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A Dragon's Path

Chapter Seven:

New Worlds

It was a whole day before Skytail and Nightclaw made it to any island, and by the time they finally reached one, they were absolutely exhausted.

When they reached the island, they quickly discovered that it was abandoned. It was little more than an upraised rock in the middle of the ocean, with a few sparse growths of vegetation that would do little to help anyone. But it was all they had, and they decided to spend the night there.

As Nightclaw sat on the rock, preparing a makeshift nest, Skytail went fishing. She returned with a somewhat full belly, and then switched places while Nightclaw filled his.

Then, as the sky began to darken, they curled up together in their nest, and looked up at it.

"I can still see the same stars," Skytail remarked.

"Well, we haven't come that far yet," Nightclaw replied.

"But we flew so much today!" the Nadder protested. She shuffled her wings, and continued, "My wings are already sore!"

"The world is huge outside of our island," Nightclaw explained. "You could fly for days and not get anywhere."

Skytail didn't reply. She just looked around, her gaze eventually settling on the direction they had come in.

Nightclaw saw her, and asked, "Homesick already?"

"It was the only place I ever knew," she replied. "I thought things would be wonderful out here... But we haven't found anything yet, and we've been flying all day."

Nightclaw chuckled. "You've gotta give it a bit," he replied. "We just left! Things take a while out here."

He lifted a wing, and moved it across her viewpoint, gesturing to the wide expanse of dark ocean water around them.

"This may look like it goes on forever," he said. "And it certainly feels like it does. Some dragons even believe that it's the end of the world. But there are wonderful places once we get beyond the water. Beautiful islands filled with adventure. All we need to do is keep going."

"Have you been out there before?" Skytail asked.

"Me?" Nightclaw asked, before shaking his head. "No. Not far, at least. My my father has. He used to tell me stories about what lay in wait out there. He's what made me want to leave so bad, all my life."

"What happened to him?" Skytail asked.

Nightclaw parted his jaws to reply, but then fell silent. He looked down, a dark look passing before his eyes.

"I don't want to talk about it," he said.

"Oh... Okay," Skytail replied. "Well, I hope he was right."

"He was," Nightclaw replied. "I'm sure of it."

* * *

The next morning, the two dragons woke up, and found that they were hungry again. After taking a quick trip fishing, they met back up and decided which route to take. They decided to keep going in the direction they were going.

For most of the day, they flew, not finding anything except for a few crags and boulders to rest upon occasionally. Then, at the end of the day, they came across another island.

At first, it looked like it would be another abandoned one. It was a little bit bigger than the one they had stayed on the previous night, but not by much.

But, as they approached it, they saw in the side of it a cave. As they flew in towards it, they began to pick up on a familiar scent; dragon.

"Somebody lives here!" Skytail shouted to Nightclaw.

"I know!" he replied.

"What are we gonna do?" Skytail asked nervously.

"Well, we have nowhere else to go," Nightclaw replied. "We have no idea when the next island will be, and we have to land at some point. So I think we have no choice but to land here, and hope whoever lives here is friendly."

Skytail looked ahead, nervously, as the cave entrance came up.

Suddenly, as they drew closer, she saw movement. She couldn't put her eyes on exactly what it was, but something seemed to jump from the main island onto a rock that stuck up front the water a few feet away from shore. As if to confirm what she had seen, a string of pebbles fell from the rock, into the water.

She turned to Nightclaw. "Did you see that?" she asked.

Nightclaw nodded, but kept his eyes fixed forward. "Looks like a Changewing," he said.

Of course... she thought. She had heard of Changewings. Never met one, but had heard of them.

"They turn invisible, right?" she asked.

"Sort of," Nightclaw replied. "They camouflage themselves within their surroundings.

"Right," Skytail replied.

As they got closer, Nightclaw began to slow down, and Skytail did the same. "Just follow my lead," he said to her quietly.

Skytail nodded.

They got closer to the rocks the Changewing had landed on, and slowed to a halt. Nightclaw landed on another one, and looked in the direction of the Changewing. Skytail landed next to him.

"We know you're there," he called.

There was no answer. Skytail shifted on her rock, wondering if maybe they had just been seeing things.

"Don't worry," Nightclaw added. "We mean you no harm."

Again, there was no reply at first. Skytail was about to turn to Nightclaw and suggest they give up, when suddenly, the air seemed to shimmer in front of them. Color and texture faded in, and a big, green Changewing stood before them.

"What do you want?" he demanded.

"That's not very polite," Skytail grumbled.

Nightclaw shot her a glare, and flicked his tail in annoyance. Then, he turned back to the Changewing.

"We are merely passing through these waters, and wish to rest here tonight," Nightclaw explained. "If you would let us stay here, we will not trouble you, and leave in the morning."

"Huh," the Changewing replied. "And how do I know you're not just going to jump me in my sleep and take my land?"

Nightclaw looked up to the tiny island. "Forgive me for saying so, but it doesn't seem like you have much land to begin with!"

Skytail winced at his words, hoping that it wouldn't make the strange dragon mad. But, to her surprise, he started to chuckle.

"Aha!" he said. "You have a point. I know this land isn't much, but it's my home. I like living alone. But if you want to stay the night, go ahead. I don't mind travelers. Just the ones that cause trouble."

Nightclaw looked at Skytail, triumph evident in his gaze. Skytail beamed back at him.

"Thanks!" she exclaimed.

"No problem!" the Changewing replied. "What are your names?"

"Nightclaw," Nightclaw replied.

"I'm Skytail!" Skytail exclaimed.

"Nice to meet you both!" the Changewing replied. "My name's Sharpstrike. Come on up, I'll make a spot for you!"

With that, Sharpstrike leapt into the air, and spread his wings, flying over to the island. After giving each other one last glance, Nightclaw and Skytail jumped after him, and followed.

* * *

Despite his initial suspicion, Sharpstrike turned out to be a very friendly dragon. He was also an elderly one, as was evident by the hardened, almost withering features of his body, the numerous scars on his scales, and the aged, raspy wisp in his voice. He set up a spot for them to sleep on top of the island, and even took them fishing, and showed them the best spots. When they returned, they sat under the stars and talked a bit before going to sleep.

"Sorry about earlier," Sharpstrike said. "I've been getting a lot more... guests than usual lately. Not all of them have been as friendly as you two."

"What do they do?" Skytail asked.

"Oh, they're usually just rude to me," he said. "I'll let anyone who's friendly stay here, but sometime they don't even ask. They just demand it. So I just keep away from them, and stay in my cave- every once in a while coming up just to make sure they don't try anything. Sometimes, though... Sometimes I get the malicious ones. The ones who try and chase me off. But I know how to deal with those types."

"How do you deal with them?" Nightclaw asked.

"Well, I can't tell you that," Sharpstrike replied. "Then I won't be able to use it on me if you try and turn on me in my sleep!"

Silence fell, and Skytail began to feel just a little bit uncomfortable. She turned to look at Nighclaw, and saw that he felt the same way.

Then, Sharpstrike laughed, and they both felt relief in their chests.

"I'm just fooling around," he said. "I don't think you're the sort. But, I still shouldn't tell you."

"That's fair enough, I guess," Nightclaw replied.

"Well, if there's anything I've learned from all of the travelers that have come by, it's that everyone's always looking for something. Whether it's a new hunting spot, or an old friend of theirs, or something more." Sharpstrike leaned forward, and looked at them. "What are you two looking for?"

"Adventure," Skytail replied.

The old dragon laughed. "Ah, adventure. I remember being your age, and wanting to go on one. It's part of the reason I ended up here!"

"How did you end up here?" Nightclaw asked.

The dragon stopped laughing, and tilted his head for a moment in thought. Then, he replied, "Oh, that's a long story, for another time. If you ever come back, maybe I'll tell it."

"If you've been adventuring before," Skytail asked. "Can you tell us what's around here?"

"Why yes, I can," Sharpstrike replied. "There's not much, though. Except for Dragon Sanctuary, about three days north of here."

"Dragon Sanctuary?" Skytail asked, her eyes growing wide. "That sounds like a great place!"

"Aye, it was," Sharpstrike replied. "I wouldn't recommend going there now, though. There's been a lot of... trouble, recently."

"Trouble?" Nightclaw replied. "Is it humans?"

"No... Though there are humans close by. You'll pass by one of their islands if that's the direction you go. They avoid Dragon Sanctuary as much as they can- well, except for the stupid ones who've got something to prove."

"Well, if it's not humans, what is it?" Skytail replied.

"Well... It's a complicated matter, really," Sharpstrike replied. "Let's just say that the population of the island is a bit... divided. I'm not fully up to date; one of their leaders hates me, so I don't dare go back there. I'd recommend you do the same. It's not something either of you need to worry yourselves about."

"Well, if we shouldn't go there... Where should we go?" Nightclaw asked.

"Well, I don't know if you know about it, but... If you go back the way you came, and fly for about ten days, you'll eventually get to an archipelago," Sharpstrike replied. "It'll seem like a bunch of barren islands at first, but... There's actually quite a lot there if you're willing to explore. There's even a few dragons there, and none of the drama that's going on in Dragon Sanctuary."

"Hmmm..." Nightclaw mused. "That might be worth a shot."

"But it's ten days away!" Skytail exclaimed. "That's so long!"

"Hey, at the end of the day, it's up to you," Sharpstrike replied. "I'm just giving you some advice."

"Well, thank you," Nightclaw replied.

Sharpstrike nodded, and then, yawning, he got to his feet and stretched.

"Well, I'm getting tired," he announced. "I'm going to head to sleep. I suggest you two do the same. Whichever way you go, it's going to be a long day tomorrow. You'll need your energy."

"Thanks again for letting us stay!" Skytail pitched in.

"No problem!" he replied. "I'll be up with you to see you off!"

With that, he spread his wings, and leapt off of the island, flying back down to his cave.

The two young dragons watched him go. Then, they turned to look at each other.

"What do you think?" Nightclaw asked.

"About what?" Skytail replied.

"Should we turn back?"

"Definitely not."

"Well, didn't you hear what he said?" Nightclaw said. "It's not safe to go to Dragon Sanctuary!"

"He didn't say it wasn't safe," Skytail reminded him. "He just said there was a lot of drama going on. But that sounds like adventure! Isn't that what we're looking for? Besides, there are dragons there, and humans on the way! It sounds fun!"

"But we could get all of those things if we go in the other direction," Nightclaw replied.

"But its ten days away," Skytail said. "I don't think we can do that, and I certainly don't want to. Three days is enough."

Nightclaw opened his mouth to say something in return, but then closed it again. "Alright," he said. "Tell you what. Sharpstrike said there was a human island on the way. Let's stop there, get something to eat, rest up, and then decide what to do from there. Maybe we'll find something on the way that will tell us exactly what's going on in Dragon Sanctuary, and whether or not it's actually something we should avoid."

Skytail searched for an argument, but found none. "Maybe," she said. "Let's talk about it in the morning."

Nightclaw nuzzled her cheek, and then said, "Alright, deal. Now, let's go to sleep. Sharpstrike is right; we have a long day ahead of us."

Skytail nodded. "Okay." With that, she lowered her head, and placed it on Nightclaw's forepaws.

Nightclaw stood there for a while, staring down at Skytail's head. He didn't move until she was already asleep; body breathing deeply, and snores emanating from her nostrils. Then, he lifted a paw, and trailed a talon across her head.

Then, he laid his own head down next to hers, and fell asleep.