on her."
"What!" Rin demanded.
"No!" Ember exclaimed. "I don't-not for those- that reason- just- NO! I recognize her scream from the war, when I found her! That's all!" Shore looked convinced, but the rest of them eyed him skeptically.
"Sure,"Ander offered. "That's it." She winked at him. "Injuriosum retines puerum." Ember shook himself.
"Forget that! We can talk about this later. Now we have to figure out where Apple is. She has to be close, right?" Boysen nodded.
"Is there anywhere close by she could be hidden in?" Shore, Orange, Rin, Ander, Parrot, and Shadow scanned the area.
"I don't think so." Shore admitted.
"Wait! There's the cave!" Rin exclaimed. Shore frowned.
"What cave?"
"Oh. There's....There's a cave near a river that's really close by. I used to go there with Parrot when I was able to sneak out." Shore stared at her and glanced back at Ember.
"Okay, these two conversation are NOT over. But for now, let's just go find Apple before I hear anything else that will scar me for life."
"Wait what?" Parrot asked in confusion, realizing what Shore meant. "EW! NO WAY!"
"Yet." Ander warned. Rin shoved her and quickly walked toward the cave, her face burning.
The group quickly entered the cave, and Parrot and Orange darted ahead, seeing as they were the only ones who could go into camouflage mode. Orange rushed back with their findings.
"Two dragons-Rainwings. They're older, but big." she reported.
"And Apple?" Shadow asked.
"...She was on the ground. Not moving. Parrot was gonna try and get closer to see if she was breathing." A hush fell over the group as they got closer.
"Everybody ready?" Dusk asked quietly, his tail lashing. Haze spun a knife in her talons.
"Yep."
"Now!" They launched forward, catching the two rainwings off guard as the ten dragonets attacked at once. Shore quickly stab them with sleeping darts. Boysen struggled to pull Haze away as their victims fell asleep.
"No-Must- dismember!" She fought against him.
Shadow and Ember dropped to their knees next to Apple. Ember quickly checked for a pulse as Shadow examined the long claw marks that trailed down her chest.
"She's breathing, and alive." Ember announced. Shore sighed in relief and Shadow looked over at the unconscious dragons.
"What do we do now?" Shore looked closer.
"We probably shouldn't move her- we could end up hurting her more."
"We have to tell Glory that we found her though," Rin countered.
"So, half of us so tell Glory and Rainkeeper and the others stay here just in case?"
"That'll work." With that, Shore, Ander, Rin, Dusk, and Parrot flew out of the cave, headed for the Rainwing village. Ember, Shadow, Haze, Boysen, and Orange stayed behind.
"Do you think she'll be okay?" Shadow wondered. Ember eyed the claw marks worriedly.
"I hope so." he murmured, glancing at Apple's pale face.
"You know, it's not very nice to attack dragons." Boysen commented. Haze shrugged and continued to sharpen her claws.
"It may not be nice, but it's a necessary element sometimes." She paused. "And if they deserve it, then it is a beautiful thing." She looked him in the eye and her voice went more gentle. "Wouldn't you want a chance to kill the dragons that murdered your parents?" Boysen thought for a moment.
"I do't know if I'd kill them, but I'd definitely want them to pay." Haze frowned.
"If I ever find the dragon that took my mother, I'd kill him dead. He destroyed my life before it even began."
"What happened with your mother?"
"....Now is not the proper time to tell that story." A silence fell over the five dragons as they waited for the others to return.